Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Reading Profile
I’ve been a huge book lover all my life. Well-worn copies of my favorites as a child have a special place in my home library and they always will. As an adult, most of my reading favorites are mysteries. I guess you would call them classic British-type mysteries, not too psycho-thriller with blood and guts, but not cupcake-themed either. Favorite authors include Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Colin Dexter, G. M. Malliet and Veronica Heley. Why mysteries, particularly British ones? I enjoy trying to figure out the murderer, but it’s also the place and the setting that I love. I enjoy visiting the village, greeting old characters and meeting new ones and seeing how they fit into the context of the setting. I like to follow a series and see how things change and develop, particularly over several books. I also love C.S. Lewis, P.G. Wodehouse, Miss Read and Jane Austen, and I am a big Harry Potter fan. It occurs to me that the only author I have listed here that is not British has set her books in an English village. So I guess there is no need to explain what an anglophile I am. My bookshelves will speak to that!
However, as I look around me, my bookshelves also contain a great deal of YA dystopia and children’s fantasy/science fiction. Some series I enjoy are The Hunger Games, Dorothy Must Die, Cinder, The Red Queen, The Maze Runner, and Divergent (except the last one, Allegiant, which was a sad excuse for a conclusion to an otherwise good series). I don’t make lists anymore of what I plan on reading this month or this year, as they either get changed completely, or I am too ambitious and wear myself out just thinking about it, but here are some titles I look forward to reading in the (near-ish) future:
1. I Am Number Four I was waiting for this series to finish before I began it, but after announcing the end they have decided to continue the series. I am tired of waiting.
2. Winter So far this series has been excellent and I have heard the final novel is wonderful.
3. Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death This was a great series on PBS based on the books by James Runcie. More England, vicars and bodies.
4. Hogwarts, A History This book has not been written yet, but when it is I hope it is 12 volumes.
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ReplyDeleteReading Winter right now and enjoying it! I also have a love of dystopias (for which I am often ragged on) so it's nice to meet another fan of them. And good to meet another Lewis fan! I have not heard of Dorothy Must Die so I will have to look that up.
ReplyDeleteReading Winter right now and enjoying it! I also have a love of dystopias (for which I am often ragged on) so it's nice to meet another fan of them. And good to meet another Lewis fan! I have not heard of Dorothy Must Die so I will have to look that up.
ReplyDeletePaula, I love the way you explain the setting of British mysteries. I, too, am a mystery fan and the setting is such an integral part of the overall plot and feel of the book. I particularly like authors who are able to transport the reader, and you have listed some of the best. I'm intrigued by the James Runcie series, an author unknown to me. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy Winter! I thought it was an amazing end to an awesome, awesome series.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see another anglophile here! My daughter's name is London if that tells you anything. I love reading about England, fiction and non-fiction. I am more of a British lit fan - Jane Austen, Lord Byron, William Blake, etc. But I've always wanted to try PG Wodehouse, those books sound like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteYour description of setting reminds me of the reasons why I have always enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie mysteries as well. I have recently branched out and become a fan of YA dystopian novels and have always liked fantasy, such as Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteYour description of setting reminds me of the reasons why I have always enjoyed reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie mysteries as well. I have recently branched out and become a fan of YA dystopian novels and have always liked fantasy, such as Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteI also like mysteries, especially British. I love the Agatha Raisin series and have also really enjoyed the Lady Darby mysteries (Scotland ) by Indiana author Anna Lee Huber. I enjoyed Cinder but did not read any of the other books. It sounds like I should put the rest of the series on my list!
ReplyDeleteI also like mysteries, especially British. I love the Agatha Raisin series and have also really enjoyed the Lady Darby mysteries (Scotland ) by Indiana author Anna Lee Huber. I enjoyed Cinder but did not read any of the other books. It sounds like I should put the rest of the series on my list!
ReplyDeleteI have similar tastes and like others have commented here, am also an anglophile. A few of my trips to Great Britain were literary-themed with my husband. We particularly like Wales and the Cotswold area of England. Here is a link to a site that is fiction set in the cozy villages of that south-central area of England:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cotswoldlife.co.uk/out-about/fiction_in_the_cotswolds_1_1630757
We also enjoy walking/hiking and there is a cute murder mystery by Joan Dahr Lambert set in this area centered on the walking paths of the English countryside. I always get a kick out of the village names... Chipping Norton and Wootten-by-Woodstock and my favorite, Upper Slaughter. Good stuff!
It's great to see so many British mystery fans and anglophiles on here! I haven't read any of the Sidney Chambers books, but I have watched all of the Grantchester episodes and really enjoyed them (as is usual for Masterpiece and BBC productions!), so I will have to read some of those when I get a chance.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see so many British mystery fans and anglophiles on here! I haven't read any of the Sidney Chambers books, but I have watched all of the Grantchester episodes and really enjoyed them (as is usual for Masterpiece and BBC productions!), so I will have to read some of those when I get a chance.
ReplyDelete