The Content Reader

I did read a few books during December, but it was so busy, so I did not have time to do any reviews. Here is a short summary of the books. The Four Swans by Winston Graham: No 6 in the Poldark saga and we are entering into the second generation of Poldarks. Ross and Demelza, Elizabeth and Warleggan are still there, but other family members enters the story. Well told as usual. Interesting insight into the politics and wars at the time, mixed with unexpected family drama. Time for the 7th book which is The Angry Tide. Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy: I bough this book visiting his childhood house in Dorset. I love the writing of Hardy, but had some difficulties with this one. Partly because it was written in dialect, and I find it difficult to read. The first half was rather uninteresting, but the latter part picked up and I enjoyed this local story of young love and countryside traditions. Five Great Short Stories by Anton Chekhov: I have had this for years,...

This is the first book I finished in 2016. It is a classic and I read it for the Brontë Reading Group. This is a wonderful group of people, totally dedicated to the Brontës and 19th century English literature. The discussions are always lively, but never so lively as when we disagree on a book. Some people loved it and some did not. I belong to the latter category. I love Thomas Hardy and I visited Dorchester last year. He  grew up there and stay there most of his life, except for some years in London. It is a lovely place and he has managed to introduce it, as a fictional area, in almost all of his books. Jude the Obscure is the last book he wrote. Actually, the critics were so harsh that he decided to write no more books. Instead he continued with his poetry and for this we have to be greatful. He managed to write himself into being one of the best English poets of all times. My favourite books by him are The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far From the Madding Crowd.  I did not ...

While in London, I took a daytrip to Dorchester to visit Thomas Hardy country. Having lately fallen in love with Thomas Hardy’s books, it seemed like a good idea to visit the area he comes from. Dorchester is a small, country town in the south of England, where you reach most places by foot. The small cobbled street are lined with old houses and historical places. You also find many of the places and buildings that was an inspiration for Hardy in his writing.