In a previous post I made it clear that this year, with the travelling I have been doing, I decided not to embark on any ambitious reading but merely to pick and dip into what took my fancy. Therefore, my books of the year for 2018 will not reflect any great, deep tomes of philosophical thought etc (not that they ever have mind you) but reflect my relaxed attitude this year.
So here we go.
The British Library Crime Classics series continues to beguile and fascinate. If you are a fan of detective fiction, and particularly of the so called Golden Age and earlier, then all these books are worth checking out. I have read a lot of them now, thanks to the generosity of the British Library, and like some more than others. This year I embarked on a massive read of Freeman Wills Croft. The British Library has about five of his titles in print and it is my fervant hope that more will come through. A dear kind friend who had practically the entire oeuvre very generously loaned them all to me and I worked my way through them all. I am down to a few elusive and very expensive titles which I hope to track down in 2019.
Similarly, E C Lorac is another discovery from this series and I have reviewed the two that are in the British Library catalogue here. There is now another title but I have yet to read and review this one. Once more, I have binged on these and started tracking them down. There are an awful lot of them and the author also wrote under another name, Carol Carnac. I have managed to get hold of about twenty titles in my searches and there are a lot to go.
Edward VIII by Ted Powell reviewed here. A very interesting take on this rather unsympathetic character and the author is clearly trying to make us feel fonder of him. I did for a bit, but then no. My feelings about this horrible little man returned. The first part of this biography which focuses on his trips around the world, was the part that evoked my short lived sympathy. He was on the go for nearly three years and it sounds totally exhausitng and pretty terrible.
Meg. Jo, Beth, Amy by Anne Boyd Rioux which have just read and reviewed here. Loved every moment of it and after reading found myself turning to my Alcott shelf and re-reading Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom and An Old Fashioned Girl and loved them all over again.
Murder by the Book by Clare Harman reviewed here. A concise, tightly written book about a real life crime in the reign of Queen Victoria. Read it through in one afternoon. I enjoy this author's writing very much indeed.
The Quest for Queen Mary by Hugo Vickers - unpublished notes and diaries from James Pope Hennessy when researching his biography. Delightful reading, very funny and very witty and it made me want to re-read the biography. Reviewed here. We used to have a copy at home years ago but I do not know where it ended up so started to track down this title. Some of the prices were horrific but by a search on the internet and a few phone calls I managed to find one in a charity shop in Brighton. Complete with dust jacket and pristine I bought it straight away and when it arrived started my read.
Queen Mary -James Pope Hennessy. Fifty years since this was written and it is as fresh and as superb as I remembered it. Masterly is the word. He manages to get behind that somewhat forbidding exterior of the Queen and I loved every word of it. I reviewed it here. I make no excuse for putting an out of print book on this list - go look for it!
A Legacy of Spies - John le Carre. The most recent of this author's books and featuring Peter Guillam who we met in Tinker Tailor. Superbly written as always.
I also discovered Val Mcdermid as I mentioned in my previous post. I have now read the lot. Wonderful. Enjoyed every single one.
There was one book that stood out for me throughout the entire year, it affected me in many ways, and I have kept it by me since reading it. This is my Book of the Year and I will post about this before the year end.