Books I've read this year

A seasonal dive into the books I’ve read since the winter solstice.

Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta

You will need to give this one some time. A wonderful insight into Australian Indigenous People’s way of life and thought. This is only a starter and I guess things get way more complicated in this very different approach to life. Indigenous thinking is similar to shamanic ways of thinking so it won’t be too unfamiliar if you’ve come across that, but otherwise, this approach to being and society may just blow your mind.

Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg

Cold, icy, brutal. Miss Smilla certainly knows how to look after herself and it isn’t always pretty. Set in Denmark and the Arctic Ocean, Smilla enters the dangerous world of shipping espionage after the death of a small boy. What leads her there are the boy’s footprints in the snow. Smilla knows cold and she knows ice, having been taught to read the weather. Not quite what I expected but one that makes a (snowy) impression.

Under the Stars by Matt Gaw

Reading about the dark is a theme I keep going back to, there is something secret about it, like entering another world and in a way, that is exactly what Matt Gaw brings out in this book. This is an extended wander around in the dark - and the city lights. There is a chapter on the city after dark which is inevitably about how overstimulating and stark city lights are - we sort of know that the bright city lights are less healthy and we can feel exhausted by them. This certainly comes out in contrast to true darkness which can be frightening but also enlivening. A quick read, and some pointers on the night sky.

The Monk’s Hood and The Virgin in Ice by Ellis Peters

Cosy crime reading for January, both set in icy, snowy winter. These have gentle monk sleuthing, murder, medicinal herbs, rape and pillaging, storming of castles, and idealistic youths pretending to be each other. Plus a surprise I never knew about Brother Cadfael. Plenty of crime, but at the end of the day the Brothers retreat behind but monastery walls - cosy crime at its very cosiest.

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

Anyone who reads my book lists will have realised by now that there is a steady stream of Louise Penny. Thankfully we are back in Three Pines for this one, and for a right old rollercoaster of a moral condundrum. These books are nothing but surprising, the characters strong, and with the odd swearing duck.

A Testament of Character by Sulari Gentill

What a dandy group are Rowland Sinclair’s friends. They seem to have nothing better to do than stay up dancing and drinking gin, but still manage to get themselves involved in gangs and murder. It is entertaining depression-era cosy crime about rich people who have an eye for nice cars and furs.

They Came by Sea by Horatio Clare

I nearly stopped reading this several times. It is an ‘uplifting’ story of an alternative view of the small boats crossing the channel, of the care and compassion of volunteers and coastguards. The volunteers are terrified to say anything to journalists in case of backlash from the right, although Clare does get to speak to some of the people arriving here by boat. Apparently they want to come to the UK because Britain is ‘fair’ and ‘not racist’, which is heartbreaking because we know othewise. We know that Britain isn’t fair and it is racist, and getting more racist in the current climate. What these people are travelling to is a fairy tale that doesn’t exist. Make sure you are feeling fairly robust before starting this.

The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel

A Jack the Ripper wannabe is possibly walking the streets of Scotland in the 1880s. A disgraced London detective is sent to help to local CID and an unlikely police pairing is formed. As detective duos go, it is novel, although obviously they are very different personalities because they always have to be. The murderer has a thing about violins, and seems to disappear into thin air. It is unclear whether the dramatic conclusion is meant to be slightly comical, but that might be just me.

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The Morville Year by Katherine Swift

A lovely gardening stroll through the year. A collection of newspaper columns gathered together organised by month, not just about gardening but the flow of the year, the weather and all sorts of things that might be of interest if you only have a few pots, never mind the large garden at Dower House in Morville.

Murder at the Seaview Hotel by Glenda Young

The blurb on the cover says cosy crime, which as a cosy crime lover, appealed to me. It’s so cosy it’s barely breathing. The story around twelve Elvis impersonators staying at the Seaview hotel in Scarborough might only really be interesting to Elvis fans, although I was willing to give it the airtime it might deserve. The characters struggled to be engaging, despite Jean the cook’s frequent “sage” sayings which I assume was supposed to give the story some much needed grounding. I did finish the book because it was a rainy afternoon, plus I’d got too far past the half way point to give up.

The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

A hugely enjoyable series with Dr Ruth Galloway, a very unlikely heroine. Mixing police work, archaeology (not much admittedly) and complicated personal lives. This instalment features underground societies and which may or may not be occupied by homeless people who no longer feel there is a place for them ‘above ground’ - make sure your social conscience is intact before reading. The main reason I read them though is because Ruth is imperfect and the humour wry. And there is the Druid. If that doesn’t whet your appetite, I don’t know what will.