I seem to be lapsing again and not posting as much as I should but I have found it difficult over the last year to keep going. I must persevere!
I had a lovely weekend with the family at Orford and it made such a change to be away from one's four walls and we were lucky with the weather as well. Ony three days but it did me good.
I am gradually getting my reading mojo back after a disappointing few weeks, well months really, but found another book which I was looking forward to reading, disappointing. This is happening more than it used to - perhaps I am just being grumpy. The book in question is The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale. I have read previous books by this author and enjoyed them so had no doubt of doing the same with this one, but sadly, no. This is, apparantly, a true story set in 1938 where an "ordinary young housewife has become the eye in the storm of chaos. China flies off the sheslves, eggs fly through the air, stolen jewellery appears on her fingers, white mice crawl out of her handbag........."
Nandor Fodor a chief ghost hunder for the International Institute for Pyschical research comes to investigate (I am sorry to say but when I read this I launched into a rendition of "who you're gonna call - Ghostbusters!) and the conclusion reached by the end of a somewhat tedious book was that Alma was deeply traumatised by events in her childhood which emanated from her causing these ghostly happenings.
The story was well written and well researched but it failed to arouse any great interest for me I am afraid.
The Queen - Matthew Dennison. In the years to come there will be biographies of the Queen and pretty sure a few on the Duke of Edinburgh are already in the pipeline. Two thirds of this book is very interesting though there was very little in it that I did not already know or had not read elsewhere. I should think that the author could find very little new to report and, as we all know, the Queen is a model of discretion and therefore, there are no anecdotes or gossip to write about. The last third was zapped through pretty quickly and it was clear that the author was steering clear over the Susex debacle and other related matters.
The Artful Dickens - John Mullan. The sub-title of this book is "the tricks and ploys of the great novelist". It is full of delightful insights. From Pickwick to Scrooge how did Dickens choose his names? what was Dickens favourite way of killing his characters? and so on. A very revealing and interesting chapter on his use of the present and past tense in his works which was a bit of an eye opener.
I love Dickens and, at last, a book I am really enjoying. I am reading a chapter a day to make it last.
I have also worked my way through the Bruno novels of Martin Walker which I shall write about at some stage having just read the latest so exhausted them all. Then a recommendation from Amazon for books by Torquil McLeod (wonderful name) set in Malmo about a woman detective. Eight so far written and I have read the first two and really enjoyed them. Good writing, good plotting and interesting characters. I just went online and found the six I have not read available for Kindle a £1.99 each - a bargain - so have bought the lot. That will probably keep me busy for, mmmm, a week?
What shall I do after that I wonder but with Wimbledon looming on the horizon I think I shall be occupied.
And there will be a return of The Wimbledon Rant. I know you have all missed it.....
