Oct, Nov, Dec Books
Dec. 31st, 2011 08:20 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderTraitor's Purse (1941) Margery Allingham
(re-read) This wartime thriller is interesting because the main character (gentleman-amateur-sleuth Albert Campion) has amnesia. So, you spend most of the book following him about as he tries to figure out who he is, what he is investigating, and who he can trust.
The Golden Fortress (Original Title: Sonar Kella) (1971) Satyajit Ray
It's been a couple of years, but I'm still working my way through The Complete Adventures of Feluda one short story or novella at a time.
Seeing a Large Cat (1997) Elizabeth Peters
The Ape Who Guards the Balance (1998) Elizabeth Peters
I started reading the Amelia Peabody books this year, and got through books nine and ten. They are old-fashioned action/romances, but what I love best is the humor, I think Amelia and her ever-growing extended family are hilarious.
The Closed Door and Other Stories (c. 1935-1961) Dorothy Whipple
Max Carrados (c. 1914) Ernest Bramah
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts (2011) Simon Garfield
These three were audiobooks on BBC Radio. The first two were short stories. The first ones mostly sad. The second about a blind detective. The third one had some interesting tidbits and history of typeface (and there were some illustrations on the website) but I think I need to look the physical book to appreciate it.
Destination Unknown (1954) Agatha Christie
(re-read) Agatha has a few thrillers and spy novels spread throughout her career, but they always seem unusual compared to her cozy mysteries. This one concerns disappearing scientists during the Cold War, and it seems ridiculously far-fetched but it takes itself seriously. And I always imagine it as a 1950's film, which makes it fun.
Across the Universe (2011) Beth Revis
Young-adult dystopian murder-mystery. A 17-year-old joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard a spaceship, and expects to be awakened on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. But she is thawed out early. I liked the concept, but not enough to continue the series. It was mostly 'meh.' And the other main character, a teenage boy, was so annoying that I wanted to tear my hair out every time he was the focus of the chapter.
The Gods of Mars (1918) Edgar Rice Burroughs
The second in a series; lots of swashbuckling romance in space.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) James M. Cain
It's like reading a film-noir movie; very gritty, shocking, fast-paced, and concise. A drifter takes a job at a roadside cafe, has an affair with his boss's wife, and they plot murder.
The Crab with the Golden Claws (Le Crabe aux pinces d'or) (1941) Hergé
The Secret of the Unicorn (Le Secret de la Licorne) (1943) Hergé
Red Rackham's Treasure (Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) (1944) Hergé
Re-read three Tintin comic books before seeing the film.
The Thin Man (1934) Dashiell Hammett
The book that inspired my favorite film series. Having the movie practically memorized, I knew all the witty retorts that were coming up. But it was great to read the original, the atmosphere felt darker. One big what?!-moment in the book: one of the characters has a morbid interest in crime and there is an insert of what he is reading: five pages of a true-story about a cannibal in pioneer times. Bizarre.
(re-read) This wartime thriller is interesting because the main character (gentleman-amateur-sleuth Albert Campion) has amnesia. So, you spend most of the book following him about as he tries to figure out who he is, what he is investigating, and who he can trust.
The Golden Fortress (Original Title: Sonar Kella) (1971) Satyajit Ray
It's been a couple of years, but I'm still working my way through The Complete Adventures of Feluda one short story or novella at a time.
Seeing a Large Cat (1997) Elizabeth Peters
The Ape Who Guards the Balance (1998) Elizabeth Peters
I started reading the Amelia Peabody books this year, and got through books nine and ten. They are old-fashioned action/romances, but what I love best is the humor, I think Amelia and her ever-growing extended family are hilarious.
The Closed Door and Other Stories (c. 1935-1961) Dorothy Whipple
Max Carrados (c. 1914) Ernest Bramah
Just My Type: A Book about Fonts (2011) Simon Garfield
These three were audiobooks on BBC Radio. The first two were short stories. The first ones mostly sad. The second about a blind detective. The third one had some interesting tidbits and history of typeface (and there were some illustrations on the website) but I think I need to look the physical book to appreciate it.
Destination Unknown (1954) Agatha Christie
(re-read) Agatha has a few thrillers and spy novels spread throughout her career, but they always seem unusual compared to her cozy mysteries. This one concerns disappearing scientists during the Cold War, and it seems ridiculously far-fetched but it takes itself seriously. And I always imagine it as a 1950's film, which makes it fun.
Across the Universe (2011) Beth Revis
Young-adult dystopian murder-mystery. A 17-year-old joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard a spaceship, and expects to be awakened on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. But she is thawed out early. I liked the concept, but not enough to continue the series. It was mostly 'meh.' And the other main character, a teenage boy, was so annoying that I wanted to tear my hair out every time he was the focus of the chapter.
The Gods of Mars (1918) Edgar Rice Burroughs
The second in a series; lots of swashbuckling romance in space.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) James M. Cain
It's like reading a film-noir movie; very gritty, shocking, fast-paced, and concise. A drifter takes a job at a roadside cafe, has an affair with his boss's wife, and they plot murder.
The Crab with the Golden Claws (Le Crabe aux pinces d'or) (1941) Hergé
The Secret of the Unicorn (Le Secret de la Licorne) (1943) Hergé
Red Rackham's Treasure (Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) (1944) Hergé
Re-read three Tintin comic books before seeing the film.
The Thin Man (1934) Dashiell Hammett
The book that inspired my favorite film series. Having the movie practically memorized, I knew all the witty retorts that were coming up. But it was great to read the original, the atmosphere felt darker. One big what?!-moment in the book: one of the characters has a morbid interest in crime and there is an insert of what he is reading: five pages of a true-story about a cannibal in pioneer times. Bizarre.
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