Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: TBD

I went for Raffles by E W Hornung. A good read, and leaving itself open for sequels, which I may get to eventually.

Then there was From a Far and Lovely Country by Alexander McCall Smith. The latest in his No.1 Ladies' Detective series. I would rather like to have more detection and more antagonists than Violet Sephotho.

Then I read Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby. A fictionalised life of a governess of some of Jane Auten's neices. I was a little annoyed to find at the end that the letters from Jane Austen were all invented except for one. And that despite the foreword saying that all events were factual, the origin of the governess and her early life was also invented. I recommend reading the afterword as well as the foreword before the main body of the book.

Next was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. A most enjoyable fantasy detective story, in a fantasy setting.

Then there was Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri, in which Inspector Montalbano starts to find he's getting older.

And now I'm reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. I'm slightly surprised to find I've never read this before. It's nice to have some time with Harriet Vane.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I went for Raffles by E W Hornung. A good read, and leaving itself open for sequels, which I may get to eventually.

I've read all the Raffles, a pretty good yarn. Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Then there was From a Far and Lovely Country by Alexander McCall Smith. The latest in his No.1 Ladies' Detective series. I would rather like to have more detection and more antagonists than Violet Sephotho.

Actually, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/b...-mccall-smith/

My wife is a big fan.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by foosion

Actually, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/b...-mccall-smith/

Quite right. I should have said the 24th....

[Wiggo]

Originally Posted by Renate

I've read all the Raffles, a pretty good yarn. Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law.

Now you've piqued my interest, reads interesting in Wikipedia.

Fun fact, Hornung is an old name for February in German

[issybird]

Originally Posted by issybird

I haven't posted here in forever and there's no point in trying to catch up, so this is what I'm reading now.

• Hog Meat and Hoecake: Food Supply in the Old South by Sam Bowers Hilliard. You wouldn't read this for the prose, but the substance is interesting.
• Ralph the Heir, my 27th novel by Anthony Trollope.
• Lanterns on the Levee, by William Alexander Percy, uncle of the great Walker. A wonderful memoir of a life in Mississippi at the turn of the century and later.
• Why Homer Matters by Adam Nicolson. Interesting insights. I'm not quite swept away, but it's enhancing my appreciation.

I've finished Ralph the Heir and Lanterns on the Levee, both quite good and also read Strong Passions: A Scandalous Divorce in Old New York by Barbara Weisberg which was ok.

Now I need to figure out what I'm going to read this evening, as I won't be in the mood for the two outstanding books, even though I'm enjoying them.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Wiggo

Fun fact, Hornung is an old name for February in German

Huh. I've never heard of any of that:

1. Hartung
2. Hornung
3. Lenzing
4. Ostermond
5. Wonnemond
6. Brachet
7. Heuert
8. Ernting
9. Scheiding
10. Gilbhart
11. Nebelung
12. Julmond

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. I'm slightly surprised to find I've never read this before. It's nice to have some time with Harriet Vane.

And very good it was too. Placet.

Next up was The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Apparently this won the first Hugo. It hasn't aged well. 3/5 as best.

And now on to The Misted Cliffs by Catharine Asaro, the second in her Lost Continent series. The first I only gave 3/5. This one looks like it'll make me abandon the book and the series unless it swiftly improves.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. A most enjoyable fantasy detective story, in a fantasy setting.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. I'm slightly surprised to find I've never read this before. It's nice to have some time with Harriet Vane.

I've been meaning to read Dorothy L Sayers. Where would you recommend starting?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by foosion

I've been meaning to read Dorothy L Sayers. Where would you recommend starting?

At the risk of annoying those who insist on publication order, perhaps Murder Must Advertise. IIRC it's pretty stand-alone without many/any? spoilers for the rest of the series. It comes around half way through the novels.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

At the risk of annoying those who insist on publication order, perhaps Murder Must Advertise. IIRC it's pretty stand-alone without many/any? spoilers for the rest of the series. It comes around half way through the novels.

I'll try it! Then move onto publication order?

[CRussel]

Skip the very first one -- Whose Body. It has NOT aged well. But I agree about Murder Must Advertise. It's an excellent place to start the Lord Peter Wimsey novels.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by foosion

I've been meaning to read Dorothy L Sayers. Where would you recommend starting?

Originally Posted by pdurrant

At the risk of annoying those who insist on publication order, perhaps Murder Must Advertise. IIRC it's pretty stand-alone without many/any? spoilers for the rest of the series. It comes around half way through the novels.

I'd recommend Clouds of Witness, the second in the series. Not so much for spoilerage, although there's some, but because it would be good to be introduced to the silly ass Peter before he got serious. And it's a strong contender in the series, as opposed to Murder Must Advertise which is the best. Why condemn yourself to going downhill?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Skip the very first one -- Whose Body. It has NOT aged well. But I agree about Murder Must Advertise. It's an excellent place to start the Lord Peter Wimsey novels.

Agree, obviously, about Whose Body? But I'd find it hard to recommend skipping so many interim novels if the intent is to get to them eventually, when there's a perfectly good candidate in #2 in the series.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'd recommend Clouds of Witness, the second in the series. Not so much for spoilerage, although there's some, but because it would be good to be introduced to the silly ass Peter before he got serious. And it's a strong contender in the series, as opposed to Murder Must Advertise which is the best. Why condemn yourself to going downhill?

Ah, but we might not all agree Murder Must Advertise is the best. I quite like Harriet so enjoy those in which she plays an important role. OTOH, for Lord Peter alone? Advertise might well be the best, but I do love the silly ass Peter in Clouds. Just don't bother reading Whose Body. Please.