read_warbler

I'm not reading that much at the moment. Being busy is partly to blame but where the rest of the blame lies is hard to say. I think it's possible to read yourself to a standstill and that you then need to give yourself a break and slow down. Do something else. Some people call it a 'reading block' and perhaps that's so. It's not that I'm not reading, I'm just not reading at my normal speed. But's here's the thing, what I am reading I'm thoroughly enjoying and loving and that is - books by Katie Fforde.

I would say this author is my 'guilty pleasure', except for the fact that I dislike the term. Why feel guilty about what you love to read? It smacks of book snobbishness and that's something I abhor. It's a bit of a feature, in fact, of one of the two books I've read by Katie Fforde this month: Love Letters.



( The books )

It's been a while since I posted so I'll pop a couple of reviews up of books I read last month. First up, West of the Moon by Katherine Langrish. I was immediately attracted by its Viking background and ordered it out of curiosity. West of the Moon is actually three books in one. The author wrote three shorter books, Troll Fell, Troll Mill and Troll Blood and West of the Moon is an amalgamation of these three books.



( This way for Trolls and Charlie Parker )

It seems that what I really like in books is humour. If an author can make me laugh, he or she has me for life. The trouble is, it's rare. Often, what other people think is hilarious I'm simply not impressed by at all. Which makes me realise that sense of humour is a very personal thing and what makes one person laugh will not necessarily have another rolling on the floor in hysterics. I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan for instance, I find his way with words very funny and it's all connected with how clever he is with said words. My husband is not at all smitten with Pratchett, thinks the humour is forced - which it might well be - and just doesn't get it. He is not alone.

For me an author rather similar to Pratchett is Bill Bryson. It's not necessarily what he says... but how he says it.



( Down Under )

It's high time I did a book post here as I have three books that have not been reviewed. I'll do my usual thing when this happens of a brief chat about all three. Starting with a crime story set in Alaska, A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow.



( Three books )

I thought I'd try to do a couple of short reviews of two classic science fiction novels I read last week. The trouble is, I really ought to do these reviews a lot more promptly as I have a weak memory when it comes to remembering the exact details of the books I read. Never mind, I will do my best. First up Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg and then Time for the Stars by Robert Heinlein.




( Sc-fi yarns )

Talk about a strange mix... cowboys and Sherlock Holmes? Shouldn't work should it? Well here's the odd thing: it really, really does.



( Holmes on the Range )

January was quite an interesting reading month for me. Interesting because of the mix of fiction and non-fiction and also the mix of genres in the fiction... horror, crime and science fiction... all big favourites of mine of course.

Let's start at the very beginning (Julie Andrews moment):

( Books for January )

I completed my first science fiction read of the year this week while I was offline for several days (our router died). It's for Carl's Sc-fi Experience, a casual reading experience which lasts until the end of February, wherein the reader can read one book or twenty - it's up to him or her. My first book was At Winter's End by the classic sci-fi writer, Robert Silverberg.



( At Winter's End )

Part of my book plan for 2012 was to try to read a few more non-fiction books. It seemed last year as though I *was* reading more but as usual when I added them up come December the number came to around about a dozen, eleven to be exact, and I don't seem to be able to go beyond that number. I know one a month (they're actually not spread evenly in that way) doesn't sound bad but I would much rather it was around 20 to 25. Whether that'll ever happen, who knows, as crime books really do have me by the throat these days, with fantasy and sci fi aiding and abetting... but I can but try. To that end, I randomly grabbed Wait For Me! by Deborah Devonshire from the library last week. When I got home I did as I always do, logged onto the library site to check that all books are there and what the dates are (am I anal or what?) and found that the book was already reserved by someone else. Wanting to read it and being in a position to do so, I started it right away.



( Wait For Me! )

I'm wondering if LJ is going to let me post this as it still seems to be playing up.

Anyway, I can but try. These is My Words by Nancy Turner is a book that was recommended to me a couple of years ago when I mentioned a liking for books about American pioneers. It's been languishing on my tbr mountain ever since, but I always think there's a 'time' to read every single book and this one's time had definitely arrived.




( These is My Words )