Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. The link up post is posted on the first Saturday of each month. Each month one or two themes are suggested for the books that are chosen. The theme for September is "longer books."
I had a bit of difficulty with September, because of having to find three books with titles beginning with E that fit the theme.
S is for The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (580 pages)
I have only read one book by Pilcher, Winter Solstice. I liked that one and plan to read more. This one has been on my physical shelves for two years. I don't know much about the story except that it is set in Cornwall and London. If you have read The Shell Seekers, tell me what you think of it.
E is for The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter (657 pages)
I have read this book but it was way back in 2004. I remember liking it but that is about it. Fortunately I can link to a very good review at Bill Selnes's blog Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan.
P is for The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker (603 pp)
Description at Goodreads:
This collection ranges over the verse, stories, essays, and journalism of one of the twentieth century's most quotable authors.
I have been wanting a copy of this book for years. My husband found this lovely edition at the book sale a few years ago. I have not read any of it yet and I will first check out the short stories.
T is for Time's Witness by Michael Malone (576 pp)
Michael Malone is the author of three mystery novels that feature two policemen working in a small town in North Carolina. The two policemen are very different. Justin Savile V is the scion of an old and important family in the state. Cuddy Mangum's origins are much lower, but he and Justin are very good friends. Time's Witness, the second in the series, is narrated by Cuddy. Cuddy is educated, but he is not refined, and to the powerful and rich inner circle of Hillston residents, he is a redneck. And at the point in time of this story, he is the Chief of Police. He has cleaned up the police in his town and he has hired women and blacks as police officers. The book was published in 1989 and set around the same time period. (My review)
E is for East of Eden by John Steinbeck (602 pages)
Description at the Penguin Random House site:
Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
I do not think I ever read this book, although I have read other books by Steinbeck. It is not currently on my TBR, although I may consider reading it someday.
M is for Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz (580 pages)
Moonflower Murders is the sequel to an earlier book by Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders. In both books the main character is Susan Ryeland, and both feature the "book within a book" format. However, Horowitz labels them as standalone books on his website. I agree that this book can stand alone, but it does reveal some parts of Magpie Murders, if the reader wants to go back to read that one. (My review)
B is for Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George (610 pp)
I read this book in 2012; it was the 17th book in the series and the last novel in this series that I read. I had read and enjoyed all the books preceding it. The main characters are Detective Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers; they work for Scotland Yard. Lynley is an aristocrat. Havers is from a working-class background. There are numerous secondary characters that are well-portrayed and also evolve throughout the series. I found a lot of praise in this novel, but I was not happy that the books were getting longer and longer. My review of the book included a general overview of the series up to that time.
E is for Exodus by Leon Uris (608 pages)
I read several books by Leon Uris when I was younger, and Exodus was one of them.
Description on Wikipedia:
Exodus is a historical novel by American novelist Leon Uris about the founding of the State of Israel beginning with a compressed retelling of the voyages of the 1947 immigration ship Exodus and describing the histories of the various main characters and the ties of their personal lives to the birth of the new Jewish state.
R is for Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (648 pp)
This is the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, following Assassin's Apprentice. The main character in this trilogy is FitzChivalry, a royal bastard who becomes the king's assassin in the first book, a fact that he and only a few others know. The story is very dark, with little relief. Fitz is shunned by most people in the court and leads a difficult life. I cared about many of the characters, and loathed all the bad ones. And I look forward to reading the third book in the trilogy, which is an even longer book.
18 comments:
Some interesting choices here, Tracy.
My late mother-in-law loved-loved-loved THE SHELL SEEKERS and urged my wife to read it. Kitty tried but did not get more than halfway through before barking. Different strokes.
On the other hand, after reading EXODUS while in high school, Kitty, raised a Catholic, was more than ready to take up arms and join a kibbutz.
Dorothy Parker is a goddess The Steinbeck is a classic. i have been meaning to read both Michael Malone and the Horowitz's Ryeland books. Never read the Carter. Although I enjoyed her earlier mysteries, Elizabeth George has become too long-winded for me, plus I'd probably need a dolly to cart her later books from room to room. I am not a great reader of modern doorstop fantasy, so I'll probably never get to Robin Hobb.
For October, I think you should spell oput the month using scary titles only.
Pretty sure I read THE SHELL SEEKERS but can't remember it. I also read the Malone-same problem. I have picked at Parker a bit here and there and have read a lot of the early George and have seen the tv series.
What great books you've chosen, Tracy! I want to read The Portable Dorothy Parker, myself, and I do like Steinbeck's work, so I was happy to see one of his books on your list, too. Memes like this are really helpful, tooin reminding me of authors whose work I want to read.
I read several of Rosamunde Pilcher's novels back in the day, including The Shell Seekers. Of course I remember nothing about it other than I liked her writing.
Well done with September, Tracy!
I read The Shell Seekers long, long ago. Like several, I don't remember much, but I do remember that her book, September, is a sort of sequel to The Shell Seekers. I loved Coming Home and it's the only one of Pilcher's books that I have on my 'official' reading list (read in 1995). Since I started that list in 1993, you can see how long ago my reading of The Shell Seekers was - ha! Think there was a movie adaptation perhaps.
I like this meme and curious and great list of books. If the title of a book begins with The (Ex The Haunting of Hill House) does it count for an H? Must read Rosamunde Pilcher. I know I would like her and I definitely want to read Moonflower Murders before the year is over.
Jerry, I probably read Exodus when I was in high school also, or shortly thereafter. I am glad you like Dorothy Parker since I have that long book to dabble in. I will have to check the book sale for a copy of East of Eden. For some reason I haven't had a lot of luck with classics there, but I can try.
I think that is a great idea to spell the month of October with scary titles, but since I don't read scary books, I may have trouble coming up with enough titles.
Your picks provided good food-for-thought. I'd like to read The Shell Seekers and East of Eden ... two novels I'm queasy to say I haven't read yet. Both are long but I think will be well worth it.
Patti, After reading Winter Solstice, I thought I would try another book by Pilcher, sometime when I am in the mood for something long. I have not watched the Inspector Lynley TV series.
Margot, I use memes like this to remind me of books I have forgotten about, read or unread.
Kelly, September was more difficult than the previous months. More letters and a more restrictive theme. But it was fun still.
Kay, I remembered that you liked Pilcher's books and had done an interesting post on her books when she died. Coming Home sounds good too, since I like to read books set around World War II.
Thanks, Kathy. Yes, if a title starts with "The", the second word is used for the starting letter.
I remember that you had read and liked Magpie Murders. I have enjoyed all of the mysteries by Horowitz that I have read, and want to read more.
Susan, I was surprised that it was so hard to find longer books that I had either read or was at least familiar with (and matched the correct letters). I think that I avoided reading East of Eden because what I knew of the film adaptation seemed so dark and sad. I never saw the movie either, just clips from it. But once I looked into it more, it sounds like a book worth reading.
I've had The Shell Seekers on my tbr pile 'forever'. Every summer I take it off the shelf, determined to read it 'this year'. Do I? Do I heck. It's happened again this summer...
Cath, I did check your blog for a review of The Shell Seekers because I remember you had it on a list to read. I have books that stay on the shelf for years before I am finally moved to read them. I hope I like The Shell Seekers as much as I enjoyed Winter Solstice.
I absolutely adore the Anthony Horowitz books. I'm so far behind in reading them though.
Ryan, I have read two of the books in the Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery series, but there are still 3 books in the series that I haven't read. I am looking forward to those.
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