Reading in Reykjavík

Originally published in 2 parts, in April and May 2004. Book 14 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Muriel Spark Published: 1961 Where got: second hand shop Genre: Literature, satire I seem to have a knack for choosing books that have been made into movies. I wonder why? This week's choice was made into a memorable, if rather stagy, movie, starring the wonderful Maggie Smith. SPOILERS AHEAD! ... .. . .. ... Don't say I didn't warn you! The book is about a teacher at a private girl's school in Edinburgh (Scotland) who has her own special ideas about education. She strives to turn out girls who are liberated and free thinking - or what she thinks is liberated and free thinking. Her behaviour and teaching methods are far from orthodox in the conservative environment of the school. She makes enemies among the other teachers and the headmistress is constantly trying to find an excuse to get rid of her. Her closest allies are a group of her students, six girls known a...

Read an epistolatory novel. These are novels written as a series of documents, e.g. letters or e-mails, blog entries, historical documents, reports, reviews, excerpts from books, newspaper clippings and diary entries. Basically anything that is traditionally written or typed, used without any connecting passages to form a narrative. It enables the author to let the characters (or a chosen number of characters) express themselves directly without having a narrator tell the story. I have already recommended reading fictional diaries, which form part of the epistolatory genre, so a different epistolatory form is recommended. Here are some that I have enjoyed: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Written as a series of accounts of the theft of a precious stone, using different styles and voices. Letters to Alice, Upon first reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon. What the title says, plus much more besides. Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos. A novel told entirely in letters between the c...

I am off to India for the next 5 weeks. During that time it is unlikely that I will post anything new, but there will be some automatic postings, including the Wednesday reading experiences for the whole time.

In keeping with my India-oriented reading I chose a Top Mystery that takes place in that country, not long before the end of the Raj when Maharajahs still had some power (even if it was dependent on British support). Year of publication: 1980 Genre: Mystery, cozy Type of mystery: Murder Type of investigator: Police officer Setting & time: The fictitious state of Bhopore, India; 1930. Story: The immensely rich Maharajah of Bhopore is murdered and several people had the means, motive and opportunity (or at least two out of the three), to have done it. Due to an impending visit by the Viceroy of India, the Resident Adviser calls in District Superintendent of Police, Mr. Howard, and presses him to solve the case quickly, because if the murderer turns out later to be the heir to the throne, it isn’t good for the Viceroy to have met him. Howard sets out to methodically investigate the case, and in a reconstruction at the end makes some interesting and startling revelations. Review:...

Originally published in 2 parts, in April 2004. Book 13 in my first 52 books challenge. Entry 1: Full title: The Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West Author: Dee Brown Year published: 1958/1981 Where got: second hand bookshop Genre: Social history, women, pioneers This looks like a promising piece of women's history. If we were to go by the history books we read in school, it would seem that men single-handedly settled the western parts of the United States. This is of course not so - women did their share of the work and had a great deal of civilizing influence on the men. I'm looking forward to exploring the west with them, through this book. Written by the author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Entry 2: The Gentle Tamers is a collection of true stories about the women of the wild west. Some who are included are true pioneers, like Janette Riker, who survived a harsh Montana winter alone in a covered wagon, others are included because a history of women in the Wil...

Challenge your prejudices some more: Read a book that you have panned or derided without actually having read it. Some frequently panned books that come to mind include novels by Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel. Others include such famous and/or infamous works of the more distant past, like philosophical and religious writings of all ages and eras, Marx’s Communist Manifesto , Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake , and anything by the Marquis de Sade. Of course you should choose one that you have prejudices about. Whether your prejudices are rebuffed or confirmed, you will at least now be able to pan or praise the book in question without hypocrisy.

About 10 years ago, as I waited in a Canadian airport lounge for my flight to be announced, I found some unused Canadian currency in my pockets and went to browse in the airport stores to find something on which to spend the money. I chose a small bottle of Canadian maple syrup, and then decided to get a book to read on the plane. Among all the usual bestsellers and other typical airport books, I found a small shelf of Canadian literature and gave it a browse. One of the books I picked up had a whimsical image on the front, of a block of small shops. The title was Home from the Vinyl Café and the author was Stuart McLean. I opened the book and found myself engrossed in reading a story of a hapless husband charged with cooking the turkey for the family's Christmas meal and running into all sorts of difficulties, starting with forgetting to buy the turkey. I promptly bought the book and read most of the short stories therein on the flight home, with frequent giggles and stifled laug...