Terribly belated coverage of my October reading, for which I ardently apologise - it was my birthday in late October, then I was busy at work, then I was on holiday for a week. Still, it seems that October was a pretty interesting reading month for me.
Poirot's Early Cases by Agatha Christie
I was lured into this Audible purchase because it is narrated in part by the Poirot and Hastings from UK television adaptations - Hugh Fraser and David Suchet. In my mind David Suchet simply IS Poirot, and therefore an audiobook which had him voicing the Belgian detective was a winner.
This book featured a number of short stories about Poirot and some interesting, and some not so interesting, mysteries. I love Poirot adaptations but I confess - rather blasphemously, I think - that I am simply not sold on Christie as a writer. Still, I enjoyed listening to this, for its narration as much as for it's content.
Buffalo Bill: Scout, Showman, Visionary by Steve Friesen
My Dad went on a trip to Denver, Colorado last year and brought me back a couple of books about people who are considered as sons and daughters of the city, as t'wer. One of them was this lovely book about Buffalo Bill, written by the curator of the Buffalo Bill museum. The book is a narrative of Bill's life, but also features lots of authentic photographs and pictures of artefacts from the museum, which made this a very engaging read. I know more about Buffalo Bill now than I ever expected to, and would recommend this to people interested in that period of history.
The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James
This was a little literary mystery classic which I enjoyed a lot. It centres around the writings of a famous author, admired by the narrator, who confesses to the narrator one night that there is a secret to his writings, something to decipher. Our narrator is desperate to discover the answer and what follows is an engaging narrative which shows James' ability to keep you in suspense. Recommended.
The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Old Nurse's Story is a little gothic ghost story by Gaskell, featuring a nursemaid and her charge being sent to a draughty old house in the countryside, where the young girl is plagued by ghosts of the previous inhabitants. Also featuring the short story, Curious, If True, which is a strange little ditty about a man named Richard Whittington stumbling across a Chateau in the French countryside and finding himself at some sort of gathering of Fairy Tale characters - a good story but perhaps some of my knowledge of Fairy Tales meant I missed some of the nods in this narrative. An intriguing read.
I Hate and I Love by Catullus
Not much to say about this one, except for it's a collection of Roman love poetry, a lot of it stream of consciousness and a lot of it surprisingly modern. I am planning on reading more if I can.
Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas
The third book in the Throne of Glass series and the story is becoming more complicated and intriguing now, with the introduction of a few more different characters. I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else reading the series, but this is a good novel for character development and also for increased exploration of the world Maas has created.
My Adventures with Your Money by T D Thornton
I was lucky enough to be asked to read and review this ARC for the history blog, History ASM. My review can be found here. I enjoyed this one much more than I expected, given that it is about con artists in early 20th century America, but I would definitely recommend.
Mrs Guinness: The Rise and Fall of Diana Mitford, The Thirties Socialite by Lyndsy Spence
This is another book I was asked to review for History ASM, and so that review will be up with them shortly. In the meantime, I can say this was a interesting book, but I was unsure of the writing style and my dislike of the subject herself may have swayed me a little. I won't be reading about Diana in particularly again, I think.
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