Category: Books
Top Ten Tuesday – Books Set in a Place I’d Love to Visit
I’ve really looked forward to this topic on the That Artsy Reader Girl, since it combines my two great loves, reading and travel. Some of the places on my list exist only in imagination and will always remain out of reach… but one can always dream! I probably could have filled the entire list with nothing but fantasy and sci-fi, however I tried to keep it mostly grounded in this reality.
Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie – Book Review
A Poirot mystery set in post-war England, this one has stuck in my memory for reasons both good, bad and ugly.
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie – Book Review
I’m always delighted to come across a Christie mystery I’ve never read before. This Poirot and Hastings adventure, dedicated to Dame Agatha’s beloved dog Peter, is held back from the true vintage status by some glaring plot weaknesses, but still had enough ingenuity and light humour to keep me happy from page to page.
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig – Book Review
An emotional rollercoaster of a novel about the catastrophic consequences of well-intended pity, this was a somewhat exhausting read but a rich and gripping one too.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie – Book Review
A fun collection of crimes solved by the one and only Hercule Poirot, with a bonus Miss Marple short story. I was slightly disappointed that only one of the stories is actually set at Christmas.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami – Book Review
I meant to read Murakami for ages and ages, so I finally got started with this novel that propelled the Japanese writer into literary superstardom.
Upheaval by Jared Diamond – Book Review
How do nations cope with crisis and change? In this brilliant book, the author, historian and geographer Jared Diamond examines how six modern countries have dealt with a crisis, and looks at the crises currently unfolding in contemporary Japan, his home country the USA, and the world at large. Read more
Top Ten Tuesday – Comfort Reads
I’ve always loved re-reading and comfort read to me is almost always about the pleasure of re-visiting an already familiar book. Naturally not every book that I go back to would qualify. I think I re-read Tolstoy’s War and Peace about four times by now, but I doubt that many people would put this dense door-stopper on their list. Bright, breezy and not too long is what usually hits the sweet spot.
Before I started compiling the list (as prompted by That Artsy Reader Girl), I thought it would be about individual books, but it turned out to be more about the authors with a writing style that makes for a perfect comfort read.
The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie – Book Review
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