Soon to be read

   

    I spent about two hours this afternoon writing a longish post on the books I'll be reading over the next couple of weeks, only to press 'save' and find that Typepad was down again, and my carefully crafted piece had vanished.

    So, to begin again, but more briefly this time, here's my 'soon to be read' pile:

     Going Back by journalist and broadcaster Rachael English is a debut novel which sees Elizabeth Kelly leave Ireland to return to Boston where she spent the summer of 1988. "Can she reconcile the dreams of her twenty-year-old self with the woman she has become?"

    Writing the Garden by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers is subtitled 'A literary conversation across two centuries', and is a collection of writings on the art of gardening by the likes of Vita Sackville-West, Elizabeth von Arnim, Edith Wharton, Beverley Nichols, Penelope Hobhouse and Margery Fish. Perfect for this time of year.

    The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin I have already introduced. I'm reading it now, and so far it's rather sweet and fun.

    The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go is another debut, this one a time-slip tale of an unclaimed inheritance, "part historical tour de force, part heart-rending love story," a breathless race from London archives to the battlefield of the Somme and the fjords of Iceland to piece together the events of a long-ago love affair and uncover vital proof of lineage. The author talks about it here.

    The White Russian by Vanora Bennett is "a sweeping, heartbreaking novel of illicit passion and family secrets set amongst the Russian émigré community in Paris in 1937". Evie comes from New York in search of art and adventure, but her grandmother's sudden death leads her on a quest to discover a mysterious man from her family's past. "With the world on the brink of war, she becomes embroiled in murder plots, conspiracies and more as White faces Red Russian and nothing is as it seems."

    Last but by no means least, The Stories, a collection of Jane Gardam's short fiction. Some of these I've read before, some are new to me, all come from the pen of a literary star whose work I love and admire. As the blurb says, "Jane Gardam shakes out life and finds diamonds in its folds." I can't wait.

    

    With the ongoing Typepad problems I hardly dare ask you to tell us what you're reading this weekend, but if you find you can leave a comment - and especially if you have something good on the go - please do let us know.

Comments

[cath]

Writing the Garden looks very attractive, I think it's one for me too. Meanwhile I am reading A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr and Siegfried Sassoon's War Poems and both are good.

[Lyn]

I've just finished Invisible by Christine Poulson. It's a great thriller about Jay, who's in witness protection (we don't know why)until tragedy strikes. Five years later, he's involved in an affair with Lisa, who's caring for a son with cerebral palsy. Jay suddenly disappears. Lisa realises how little she knew about him & tries to find out where he is which involves her in danger. Lots of twists & turns, a great scene in the British Library & visits to Sweden & Scarborough. Not just a thriller with a great revenge plot but a really involving domestic story about family & love. Christine Poulson wrote a great series of mysteries some years ago featuring Cambridge academic Cassandra James.

[Danielle]

I am with you on the frustration on Typepad's ongoing problems--the first time I was sympathetic as it's something that can happen to anyone online, right? But with each additional time things go down I am less sympathetic--especially when I have been writing and saving and I still lose my post! I have actually taken to copying and saving the post to Word when I am worried that the post will be lost! As for reading--I have that collection of Jane Gardam's stories, too, and have just started it--am a few stories in and enjoying it immensely. I had never read any of her stories before. I am also reading a Dutch classic from 1889 called Eline Vere which is also really good. Enjoy your books--looking forward to hearing about them. (And maybe I had better 'copy' this comment just in case....).

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

That looks like a beautiful edition of Jane Gardam's stories. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I love her writing. Right now I'm reading Hild by Nicola Griffith. It's a long, dense book but I'm enjoying it so much, I'm glad it will probably last me all weekend. The evocation of early medieval England is fantastic and Hild's perspective on it is complex and absorbing. It seems there will be another volume to look forward to -- Hild later becomes St. Hilda of Whitby but this book only covers her early life.

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

That looks like a beautiful edition of Jane Gardam's stories. I'm not usually a fan of short stories but I love her writing. Right now I'm reading Hild by Nicola Griffith. It's a long, dense book but I'm enjoying it so much, I'm glad it will probably last me all weekend. The evocation of early medieval England is fantastic and Hild's perspective on it is complex and absorbing. It seems there will be another volume to look forward to -- Hild later becomes St. Hilda of Whitby but this book only covers her early life.

[Dark Puss]

I see another DDOS attack is underway (or was yesterday). Some Typepad sites I can comment upon, but some I cannot. Sorry you are suffering.

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

Sorry, I should have said "early medieval Britain." My mind was fuddled by the different names given to places in the book (England, of course, is a term not used at all).

[Lory @ Emerald City Book Review]

Sorry, I should have said "early medieval Britain." My mind was fuddled by the different names given to places in the book (England, of course, is a term not used at all).

Incidentally, posting comments seems to work better if I hit "preview" first.

[Cornflower]

A Month in the Country is wonderful!

[Cornflower]

Thanks, Lyn, I must go and Christine Poulson to my wish list.

[Cornflower]

Jane Gardam is so good, I'm sure the collected stories will be a treat and a good way to appreciate something of her range.

[Cornflower]

I've added Hild to my wish list, so thanks for that recommendation, Lory.

[Cornflower]

Yes, Typepad has been badly hit recently, and although it's up and running again as I write, there have been lingering glitches with various features, it seems.

[Mystica]

Commenting here on this blog is always touch and go!!! I've got one comment in and thought I will try again. Love your recommendations. Finished the Rumer Godden book This house of Brede and loved it. A book I will want to re read in a year or two. Thank you.