The Content Reader

Addictive! This is the word to describe what happens when you start reading the first book in this series. Winston Graham has written historical fiction at its best. Cornwall in the end of the 18th century, where people are mainly depending on the tin and copper mines. The story starts when Ross, a young man from the higher classes, but without money, comes back after having fought in the American wars. Being rather disillusioned by his experience, he is on his way home. Already in the stage coach he gets news that his father has died. Deciding at the spur of the moment, not to go directly home, but visit his uncle to inquire more about the circumstances, he get his second chock when he learns that his first love, Elizabeth, is to marry his cousin Francis. With these devastating news he goes back to his house, Nampara , where he grew up. It is in an appalling state, and no money to take care of it. However, he is determined to take it back to how it once was. The other part of ...

Yes, you read it right! I have downloaded a couple of e-books to enlighten my stay in Mallorca. I am going there tomorrow. Being alone for the first few days, I will enjoy the freedom to read most of the days. Having been busy lately with visitors, I have not been able to read as much as I would have liked. So, promise that there will be a few reviews coming up here. So, what has inspired me to buy books again? First, having started to watch the BBC drama Poldark , based on the books by Winston Graham, I had to buy the first four books. I read the first two, when I was young (many years ago now, and quite forgotten, although I remember loving them). The first four are Ross, Demelza, Jeremy and Warleggan. I also found for free from Endeavour Press , To Be a Lady: Biography of Catherine Cookson  by Cliff Goodwin. I remember reading a lot of her books as I was younger (!!don't worry, I am not going back to my childhood memories yet, although it might seem so). Also found on YouTub...

I have just finished my course on England in the time of Richard III  with Future Learn . Quite suitable, on the day after his reinternment in Leicester cathedral. If you did not manage to see anything - and is interested - you can watch some key videos here . It was an interesting course, very accessible, meaning, not too academic. Mixed with texts, videos and discussion forum, it covered the whole range of society, food and living habits, clothing, manuscripts, religion and in the end the whole fantastic story of how the grave of Richard III was found, in a car park in 2012. Philippa Langley was the person behind the quest, and she wrote the book  The Search for Richard III - The King's Grave  together with Michael Jones who added the historical background to his life ( review here ). I will visit England in April and will definitely put Leicester on my itinerary. The course also opened up my eyes to all the fantastic archives that are now available on-line. That wi...

In Bookreporter  newsletter of week 17-24 March I found a few books that might be interesting. The only one I have heard about, and which have got very good reviews among my book blogging friends, is  The Pocket Wife . Have any of you heard about the rest of them? HAMMER HEAD : The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin (Memoir) Nina MacLaughlin spent her 20s working at a Boston newspaper, sitting behind a desk and staring at a screen. Yearning for more tangible work, she applied for a job she saw on Craigslist --- Carpenter’s Assistant: Women strongly encouraged to apply --- despite being a Classics major who couldn't tell a Phillips from a flathead screwdriver. She got the job, and in HAMMER HEAD she tells the rich and entertaining story of becoming a carpenter. W. W. Norton & Company * 9780393239133 THE BULLET by Mary Louise Kelly (Thriller) In a split second, everything Caroline Cashion has known is proved to be a lie. A single bullet is found lodged at the...

I am now reading so many different books, that I never end any of them. I am quite frustrated about it, especially since I don't have so much time to read for the time being! So what do I do? I go to the public library in another errand, and come out with two books!! Grrr, especially since they are on loan for a limited time, I have to abandon the others to finish these two off. Nobody but myself to blame. They are classics and have been on my reading list for quite some time, so I felt that I had to grab the opportunity. It is To Kill a Mockingbird  by Harper Lee and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Looking forward reading both of them and hope to publish reviews soon. Furthermore, I am reading a book to review for Endeavour Press, Path to the Silent Country: Charlotte Brontë's years of fame  by Lynn Reid Banks. It is a continuation of The Dark Quartet: the story of the Brontës which I reviewed here . It was an excellent read, so looking forward to this one. Yes, I have starte...

Sunday again! I don't know where the days go? Maybe it went faster than usual, since my family has been visiting. My brother and his kids, Anton and Sanna left today, and my parents will stay on for another week. That means that the garden will look fabulous after the magic touch of my father, now 90 years old! Showing a few highlights of our visit today to Waterloo and Atomium! Buttes de Lion It is a long way up! Anton and Sanna were climbing the stairs faster  than me and my brother! I wonder why? Fortunately we did not see this warning before we started the climb! "Good level of fitness recommended..."  And last but not least - Atomium. Did not shine as usual due to the gloomy weather!

My history course on Richard III is continuing, with a lot of interesting aspects. Week 4 is named 'Death and Commemoration'. There is a really interesting find of a middle age (middle aged as well!) skeleton, the so called 'St Bees Man'. This web-site  tells the story of Dr John Todd and his wife's search for the identity of the man, and the woman who was found in the same grave. It is more exiting than any mystery book. At the end of the page, there is an update to the status of today. In week 2, we read about peasants and farmers and their situation. I am reading, since quite some time, historian Lars-Olof Larsson's book on the Kalmar Union ( Kalmarunionens tid ). Not yet finished, but I found an intresting reference to the peasant revolt of 1381 in England that we read about in the course. The Kalmar Union, was a union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, named after the city of Kalmar where the Treaty was signed in 1379. In those days it belonged to Denm...