It was a really beautiful day here in Kent with a wide blue sky and enough sunshine to make you feel as though Spring had sprung. But alas, it is now freezing again and I just hope that the little primroses I planted outside today will survive. They were given a protective layer of mulch but I could feel the sweet little petals were quite icy this evening. I thought planting a few coloured blooms were in order to cheer things up and today was the ideal day. Above is a photo of milk-white Thalia Narcissus - quite elegant and heady with a strong masculine fragrance. All the blooms are now open and they bring a little of Spring indoors .
I've been meaning to blog about my latest library acquisitions from a week or so ago and a new addition to the pile. I'm terrible at getting through library loans - I always find so many books of interest to take home and then take ages to read them, having in the interim added to the pile yet again. Not fair on other library members that may want to borrow it on a whim. So this year I am trying to increase the turnaround time for reading these and you'll see from my left sidebar that two of them are on my bedside table waiting to be read.
The Girl with Glass Feet - Ali Shaw
This sounds like a fairy tale for adults and I made a special trip to the library yesterday to collect it for the Not the TV Book Group meeting that is being held this Sunday over at Savidge Reads. I hope to read it within the next few days in time to take part in the online discussions. I'll post a review of the book shortly after.
A Walk with Jane Austen - Lori Smith
This a work of non-fiction and the title and the cute photo caught my eye. I hope it's not too focused on searching for Mr Darcy and instead concentrates on visiting Austen's literary and real-life landmarks. Taking a year out to explore Austen country whilst in search of yourself sounds like a dream!
This is the second book in the 'Silent in the ...' series. I really enjoyed the first one after a slow start and will publish a review sometime soon. These books are described as historical mysteries with a bit of romance thrown in and they are set in Victorian England. The first one was well written and quite atmospheric and rich in period detail as well as possessing an interesting (though bizarre) murder weapon.
Manna from Hades - Carola Dunn
This will be my first book this year for the as yet unofficial Reading Cornwall challenge that was conceived by Fleur Fisher. The challenge is to read books set in Cornwall, although I'm not sure what the parameters for the challenge will be, I have been inspired by her posts and those of Verity at The B Files to read this sooner rather than later. It is a murder mystery set in Cornwall and is the first book of an intended series.
Sick of Shadows - Marion Chesney (a.k.a. M. C. Beaton)
I love these Edwardian Mysteries that are penned by M. C. Beaton of Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth fame. I find the writing quality of these much higher than the Agatha Raisin stories and the period detail is entertaining and instructive. M. C. Beaton used to write under other names and initially wrote an impressive number of historical romances. This knowledge and research seems to have been combined with her new chosen genre (crime). Sadly, M. C. Beaton only published four books in this series and she confirmed that there would be no more. This was due to them not selling as well as her other books and the limited time that she has to write. I have therefore been saving this title as there is only another one left for me to enjoy. They are light mysteries with a very soft touch of romance laced with humour: a perfect cosy read.
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
I am the first borrower of this book and I do love to read a pristine copy, its inner pages untouched by fellow reader's hands. I greatly enjoyed The Eyre Affair and I will be sampling its sequel soon, although I am very much tempted to dive into this novel first... but then I fear I may disturb the space-time continuim.
2 comments:
I have got Manna from hades too - might even read it today! Yayy!
Great! I hope it's a good read :-)
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