Christmas Reading Challenge

So, how did I do? Well, I managed a fairly respectable 14 and three quarters. Only let down at the last minute by embarking on a book that was deceptively chunky. However, I imagine I'll finish it by the weekend. I really enjoyed this challenge and I'm already on the lookout for books, suitably themed, …

Murder on Christmas Eve, classic mysteries for the Christmas season (CRC#14)

In the run up to Christmas The Guardian posted a couple of articles about writing stories for Christmas and a top 10 of Christmas crime stories. I'm hopeful that I can get my hands on one or two of the titles before next year. In the meantime here's a quick overview of this collection of …

Classic 50

So I have, more or less, chosen my Classic 50 titles that I'm going to read over the next 5 years. This is a challenge that is hosted over at The Classics Club. I may swap one or two of these out for something else. There's so much to chose from after all. It may …

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (CRC#13)

Three things I didn't know about this book before I started reading: It is written by two authors...both American......as a series of letters I've seen the film and I loved it. I loved the period detail and the characters and the bitter sweet story, so I was quite looking forward to reading the novel. 1946, …

Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford (CRC#12)

The final story in this bijou Pudding & Pie anthology of Nancy Mitford novels is set in the early years of the second war. In part autobiographical it once again draws on inspiration from those people around her. Lady Sophia's boyfriend, Rudolph, looks dashing in his military uniform and she misses him terribly when he …

The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James (CRC#11)

Written in 1898 this story is perhaps more well known for its title than anything else. Told through a first person narrative, the account is of one woman's attempts to thwart apparent supernatural advances on her two young wards. It was difficult not to read this from a present day perspective. Admittedly I rarely trouble …