Reading in Reykjavík

Genre: Historical romance; Regency romance. Themes: Marriage problems, love, misunderstandings (big mis, no less), gambling, damsels in distress.  Reading challenge: What's in a Name 2016 Challenge book no.: 3/6, a book with the name of a month in the title. First I must say that when I was looking for a picture of the cover of the edition I read, I found so many nice ones that I decided to post several. The one on the left is the cover I was looking for and you will find the rest below. This one and the next one (from the original hard-cover edition) are my favourites.  If you know anything about fashion history you will soon spot the errors in some of the cover images (e.g. too early, too late), and if you have read the book, you will spot more (wrong hair-colour, events that did not take place in the story). This is a story that hinges on one of those plot elements that I hate: the big misunderstanding . It doesn't help that there is also a spoiled, ...

Genre: Historical detective fiction, murder mystery, cosy mystery. Themes : M urder, s ocial reputations, unhappy marriages, I originally  chose the third book in the Beau Brummell mysteries as the book with an item of clothing in the title for the What's in a Name Challenge . However, I prefer, whenever possible, to read series books in the correct reading order, so I decided to read this, the first book in the series, as a preliminary to The Bloodied Cravat . I read this one through, but The Bloodied Cravat was a DNF for me (see the glossary)and I ended up with another book for the challenge. This is quite a frothy mystery in the historical/cosy sub-genre. A loathsome old aristocratic woman is murdered by adding poison to her nightly drink of warm milk and the prime suspect is her lady's companion, a young gentlewoman recommended to her by the Duchess of York. Brummell is in love with the Duchess and will do just about anything she asks of him, but as she is marr...

Alternative title:  Lord Edgware Dies (original British title) Genre: Detective fiction, murder mystery. Themes: Murder, identity switch, sociopathy. When I finished reading Cards on the Table I realised I only had one book left to finish the five-novel Poirot omnibus it is in, so I sat down and read Thirteen at Dinner in order to finish the book.  The plot (if you aren't already familiar with it, from book or film) revolves around a murder apparently committed by a woman who has no fewer than 12 witnesses to give her an alibi, and yet was seen at the scene of the crime at the same time. Poirot, having already become involved before the crime was committed, is commissioned by Inspector Japp of the Scotland Yard to investigate, and does so, aided by his friend Hastings and the police. I love the noir feel to these covers. When I called Cards on the Table a proper mystery I was, of course, referring to the fact that I haven't touched a pure mystery novel in a...

Full title: Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart Genre: Travel Subjects: Africa, the Congo river, Democratic Republic of the Congo, colonialism, history, adventure, exploitation, war. Reading challenge:   The 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge , hosted by The Introverted Reader Challenge tally : 3 books. “I was travelling through a country with more past than future, a place where the hands of the clock spin not forwards, but backwards.” This is the realisation that came to author Tim Butcher when he was about halfway through his foolhardy mission to follow the Congo river from it’s source all the way to the sea. Butcher had became fascinated with the Congo, especially the part played by Henry Morton Stanley in opening it up to European exploration and exploitation, and decided to follow Stanley’s route along the river as best he could. On the way he met all sorts of people: officials, both corrupt and otherwise, missionaries, aid workers and thei...

Genre: Expat memoir. Subjects: Spain, farming, country life, daily life, people and animals. Reading challenge: What's in a Name 2016 Challenge book no.: 1, a book with the word "tree" in the title. This is the sequel to Stewart’s bestseller, Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia , which I read and enjoyed not long after it was published, but did not review. I can’t really compare the two books, because it has been over 10 years since I read the other and I can’t really remember much about it. This is one of the books in the popular genre that Peter Mayle (another successful expat author) calls “being there” books (and I have sometimes called "Brits abroad" books, because so many of the authors are British). Such books can be either enjoyable or annoying, and fortunately this one falls into the former category. This is not one of those “ good life ” books that some people like to deride. At the point in time portrayed in the book - beginni...

Full title:  Bon Appétit! Travels through France with knife, fork and corkscrew Genres: Food writing; travel writing Subjects: Food and eating, wine and drinking, festivals, France, the French, the Michelin guide  Reading challenge: The 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge , hosted by The Introverted Reader  Challenge tally : 2 books. I have previously reviewed two of Peter Mayle books, the ones with „Provence“ in the title, and I thoroughly enjoyed both. In this book, Mayle has abandoned the joys and frustrations of expatriate home-ownership in France and turned his attention to food, a subject that just happens to be quite as close to my heart as travelling.  He writes with skill and humour about food and drink (mostly wine) and about the relationship of the French with it. He pokes affectionate fun at the French tendency to turn into gastronomic know-it-alls in the presence of foreigners and self-confessed novices, and visits food and win...

I thought it was about time I posted a review, even if it's an informal one. I haven't read that many books lately that I felt like reviewing, but I finally got my hands on a book I have been looking for for many, many years. I haven't been looking for it in a "Oh. My. God. I. Must. Have. This. Book!" kind of way, but rather in the "It would sure be nice to have this book, if only to read it", but still.... I finally came across a second hand copy with an intact dust cover, the right price, no stains and only a slight musty smell that wasn't ripe enough to stop me from buying it, although I did read it at arm's length. The book? The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson, illustrated by Wayne Anderson. Why this book? I watched an animated movie titled The Flight of Dragons when I was about 13 years old and absolutely loved it. It may possibly have been the first high fantasy film I ever watched (certainly the first one I can remember) and i...

Translated from the French by Alison Anderson. Original title: L'Élégance du hérisson.   I needed to figure out what my feelings were about this book, so I decided to write a review, the first I have written in ages. Don't expect it to be completely conclusive or deep, because even after writing it, my feelings are still somewhat mixed. I really should have done a reading journal of it. This story of a crusty, cranky Parisian concierge harbouring a secret, and a depressed young girl with a diabolical plan, is told in first-person journal entry chapters that alternate between the two.  Renée is the concierge, who has been trying all her life to hide her intelligence and enjoyment of culture by outwardly conforming to the stereotype of a person of her class and occupation by presenting herself to the world as uncouth, stupid, and uncultured, and Paloma is the troubled and intelligent 12-year old daughter of one of the upper-crust families that employ Renée. The arrival...