[books 2008] more various
Sep. 26th, 2008 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inulro47.The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
Set in Baltimore in 1849, this is the story of a young lawyer who is a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe trying to get to the bottom of the events leading up to Poe's mysterious and none too dignified death. He enlists the help of the man he believes to be the real-life basis for Poe's fictional detective, C Auguste Dupin. From that point on he's in real danger.
This book is not easy reading, but I really enjoyed it - Pearl has done much research into the subject of Poe's death and a lot of what he presents are details he himself has uncovered. I started reading it on holiday and got interrupted by library books and bibliogoths when we got back, so I'm unsure whether it drags a little in the middle, or whether it was just the break I had took something away.
I also recommend Pearl's first book, The Dante Club. I'm not at all sure which I like better, and in an ideal world I'd have time to re-read them both and find out.
48. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Several of you recommended this and I found it in a charity shop recently. Previously I'd read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which I thought was OK but didn't have me questing for the rest of her works.
I shouldn't have liked this. I generally don't like mysteries where the lives of the characters get in the way of solving the mystery. Many of the things the characters do (or don't do) should, objectively, have annoyed the hell out of me.
But there's something about the way she tells it, and I couldn't put it down. Today I found Case Histories, the first book in the series, in a charity shop and brought it home.
I loved it, but I won't be keeping it, so if anyone would like my copy, shout and it's yours.
Octopussy and 007 in New York by Ian Fleming
A couple of short stories, so not giving this one a number.
Over the years I've been told I should read the James Bond books, that they're dated but fun. These came free with a newspaper a while back.
I have to admit that Octopussy was really rather fine. There's some unexpectedly detailed descriptions of wildlife on a coral reef, and the adventure is damn good too. 007 in New York OTOH is completely pointless though quite amusing, and it's really short.
I'm definitely going to check out more of the Bond stuff - as the Times was giving them away recently (I didn't get the full-length books as I don't live or work anywhere near a Smith's to pick them up), the charity shops are well stocked.
Set in Baltimore in 1849, this is the story of a young lawyer who is a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe trying to get to the bottom of the events leading up to Poe's mysterious and none too dignified death. He enlists the help of the man he believes to be the real-life basis for Poe's fictional detective, C Auguste Dupin. From that point on he's in real danger.
This book is not easy reading, but I really enjoyed it - Pearl has done much research into the subject of Poe's death and a lot of what he presents are details he himself has uncovered. I started reading it on holiday and got interrupted by library books and bibliogoths when we got back, so I'm unsure whether it drags a little in the middle, or whether it was just the break I had took something away.
I also recommend Pearl's first book, The Dante Club. I'm not at all sure which I like better, and in an ideal world I'd have time to re-read them both and find out.
48. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Several of you recommended this and I found it in a charity shop recently. Previously I'd read Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which I thought was OK but didn't have me questing for the rest of her works.
I shouldn't have liked this. I generally don't like mysteries where the lives of the characters get in the way of solving the mystery. Many of the things the characters do (or don't do) should, objectively, have annoyed the hell out of me.
But there's something about the way she tells it, and I couldn't put it down. Today I found Case Histories, the first book in the series, in a charity shop and brought it home.
I loved it, but I won't be keeping it, so if anyone would like my copy, shout and it's yours.
Octopussy and 007 in New York by Ian Fleming
A couple of short stories, so not giving this one a number.
Over the years I've been told I should read the James Bond books, that they're dated but fun. These came free with a newspaper a while back.
I have to admit that Octopussy was really rather fine. There's some unexpectedly detailed descriptions of wildlife on a coral reef, and the adventure is damn good too. 007 in New York OTOH is completely pointless though quite amusing, and it's really short.
I'm definitely going to check out more of the Bond stuff - as the Times was giving them away recently (I didn't get the full-length books as I don't live or work anywhere near a Smith's to pick them up), the charity shops are well stocked.
