What’s on my bookshelf: October

It has been a bit of a mixed month for reading. There has comfort reading (cosy books to curl up with and a pot of tea), a couple I gave up on, and even a work of non-fiction that was not about food. Anyway, first up, my friend who is in Chicago at the moment who I mentioned in my last post, spotted this bookshop and thought I might like it. I do.

First up is Jonathon Coe’s most recent work The Proof of my Innocence. It’s funny, as I can’t remember anything about this book, either good or bad. The review in The Guardian sums it up well, but it was a book I read, quite enjoyed, but have forgotten already. What does that say? Anyway, the focus on UK politics and class snobbery and might not be to everyone’s taste or background knowledge.

I followed this up with actually reading an Agatha Raisin book as opposed to listening to the excellent BBC adaptations or an audio book. As the Pig Turns was not one of the best, and I definitely prefer to listen to these books, with Penelope Keith’s voice of course. Disappointing.

Next up the latest Richard Osman We Chase Shadows which I loved. It is the second in the Now We Solve Murders series and, as those of us who had read it at book club last night agreed, better than the first one. A body is found on the steps of a private villa in the Italian hills. On the body is a threatening note, signed by a mystery man. Meanwhile back We Solve Murders HQ, Amy, Rosie and Steve leap at the chance to take on their first proper case. Once they start investigating, the suspects keep piling up: there’s Sweden’s most-wanted criminal, an ex-wife and a business rival – yet the murderer keeps evading them. And as the trio dig deeper, it seems that danger is close at hand. Great fun.

In contrast, I also enjoyed this book by Swedish writer Ia Genberg, Small Comfort. Beautifully written, with each tale having as its focus, money, the book is a real delight and just that little bit different. Recommended.

On Libby, I read The Tower. originally published as Post Mortem, is the first in a series of crime fiction by Kate London. The first three books have been made into TV series, hence the change to the title of the first book. This is a well written, easy read, with a great plot, beginning with the unexplained deaths of a long-serving policeman and a teenage girl who fall from a tower block in London’s East End. Worth reading when you want a good story.

I saw Sophie Wan’s The Social Circle when I was looking for a book for the work book club to find a book with a cover you like and nearly picked this then. I saw it in our local library, so decided to give it a go. Four friends meet at university and create a social network on the lines of Facebook. There is the inevitable falling out and reconciliation. It was very readable, and very much a book about friendship rather than social media. A decent read.

The non-fiction this month was a collection of essays about rivers: being beside them, watching them flow and living with them. As ever with such a book, there are some that are more enjoyable than others, but a nice book to dip in and out of.

I am about half way through the third of Solvej Balle’s On The Calculation of Volume, but loving it so far. There are now two people trapped on the same day in November….

I also listened to the first three 44 Scotland Street books by Alexander McCall-Smith, just perfect for when I was feeling poorly. I was also reminded of that great Scottish word fantoush. It stands alongside ashet, driech, trochled and peely wally as some guid Scots words.

• Jonathon Coe The Proof of my Innocence 4 MPs
• M.C Beaton As the Pig Turns 3 Cotswold villages
• Richard Osman We Chase Shadows 5 gangsters
• Io Genberg Small Comfort 4 stories
• Kate London The Tower 4 detectives
• Sophie Wan The Social Circle 4 social networks
• Edited collection By The River 3.5 rivers
• Solvej Balle On the Calculation of Volume III will probably be a 4 or 5.

What have you been reading recently?

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis