The November, 2022 Reading List

Today is the final day of the month and time to post yet another monthly reading list. Like other recent book lists, the list for this month has fewer books than what had been a normal amount for me over the past few years.

At least, I was able to complete Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Wimsey series. Prior to book six in the series - The Five Red Herrings - it appeared that I would finish the 11 books in the series rather quickly. However, as I wrote previously, I didn't care for book six and had decided to take a break from Lord Wimsey for a spell. On November 1, I started back on the series with Have His Carcase.

I've been more or less neutral on the series with books seven, eight, nine, and ten. I found the final book, Busman's Honeymoon to be my favorite among the eleven, although it's not without flaws. The book seemed to flow faster than many of the others, although there were sections of the book which I thought were unnecessary. Of course, I understand the need to highlight Wimsey's new bride, Harriet Vane. It is titled Busman's Honeymoon after all. But I found Sayers' concentration on the marriage over the mystery story trying. I also didn't care for Sayers overloading the final chapters with correspondence written in French.

We learn the identity of the killer in Chapter XX so the continuation of the book for 3 more chapters seemed like a waste to me.

I mentioned in Monday's post that in Busman's Honeymoon , Lord Wimsey's mother writes in her diary about her attempt to read a book entitled The Stars Look Down . This book will be the first book read in December. I've learned that the third novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Before Your Memory Fades , has been released. I'm hoping to obtain a copy for the December queue. Wish me luck.

Now, for the list - all written by Dorothy L.Sayers:

Have His Carcase
Murder Must Advertise
The Nine Tailors
Gaudy Night
Busman's Honeymoon

A Few Thoughts on the Writings of Dorothy L. Sayers

As I begin this post, I've almost finished reading the 11th and final novel in Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series of mystery novels, Busman's Honeymoon.

Although considerably fewer in number than the collection of Agatha Christie novels I read last year, it has taken me nearly the same amount of time to read these eleven.

As mystery novels, Sayers' work cannot compare with Christie's, - Sayers' books are simply not "page turners", although it seems to me that after the first few novels in the series, Sayers was attempting to write good novels - not good mystery novels, per se. I was particularly interested in the novels and writers mentioned in the Sayers' series. In several of the novels, Sayers mentions the name of Edgar Wallace. Wallace was unknown to me, but I've learned that he was a very popular writer of adventure novels and detective stories in his day. One of his best known works was his contribution to the creation of King Kong . Much of his work is in the public domain and I've downloaded quite a bit to be placed into the queue.

In Gaudy Night, the writer Sheridan Le Fanu is mentioned a few times. I've read two works by Le Fanu - Carmilla in 2015, and Uncle Silas in 2017. I've downloaded a few more of Le Fanu's work to be placed into the queue as well.

Also in Gaudy Night , Sayers mentions a book by C.P. Snow - The Search. I've managed to locate of number of Snow's work, although I couldn't locate a downloadable file for this particular novel.

In Busman's Honeymoon , Lord Wimsey's mother writes in her diary about her attempt to read a book entitled The Stars Look Down. :
"21 May.--Was reading The Stars Look Down (Mem. very depressing, and not what I expected from the title--think I must have had a Christmas carol in mind, but remember now it has something to do with the Holy Sepulchre--must ask Peter and make sure)".

According to wikipedia:
" The Stars Look Down is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. "

Fortunately, I was able to download The Stars Look Down and I've scheduled it to be my first read of December.

The Reading List for September, 2022

September is nearly at an end and the time has come for me to post yet another monthly book list. Frankly, my heart isn't in it.

There are only four books on this month's list - a very disappointing number, to say the least. Unfortunately, my choice of books for September weren't very interesting. Of the four books, I can only recommend one - In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. Even it has fallen in my ratings - from a five star to a four star. Still, it's a book worth reading, however.

So, for better or worse, here is the list of books read in September.

The Five Red Herrings  Dorothy L. Sayers
Good Karma : How to Create the Causes of Happiness  Thubten Chodron
The Deerslayer  James Fenimore Cooper
In This House of Brede  Rumer Godden

The Five Red Herrings

The Five Red Herrings is the sixth in the Lord Peter Wimsey series of mystery novels by Dorothy L. Sayers. The eleven novels in the series, as well as a number of short stories, are available for download (as e-books) at a Canadian website, fadedpage.com. I had downloaded the 11 e-books last year when I was on an Agatha Christie binge, but had neglected to read any until after coming upon  a review of her first novel by a Facebook friend.

After reading Whose Body? and clearing up a few books I had already put into the queue, I began reading the Lord Peter Wimsey series. I've read the first six, and for the most part, I've enjoyed what I've read. However, I'm afraid that I didn't care for The Five Red Herrings . I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I found Sayers' usage of a heavy Scottish accent in this particular book distracting. The story was far too complicated and difficult to follow, and the accents made it much worse. From wikipedia:

"The first edition was reviewed in The Spectator of 1931 by MI Cole who found the impregnable alibis of the rather indistinguishable artist suspects, and the elaborate examination of timetables, ticket punches and so on, to be really taxing to the intelligence. He noted that Lord Peter Wimsey and the author's usual pleasant fantasies have retired into the background leaving a 'pure-puzzle' book which is disappointing, dry, and dull. He acknowledged, however, that it has been appreciated immensely by puzzle fanatics who possess 'the type of mind that goes on solving crossword puzzles for ever and ever' ".

After reading The Five Red Herrings, I decided to put the last five books in the series on a temporary hold. I've gone off in a totally new direction with the book I'm currently reading - Good Karma : How to Create the Causes of Happiness by Thubten Chodron.

Reading List for August, 2022

August being the anniversary month of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it was originally my intention to read several books on the two bombings this month. However, as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I miscalculated the amount of time it would take to read the last few books in July and actually finished reading John Hersey's Hiroshima ahead of schedule.

The first two books read in August were Susan Southard's Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War and The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians edited by Cynthia C. Kelly.

I had read that Southard had been concerned that, although much had been written on the bombing of Hiroshima, relatively little had been written on Nagasaki. She certainly made up for that neglect. Her book was similar to Hersey's in that like Hershey, she concentrated on the experiences of a few individuals. The difference being Hershey's book (or rather magazine article) was 106 pages and Southard writing more than 400.

There has been much written since 1945 as to whether or not the dropping of the two atomic bombs was necessary in order to end the second World War. As far as Hiroshima is concerned, I'm not sure how to answer that question. The arguments both pro and con the bombing seem reasonable to me. But, I have to say that in my opinion, the bombing of Nagasaki three days after Hiroshima was unnecessary and could possibly approach the level of a war crime.

I found the book on the Manhattan Project to be a bit tedious. Most of the essays and stories in that book were more about the "wonderful" achievements of the project, and less about any moral objection to the use of atomic weapons during the war.

When I had had my fill of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I went on to lighter fare. I did not post a review of Tracy Chevalier's book - I did, however write something on my thoughts on the work of Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

In July, I read the first of Dorothy L. Sayer's mystery novels, Whose Body? . I enjoyed that book enough to read more of Sayer's novels in August. I've written posts on two of those books - Cloud of Witness and Unnatural Death. . I've enjoyed the four books by Sayer that I've read this month; I thought I would manage a fifth one - The Five Red Herrings but I was unable to finish that ebook before the end of the month.

I have excuses, of course, as to why I'm still reading The Five Red Herrings . I've recently discovered a podcast which has taken up a lot of my time - The History of English Podcast. The podcast started in June of 2012. I've got quite a bit of catching up to do. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone nerdy enough to have an interest in the history of the English language.

Another reason why I've not finished with The Five Red Herrings has to do with Sayer's writing style with this particular book. The story takes place in Scotland, and Sayer thought it necessary to have many of the characters speak with a heavy Scottish accent. This makes it difficult to read. Here's an example from Chapter VII:

"Ay," said Jeanie, philosophically, "I'm no surprised. She's troubled in her mind aboot Mr. Farren. And nae wonder, wi' him mekkin' a' that disturbance and gaein' aff that gate an' never comin' back for twa nichts."
"Two nights?" said Wimsey.
"Ay. Nicht before last it was he went aff on his bicycle, swearin' somethin' awfu' an' nae ward tae say whaur he was gaein' nor what he was gaein' to du."
"Then he wasn't at home last night for dinner?"
"Him? Hame for's denner? 'Deed no, nor ony time o' the day. Monday nicht it was he come back an' fund Campbell i' the hoose an' sent him packin', an' after that there was sic a collie-shangie it nigh frighted my brither's wife into a fit an' her verra near her time, tu. An' oot he gaes and away, wi' Mistress Farren runnin' oot o' the door after him wi' the tears fallin' doon her cheeks. I dinna ken for why she takes on so aboot the man. I'd let him gae an' be daumed tae him, wi' his jealousies an' his tempers."

At any rate, here's the list of books read in August, 2022.

Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War   Susan Southard
The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians   edited by Cynthia C. Kelly
Girl With a Pearl Earring   Tracy Chevalier
Before the Coffee Gets Cold   Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Tales From The Cafe   Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Cloud of Witness   Dorothy L. Sayer
Unnatural Death   Dorothy L. Sayer
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club    Dorothy L. Sayer
Strong Poison   Dorothy L. Sayer

Unnatural Death - Dorothy L. Sayers

Unnatural Death is the third novel in Dorothy L.Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series. How do we judge a mystery novel written 95 years ago? Fans of the genre, like myself are willing to overlook some things that haven't held up in these "modern" times.

I found the book entertaining, although I had a pretty good idea how the killer dunit very early on. The method used may have been unusual to the readers of 1927, but to today's audience, it seems fairly obvious.

Something else equally obvious to today's reader, which may have gone over the heads of some back in the day is the sexuality of certain female characters. I'm pretty sure the more astute readers understood that Miss Mary Whittaker and Miss Vera Findlater were lesbians. Of course, that word couldn't appear in a popular crime novel of the early 20th century, but Sayers certainly left enough clues for the would-be detectives reading this book.

I'm sure that many modern readers will frown on Sayers use of the "N-word" in the book, but as it turns out, the "person of colour" (as another character referred to the person in question) is one of the few characters that comes out on top in the end.

Readers who are fans of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction should enjoy this book, although I'm not sure it works for the general reader of today.

Cloud of Witness - Dorothy L. Sayers

In May of 2021, I began reading all the mystery novels of Agatha Christie (as well as several short story collections). This project was to keep me busy until October. At some point along the way, I learned of the mystery writer, Dorothy L. Sayers. Sayers was a contemporary of Christie, both writing during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

I learned that her novels were in the public domain in Canada and available for download at a Canadian website, fadedpage.com.

I proceeded to download all of Sayers' novels, although I knew I wouldn't be reading the ebooks right away.

I had recently been concentrating on "heavy" literature and toward the middle of July, I was looking for something "light" (yet enjoyable). As I mentioned  in an earlier post, I found what I was looking for, when a Facebook friend posted a review of Sayers' first book, Whose Body? . After reading Whose Body? , I knew I'd be reading more of Sayers' work. Not right away - I had already planned to read books on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

When I finished reading Hiroshima by John Hersey, Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard and a book on the Manhattan Project, I still had three books (not on atomic bombs) in the queue.

After reading the two by Toshikazu Kawaguchi , I thought the time had come to get back to Dorothy Sayers.

I've just finished reading her second in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, Clouds of Witness . With this second ebook, I believe I might come to enjoy Sayers as much, if not more than I do Agatha Christie. There are enough twists and turns for any fan of the genre. I will most definitely go onto more in this series.

Whose Body?

Being retired, I have quite a good deal of free time on my hands. Fortunately for me, I have several hobbies to occupy my time, one hobby being reading ebooks on my Kindle. Some might even say I spend an inordinate amount of time reading. One need only look at my monthly book lists to see that I read about 10 or 12 ebooks a month.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I found several websites which allow me to download, without cost, more than enough ebooks to keep me in reading material. Another of my hobbies, or habits if you like, is to download any book that takes my fancy and store the mobi on a flash drive. I hesitate to give a number for the ebooks I have stashed away.

Normally, I will pick out several ebooks I'd like to read for the month and place copies of the mobi into a file on my PC. I'll transfer a few at a time to my Kindle.

I mentioned in an earlier blogpost that my original intention for July was to read four books by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. I set the ebooks into my file, along with a few more ebooks by other writers that I planned to read in July. As I wrote before, I found Mahfouz' Children of Our Alley a very difficult book to get thru; I saw right away that I would not be able to finish all the ebooks I had set aside for July. I had wanted to read (or rather, re-read) The Magus by John Fowles, but I was sure it would not be a quick read.

As luck would have it, a Facebook friend came to the rescue. He mentioned that he had just finished reading Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers and by his description of the book, it seemed like the ideal read for me to finish out the month of July. I had managed to download and then upload to my flash drive several ebooks by Dorothy Sayer and it was just a matter of uploading Whose Body? to my Kindle.

In his post on the book, Larry D wrote,
First in the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series by Dorothy Sayers. Light hearted and well-paced, this clever whodunit is written in a style evocative of Wodehouse - not in a madcap humorous way, but with quick wit and memorable characters. Wooster and Jeeves wouldn't have been out of place. Looking forward to reading additional titles.

He was right. Lighthearted, well paced and clever is a perfect description. Like Larry, I have plans to read more of Sayers' work.......not in August, however. That month has already been set earmarked for reading books on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.