I cannot believe it, but we have entered the second half of the year. Time for a round-up of my reading for the first half of 2019. I have read 54 books, of which I am rather proud. Of those, 20 books come from my TBR shelves. I aimed for 48 books, so have to hurry up a little bit.
I really liked most of the books I read, but here are some highlights that stick out.
Two thrilling books by Nele Neuhaus,
Snow White Must Die and
Big Bad Wolf. Her books are so well written and the story lines so exciting, with twists and turns. They also go deep into the characters, whether it is the police women/men, the culprit or all the people surrounding the story. Thrilling until the very end.
The Third Man by Graham Greene is a classic. I have seen the film many times, but not read the book. Greene wrote it as a script for the film, and it has then been turned into a book. I actually listened to it. It was wonderfully narrated by Martin Jarvis. The very dark and brooding atmosphere that you see in the film, is very well transformed into this narration.
Falls the Shadow by Gemma O'Connor has been on my TBR shelves for a long time. It is a different kind of murder case, going back to the 1940s. A young girl is witness to a murder and 50-60 years later is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Her daughter is questioning the verdict and starts looking into her mother's life, and finds some interesting and surprising aspects.
Saratoga Trunk by Edna Ferber is a classic that has been on my shelves for a long time. I loved the story of Clio Dulaine and Clint Maroon and their struggle to make themselves a better life.
The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams. I received this novel as a reading copy via NetGalley. It is about to be published. An interesting historical fiction of the 'beautiful' set in Bahamas during World War II, with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in the forefront. It is a wonderful story of love, deceit, spies and political turmoil. This is my number one favourite so far this year.
Sebastian Barry never disappoints you.
On Canaan's Side is another of his real life stories of Irish people immigrating to America. He very well describes the situation in Ireland and how the Irish fare when coming to America. It is narrated by 89-year-old Lily Bere. She looks back on her life and we feel all the sorrows, but also joys, she has gone through. A beautiful tale.
Thanks for a thorough write-up of the books you've read. What an interesting list. I've watched The Third Man the film but never read the GG book. Now that you mentioned it, I must try to get hold of the audiobook. Thanks for all these recommendations, Lisbeth.
ReplyDeleteThank you Arti. I am still not entirely positive about audio books, but this was a good one to listen too. Thank you for interesting posts from your side.
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