
So many books, so little time. — Frank Zappa (attrib.)
Categories
As this is principally a book review blog most of the posts will be about … books. There are individual pages about longstanding interests of mine, Arthuriana (archaeology, history, mythology, popular culture, folklore) and its associated topic the Grail, but my tastes are generally rather catholic.
So you’ll find an awful lot of fantasy titles reviewed here, a few by favourite authors E Nesbit and her successors Joan Aiken and Diana Wynne Jones. Much of fantasy shades into magic realism and SF or speculative fiction and so these are categories that are explored too. More highbrow literature is not neglected either, whether classic or modern, but fiction comes in all shapes and sizes so adventure stories rub shoulders with ghost tales, thrillers, crime fiction, historical romance and the occasional graphic novel.
Non fiction makes an appearance, from popular science to pseudohistory, from reference to biography, and from art to travel. I try to ring the changes, so if your interest isn’t immediately piqued have patience, something intriguing should come along soon. Feel free to start a conversation or discussion about any post — I aim to respond to each and every one so you won’t be wasting your time commenting into the ether! The only constraint, as Zappa is reported to have frankly and wisely remarked, is time.
Reading goals in 2022
1. Goodreads Reading Challenge
I’ve subscribed again to the Goodreads Reading Challenge for this year, pledging to read at least 60 (sixty) books in 2022. This will be regardless of whether they are first-time reads, rereads, library books or whatever. I don’t anticipate any difficulties with this total: follow my progress here.
And that’s it. I’ve decided that this year I shall read for pleasure. If I join in any reading event — I prefer to call them prompts — it will probably be last-minute and on a whim!
So here are some prompts I shall be considering. In 2021 I joined in the European Reading Challenge and got through the following countries in translations:
- A Austria: Stefan Zweig
- B Belgium: George’s Simenon
- D Germany: Friedrich Schiller
- E Spain: Álvaro Cunqueiro Mora
- F France: Marie de France
- I Italy: Italo Calvino and others
- IRL Ireland: Roddy Doyle
- PL Poland: Ryszard Kapuściński
- S Sweden: Astrid Lindgren
- GB-CYM Wales: Angharad Price
In 2022 I may even attain an ideal twelve European countries, starting with Nordic countries like Iceland and Norway. I hope to include Wales, Ireland and Italy — prompts run by bloggers I follow — but will try to explore countries I’ve yet to visit, both in Europe and the rest of the world.

Love the photo. Emma.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Emma! This is the tidiest it’s ever been in the loft, in preparation for a move…
* Following the move the loft photo (now on another page) has now been replaced by an image of the bookshelves in the new house. 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Literally challenged: update | calmgrove
Seeing Aiken on your list makes me want to re-read her Dido books.
I’ve just started my DWJ re-read 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Are you planning to read Diana’s whole back catalogue, Daphne, as Marisa’s doing? My progress is proceeding at a very stately pace … The next Dido book is softly calling for me too, but she’ll have to wait while I demolish my bedside pile a bit more. 🙂
LikeLike
I really like that dream versus reality, sunset edge between historical fiction and magical reality/fantasy. Kind regards. 🙂 For me plants, gardens and landscape are the triggers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I suppose one is internalised landscapes against which narratives are played while the other is real landscapes in which real life is played out. Btw I like gardens and nature too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, are you open to looking to add an urban fantasy novel to your mountain? ‘The Temptation of Dragons’ is 92,000 words/232 pages long and has been getting good reviews.
I’ll give a you link to the book on Goodreads so you can see whether you’d like commit your valuable reading time to it.
Many thanks for your time.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29773163-the-temptation-of-dragons
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love the idea of selecting twenty classics from your classics list to complete by 2020. 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, I thought it was a good way to encourage me to actually pick up and read the darn books! And three years shouldn’t be too threatening a period, giving me plenty of time to choose among all those other works on my shelves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May I please be permitted – with appropriate acknowledgement – to reproduce part of your “Outrage” post at my WordPress site, “The Pub”? Reason: it is highly relevant to Australia’s current deplorable political condition.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Of course, Fiona, do, and thanks for asking. Yes, we’ve all seen your PM in a particularly unfavourable light in the aftermath of such awful recent events: he comes across as someone who’s as dangerous a buffoon as our own PM.
LikeLike
Is that a ‘Yes’?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes!
LikeLike
Hi
I have two books I’d love to have you review:
The Id from Eden is a fictional work about AI getting into the wrong hand (e.g. Satan)
The Black Line is non-fiction and about my team’s writing the software that flew the SR-71 spy plane for 22 years. It has interviews with two of the flight crews.
Any interest?
John Altson
http://www.johnaltson.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, John, thanks for drawing my attention to your two interesting and somewhat contrasting titles.
As I explain on this page (https://wp.me/P2oNj1-2ez) I no longer do book review requests because I have a backlog of titles sent which I’ve barely touched from a few years ago, plus I have far too many books waiting to be read that will keep me going for good many more years.
So I’m sorry to refuse. But thank you for your interest.
LikeLike