As Simon has just reminded everyone, the 1940 Club is fast approaching. I’ll still be travelling so won’t be participating, which is a shame as it’s a superb year for books.
If you’re looking for ideas of what to read, you can make Simon happy and try his beloved Miss Hargreaves but if you want other suggestions, here are a few books from 1940 that I wrote about previously:
Cheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell – my very favourite Thirkell
Mariana by Monica Dickens – the first Persephone book I ever read and one of my earliest reviews
Behind the Lines by A.A. Milne – a collection of poems about the early days of the war. Not great but fascinating, especially for AAM fanatics
The English Air by D.E. Stevenson – probably my favourite DES book about a young German man whose experiences visiting his English cousins cause him to rethink his views of his own country. Now available from Dean Street Press
Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck – the fictional and heavily Provincial Lady-inspired diary of clergyman’s wife, I found this disappointing but other readers loved it
Ten Way Street by Susan Scarlett – typical Scarlett romance and now much easier to track down than when I first wrote about it as it too has been reissued by Dean Street Press
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
More adrenaline than usual this week!
Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes – MacInnes’ first book and still one of her best known (thanks to the film), about married academics who, heading off on a European holiday in the summer of 1939, are recruited to look for a missing spy.
Alias Emma by Ava Glass – Constance’s recent review of this suspense novel immediately intrigued me.
Edmund Hillary: A Biography by Michael Gill – next month I’ll be at Aoraki/Mount Cook, where Hillary made his first major climbs and later trained the Everest expedition. It houses the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre and I thought it could be interesting to learn more about him before I get there.
What did you pick up this week?
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My first month in New Zealand has flown by. It’s been a fantastic trip so far and literally every place I’ve been has exceeded my expectations, which, given how long I’ve been dreaming about this, is extraordinary. The people have been so kind and I’ve done things – like going for a night walk in search of nocturnal kiwis and actually finding one! – I never would have done if I hadn’t met locals eager to share their country with visitors.
I’m on the South Island now but thought I would share a few photos from my time on the North Island to give you a taste of what I’m seeing.
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
After reading so much about New Zealand while I was at home, it’s time to read about Canada while I’m abroad.
The Imperialist by Sara Jeannette Duncan – After reading An American Girl in London and Cousin Cinderella, this is clearly my year for discovering Duncan. Published in 1904, this has long been a part of the New Canadian Library and looks at two siblings full of high ideals in a small Ontario town.
The Watch That Ends the Night by Hugh MacLennan – I really love MacLennan’s works and, as far as I’m concerned, this story of a fraught love triangle is his best (though Barometer Rising about the Halifax explosion is the best entry point). It also has the distinction of inspiring “Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)” by The Tragically Hip.
The Man from Glengarry by Ralph Connor – more than ten years ago, I read and loved Glengarry School Days and now I’m finally returning there.
What did you pick up this week?
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