1stringcat3
1. The Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories Volume 5 - Alistair Gunn, editor
Overall the Wimbourne series is better than the Valencourt Christmas series.
Overall the Wimbourne series is better than the Valencourt Christmas series.
4stringcat3
4. Crampton Hodnet - Barbara Pym.
Very funny, and the Byrne bio of Pym identified the originals of the key characters. Most enjoyable.
5. Miss Buncle's Book - D.E. Stevenson
A very cozy, gently comic novel.
Very funny, and the Byrne bio of Pym identified the originals of the key characters. Most enjoyable.
5. Miss Buncle's Book - D.E. Stevenson
A very cozy, gently comic novel.
5stringcat3
6. The Virago Book of Ghost Stories - Richard Dalby, editor
An above-average collection, arranged chronologically from 1833 to 1991.
An above-average collection, arranged chronologically from 1833 to 1991.
6stringcat3
7. Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
above-average collections of wry stories
8. Just William - Richmal Crompton
Very dated stories of a mischievous eleven-year-old. Gently humorous.
above-average collections of wry stories
8. Just William - Richmal Crompton
Very dated stories of a mischievous eleven-year-old. Gently humorous.
7stringcat3
9. Fontamara - Ignazio Silone
Excellent novel of the 1930s, relating the grim lives of the cafoni of the Abruzzi in the early days of the Mussolini regime. Part I of the Abruzzo Trilogy.
10. Bread and Wine - Ignazio Silone
The gripping second part of the Abruzzo Trilogy.
11. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
A re-read after 50 years or so.
Excellent novel of the 1930s, relating the grim lives of the cafoni of the Abruzzi in the early days of the Mussolini regime. Part I of the Abruzzo Trilogy.
10. Bread and Wine - Ignazio Silone
The gripping second part of the Abruzzo Trilogy.
11. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
A re-read after 50 years or so.
8stringcat3
12. True Ghost Stories of our Own Time - Vivienne Rae-Ellis, editor
9stringcat3
13 & 14. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes & But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes - Anita Loos
Funnier than I'd expected. GPB was the better book but it also had the advantage of being published first. BGMB would have had a better reception had it been the first.
Funnier than I'd expected. GPB was the better book but it also had the advantage of being published first. BGMB would have had a better reception had it been the first.
10stringcat3
15. November Night Tales -
Disappointing. Not Jamesian. Overlong, no real payoff.
Disappointing. Not Jamesian. Overlong, no real payoff.
11stringcat3
16. My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
What a charming book! Lucid, evocative writing. A love letter to his four years on Corfu.
What a charming book! Lucid, evocative writing. A love letter to his four years on Corfu.
12stringcat3
17. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
13stringcat3
18. Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box - Madeleine Albright
Charming memoir.
Charming memoir.
