Reading in Reykjavík

I read today, on one of my regular blog stops, that Anne McCaffrey has died. I discovered the Dragonriders of Pern series when I was in college. I picked up the very first book to be published, Dragonflight , at a fantastic second-hand bookshop that, alas, no longer exists. It was love at first read. I scoured the second-hand bookshops for the rest of the books then published, and found Dragonquest , T he White Dragon , and the Harper Hall trilogy, read them and loved them all. I introduced them to my mother, who is an even bigger fantasy fan than I am, and she loved them too. Then came Renegades of Pern , All the Weyrs of Pern and Dragonsdawn , and ouch! Our favourite fantasy stories had become science fiction. Neither of us liked it much, but we struggled on. We finally gave up as the books became more and more sciency (even the prequels and mid-quels) and less and less fantastical, but we both still have an enduring love for the early books and have re-read them often. I wond...

Genre: Romance, contemporary Series: The Bride Quartet Year of publication: 2010 Setting & time: Greenwich, Connecticut, US; contemporary Level of sensuality: Hot, breathless kissing, short and flowery sex scenes. Parker Brown (‘of the Connecticut Browns’) is a modern day princess: classy, beautiful, wealthy and well-bred, but blessedly free of any pretension or hauteur (except when faced with people likely to hurt her friends). She is the planner, director and M.C. of Vows, the one who holds the whole wedding-planning business together. Malcolm is a Harley-driving former Hollywood stunt-man who ran away from a damaged childhood but has returned to run his own automobile repair-shop and plays poker with Parker’s brother Del. Ever since Parker kissed Mal to spite her brother, he had been interested in knowing her better, and the chemistry is undeniable. But will her breeding and his past get in their way? Not a bit. Their story runs a smooth and shiny and not very e...

Originally published in June 2005, on my original 52 Books blog . This slim collection of essays by journalist Anne Fadiman was originally published in a literary magazine, but adapted and in some cases rewritten for the book. It was recommended to me by several people who know I love reading, and I would just like to say thanks to them for the recommendation. I have been trying for ages to find the book - according to the library database it was always in, but I couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be shelved. I finally came across it where it had been filed on the wrong shelf, probably by some browsing library patron. The book is basically about several different aspects of reading and owning books and an analysis of the author’s reading habits. She discusses, among other things, the problems of uniting libraries, her addiction to collecting books about doomed polar expeditions, her habit of proofreading everything she reads, those pesky gender pronouns that turn everyone in...

Genre: Romance, contemporary Series: The Bride Quartet Year of publication: 20 No. in series: 3 Setting & time: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA; contemporary Level of sensuality: Several sex scenes including one in which a metaphor does not evoke the intended emotion in the reader (clue: I posted it the day before yesterday...) Laurel is the baker/pastry chef of Vows, the wedding planning business run by four childhood girlfriends. She has known Del, company lawyer and brother to her friend and business partner Parker, for most of her life and they are as close as siblings, except Laurel has known for about as long that he is The One. She doesn’t know that Del has recently started noticing her as a sexy woman rather than as an honorary sister, so isn’t quite ready for the backfire when she kisses him in a fit of pique. They end up agreeing to date for 30 days – with no sex – and no one will have any problem guessing what happens next. The “how it happens” is the reason w...

This conversation between the rigidly-in-control-at-all-times heroine and her friend takes place after the hero has thoroughly kissed the heroine before they actually get together, seriously confusing her: “I was wearing the Back-Off Cloak.” “What?” “I’m not stupid. He made a little move in the kitchen. Actually, he makes little moves every time I run into him, which is disconcerting, but I can handle it. So when I walked him to the door, I thought he might get ideas.” Laurel’s eyes widened. “You swirled on the Back-Off Cloak? The famed shield that repels men of all ages, creeds, and political affiliations?” Yes.” “Yet he was not repelled. He’s immune.” She gave Parker a slap on the arm. “He may be the only creature of his kind.” Nora Roberts, Happy Ever After

„He watched pleasure turn her eyes to blue crystals, tasted her moan as he crushed his mouth to hers.“   Nora Roberts, Savor the Moment . Please tell me what is so sexy about crystals for eyes, even if they are blue? They are cold and hard and while they are pretty to look at, they are hardly sexy. That is an image that belongs more in a horror story than a romance novel."The Girl With the Crystal Eyes", anyone?

Genre: Romance, contemporary Series: The Bride Quartet Year of publication: 2009 No. in series: 2 Setting & time: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA; contemporary Level of sensuality: Several breathless sex scenes and cute moments with kissing Emma, friend and business partner to Mac, heroine of the first book in the Bride Quartet, is the highly-skilled florist of Vows, the all-exclusive wedding-planning business they run together. She has long harboured a secret crush on Jack, an architect who is among her best friends. He is also interested in her, but hasn’t acted on it because of his close friendship with Parker’s brother who considers Emma, Mac and Laurel as his honorary sisters and is highly protective of them. After he helps her when her car breaks down late at night it becomes clear to them both that the attraction is mutual and after some initial hesitation they plunge into a passionate love affair. But their friendship, combined with Emma’s desire for the "ha...

Originally published in June 2005, on my original 52 Books blog. Mary Cassatt: 5 O'clock Tea I am an avid tea drinker and have been ever since I drank my first cup of tea around age six. I enjoy tea in many of its incarnations: the sweet, spicy chai of India and Pakistan, the minty green tea of Morocco, strong and sweet Turkish tea, delicate Darjeelings, robust Kenyans and iced tea with slices of orange and lemon, to name some examples. I have never been much fond of fruit teas or plain green teas - the first I can tolerate iced, but the second tastes to me like freshly mown grass: the smell is nice and refreshing but the flavour is less than pleasing. I guess it’s an acquired taste and no doubt I will learn to drink it if I ever visit Japan or China. I am not what you would call a tea snob - you are just as likely to find me slurping sweet milk tea made with a tea bag (oh, my!), from a chipped and stained old mug (horror of horrors!), as you are to find me sipping milkless FT...

Genre: Travel Area covered: Train journey (by stages) from London to Baghdad, with stops in Italy, various Balkan states, Turkey, Syria and various cities and archaeological sites in Iraq. Published in: 2004 This is an enjoyable read about setting out on a journey with the slimmest of excuses, in this case visiting places Agatha Christie travelled to and through when she set out to make a new life for herself after her divorce from her first husband, and to go to the places where she lived in with her second husband, an archaeologist who spent his working life digging up ancient cities in Iraq. Eames visited various places which one would have travelled through on a train journey between England and Iraq in 1928, which is when Agatha Christie first made the trip aboard the Orient Express , following her traumatic divorce from her first husband. Once the trip could have been made in a few stages (for example directly, without disembarking, from Paris all the way to Istanbul), b...

Genre: Romance, contemporary Series: Bride Quartet, book 1. Year published: 2009 Setting and time: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA; contemporary. Level of sensuality: Several flowery sex scenes. Wedding photographer Mackensie Elliot runs a successful wedding planning company with her three best friends. She has never known a proper family life because her immature, self-centered parents divorced when she was a child and have both gone through multiple marriages and relationships since. Additionally, her mother is a master manipulatrix who can play her daughter like a finely tuned instrument to get what she wants, usually money or unreasonable favours. As a result of all this, Mac is highly strung and insecure and doesn’t believe she is capable of maintaining a lasting relationship with a man. Along comes nerdy English teacher Carter Maguire, who is her opposite in every way: calm, rational and solid, in addition to being very sexy, so sexy that once Mac has decided to have a f...

Originally published in June 2005, on my original 52 Books blog. These are the first two books in a long-running series about burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Bernie is a cool character, perfectly immoral when it comes to other people’s property, daring, professional and charming. The books are a light-hearted blending of the traditional cozy mystery and the rogue genre, because the sleuth is a criminal. Being a criminal, he has obvious problems. The only cop likely to take him seriously is bent and needs to be bribed before he will do anything for him, and in both these books Bernie is a suspect in the murders, so has to go not only undercover to solve the murders, but on the lam as well to avoid being arrested for them. I have read a fair number of rogue stories (e.g. Raffles, Arsene Lupin) but Bernie is the first of the rogue heroes I have really liked. I hated the Raffles stories - Raffles is mean and Bunny such a wimp that it’s a wonder anyone likes them at all, plus the stories ar...

Original title: Pequnas Infamias Translated from: Spanish Translator: Christopher Andrews Genre: Crime, literary novel Year of publication: 1998 (original); 2003 (translation) Setting & time: Spain, contemporary Chef Nestor Chaffinch (speciality: sweet desserts) finds himself stuck inside a walk-in freezer in the middle of the night after catering a successful private party and is found dead and frozen in the morning. At least four people in the house had reason to want him dead, but who killed him, and was he even murdered at all? After this first, terrifying chapter, the narrative flashes back to the events that lead up to the death, showing how Fate tangled together the lives of several people and finally led them all together in one place for a grand finale. The translation is seamless and according to reviewers who have read it in both languages Andrews has managed to preserve the author’s style, which is, as any good translator knows, a commendable feat. This...

One has to hope the minister in this story learned something from his experience: Once upon a time there was a minister or priest who was wont to moralise to his congregation. He preached sternly and told off his listeners for their sins with great gusto. Among his parishioners was an old woman who rarely if ever came to church and the minister would scold her mercilessly for this, telling her that she would not be allowed into the kingdom of heaven if she continued to neglect her church-going duties. The old woman ignored this completely. After some time had passed from the last scolding the old woman fell ill and sent for the minister, saying that she needed his services because she was being plagued by the sins of the human race. The minister hurried to her bed-side and was about to begin scolding her, for he could see that she was deeply worried and he thought it would be a chance to bring her back into the fold. But the old woman asked him to first listen to her and hear about ...

Remember the link to the steampunk book purse I posted once upon a time? Well, here is another one with more instructions .

If you’re sensitive to SPOILERS , don’t read beyond the plot summary. I noticed this book because of the cover, which is reminiscent of an old-fashioned children's book (until you look closer and notice the skull-and-crossbones snowflakes). Genre: Murder mystery Year of publication: 1994 (this edition 2009) Type of mystery: Historical cosy. No. in series: 1 Series detective: Daisy Dalrymple Type of investigator: Amateur (and police) Setting & time: England, 1920s The Honourable Miss Daisy Dalrymple arrives at Wentwater Court just after the beginning of the new year to write and photograph a story for Town & Country magazine. She already knows a couple of young people there, but in addition she meets Lord Wentwater, his children and his lovely young second wife, who seems to be very troubled and afraid of their houseguest, Lord Astwick. When Astwick is found drowned in the skating pond, everyone assumes it was an accident, but when the police arrive on ...

Originally published in June 2005, on my original 52 Books blog. A clever killer sends taunting letters to Hercule Poirot, telling him dates and the names of towns where he intends to strike. The towns and the victims are alphabetical, A in Andover, and so on. Poirot agrees with the police that they are dealing with a psychopath, but he can not but feel that there is something wrong about the letters, something that doesn’t fit the profile of the killer they have deduced from his methods and choice of victims. So begins a cat and mouse game, but who is which? Regular Christie fans will be in no doubt as to who is the cat and who is the mouse, but may be surprised at a deviation from the Christie formula. Whether it is real or a red herring, I leave up to the reader to find out. I admit to not being a Poirot fan - he annoys me too much, and I need to take breaks between the books about him, but this is quite a good Christie story. It is perhaps unfortunate that I have read so many of...

Genre: History Year of publication: 2000 Setting & time: USA and the Pacific Ocean, 1820-21 In 1820 the whale ship Essex , small, old and with a mostly inexperienced crew, set out from Nantucket Island towards the whale-hunting grounds of the Pacific Ocean. Once they were there the crew proceeded to hunt sperm whales and fill the hold with barrels of oil, but on November 20th the ship was attacked by a huge bull sperm whale which rammed it twice and sank it. The crew were able to rescue some navigational charts and equipment and food from the sinking ship, but were left floating aboard three flimsy and old whale boats thousands of miles from the South-American mainland. Ironically, in light of what was to happen later, fear of cannibals kept them from making for the nearest cluster of islands and instead they resolved to head for South America, a mistake that may have cost 12 of the crew of 20 their lives. About 20 years later Herman Melville read about the incident, whic...

I finished a total of 10 books in October, which means that my reading index is slightly up, although it has not yet reached last year’s monthly average. In addition there was one D id N ot F inish, which was rather unfortunate as it sounded very interesting when I was offered it for reviewing. The books were a mixed bag of various genres, and I have reviewed no less than four of them. One review is already published (in 2 parts) and three more are coming up in the next couple of weeks, starting tomorrow. Mary Balogh, Colleen Gleason, Susan Krinard, Janet Mullany : Bespelling Jane Austen . 4 paranormal romance novellas, 2 historical , 2 contemporary . Jim Crace: The Devil's Larder . Short stories with a food theme. Carola Dunn: Death at Wentwater Court . Cosy murder mystery; historical. Rachel Gibson: Daisy's Back in Town . Romance, contemporary. Kay Hooper: Lady Thief/Masquerade . 1 volume, 2 historical romances (1 short novel, 1 novella) Michael Innes: Appleby's E...

There once was a farmer who lived with his wife on a very poor farm in the north-east of Iceland. They owned a bitch that gave birth to a rust-brown puppy. This puppy the farmer raised and used as a sheep-dog, calling him Rusty. He gave the dog an ewe-lamb as payment for his faithful service. The ewe-lamb grew up to have lambs of her own, and so on, and the dog was very lucky in that none of his sheep ever went missing and all the ewes always had twins, most of them ewes. Over time Rusty came to own all the sheep on the farm and finally the farm as well. People started calling him Rich Rusty, and the farm was now prosperous and doing very well. Rusty was much loved by his owners, so much so that when people were served food or given favours and people thanked the couple, they would reply and say not to thank them but Rich Rusty. Once when the bishop of northern Iceland was on a tour of inspection of his diocese he arrived at the farm. He and his men were welcomed with a grand feast ...

A lovely quotation from Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes   by Robert Louis Stevenson: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints. Alas, as we get up in life, and are more preoccupied with our affairs, even a holiday is a thing that must be worked for. "

Continuing on from yesterday: Blood and Prejudice by Susan Krinard Sub-genre: Contemporary Setting & time: USA, east coast, and England; modern times Level of sensuality: Kissing. There is no need to mention which Austen novel this story is based on, as the title speaks for itself. I also think it’s pretty clear that vampires are involved. Like in Northanger Castle , the plot is patterned after the plot of the original. The characters, those of them that are used (Charlotte Lucas, for one, is missing) are the same people as in Pride and Prejudice , with the same names and certain modifications appropriate to the modern setting. For one thing, Elizabeth is more active in trying to discover the truth about Darcy than she is in P&P, which is believable because, spirited and forward as she might have seemed to a contemporary of Austen’s in the original, she would seem rather docile and reserved showing the same behaviors in a modern setting, so that is all for the good....

I won this book in a giveaway last year (thanks, Janet!) and have finally got round to reading it. The premise of this anthology is for four modern authors to play with characters, themes and stories from Jane Austen novels. There are two historical stories and two modern ones, each taking inspiration from a different novel. I decided to review each story separately as I finished it and then give an opinion on the book as a whole. Since the review seems set to become somewhat long, I will divide it into two parts. The other part will be posted tomorrow. Genre: Paranormal romance Year of publication: 2010 Almost Persuaded by Mary Balogh Sub-genre: Historical Setting & time: England, Regency era Level of sensuality: Kissing plus one very short (and very flowery) sex scene. Mary Balogh has written some pretty good historical romances set in England during the Regency and Georgian eras. This, however, is her first venture into paranormal territory. The story she chos...