Not a great deal of reading going on at Random Towers this week as I have been busy doing various Christmas related things but I am delighted to say that all my Christmas shopping is now complete and I can sit back and feel smug. I don't send cards, gave up years ago so that is no problem.
Anyway here is Wot I am Trying to Read at the mo.
Get Back - this is the book that goes with the series that is on Apple+ which I do not have. It was produced by Peter Jackson and goes on for hours. Having looked at this book and read the ramblings of John, Paul, George and Ringo I have decided I am not bothered if I do not see it. Some critics have said oh how wonderful to see these creative geniuses at work and others have said zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Let us not forget that Peter Jackson, after a fantastic Lord of the Rings trilogy, then managed to turn the Hobbit into a three part bore-fest so he has form in dragging it out.
But it is a wonderfully produced book and as a fan of the Beatles this does bring back happy memories. This book was couriered to me one night, pouring with rain and I was cooking supper, when it arrived and it was sent by a marketing company who I have never heard of and have no idea why I was sent a copy. Still, I am not complaining.
Any Beatle fans in the family might enjoy this as a present.
Every now and then Amazon email me and say gosh look at these wonderful books on Kindle for 99p and I zap through them and have a look and usually buy one or two to try. And if I don't like them well I have not broken the bank. A few weeks ago I bought the first in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny.
I will write further about them at some later day, but I have now read about five and I am conflicted about them. All delightful and a lovely setting but they seem to me to be overwritten and some of the characters are a bit of a pain to be honest. I am curiously fascinated by them though and note there are 17 so far. OK that is a plus as far as I am concerned cos I like a long series but they all take place in what appears to be a murderous village near Montreal and I am wondering how a place can produce so many bodies. A bit like Midsomer Murders where the entire population has been decimated. If anybody knows this author I would really love to hear from you.
The Pit Prop Syndicate by Freeman Wills Croft. One of his early books before he series featuring Inspector French. A little bit stilted and I feel he had yet to get into his stride but, as with all books by this author, the tiny details are fascinating. This is the blurb:
"Seymour Merriman’s holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel, he discovers that it belongs to an English company making timber pit-props for coal mines back home. His suspicions of illegal activity are aroused when he sees the exact same lorry with a different number plate – and confirmed later with the shocking discovery of a body. What began as amateur detective work ends up as a job for Inspector Willis of Scotland Yard, a job requiring tenacity, ingenuity and guile . . ."
I agree it does not sound very exciting but, as I said, the intricacies of it all are intriguing.
Jenny Colgan. This author was recommended to me by a Regular Random Reader and my thanks for this as I am reading and enjoying them all. Some of the titles are a bit twee, The Little Bookshop on the Corner, the Little Beach Street Bakery etc and they are set in sea side villages or country corners and as we read we know this is pure escapism. But you know what? Who cares? I am thoroughly enjoying them and heaven knows we need to escape from the reality of the dismal world at the moment.
Bruno's Challenge - Martin Walker. I binged on all the Bruno books earlier this year. Set in France in the small town of St Denis, Bruno is Practically Perfect in Every Way, beloved by all the community, brave, handsome, sexy, wonderful cook - yes it can get a bit Yuk after a while but, once again, I wallow in them and really enjoyed them. This is a collection of short stories, most of them incredibly flimsy and insubstantial and the publishers have clearly decided to gather all of them from wherever they were first published and bung them in a book to keep us going until the next full length one comes out. Can't blame them really.
I have also been purchasing cook books again. I really don't need them but I so enjoy them. I have been going through my collection as well and will be writing about those over on Random Cooking.
Dark and cold now. Time to light the candles and put the kettle on.
I will be back..
