At long last! The latest book instalment of the charming 44 Scotland Street serial. The last book was published in 2008 (eek!). This is my favourite McCall Smith series so I have been bereft for a while. I am really looking forward to reading this in the (hopefully) sunny May days ahead.
I am a little ashamed to admit that I actually enjoyed the popular American TV series True Blood, which were based on these novels. I say ashamed as I was quite shocked at the excessive and gratuitous sex scenes and constant profanity used (which annoys me greatly), however the storyline was highly addictive and I persevered through all two seasons of the series. I have been informed by fans of the novels that there are great differences between the TV series and the books themselves so last year I purchased the first book... but gave up reading it after 60 or so pages. Somehow the first-person narrative did not click with me and I get bored if I am aware of the story line in advance. However, I will try again as the TV series will take a while to spin out 10 books and it has already strayed from the originals (not to mention that I can only stand so much use of the F-word before my ears rust and my brain explodes!).
Did anyone else watch the TV series or read the novels?
July 2010
The second instalment in Carola Dunn's newest mystery series set in a Cornwall reminiscent of the 60s. I have added this to the list to see how the series develops... A short review of the first book will be up soon.
I became interested in the premise of this series a couple of years ago and have the first three instalments sitting on my shelves. Sherlock Holmes... retired and married to a young lady who is his equal in intelligence and in the art of detection... and she is the hero of the piece... sounded promising. I was thrilled to see that Laurie R. King has continued adding to this series (she writes at least one other mystery series) as these books have received very enthusiastic reviews.
The second in a new comical mystery series by Sussex-based author Simon Brett. I am a fan of his Fethering mysteries and love the Mrs Pargeter series too so thought I might look into this one. Simon Brett likes to add dollops of humour and wit to his mysteries and this one promises to have a more liberal dose.
September 2010
Ah, those pesky vampires again! I have just finished the first in the Parasol Protectorate series (love that name!) and have ordered the second so very happy to see that a third is not far away. Like the Sooky Stackhouse/True Blood series, this involves vampires and werewolves who live openly among mortals but it is set in an alternate version of the Victorian era. It is funny, fantastic, clever and has sprinklings of romance thrown in. I hope the sequels hold the momentum and originality that I enjoyed in the first novel.
As usual, Mr McCall Smith continues to conjure up three or four novels a year to the delight of his fans. This is the next instalment in the Isabel Dalhousie novels that are sent in Edinburgh and have a large philosophical bent. Indeed, a great part of these novels engage us in the moral musings and philosophical pontificating that Isabel (philosopher and editor) is prone to... all executed in a charming and gracious, gentle manner. I have a couple of books to read in this series before I am up to date.
Are there any series that you follow and are anticipating reading this Summer (or Winter if you're in the Southern hemisphere)? Please let me know as I always like to add promising series to my TBR list. I find that there is something warm, comforting and a little exciting about looking forward to a new book release and immersing myself once again in the company of well-loved characters and settings.
4 comments:
Even though I'm a very big fan of AMS, I couldn't seem to get into the 44 Scotland Street series. Though I love both the No1 LDA and Isobel Dalhousie books.
I've not heard about the Laurie R King books previous, so thanks for that. I'll go and check these out further.
Have a great weekend.
Hello Jill and welcome to my blog :-) I hope the Laurie R. King books live up to the great reviews.
I hope you have a good weekend too with at least one day of sunshine! We have grey and wet weather forecast for most of the bank holiday... but you never now with our forecasts, do you?
I so enjoyed 'The Unbearable Lightness of Scones' - thank you for the introduction - I will certainly be checking out the new intalment.
Jeanne
Thanks for visiting my blog and highlighting what could have been a potential disaster Re: Animal Rennet in the cheese.
I thought I'd decided on a menu that would be OK, and hadn't given the cheese a second thought.
It's started to rain here :0(
Post a Comment