Spies
Ngaio Marsh: The New Zealand Books, plus Grave Mistake
The first book by Ngaio Marsh that I ever read happened to be her very last one, Light Thickens, which is as much concerned with a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth as it is with the murder of one of the cast members. To a mystery fan without any Shakespearean inclinations, this might have proved fatal, […]
Read MorePatricia Wentworth: The Key
Like virtually all of the Appointment with Agatha side reads so far (except for Ellis Peters’s Fallen into the Pit), The Key was a reread for me, but a thoroughly enjoyable one. This is a fairly early book in the context of Wentworth’s Miss Silver series and one of her first really solid books, chiefly relying […]
Read MoreFebruary and March 2021: Reading Recap
Well, go figure. The first quarter of 2021 is already behind us, never mind that I’m still having to remind myself on occasion to write “2021” instead of “2020” … (and we’re even a week into April already, but let that go). Anyway, since I never got around to doing a “February in review” post, […]
Read MoreGraham Greene: The Third Man (and The Fallen Idol)
If you’re coming to this book from having watched the movie starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard (as you arguably should — Greene wrote the novella as a preliminary exercise for the screenplay), probably the first thing that is going to stand out to you is the changed perspective: Whereas the […]
Read MoreJohn Le Carré: Call for the Dead
I discovered Le Carré as a teenager; not through any of his Smiley novels but through The Little Drummer Girl (his most recent book at the time), which, in the snobbery that characterizes the German literary scene to this very day, was characterized as a thriller and hence, “entertainment literature” (as opposed to “serious literature” […]
Read MoreAgatha Christie: The Secret of Chimneys
Oh, I would love to love this book so much more than I ultimately do. There Christie goes and takes me on a merry romp in the spirit of The Secret Adversary (whose plot, let’s face it, is every bit as implausible as that of The Secret of Chimneys), complete with adventurers, mysterious manuscripts and […]
Read MoreAn Alphabet of My Likes and Dislikes: “L”
This is a post belonging to a new blogging project — the title is pretty much self-explanatory, I think; the project’s introductory post can be found HERE. Credit for the idea: BeetleyPete. As always, the only thing linking the two items mentioned in this post in my mind is that they both start with the […]
Read MoreThe Guardian: John le Carré, author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, dies aged 89
See: www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/13/john-le-carre-author-of-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-dies-aged-89 R.I.P. — much more than a spy novelist; his knowledge of both human nature and post-WWII international politics was second to none. Fortunately, we’ll always have his books … but I do hope 2020 is finally done with the list of great people it’s taking from us forever.
Read MoreThe Halloween Creatures Book Tag
Rules: Answer all prompts. Answer honestly. Tag 1-13 people. Link back to this post. ( For me it was SnoopyDoo!) Remember to credit the creator. (Anthony @ Keep Reading Forward)< Have fun! Witch A Magical Character or Book Terry Pratchett’s witches, particularly Granny Weatherwax. And DEATH (preferably in his Hogfather incarnation). No contest. […]
Read MoreSarah-Jane Stratford: Radio Girls
Radio Girls, the book I began this year with (as picked by the bibliomancy dreidel in 24 Festive Tasks) started out strong, and I truly enjoyed the author’s exploration of the early days of the BBC. Unfortunately, she couldn’t resist the temptation of bringing in the (real life) spy background of one of the book’s […]
Read More2020 Reading Plans / Expectations & 2019 in Review
24 Festive Tasks: Door 22 – New Year’s Eve / St. Sylvester’s Day, Tasks 1-3 & Door 18 – Hanukkah, Task 1: Door 22 Task 1: Tell us: What are your reading goals for the coming year? Task 2: The reading year in review: How did you fare – what was good, what wasn’t? Task […]
Read MoreChristmas Book Gifts
24 Festive Tasks: Door 20 – Christmas, Task 3: Did your Christmas celebrations include books? Share your book haul pictures with us! Trust Gaby to raid my wishlist and add to my book collection come gift giving time! Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2022193/24-festive-tasks-door-20-christmas-task-3
Read MoreHalloween Bingo 2019: Twenty First and Twenty Second Extra Square – Full Moon & King of Fear
Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1974242/halloween-bingo-2019-twenty-first-and-twenty-second-extra-square
Read MoreBL-opoly: Robot Card for Square 17 (“Why?”)
Here’s my robot card selection: 1. Cary Elwes: As You Wish 2. Sarah Bakewell: At the Existentialist Café 3. Banine: Days in the Caucasus 4. Gertrude Bell: A Woman in Arabia 5. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom 6. Helene Cooper: The House at Sugar Beach 7. Gerald Durrell: My Family and Other Animals 8. […]
Read MoreJohn Le Carré: A Small Town in Germany
This book is seriously odd — and it cut very close to home not merely geographically but also in terms of my own political formation. Le Carré first takes eons to trot out his personal disappointment with having been posted to Bonn instead of a “sexier” capital (via the voices of the British diplomats and […]
Read MoreBL-opoly: Dice Roll #21 & Scottie Dog: Please pick my next book!
Well, I’m not sure what I’ve just read (John Le Carré’s A Small Town in Germany certainly hasn’t aged very well, generally speaking, though in some parts it’s eerily prescient); anyway, having finished it, I’m allowed to roll again. This takes me to square 10: Beach Week — read a book that appears on any […]
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