Cornflower Books

Books of the year

    Six novels, a biography, a memoir, these are my 'best of 2019':

    In a world where the term is overused, David Nott is a true hero; his War Doctor will open your mind and your heart.

    Ursula Buchan's biography of her grandfather John is a fine book about a fine man.

    Diane Setterfield's Once Upon A River cast a wonderful spell.

    The Redeemed concluded Tim Pears's West Country Trilogy - each novel a small masterpiece.

    Niall Williams's This Is Happiness will move you to laughter and tears and have you marvelling at its author's way with a story.

    Elizabeth Goudge appears twice on my list (for the second time), charming with The Little White Horse and soothing with The Herb of Grace.

    Dorothy Dunnett's The Game of Kings was a late highlight: a tour de force with the promise - in the shape of the rest of the series - of great pleasure to come.

                                                     ~~~~~

    Thank you for stopping by, for taking an interest, and for sharing your thoughts and discoveries. Here's wishing you health, happiness and much good reading in 2020!

Little Women

    My family and I saw the film today - we loved it!

Season's greetings

    Wishing you a peaceful and pleasant Christmas.

It has now turned noon ...

    "... and the day slides slowly from the roofs of the sloping village. It freezes harder than ivory; one can almost see it in the air as though the light was being stretched on nails. A clear cold radiance hangs over the landscape and a crow crosses it on creaking wings. The rich earth, with all its seeds and humming fields and courtships, is now closed and bound in white vellum. Only one colour remains, today's single promise, pricked in red over the ashen world - seen in a flitting robin, some rosehips on a bush, the sun hanging low by the wood, and through the flushed cottage windows the berries of the holly and the russet faces of the feasting children."

Laurie Lee, "A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country", from The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories edited by Jessica Harrison.

Hearing things

    A question: do you use Audible, and if so what do you think of it?

     As far as I understand it the basic membership fee entitles you to one book a month, regardless of cover price, and the book can be 'read' on any number of computers or devices, so does that mean that Mr. C. and I can share books, i.e. by signing into the account he could listen on his phone and I on mine? And what if one of us has read further than the other - would that cause a difficulty?

    I am quite clueless about all this so any help you can give would be much appreciated.

Eyes of cornflower blue

    Thanks to everyone who over the last couple of weeks has nominated a favourite historical novel. I passed on our list to the Walter Scott Prize, and from the submissions received they have compiled a top ten on which everyone can vote (until 16th. December). The winner will be announced early next year.

    I've read five of the books on the list, and strong as the field is I'm in no doubt as to which I'll plump for: Dorothy Dunnett's The Game of Kings comes top of the poll for me. It's brilliantly, exuberantly over-written, and a joy for that! It's dense in detail and rich in ornament but vital and vibrant in its colour; it's stocked full of references and quotations (and requiring more frequent resort to a dictionary than any novel I've read) but paced fast and furious, neat and deft in the running of its course. I loved its characters from wise, clever Sybilla and gentle, courageous Christian, to blustering Buccleuch (who has some of the best lines!), hot-headed Will, and Lymond himself - he of the cornflower blue eyes - what reader would not fall for him?

    In the final few pages the other day I went straight to Topping & Co. and bought Queens' Play, book 2 in the series, and I shall start it soon - a treat in store.

Reading the map

    Our friend Harriet is soon to set off on a big adventure. Over the course of six months next year she and her family will travel - by car, boat and train - from 'Tweed to Tokyo', that is from their home in Scotland's Tweed Valley all the way to Japan. You can see the route above, and here on their blog is a provisional list of stopping points.

    Culture will be one of the pillars of the trip, and Harriet is looking for appropriate reading for as many of the countries/cities she visits as possible. I thought we might be able to provide some pointers, so if you can suggest some fiction (including children's) or non-fiction which you feel in some way captures the essence of any of the places on the route or is a 'must read' from a country's literature, please leave a comment below and I'll pass it on.

   To get us started here are one or two ideas in no particular order (with links to posts): for Finland, A Winter Book by Tove Jansson; Russia, Eric Newby's The Big Red Train Ride; the Netherlands, I was a Stranger by John Hackett; Hungary, Embers, Sandor Marai; Japan, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell ... 

    Let's see how far we can get!