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book log April 2013
Dec. 30th, 2013 02:35 pm14) Oscar Wilde -- The Picture of Dorian Grey
Lots of reviews and critiques out there already, so I'll simply say that I liked it.
15) Gladys Mitchell -- Watson's Choice
28th Mrs Bradley mystery. Mrs Bradley is invited to a weekend country house party thrown to celebrate the Sherlock Holmes anniversary. Naturally, someone provides a real life mystery, complete with a real live Hound of the Baskervilles. The plot wanders a bit, but it's still a lot of fun if you're a Holmes fan. I suspect that it will be less fun if you're not, as the book is stuffed with Holmes references and jokes.
http://www.librarything.com/work/439987
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
16) Mary Stewart -- Stormy Petrel
Romantic suspense set on a remote Scottish Island. the story's fairly simple, and the appeal is in watching the interplay of the characters, and the evocative descriptions of the island and its way of life. It has mixed reviews, and I can see why; but I liked it a lot.
http://www.librarything.com/work/96426
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
17) EM Forster -- Where Angels Fear To Tread
There are plenty of other reviews, so I will only note that I liked part of the novel, but it didn't quite gel for me even though I like this sort of social satire. I don't regret the time spent reading it but am not inclined to re-read. It's out of copyright in some countries, and thus available on public domain sites.
http://www.librarything.com/work/20427
18) Agatha Christie -- Death on the Nile (audiobook)
Abridged audiobook on 3 CDs, read by David Timson. Heiress steals friend's fiancee, friend starts blatantly stalking, even unto the honeymoon cruise on the Nile. Heiress is found murdered, and as the husband points out, the ex-friend has an obvious motive. The one problem is that she couldn't possibly have done it. Nor could any of the other people the heiress has provided with motives. The abridged audiobook has been well edited for the plot, but does by necessity skimp on the character development and social observation. There's also an unabridged audio edition, read by David Suchet, which I've not yet listened to.
http://www.librarything.com/work/29995
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
19) T Baggins -- Fifteen Shades of Gay (for Pay)
Contemporary m/m romance, and yes, the title's riffing off That Book. What it isn't is a rip-off of That Book. It's a thoughtful and well-written look at men coming to terms with their sexuality, seen through the eyes of a young actor who takes on male escort work to pay for his sister's chemotherapy, even though he's straight. The blurb for the book tells you all you need to know about the plot, and there's little point in rehashing it. It's a plot that has the potential to be very cliched, but Baggins shows what a skilled writer can do with the concept, and the book is a joy to read.
It's an m/m romance, so of course the POV character isn't straight after all. But this isn't a gay-for-you story. There's a solidly laid foundation for a character who is in deep denial about his bisexuality, and has good reason to be that way. It's Andrew's story, so we see his character grow and change the most; but there are also good portrayals of men who aren't in denial to themselves, but are closeted to their family and have different ways of coping with that. Perhaps it edges over into fairytale territory with how quickly Andrew comes to accept having gay sex without accepting that he's bi, but the story's good enough to carry it.
Be warned that it has the potential to be triggery for readers who've had to deal with cancer. Baggins doesn't dwell on the reality of living with cancer in a loved one, but doesn't gloss over it either -- the one that got me was the comment about neighbours who insist on showing their neighbourliness by just popping in to see how you are even though they're not well themselves, and infectious. But with that one caveat, thoroughly recommended.
http://www.librarything.com/work/13260408
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
Lots of reviews and critiques out there already, so I'll simply say that I liked it.
15) Gladys Mitchell -- Watson's Choice
28th Mrs Bradley mystery. Mrs Bradley is invited to a weekend country house party thrown to celebrate the Sherlock Holmes anniversary. Naturally, someone provides a real life mystery, complete with a real live Hound of the Baskervilles. The plot wanders a bit, but it's still a lot of fun if you're a Holmes fan. I suspect that it will be less fun if you're not, as the book is stuffed with Holmes references and jokes.
http://www.librarything.com/work/439987
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
16) Mary Stewart -- Stormy Petrel
Romantic suspense set on a remote Scottish Island. the story's fairly simple, and the appeal is in watching the interplay of the characters, and the evocative descriptions of the island and its way of life. It has mixed reviews, and I can see why; but I liked it a lot.
http://www.librarything.com/work/96426
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
17) EM Forster -- Where Angels Fear To Tread
There are plenty of other reviews, so I will only note that I liked part of the novel, but it didn't quite gel for me even though I like this sort of social satire. I don't regret the time spent reading it but am not inclined to re-read. It's out of copyright in some countries, and thus available on public domain sites.
http://www.librarything.com/work/20427
18) Agatha Christie -- Death on the Nile (audiobook)
Abridged audiobook on 3 CDs, read by David Timson. Heiress steals friend's fiancee, friend starts blatantly stalking, even unto the honeymoon cruise on the Nile. Heiress is found murdered, and as the husband points out, the ex-friend has an obvious motive. The one problem is that she couldn't possibly have done it. Nor could any of the other people the heiress has provided with motives. The abridged audiobook has been well edited for the plot, but does by necessity skimp on the character development and social observation. There's also an unabridged audio edition, read by David Suchet, which I've not yet listened to.
http://www.librarything.com/work/29995
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
19) T Baggins -- Fifteen Shades of Gay (for Pay)
Contemporary m/m romance, and yes, the title's riffing off That Book. What it isn't is a rip-off of That Book. It's a thoughtful and well-written look at men coming to terms with their sexuality, seen through the eyes of a young actor who takes on male escort work to pay for his sister's chemotherapy, even though he's straight. The blurb for the book tells you all you need to know about the plot, and there's little point in rehashing it. It's a plot that has the potential to be very cliched, but Baggins shows what a skilled writer can do with the concept, and the book is a joy to read.
It's an m/m romance, so of course the POV character isn't straight after all. But this isn't a gay-for-you story. There's a solidly laid foundation for a character who is in deep denial about his bisexuality, and has good reason to be that way. It's Andrew's story, so we see his character grow and change the most; but there are also good portrayals of men who aren't in denial to themselves, but are closeted to their family and have different ways of coping with that. Perhaps it edges over into fairytale territory with how quickly Andrew comes to accept having gay sex without accepting that he's bi, but the story's good enough to carry it.
Be warned that it has the potential to be triggery for readers who've had to deal with cancer. Baggins doesn't dwell on the reality of living with cancer in a loved one, but doesn't gloss over it either -- the one that got me was the comment about neighbours who insist on showing their neighbourliness by just popping in to see how you are even though they're not well themselves, and infectious. But with that one caveat, thoroughly recommended.
http://www.librarything.com/work/13260408
at Amazon UK
at Amazon US
