2012 Year End Review continued

The missus and I are back from our surprise Christmas trip to Calgary to visit my daughter and her boyfriend and his family. Had a very nice time. Even saw Skyfall while we were there and loved it. But back home now, after some flight delays due to the bad weather back East. I'm currently ensconced on my comfy sofa, watching Everton vs Chelsea as I work on this BLog.


12 + 2 Challenge

 So where was I before we went away.... Ah the year 2012, a great year for reading. :0) My biggest challenge was my Reading Group challenge in the Book Addicts Book Club. This challenge is the 12 + 2, being you choose 12 books to read over the course of the year, plus two alternates. I enjoyed this challenge and over the year managed to read all of my choices. The books were -
1. Susanna Clarkes - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (a horror/ magic story) finished 24 Jun and given 3 stars
2. Sergei Lukyanenko - The Nightwatch (vampires in Moscow) finished 5 May, 4 stars)
3. Scott Westerfield - Leviathan (alternate history/ steampunk adventure) finished 7 Feb, 4 stars
4. Bill Bryson - At Home (non-fiction/ history) finished 28 May, 4 stars
5. Deborah Cadbury - Chocolate Wars (non-fiction/ history of chocolate) finished 18 Feb, 5 stars.
6. Barbara Tuchman - The Zimmerman Telegram (history/ WWI) finished 9 Jan, 3 stars.
7. Jack Whyte - Knights of the Black and White (historical fiction/ Crusades) finished 26 Jan, 3 stars.
8. Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory (fiction/ mystery) finished 5 Jan, 3 stars.
9. Anthony Burgess -  A Clockwork Orange (dystopian universe/ fiction) finished 11 Mar, 3 stars.
10. Robertson Davies - The Rebel Angels (fiction/ mystery) finished 17 Mar, 5 stars.
11. Ken Follett - The Pillars of the Earth (Historical Fiction) finished 20 Apr, 4 stars.
12. Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible (Fiction) finished 8 Jul, 5 stars.
Alt 1. Vikas Swarup - Five Suspects (Mystery/ India) finished 13 Sept, 3 stars.
Alt 2. Trevor Elleston - Flight of the Phoenix (fiction/ adventure) finished 23 Jul, 4 stars.

There were other challenges over the course of the year that are sort of ongoing challenges that I work on only haphazardly. They include the

Around the World in 80 books challenge, where we try to read 80 books set in 80 different countries.  I have been working on this challenge since Aug 2011. I have currently visited 25 countries. This past year, I've visited some of the following - Pakistan, while reading The Damascened Blade, a Joe Sandilands mystery by Barbara Cleverly, Turkey with Greenmantle by John Buchan, Germany with The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre, Laos with The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill, the Congo with The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and others. I managed to visit 9 countries this past year; not a bad year of travelling.

Two of my other challenges involve travel. They are the UK Counties Challenge where you visit each of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish counties, a somewhat daunting challenge of 97 various locations. Since starting in January of this year, I've managed to visit 14 counties, all located in England; with books such as Minette Walters' The Tinder Box, located in Hampshire, Ngaio Marsh's Tied Up in Tinsel, set in Devon, MC Beaton's The Potted Gardener set in Gloucestershire. It's an interesting challenge, but definitely a long term one. The other travel challenge is similar to this, but set in the US and involves visiting the 50 states and Washington, DC. I started this challenge in January as well and so far have managed to visit 15 states, not a bad start overall. Some states visited include Arkansas with Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris, Colorado with The Sign of the Book by John Dunning and New Jersey with Seven Up by Janet Evanovich. My final challenge is the Authors A-Z challenge which I started in March of 2011. I hate to say it but this challenge has somewhat gone stale for me. It involves reading a book by an author so you use up every letter of the alphabet with the authors' last name. I only managed to fill in the V's this past year with Kurt Vonnegut's Dead-Eye Dick. My remaining letters are I, Q, U, X, Y and Z. I may be able to get a couple this year; I do have an I author on my shelves.. But it will take a concerted effort of searching out books for the remaining letters. As Barney from How I Met Your Mother would say, 'Challenge Accepted!'

Top Ten Favourite Reads of 2012

Number 1 of 2012

Finishing off my review of books for 2012, below you'll find my Top Ten favourites for 2012. There were so many enjoyable reads this past year, but these ten were my definite favourites.

10. The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker (4 stars). This is the second in the Bruno Chief of Police books. It was a worthy follow-on to the intro to Bruno and his small community of Saint-Denis in France. Bruno is involved solving an arson and murder case and must also deal with an American businessman trying to establish in international wine business in the valley. Not only an excellent mystery, the story by Martin Walker provides a well-crafted, interesting description of the small community and the people who live there. I enjoyed very much, like Bruno and his dog, Gigi and also his friends. A nice mix of mystery, character development and just an excellent story.
9. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (4 stars). Book one of a great adventure, fantasy series. I was hooked from the first moment and have since read Books 2 and 3. The missus and I also have seen the first two seasons of the TV mini-series and love that two.
8. Summer of '42 by Herman Raucher (4 stars). I have enjoyed watching the movie a few times. It's an excellent coming of age movie. Having now read the book for the first time, I'm happy to note how faithful to the book that the movie was. I very much enjoyed this story. It's so very well-written. There are many laugh out loud moments, but at the same time, also poignant moments. It left me feeling somewhat sad, maybe for lost youth, lost love. Excellent story.
7. Leviathan by Scott Westerfield (4 stars). This was a fascinating story, that I bought by pure luck. I saw it on the shelf of my local used book store, the cover looked interesting and so did the plot summary. It's set at the beginning of WWI. One of the main protagonists is young Alek, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose parents have just been murdered in Serbia by German/ Austrian factions trying to instigate WWI. The other is a young British girl, Deryn Sharp, who disguises herself as a boy to join the British air force, so she can become a midshipman. By chance she finds herself on one of many Darwinist creations, the leviathan, a creature manipulated by pulling various animal gene lines, and creating a zeppelin type machine. If I forgot to mention it, this story is an alternate history, or as mentioned by the author, steampunk. The whole concept is fascinating, the development of the story well-crafted. I liked both of the main characters, Deryn and Alek, as well as the supporting cast; Alek's faithful friends who help him escape German assassins and also the British boffin, Nora Barlow and her Tasmanian tiger, Tazz. Even the illustrations in the book, at least in this particular edition, were excellent. All around an excellent story. Of course, there are two further books, to carry on the adventure. I will be getting them. Highly recommended! (I have since read Book 2, Behemoth and have Book 3 on my bookshelf for this year.)
6. The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies (5 stars). Entertaining, well-crafted, intelligent. The story is developed carefully and lovingly. Story is told from two characters' perspective, two narrators. Both are interesting and I enjoyed both of them. Darcourt, the priest/ professor was most interesting and Maria, the gypsy/ student wonderful and easy to see why all the male characters fell in love with her. It's been ages since I read anything by Robertson Davies and I'm glad I read this story. I look forward to reading the other stories in the trilogy.
5. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre (5 stars). A classic spy novel, classic Le Carre story. His third novel, after  Call For The Dead and a A Murder of Quality, it features tired spy, Alec Leamas, the British Secret Services Berlin organiser, who is called home for a special mission. I won't get into too many details as there are so many interesting surprises throughout the story, that I wouldn't want to ruin the story. There is a brief role for Le Carre's most famous spy, George Smiley, but the story revolves mostly around Leamas. The spy craft is interesting, the plot twisting, the story fascinating and one you will have difficulty putting down. An excellent story for those who enjoy spy dramas and also a nicely historical feel for the cold war between the West and East.
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (5 stars). What a wonderful book! Devastatingly sad at times, but also the story of survival, love, family. Set around 4 sisters Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May Price who go with their mother Orleanna and father, Nathan Price as missionaries to the Congo in the 60s. A wilful, strong tempered father who doesn't really care for his family, more for his desire to convert the Congolese to Christianity. The mother and her daughters who must cope and try to survive in this new country. A fascinating, well written story about their lives, told from the perspective of the four girls, with introductions to each section by their mother, looking back. At times, I've found it heart - achingly sad. But I loved the story. Beautifully crafted and one that is so hard to put down.
3. HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean (5 stars). I'm left speechless by this story. A truly amazing story of heroism of men tired beyond belief fighting a war in conditions unbelievable but true. The HMS Ulysses is a Royal Navy cruiser whose crew have recently mutinied and are tasked once again to meet and escort a convoy on the Murmansk run to Russia. The crew is beaten, tired and the Captain is dying. They sail to meet the convoy of merchant ships at Iceland to take over from the warships escorting the convoy from Canada. The result is a fascinating, horrifying, touching story of this voyage; the love of the crew for their ill Captain, his love for them; the many personalities of the crew and the ordeal they must sail through. The story makes me think of my father as he also sailed to Murmansk, something he doesn't tell me much about. I've read this story before, but so long ago. I'm glad I read again.
2. The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill (5 stars). A new author for me and I'm glad I discovered him. The Coroner is Dr Siri Paiboun, the only coroner in Laos. He's a 72 year old doctor who was appointed the Coroner. He works under poor conditions, has a wonderful staff of two, Nurse Dtui and Mr Geung. Their relationship is affectionate and humorous. The cast of characters are wonderful and Dr Siri is a wonderfully drawn personality, smart, individualistic, curmudgeonly and with a lovely sense of humour. The story is well-crafted, many twists and turns as Siri tries to solve the cases he has been given. There is political intrigue and even a very spiritual aspect. It's a story that draws you in from the very first page and there will be many surprises. In some ways it reminds me of the first Number One Ladies Detective Agency book, different, fascinating and with humour and love and mystery all mixed together. I highly recommend and know that I'll be reading more of the series.
And.....
1. Chocolate Wars: The 150 Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury (5 stars). One of the most interesting books I've read in awhile. Fascinating history of the development of chocolate, the chocolate industry, the companies involved; Cadbury, Rowntree, Nestle, Hershey, etc. More than just a story about chocolate, even though, the story could not have been written without the ingenuity and imagination of people like George Cadbury and Joseph Rowntree, the story is also a history of the times; how the Quaker ideals were brought to bear in the development of the English chocolate industry, challenges from other companies, dealing with issues such as World Wars and how that might impact on Quaker pacifism, child slavery, the pressures of the current financial system on what were family businesses with 180 years of history. A very fascinating story and well - worth reading. Deborah Cadbury has researched this story exceedingly well and presented the history in a well-written, interesting manner.

So there you have, my review of a year's worth of reading. Once the New Year turns, I'll highlight some of my 2013 Challenges. I still hope to do one or two more BLogs before years end to look at a bit more music and maybe my Top ten Actresses.... Time will tell. In the meantime, Keep on reading and best wishes for 2013.

More Year End Review - Individual Challenge

It turns out this might be my last BLog for a few days. The missus surprised me with a Xmas trip to Calgary to visit my daughter, her boyfriend and their family. It might also be a relatively short post as I need to get up stairs and start packing.. lol

One of my challenges for 2012 was to focus on my mystery / thriller/ spy novels. I decided to work through my authors alphabetically, from A - Z, reading one book per author. Little did I realise how many mystery writers I have on my book shelves. Over the course of the year, fitting in my other challenges and trying to read a couple of freebies a month, I managed to work my way up to the G's, reading 39 books.

5 Roundabouts to Heaven

I started while we were still in England visiting family and friends for Xmas. So my first book actually was a B - author, John Bingham as I didn't have my whole library with me.. ;0). From there it's been a journey, so many different styles, countries. Some books have disappointed, but for the most part I've enjoyed immensely.

Below is my list -
with -
1. John Bingham - Five Roundabouts to Heaven (finished 10 Jan 2012, 3 stars)
2. Rennie Airth - The Blood-Dimmed Tide (finished 12 Jan 2012, 3 stars
3. Margery Allingham - Black Plumes (finished 21 Jan 2012, 4 stars)
4. Karin Alvtegen - Shadow (finished 28 Jan 2012, 4 stars)
5. Kingsley Amis - Riverside Villas Murder (finished 3 Feb 2012, 4 stars)
6. A.C. Baantjer - DeKok and the Death of a Clown (finished 12 Feb 201, 3 stars)
7. Nevada Barr - Track of the Cat (finished 19 Feb 12, 3 stars)
8. Mark Billingham - Buried (finished 25 Feb 2012, 4 stars)
9. Nicholas Blake - A Tangled Web (finished 03 Mar 2012, 4 stars)
10. M.C. Beaton - The Potted Gardener (finished 8 Mar 12, 3 stars)
11. Giles Blunt - By the Time You Read This (finished 12 Mar 12, 4 stars)
12. John Buchan - Greenmantle (finished 24 Mar 12, 4 stars)
13. Jan Burke - Sweet Dreams, Irene (finished 4 Apr 12, 3 stars)
14. W.J. Burley- Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place (finished 10 Apr 12, 3 stars)
15. John le Carré - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (finished 15 Apr 12, 5 stars)
16. G.K. Chesterton - The Secret of Father Brown (finished 22 Apr 12, 3 stars)
17. Lee Child - 61 Hours (finished 27 Apr 12, 3 stars)
18. Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Affair at Styles (finished 17 May 12, 4 stars)
19. Barbara Cleverly - The Damascened Blade (finished 21 May 12, 4 stars)
20. Michael Connelly - City Of Bones (finished 25 May 12, three stars)
21. Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (finished 3 Jun 12, 4 stars)
22. Colin Cotterill - The Coroner's Lunch (finished 15 Jun 12, 5 stars)
23. John Creasey - Death on the Move (finished 23 Jun 12, 2 stars)
24. Elizabeth Daly - Arrow Pointing Nowhere (finished 28 Jun 12, 3 stars)
25. Lionel Davidson - A Long Way to Shiloh (finished 18 Jul 12, 3 stars)
26. Jeffery Deaver - The Bodies Left Behind (finished 18 Aug 12, 3 stars)
27. Len Deighton - The Ipcress File (finished 28 Aug 12, 3 stars)
28. Arthur Conan Doyle - A Study In Scarlet (finished 22 Sept 12, 4 stars)
29. John Dunning - The Sign Of The Book (finished 27 Sept 12, 3 stars)
30. P. N. Elrod - The Dark Sleep (finished 06 Oct 12, 3 stars)
31. Janet Evanovich - Seven Up (finished 9 Oct 12, 3 stars)
32. Elizabeth Ferrars - :The Crime and the Crystal (finished 17 Oct 12, 3 stars)
33. Karin Fossum Don't Look Back (finished 22 Oct 12, 4 stars)
34. Ian Fleming - Live and Let Die (finished 21 Oct 12, 3 stars)
35. Ariana Franklin - Grave Goods (finished 1 Nov 12, 4 stars)
36. One More River - Nicolas Freeling (Didn't finish, stopped reading 3 Nov 12, 2 stars)
37. Night Soldiers - Alan Furst (finished 17 Nov 12, 3 stars)
38. The Perfect Husband - Lisa Gardner (finished 25 Nov 12, 3 stars)
39. Deception on His Mind - Elizabeth  George (started 18 Dec 12)



Old favourites

 It was nice to refresh my memories on many old favourites. Authors such as Nevada Barr (the Anna Pigeon US Park Ranger series), Canadian Giles Blunt with his Cardinal series set in my old home town of North Bay, WJ Burley's Wycliffe mysteries set in England, Barbara Cleverly's Joe Sandilands mysteries set during the Raj in India, John Dunning's Bookman series, featuring not only  a good mystery, but also book shops and hunting for antique books, Janet Evanovich's humorous Stephanie Plum adventures in New Jersey. So many familiar and enjoyable books that I don't often get an opportunity to read as I've so many other books on my shelves to pull down and enjoy.

There have been a few new authors to try out as well. I honestly have tried to avoid starting new series, but when how can you resist when you go to a book store and start wandering around the book shelves. And watching mysteries on TV as well and discovering they are based on mystery series; it makes you want to read them as well. Some of my favourite new series/ authors included; Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne mysteries, set in London; MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin books, a nice chuckle and a great parlour mystery; Lee Child's larger than life Jack Reacher adventures;and Karin Fossum's Swedish mysteries.

But my favourite mystery of the year; both as a new series and just for pure enjoyment was Colin Cotterill's The Coroner's Lunch, featuring Dr Siri Paiboun, the Chief Coroner of the new Communist Republic of Laos. The story was interesting, humorous, with an abundance of wonderful characters. I got the same feeling from it that I did from The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency when I read it for the first time. I look forward to reading more of Dr Siri Paiboun's mystery adventures.

It's been a great year of reading. I plan to continue with this challenge in 2013. I'll highlight some of the authors and books in a future Blog, when I look forward to 2013.

To all, have a wonderful, peaceful Xmas and I wish you the very best for 2013.   Now off to wake the missus and start packing.. ;0) 

Something Musical - Canadian Songs on my USB

For the Xmas before Sunday, a musical list this time. I've updated my USB stick a few times this past year. I love going for a drive and listening to it as a cruise along; it's always been a favourite thing to do. I hardly ever listen to the car radio these days; either Jo or I have our USB stick plugged in. That means it's all songs we both like. Well, for the most part anyway, we so have somewhat varying taste; that's what makes life interesting.

I thought I start by listing my Top Ten Favourite Canadian songs (They aren't necessarily new songs, but just those that I tend to like most when they are played).

1. Tegan and Sara - (This is a group that my daughter Jennifer introduced me too. This is a new song from them that I heard the other day when I did in fact have the radio on on the computer) - Closer

2. Bryan Adams - This is an old classic, a long-time favourite of mine. I love the soaring instrumenalization. Run To You

3. Rush - They've put out some of my favourite songs. This is a particular favourite.. Limelight

4. Nickelback - For all that they seem to be panned for their music, Nickleback pump out song after song that I can listen to easily and enjoy. I do like Chad Kroeger's voice. Trying Not To Love You.

5. Gino Vanelli - I'm kind of jumping back and forth here, newish song, then back for an older classic. At times I think Gino Vanelli sounds like David Bowie. This is a favourite. Black Cars.

6. Carly Rae Jepsen - What can I say, I like this girl's music. Call Me Maybe is probably my favourite song of the year, unless it's Good Time, that she sings with Owl City. I just don't get tired of listening to them. But of course, I'm going to pick a different song, one of her most recent. Curiosity. (I hope she can keep it up)

7. Cowboy Junkies - They formed in 1985. Margo Timmins has a haunting, sensual voice. My favourite song. A Common Disaster.

8. Matthew Good Band - Matthew Good had so many hits, both with his band or as a solo artist. Hello Time Bomb and Load Me Up come to mind immediately. Or this next song. Excellent stuff. Everything is Automatic.

9. Simple Plan. Moving up to more current music, this is song also features the wonderful vocals of Natasha Bedingfield. Jet Lag.

10. Northern Pikes. I love everything about this song, the beat, the guitar work, the vocals.. I never grow tired of it.. Teenland.

So there you have it, another list for 2012. I hope you enjoy the songs.. I do. :0)

2012 Year End Thoughs/ Reviews...

Well, it's that time of year when you look over the past twelve months and see what you've accomplished and then take a look at what you might expect in the new year, that being 2013 this upcoming one. On a personal note, the year was a most enjoyable. The missus and I travelled a bit, the highlight being 3 weeks spent in England, visiting family and friends, watching the Olympics on the BeeB, even driving to Manchester to watch the footie match between the US and Canadian women. It was an excellent trip, most enjoyable. We haven't done a lot of other long distance travelling, but have travelled down island (that being Vancouver Island) to Combs, Victoria ( a couple of times), just for a change of scenery. It's always nice to hop in the car and take a small trip for a weekend. Victoria is one of my favourite places for book shopping, some of my favourite used book stores to wander around. And Jo and I always take advantage of our trip there to get a takeaway curry from one of our favourite restaurants, Da Tandoor on Fort Street. It's always nice to stop in and be remembered, even if it's just once or twice a year. Back to book stores, on our last trip to Victoria, we discovered that an excellent book store, Grafton Books in Oak Bay had closed its doors. Very sad as it was one of the highlights of that area of town.

Moving on to the subject of books, 2012 was a nicely successful year for me. I took part in various challenges in my various Book Clubs in Goodreads and for the most part completed them. For the 2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge I picked 75 books as my number to read during the year and as of today, I've completed 80. I have two books on the go at the moment, Elizabeth George's 9th Inspector Lynley mystery, Deception on his Mind and George R.R. Martin's 3rd Game of Thrones Book, A Storm of Swords and plan to have them finished by years end. I may have the chance for one more book, if I do, it'll be a freebie, maybe a book from a new author for me, Frances Fyfield. Continuing on, I've so far read 80 books and according to the Goodreads stats page that makes approximately 26,000 pages. On the other side of the fence, while I've read 80 books, I've also managed to add about 200 books to my TBR shelves. (Don't tell the missus!)

Onto my challenges -

1. In the UK Book Club, each month we voted on a different genre to read. This was a continuation from the previous year and we ran out of genres in October. We've updated out list and in 2013 will start afresh. To warm us up for the January Challenge, we picked a holiday book for December 2012. I finished two books for that December Challenge; Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris and Tied Up In Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh, an Inspector Alleyn mystery.

Over the remainder of 2012, the genres and books chosen were -
January - Non - Fiction - The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman
February - Travel/ Exploration - Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewen MacGregor & Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire by Simon Winchester (much preferred)
March - Romance/ Erotica - The Virgin and the Gypsy, D.H. Lawrence; Summer of '42, Herman Raucher;
April - Psychiatry/ Madness - Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
May - War - HMS Ulysses, Alistair Maclean
June - Western - The Captive Witch, Dale van Every
July - Poetry - The Poetical Works of Mrs. Browning by Mrs. Browning
August - Lesbian/ Homosexual - Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
September - Chemical Fiction - A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
October - Self Help - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

I have to say that I'm still working on The Poems of Elizabeth Browning, I don't find poetry very easy. Of the books above, my favourite of the year was HMS Ulysses, an excellent heroic war movie. I thought it was fantastic.

I'll stop for today or this morning anyway. More to follow over the Xmas week; Top Ten books of the year, my favourite actresses, challenges for 2013, all sorts of fun. Enjoy your holiday week and keep on reading!

A review and look to the future..



A Clash of Kings



It's now September and the months have flown by. So far this year I've managed to finish 57 books, so I'm well on my way to completing my Goodreads aim of reading 75 books. I'm currently reading the second book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, A Clash of Kings. As well, the missus and I have been watching series 2 of A Game of Thrones which encompasses this novel for the most part. Unfortunately, at the moment, we've lost access to the series. At any rate, I'm enjoying this book, the whole series and the TV mini-series immensely. I think I'll try and read the 3rd of the series before year - end. It's a fascinating world that has been created; the characters are interesting and the setting is well-crafted and presented. There are so many strong female characters and that is something I always enjoy. Martin has a superb imagination to craft this world of swords, magic, kings and wars.





Six Suspects



My upstairs book at the moment is Vikas Swarup's Six Suspects. Swarup also wrote Q&A, a story that was turned into the successful movie, Slum Dog Millionaire. This book is a mystery set in India. A noted gangster from a powerful family, who has gotten away with murder and other crimes, is murdered at a party he has at his Villa to celebrate getting off a murder charge. Six suspects are arrested from the party. The story revolves around these six disparate characters; a politician, a movie star, an American and others. I'm finding the development of these characters very interesting; what leads them to attend the party and why they should hate Vicky Rai so much. When I finish this book, I will have completed my 12 + 2 challenge for 2012. Six Suspects was my second alternate of the +2. It's been a very interesting challenge; I'm quite happy with the books I chose for the challenge and they made the year quite interesting and enjoyable.

Individual Reading Group Challenge 2012. 

The Coroner's Lunch



In this challenge, I wanted to read as many Mystery/ Spy/ Thriller authors from my To Be Read (TBR) shelves working my way alphabetically from A - Z. So far this year I've completed 27 authors and have worked my way into the D's. My last book was Len Deighton's The Ipcress File, which I enjoyed but I think I expected more than it delivered. Some of my particular favourites this year have been Swedish writer Karin Alvtegen Shadow, English writer Mark Billingham Buried, an early spy novel from John Le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and a new author for me, Colin Cotterill, who introduced me to Laotian Coroner, Dr Siri Paiboun in The Coroner's Lunch, a wonderful mystery. The characters were great, the story well-crafted and the setting exotic and fascinating. It made me feel the same excitement for a new author as did Alexander McCall Smith when I read the first book of the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series. I plan to continue with this challenge to year's end and will probably continue from where I leave off in 2013. Next in line are A.C. Doyle's A Study in Scarlet and John Dunning's The Sign of the Book.

Favourite Books so far in 2012


The Rebel Angels

So far this year my favourite books have been -

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This was a nice surprise by a new author for me.
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. I mentioned this above. I've got others in this series to read. So looking forward to it.
HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean. I've been re-reading his books; they were childhood favourites. This is an excellent war story.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré. Great classic spy thriller by one of the best.
The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies. The first book in the Cornish trilogy. Loved its intelligence, its wit.
Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury. I mentioned this in my previous Blog on my Top Ten Non-Fiction novels. A lovely surprise.

What About the Rest of this Year?

In a general sense, I plan to continue my Individual Reading Group Challenge. I think with three and a half months left in the year I should at a minimum be able to read 15 more books. I currently have two books on the go. I also have a Genre Challenge to complete this month, the theme being Chemical Fiction. I had planned to read Daphne du Maurier's The House on the Strand, an old favourite. Instead I think I'll read a new book, Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. Next month will be Self-Help novels, that being the final category remaining in the Genre challenge theme. (I think the plan is to start afresh after we complete the last, maybe adding some new genres). At any rate, I'm not sure what books I may even have on the shelves that would even fit the category. I am thinking I may try Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point.

As to other books that I might read for the rest of the year, well, let's see. Here a few thoughts.

Mysteries/ Adventure

Next in line I've got

Arthur Conan Doyle's - A Study in Scarlet

John Dunning's - The Sign of the Book (a Cliff Janeway novel)

P.N. Elrod's - The Dark Sleep (Vampire files)

Janet Evanovich's - Seven Up

Elizabeth Ferrar's - The Crime and the Crystal

Freebies

George R.R. Martin's - A Storm of Swords

Evelyn Waugh's - Men at Arms

Kurt Vonnegut's - Dead-Eye Dick and

Harry Turtledove's - In the Presence of Mine Enemies

I'm hoping that I can finish all of them and maybe have room for one or two more before year end.

Next Year (2013)

I have started thinking about my 2013 Reading Group Challenge, the 12 + 2. I've got a couple of ideas how I might proceed.

The simple way is to choose 12 varied novels (+2) like I did this year. That would be a mix of fiction (all styles; war, mystery, SciFi, etc) and non-fiction. Some ideas that present themselves immediately;

1. Kate Atkinson - One Good Turn

2. J.G. Ballard - Hello America

3. Iain Banks - Excession

4. Susan Orlean - Rin Tin Tin, The Life and Legend

5. Simon Brett - Witness at the Wedding

6. Eugene Burdick - Fail Safe

7. Colin Clark - My Week with Marilyn

8. Stephen Clarke - 1000 Years of Annoying the French

9. George Elliot - Daniel Deronda

10. Jenny White - The Sultan's Seal

11. Nevil Shute - The Chequer Board

12. Howard Pyle - The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Alt 1 - Hans Helmut Kirst - Last Stop Camp 7

Alt 2 - D.H. Lawrence - Lady Chatterley's Lover

Another option was to use one of my compatriot's ideas from this year and that would be to read a book from each decade, starting with 1880, finishing with the 2010's.  had a few ideas there

1880 - Louisa May Alcott  - Jo's Boys

1890 - Thomas Hardy - Tess of the d'Urbervilles

1900 - Arthur Conan Doyle - The Return of Sherlock Holmes

1910 - Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Mad King

1920 - Nevil Shute - So Disdained

1930 - Graham Greene - A Gun for Sale

1940 - Agatha Christie - N or M?

1950 - Pierre Boulle - Bridge on the River Kwai

1960 - Robert E. Howard - King Kull

1970 - VS Naipaul - Guerrillas

1980 - Robertson Davies - What's Bred in the Bone

1990 - Bill Bryson - Notes from a Small Island

2000 - Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's Havoc

2010 - Stephen Fry - The Fry Chronicles

Of course that's just a few ideas. I'm still not sure what to do, but I've got to December to think more about it.. Lots of fun!

Anyway, have a great day and remember Keep on Reading!

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted here. It's been a busyish time. The missus and I went to England for 3 weeks over the Olympics' time-frame to visit family and friends, watch BBC Olympics coverage and try to get to see at least one event live. We did manage to get tickets to see the Canadian women vs the US women footie semi-final at Old Trafford in Manchester. Great venue, unfortunately the result wasn't what I'd been hoping for. I'm sure the Canadian women were as disappointed. All-in-all we had a great trip, saw some interesting sites such as Chatsworth House in the Peak District, ate well and had a wonderful time.

Now, on to the purpose of this Blog. I've previously posted various Top Ten Lists; All-time Favourite novels, various genres of movies. But I've never done a list of my favourite non-fiction novels. So that's my aim today. Non-fiction is a genre that I've always read, but probably not to the scale of my fiction addiction. The list will probably contain a more current (e.g. last ten years) listing of books for the most part. Partly that's because my memory of what I read as a child isn't quite so good anymore and partly because in the past ten years I've started reading more non-fiction, very much to my pleasure I must add. So rather than continuing to ramble on, here are my current Top Ten favourite Non-fiction novels.

10. A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr

A History of Modern Britain was published in 2007. Andrew Marr is a British journalist who has worked for various newspapers in Great Britain and is also a political editor for the BBC. This book displays a wide and varied knowledge of British culture and history. It focuses on modern Britain, from the period just after WWI to the 1990's.

Marr explores all aspects of British life; politics, music, culture, etc to provide a wide perspective of events, people and activities that shaped modern Britain.

I am somewhat of an Anglophile and this may come out somewhat in my Top Ten selections, but I found this a most accessible, interesting novel. The personalities covered, the events highlighted and the life of Britons over the periods covered were all fascinating. Britain went through monumental changes over this period, the little island that both experienced and impacted the world as we know it. Highly recommended story. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

9. Lives of Mothers and Daughters by Sheila Munro

This book has a very personal aspect for me. I had seen it when it was first released in 2001 but never bought it. By the time I decided I wanted it, I couldn't seem to find it anywhere. My lovely wife knew I wanted to read it and searched the 'interweb' and finally contacted Munro's Books in Victoria who put her on to the author herself, Sheila Munro. It turns out she lives just across the straits from our small town of Comox. Sheila delivered a signed copy to our doorsteps on Xmas Eve 2005. It was such a sweet surprise and Sheila stayed for a cup of tea and a nice chat. It made this book more personal and enjoyable. The book is Sheila's thoughts about her relationship with one of Canada's most interesting writers, Alice Munro, whose second novel of short stories, Lives of Girls and Women, put her on the map as a writer. Lives of Mothers and Daughters is a tender, reflective novel about growing up with this talented woman. I enjoyed the thoughtful nature of the novel and the perspective that it provided on both Alice Munro and on how it must have felt growing up in her household.

8. Troublesome Young Men by Lynne Olson

Troublesome Young Men was published in 2007. Lynne Olson is a former White House correspondent who has written a number of books, including another I'm interested in, Citizens of London. This particular story is about the crisis England faced leading up to World War II and the people, the Troublesome Young Men in politics who feared for Britain's future should Hitler start WWII and felt very strongly that they needed a strong leader like Winston Churchill to lead them into this crisis.

They were a brave group who went against their party to oust Neville Chamberlain and to bring Churchill into power. Olson provides an interesting perspective, introducing these rebels, men such as Harold Macmillan, Robert Boothby, Leo Amery and Ronald Cartland and the risk they took to changed the political landscape. There were many who supported Chamberlain's efforts at appeasement with Hitler. Churchill was a reluctant candidate who was very loyal to his party, even if he disagreed with their plan of action. A fascinating story featuring daring, interesting people during one of the World's major crises.

7.  Pointless by Jeff Connor

The sub-title to this book is 'A Season with Britain's Worst football team'. Let me start this off by saying that before I met Jo, my wife, I knew little to nothing about football. I had watched the Edmonton Drillers of the short-lived North American Soccer league play once back in 1979 or so. I had watched the World Cup a bit and played some footie in school. But since Jo has come into my life, I've become somewhat of an 'anorak' as she calls it, basically a footie geek. I get up Saturday at 5ish in the morning to watch the Premiereship, I joined a Fantasy Footie league, I challenge Lawro each weekend to see if I can better predict the outcomes of the weekends games. Well, because of my new found love of footie, I've received many footie - related books from the missus and family. Of those, this is a particular favourite. It is a tender, humorous year in the life of Britain's worst footie club, East Stirlingshire FC which plays in the third division of the Scottish Football League. Jeff Connor, a well - published writer, followed the team for a year, meeting the team and fans and recording their exploits over this season. Funny at times, poignant at others, it's a wonderful view of life in the lower divisions of any footie league. Loved it!

6. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

I was introduced to Bill Bryson's writings by my wife. I'd bought her some of his travel books for Xmas over the past few years and used to listen to her chuckling and laughing out loud as she read his adventures, either trekking through the British Isles or Australia. The first Bryson novel I read was actually A Short History of Nearly Everything which I enjoyed very much. However,I bought At Home for Jo Xmas in 2010. I chose this as my next Bryson novel and I can really see what the fuss is all about now.

The setting of this book is Bill Bryson's home in Norfolk. He uses the various rooms of the home, a Victorian parsonage, loosely to tell stories, I guess is the best way to describe it. When he describes the bedroom, the discussion moves on to subjects as varied as sex, sleep and death. The kitchen evolves into a discussion of spices and nutrition. It's a historical novel, we are introduced to some of the most interesting people, mainly British, but not strictly, people who impacted various aspects of our lives in some small or big way. Bryson's way of telling a story draws you in; it is light-hearted, keeps your interest but when you've finished, you find you've learnt so much about our history and culture, our ways of life and met some amazing people. I will be reading more of his stories.

5. The Quantum Ten by Sheila Jones

Let me start this off by saying that in high school, I hated Physics. I don't know if it was just the subject matter, or the way it was taught, but it was my least favourite subject. So here I was reading a book about Quantum physics, sub-titled 'A Story of Passion, Tragedy, Ambition and Science.' Passion? Physics? Who knew!

Sheila Jones is a Canadian journalist with an advanced degree in theoretical physics. And for some reason, she makes this story fascinating, interesting and one of my favourites. The characters include such stalwarts of science as Albert Einstein, Max Born, Neils Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and so many others. If the names don't ring a bell, watch The Big Bang Theory. :0).

This story is the history of Quantum Physics, string theory, the people who developed and created the fascinating ideas, and their lives which make for interesting reading in itself. Whether you like Physics or not, this book is well worth the read.

4. The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester

I have to give credit, once again, to my wife for introducing me to Simon Winchester. Christmas 2008, as I opened my gifts from her, I found this book and another, The Professor and the Madman. Both deal with the same subject, the making of the first Oxford English Dictionary, the OED. I don't know how she thought I would like this, but I must say, I loved them both. Either could be here as my number 4 all-time non-fiction novel. I chose The Meaning of Everything partly a flip of the coin, partly because the scope was somewhat bigger. Winchester is a very interesting writer; other books of his I've read include the Map that Changed the World (the first geological map of England), Outposts (a visit to the remaining British colonies) and Krakatoa, the Day the World Exploded.

Winchester is able to cover these disparate subjects and tell an interesting story that has such scope. The making of the OED seems a simple subject, but as you read, the work and years involved in gathering the data to make this first volume was detailed and so very fascinating. The dedication of the creators, the people from around the world who sent the publishers words and meanings. The madman who was in an insane asylum down the road from Oxford and turned out to be one of the biggest contributors to the final product. You won't be able to put either of these books down once you start. A pure joy to read!

3. Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury

I saw this book while wandering around my local book shop, The Laughing Oyster. The title attracted me first, then the blurb inside sounded very interesting. I finally talked myself into buying it and must say, the story did not let me down at all. It was one of the first books I read in 2012 and it's still one of my favourites of the year.

Deborah Cadbury is from the Cadbury family, although from the US side, not the chocolate makers. She tells a story of the development of the chocolate industry, introduces the Cadburys, and also the other great chocolatiers, the Frys, Nestle, Rowntree, Hershey and others. How these people went from actually finding a use for the cocoa bean to making it into a world - wide chocolate making industry is fascinating reading. The personalities involved, this was largely a Quaker-run industry in Britain, how they wanted not only to make chocolate, but also to make the world a much better place is so very interesting. Times have changed so much since large mega companies like Kraft have taken over so many of the original family run businesses, but their legacy does still remain. Think of this book and this history every time you bite into a lovely Mars bar. :0)

2. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan

I read this while on a six month deployment to the UAE back in 2005. It was written by Margaret MacMillan, who received her PhD from Oxford and was a professor of history at University of Toronto and was also the great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, one of the participants at the Paris conference at the end of World War I.

This is a fascinating story, another tale of historical import with characters who influenced the world as we know it today. The Paris conference was a gathering of World leaders; Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George, Clemenceau, etc who sat down together to decide how to end WWI, how to set down the foundations of a New World from the destruction caused by WWI. Each had his own agenda, they were influenced by their allies, but with the best will in the world, they ultimately came up with the solution, the best that they could. The results of this conference are still felt today; in the Middle East, Africa, the Far East. Countries that participated were often for the first time making their voices known on the World stage, countries such as Canada, Australia, South Africa. MacMillan breaks the conference down by personalities, regions of the world and clearly analyses and discusses the impacts on the decisions on these regions. It's a fascinating, interesting book, presented in such a manner that you will be drawn in to the time, the people, the world.

1. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

This is probably one of the first historical novels I ever read. It had an impact on me then, probably in junior high school, and it did since then when I reread it. Barbara Tuchman is one of those writers, as many of those I've mentioned above, who is able to take momentous events, and bring them down to a personal level, introducing historical characters so you can get a sense of their personality, what drives them and how they impacted on these events.

This story deals with the first few months before the commencement of WWI and the first month of the war, the German invasion of Luxembourg, Belgium and France, how close they came to winning this war and how the beleaguered British and French were ultimately able to stop the advance.

Once again, this is a fascinating subject, well-written and provides you with an interesting historical perspective of the events that impacted the world at that time.


Well, there you have it, my top ten favourite non-fiction novels. I've got a few on my TBR shelves to read that may challenge this; some Bill Brysons, The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry, The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, The King's Speech, Rin Tin Tin, the Life and Legend and others.. I'm looking forward to getting into them and maybe discussing further..

Remember, Keep on reading!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible was released in 1998. I never really heard about until a couple of years ago, when I saw it during my wanders through various book stores. I found the summary interesting, but I still never bought a copy until Nov 2009, at my local, ABC Books in Courtenay, BC.

From then it languished somewhat on my To-Be-Read bookshelves with all of my others. This past year I chose it as one of my 12 + 2 Reading Group Challenge books. I finally got to it at the end of June. I'm so glad that I finally read the story; what a fantastic tale.

This is the blurb on the back of my edition.

"The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in post colonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century;;;: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy.Taking its place alongside classic works of post colonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers."

In some ways, I don't think the write-up does the story justice. But if it makes you pick up the book and give it a try, then it's succeeded and you will find a fascinating story before you. The four girls, Rachel, the oldest, Leah and Adah, the twins and Ruth May, the youngest, are each interesting and different in their own right. Their perspectives of the momentous events unfolding about them are unique and different. While these momentous events are highlighted and form the basis for their lives, the story, itself, is much more personal; how this family must cope (or not) after their move from Georgia to a small village in the Congolese jungle. How these girls must cope with a sometimes tyrannical and, often, unforgiving, uncaring father forms a backdrop to the story of their lives in Kingala. The story is sometimes frightening, sometimes touching and poignant. There is great tragedy, rebirth, adjustment and growth. At times, I felt my heart was breaking. It isn't a happy story, by any means, there is great sadness, that being experienced on a very personal level by the girls and their mother and that on a grander scale being experienced by the Congolese people as they are pulled one way and another by the political events around them.

This is a great story, one definitely worth reading. I totally recommend.