Reading in Reykjavík

Synopsis: 6 years ago, Autumn Haven came to Las Vegas to have a good time. So did hockey player Sam LeClaire. They ended up married (by an Elvis impersonator, no less) and were divorced before their son was born nine month later. Autumn spent a lot of time hating Sam for walking out on her the day after they got married, but only now she has been able to stop hating him. When Sam suddenly starts paying more attention to their son she begins to hope that they can go on to be friends for Conner‘s sake, but Sam has other ideas. He has matured and changed since their first encounter and this time he isn‘t going to walk away. He just needs to convince her he‘s changed. Rachel Gibson was first recommended to me as a Jennifer Crusie readalike. I didn‘t really see the likeness when I read the two books from the Seattle Chinooks series that I have read, See Jane Score and this one, which take place in Seattle and remind me of nothing as much as Susan Elizabeth Phillip‘s Chicago Stars spor...

I consider myself lucky that my parents and my brother like giving presents that people actually want and not ones that will surprise but might not be wanted. Which is how I came to get this book for Christmas. I gave them two titles (the other one was Just Kids by Patti Smith) and my brother chose the one he knew I would want the most (he also got a copy for himself). But on with the review: Teaser: Samuel Vimes reluctantly goes out to Ramkin Hall, the family country residence, for a long-overdue holiday with his wife and son. Sam junior is six and very interested in poo, so the visit to the country is a prime opportunity for him to indulge his interests. In the meantime his father notices that something is not well in the area: a goblin girl has been brutally murdered and no-one seems to care, and the goblins are not receiving fair treatment. Before he knows it he is neck deep in an informal investigation and at the same time he is busy training the local police constable and te...

From The Letters of the Earl of Chesterfield to his Son , ed. Charles Strachey and Annette Calthorp (1901), i. 192. I knew a gentleman who was so good a manager of his time that he would not even lose that small portion of it which the calls of nature obliged him to pass in the necessary-house; but gradually went through all the Latin poets in those moments. He bought, for example, a common edition of Horace, of which he tore off gradually a couple of pages, carried them with him to that necessary place, read them first, and then sent them down as a sacrifice to Cloacina: this was so much time fairly gained, and I recommend you to follow his example.... Books of science and of a grave sort must be read with continuity; but there are very many, and even very useful ones, which may be read with advantage by snatches and unconnectedly: such are all the good Latin poets, except Virgil in his Æneid, and such are most of the modern poets, in which you will find many pieces worth reading t...

Well, here it is. My first review in several months (not counting reposts). I hadn’t planned to review this novel, but I suddenly felt the urge to do so. As it happens, this is one of the books in the Top Mysteries challenge I abandoned in 2011. I am no longer trying to read all the books on the lists, but it’s nice just the same to be able to cross one off now and then. Another novel I have been able to strike off the list was Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes, an enjoyable old school murder mystery. Than leaves 65 to go, but I doubt I will ever read them all - there are just too many spy novels on it for my taste. Synopsis: Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard arrives in Norfolk to spend some time going over his aunt’s personal effects following her death, and to decide what he is going to do with the holiday home - an old converted windmill - he has inherited from her. He is consulted by a former colleague who is now with the local police and is investigating the case of...

I think it's about time I posted this, as I have been working on it for a couple of months. I feel there isn’t enough fiction written about the elderly, or at least about the elderly as protagonists. The elderly in fiction tend to be supporting characters, often wise elders (such as  Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books) or cranky old neighbour types (e.g. the faculty of Unseen University in the Discworld series) or helpless oldsters (any number of books, especially children’s books) for the protagonist to either help or abuse (depending on whether they’re a hero or not). Terry Pratchett has written several of my favourite elderly protagonists and they always kick ass in one way or another, so you will see several of his books on this list, either as listed items or ‘also’ mentions. Without further ado: Here is a list of books with elderly protagonists or significant, important elderly characters. I leave it up to you to decide if you’re interested or not, but I certai...

My reading was scant last month, only 4 books. What they were isn‘t important, and there will be no reading report for April. I read them more as a way to distract myself than for enjoyment. More important things took priority over reading. I do not consider school work – of which I had plenty –more important than reading for fun, especially since I am not aiming for a degree, but other things are more important, even for a confirmed bibliophile. Such as family. My grandmother, my amma, died on April 18th, the last day of winter. I loved her more than just about anyone, except possibly my parents and my brother. I miss her terribly.  She was in a rest home, then in hospital, then in a hospital hotel, then again in hospital, and finally in a recovery home for the final four months of her life and I visited her every day except for the Easter holiday when I went north to stay with my parents, and the 10 days I spent at home with the flu (which I caught off her the second ...