There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
AUNT BEARDIE by JOSEPH SHEARING Joseph Shearing is one of the pseudonyms of prolific author, Margaret Gabrielle Vere Long, more popularly known by another pseudonym of hers, Marjorie Bowen. Last year, I read her gothic mystery, The Crime of Laura Sarelle, and was blown away. Determined to read more of her, I selected this novel … Continue reading Five Mysteries of 1940
My Life My Rules: Stories of 18 Unconventional Careers by Sonia Golani My first read of the year 2020, the book charts the career of 18 individuals who shrugged off conventional wisdom by leaving highly-paid jobs and taking on something their heart desired: becoming a rock star, a food critic, a cricket commentator, a DJ, … Continue reading Three Non-Fictional Reads
“Tis to create, and in creating liveA being more intense, that we endowWith form our fancy, gaining as we giveThe life we image, even as I do now.What am I? Nothing: but not so art thou,Soul of my thought!" Lord Byron: Childe Harold: Canto III It was through John's blog Pretty Sinister Books that I … Continue reading But a Thought: Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker (1940)
This year, I read only three books in translation. THE DOGS AND THE WOLVES (LES CHIENS ET LES LOUPS) by IRENE NEMIROVSKY (1940) Ada Sinner, from the wrong side of the fence, has a glimpse of her wealthy cousin, Harry and falls in love with him. This is no childhood infatuation because even in her … Continue reading In Translation: Three Novels
I had heard about Henry Gamadge series by Elizabeth Daly and decided to begin reading them now. Unfortunately, this first one involving wills and impersonations, actors with marvellous skills, suffering heroines (who are actually insufferable), and a hero who the author is at pains to present as an insignificant normal bloke, didn't impress me much. … Continue reading Short Notes: Unexpected Night by Elizabeth Daly (1940)
One of the Reading Challenges that I greatly enjoy participating in is the Birth Year Reading Challenge hosted by Jane @ Hotchpot Cafe. For this year's challenge, I've selected the year 1940 and for this purpose read two books recently. "If you don't know anything at all about jumping, we take you through a series … Continue reading Books of 1940: The 24th Horse, and They Don’t Dance Much
As they walked down the lonely naked streets, the sounds of horses trotting in the distance trickled through the empty roads, reverberating around the buildings surrounding them. Apartment blocks, small shops selling boutique clothing, groceries, and a newsstand here and there, were all closed and quiet for the night. The city of Praha (Prague) is … Continue reading Hot Off the Press: The Affliction of Praha by Simon Gillard (2020)
The first thing that stuck me when I borrowed the book was that it was published by Hogarth Press. That was quite a shocker. Hogarth Press as all of us know was founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf and I always assumed that it wound up its operation sometime in the middle of the twentieth … Continue reading Death by Request by Katherine and Romilly John (1933)
Days of feeling dispirited and dejected.. and then I came across a write-up on this book @ GeorgeKelley.org and realised this was what I needed. What could be more comforting than being in the company of one's favourite space-ship crew? And I cried tears of laughter when Bones commented on Spock's report: "...The information relayed … Continue reading Star Trek #15: Corona by Greg Bear (1984)
One of the great pleasures of blogging, you'll all agree, is discovering new authors and books through fellow bloggers. Thus, I was delighted to read about this (completely unknown to me) book @ JetBlackDragonFly. "Unhappily, Dr. Smith, you have walked into a very complex situation." Dr. John Smith (who as I found out later is … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: Shadow of Madness by Hugh Pentecost (1950)
a hot cup of pleasure 