Anne of Ingleside (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s many years since I read the ‘Anne of Green Gables’ books by Lucy Maud Montgomery in chronological order, though I’ve picked up one or other to read fairly regularly. This year I’ve been reading them, around one per month, starting with the best-known original, ‘Anne of Green Gables’, which is the only one I knew about as a child. 

I finished re-reading the fifth book, ‘Anne’s house of dreams’, towards the end of September, and have just finished the sixth book in the series, ‘Anne of Ingleside’, which I last read in 2008. I’ve probably only read it two or three times before that, so I hadn’t remembered it at all.

Like some of the earlier books, this isn’t so much a novel with a plot as a series of incidents in Anne’s life, and, more significantly, the lives of her children. She has five at the start of the book, and is expecting her sixth. She was quite ill after the birth of Shirley, her fifth child, so her offspring are being farmed out to stay with friends. None of them know what’s going on - in this era children weren’t told about babies being expected, and had no idea about how pregnancy or birth happened.

At home (by Bill Bryson)

(Amazon UK link)

I have mixed feelings about Bill Bryson’s writing. In general, I like the way he thinks and writes; but sometimes I find him too long-winded, and get bored. I like the way he uses humour - mostly - but sometimes it veers into unpleasantness. I love his powers of observation and the way he expresses them - but sometimes it begins to feel judgemental. And I really dislike his extensive, unnecessary use of four-letter ‘strong’ language, which peppers some of his books.

So it was with a sense of uncertainty that I approached this month’s reading group choice, Bryson’s ‘At home’. And some trepidation too - the book is huge, with more than 600 pages, despite its subtitle, ‘A short history of private life’. A byline on the front tells me that it’s ‘extraordinarily entertaining’, and the blurb on the back also sounds encouraging. I couldn’t persuade myself to start reading it until around a week before the monthly meeting, and thought I might manage to read 100 pages per day…

I didn’t succeed. But then about half the group arrived with bookmarks clearly placed around half-way through. It was a daunting read, but most of us had enjoyed it, at least as far as we had read. And it is, on the whole, both educational and entertaining. It doesn’t look at ‘normal’ history topics such as government (except in passing) or wars, but at the domestic aspects of life. 

Dear Paul... am I the only one? (by Bridget Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

Bridget Plass is nowhere near as well known - or as prolific a writer - as her husband Adrian. But I have very much appreciated her books, though they’ve been out of print for a while. I first read ‘Dear Paul, am I the only one?’ in 2017, and while I’d remembered the gist of it, I had forgotten all the details. 

I reread it over the past ten days or so, and thought it very well-written as well as being quite thought-provoking. It’s written in the somewhat unusual format of a series of letters to the apostle Paul, in heaven. There’s a kind of introduction which sets the scene: several people have issues with what Paul wrote, sometimes in relation to problems in their lives. They have permission to write to him, and he has agreed to respond…

Of course it’s fiction, not intended to be taken as a supplement to Paul’s letters as enshrined in the Bible. But as a way of understanding some of what he wrote in cultural context, the style works extremely well. Bridget Plass clearly did a lot of research, and bases quite a bit of the responses on things Paul wrote, as well as taking note of the era and culture in which he was writing.

That girl from nowhere (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I do like Dorothy Koomson’s books. She writes strong characters with interesting problems, covering relevant contemporary issues in the context of an excellent story. However, a few years after I read each of her books, I’ve entirely forgotten both the people and the plot. It’s a decade since I first read ‘That girl from nowhere’, and despite quite a dramatic story-line, I didn’t remember it at all. 

But I love re-reading books which I know I liked the first time round; it means I know it’s going to be a good experience. So I was a tad surprised at the prologue to this book, which involves a conversation between an unknown narrator, and an elderly person who is sick and wants to die. I had no idea what the context was, or what it would lead to.

In the first chapter, we meet Smitty - Clemency Smittson - who narrates the book. She’s a young woman who is buying a flat in Brighton, and talking to the estate agent. Her mother is with her, and we quickly learn that while Smitty is black, her mother (who adopted her) is white. We also learn that her adoptive father - whom she adored - died fairly recently, and that Smitty has just split up from a long-term relationship with Seth.

Head versus heart and our gut reactions (by Michael Hampson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over fifteen years since I read ‘Head versus heart and our gut reactions’ by Michael Hampson. The author has worked as an Anglican minister, also as a teacher and a writer, and is now retired. This book, I recalled, had a Christian focus but was suitable for anyone interested in the Enneagram theory. 

I like reading different perspectives on personality theories, sometimes to find out more about myself, sometimes to help me understand friends better. Not that one can determine a type from a book, but this kind of thing can confirm ideas or behaviours that I’ve observed.

This book is a bit different from other Enneagram books in that it starts with the three basic ways in which people tend to react initially to new situations. For some, the focus is all on the people concerned and others who might be involved. For some, the focus is on practical questions. And for some, there’s a gut reaction that is more physical than either mental or emotional. 

The accidental tourist (by Anne Tyler)

(Amazon UK link)

When I was rereading my novels by Anne Tyler a year or two back, I discovered that some of them were missing. Occasionally I lend books to people who forget to return them, so I assume that’s what happened. I recalled liking the books, and also that my copies were quite old, so I put new editions on my wishlist. 

One of them, ‘The accidental tourist’, was one I hadn’t read since 2002. I was given the book last Christmas, and read it over the past week or so. Usually I can’t recall much (if anything) about a book when I haven’t read it for ten years; in over twenty years I rarely have any memory at all. But something about this book must have lodged in my subconscious, as Macon, the main character, immediately felt familiar. And while I’d forgotten the storyline, I had a memory of him sitting on aeroplanes…

I like Macon a lot. He’s somewhat of a caricature, as so many of Anne Tyler’s people are, but a very likeable one. We meet him on holiday with his wife Sarah, but neither of them is in the mood for relaxing, so they go home early. We soon learn that they suffered a terrible bereavement a year earlier, and that instead of drawing them together, they now have little in common, and nothing to say to each other. 

Mini shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella)

(Amazon UK link)

The fifth book in Sophie Kinsella’s classic ‘chick lit’ series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, features Becky Brandon going through pregnancy; the baby is not born until the end of the book. And its immediate sequel, ‘Mini shopaholic’, which I last read in 2012, begins a couple of years later. As with most books which I haven’t read in a decade or more, I had entirely forgotten the storyline.

One can’t forget Becky, however, or her hard-working and generous husband Luke. They are living with Becky’s parents at the start of the book, hoping to buy a place of their own. But one after another, the houses they want have problems. It looks as though the perfect one is available, however, so they’re hopeful. They’ve taken over rather a lot of her parents’ house with Becky’s huge collection of clothes and shoes, not to mention little Minnie’s equipment, toys and clothes…

Becky has been trying to cut down a bit on her own shopping, and even agrees to start wearing the things in her closet at least three times before buying anything new. And she’s also set up a new system for Minnie to buy things with her pocket money, although Minnie loves shopping as much as her mother does, and it’s clear that already she’s many years in debt…

Last term at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

(Amazon UK link)

I started rereading Enid Blyton’s ‘Malory Towers’ school series back in May. I’ve continued reading one per month and have just finished the last in the original series, ‘Last term at Malory Towers’. I say the ‘original’ series because I’ve learned that there are some extra book written by a different author which fill in some of the gaps. However I don’t have any of those, and have not read them.

I last read ‘Last term at Malory Towers’ in 2014, but as a teenager I read it every few years, and occasionally as a young adults, so I was reasonably familiar with some of the storylines. Darrell Rivers is now head girl of Malory Towers, and - with most of her friends - in her final term. She, Sally, Alicia and Betty are all off to university in the autumn, and are looking forward to it. But inevitably there’s a lot of nostalgia as they go to their beloved boarding school as pupils for the last time. 

Darrell’s younger sister Felicity is in the second form, and she features somewhat in this book, along with a rather unpleasant girl called Jo who has even more unpleasant parents. Jo’s father tells her he was always bottom of the class, and encourages her to do as little work as possible. He sends her money and extravagant food, and she tries to manipulate her classmates as a result. But the only person who seems to like her is a timid first-former called Deirdre.

Mr Brightly's evening off (by Kathleen Rowntree)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over twenty years since I read Kathleen Rowntree’s novel ‘Mr Brightly’s evening off’. So, unsurprisingly, I had entirely forgotten the story and the people. It was more than time for a reread.

There’s a prologue which doesn’t seem to make much sense at first: three unconnected women watching a TV show where some silhouetted women are asked how they feel about a situation, and a particular person. I’m not quite sure why this prologue is there, other than to give a bit of mystery to the novel; it’s not until towards the end of the book that the scene takes place.

Chapter one introduces us to the elderly - but spry - Mrs Parminter who wakes up to find herself lying in her garden, in the rose bed. She comes to consciousness gradually, and then starts to wonder why she’s there. She then worries about how she’s going to get up, until she remembers that it’s Wednesday, and Mr Brightly is going to pay her a visit. It’s his evening off, he has told her, when his wife is at choir practice. And although Mr Brightly is much younger than Mrs Parminter, in his early fifties, the two of them are very good friends. 

The garden of evening mists (by Tan Twan Eng)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of Tan Twan Eng. And while the cover of the book ‘The garden of evening mists’ is quite appealing, with some excellent reviews, I doubt if I’d have picked it up to read by chance. However, it was the allocated book for this month’s reading group, so I bought it (used) from the ‘World of books’ site last year, and read it over a few days before the meeting.

The first chapter is a bit confusing, though it’s confidently - and, in places, poetically - told. The whole book is in the first person, narrated by a Chinese woman called Yun Ling. The opening paragraph mentions her seeing the Emperor of Japan when she was twenty-seven, and that terrible things were done to her and her sister.

Then the action moves forward by thirty-six years. Yun Ling has retired early from a high-powered job as a judge. She’s come to a house where she used to know a man called Aritomo used to leave. There’s a Chinese servant living there, who remembers her from over three decades earlier. She hasn’t returned there since. Yun Ling is about to meet an art expert who is going to examine some of Aritomo’s work. 

Jane and the Chalet School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s nine years since I read ‘Jane and the Chalet School’, 51st in the original series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. Before that it had been at least a couple of decades, and I found I had no memory of it. This time, I vaguely remembered that one of the girls, known as Jack, took a dislike to a new girl called Jane. But I had entirely forgotten the details. Evidently this is not a book I have read regularly. 

The book opens at the start of a summer term in Switzerland. The first chapter is quite dramatic. Jack Lambert, who is fourteen but seems young for her age, is in a furious temper. She’s been moved from the dormitory where she has slept since she came to the school, and she will no longer be able to ask constant questions of her favourite senior, Len Maynard. 

For most girls this would be a minor frustration, but Jack is an all-or-nothing person, and she is determined to dislike the new girl who is taking over her cubicle. And Jane Carew is about as different from Jack as possible. Jack - who hates her full name of Jacynth - likes what were then considered ‘boyish’ activities: mechanics, cars, woodwork and so on. She has short hair, and a short temper.

There are no strong people (by Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s ten years since I read Jeff Lucas’s book ‘There are no strong people’. I recalled being somewhat disappointed when I first read it. Jeff Lucas, a British pastor who lives mostly in the United States, usually writes more light-hearted content. Most of his books contain self-deprecating anecdotes and wry observations alongside thoughts from the Bible and thought-provoking commentary.

This one, however, is more serious. But I decided to read it again, having forgotten what it was about and what was said. As so often happens, I found that I liked it rather more this time around.

The book is about the story of Samson, as given in the book of Judges, chapters 13-16. It’s divided into four sections, and each one starts with a couple of pages quoted directly from Judges. The author suggests that the reader read each biblical quotation thoughtfully, even if one is familiar with it already, and then perhaps read it again. I thought this was good advice.

The five-minute marriage (by Joan Aiken)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s well over a decade since I last read Joan Aiken’s historical novel ‘The five-minute marriage’. This author is probably best known for her children’s classic, ‘The wolves of Willoughby Chase’, but she wrote quite a few books for adults too. I don’t like all of them; she has written some ‘gothic’ style thrillers which don’t appeal to me. But I did recall that I had very much enjoyed this book.

The heroine is a young woman called Philadelphia Carteret - known as Delphie - who lives with her mother. Delphie is a musician, and earns her keep by giving piano lessons to wealthy children. Her mother was widowed some years earlier and is not good at sticking to a budget. And she’s been quite unwell recently. So the medical expenses - in these pre-NHS days - have taken up most of their rather scanty savings. 

One of Delphie’s clients is the wealthy, outgoing Mr Browty. He has two daughters who take piano and singing lessons from Delphie and they adore her, though neither is very talented. He finds her interesting and wants to help; he learns that she and her mother are estranged from her mother’s family. And in one of those unlikely coincidences (which seem quite believable when reading) Mr Browty is acquainted with her great-uncle Mark, Lord Bollington. 

The Saturday place (by Alice Peterson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve acquired most of the novels by Alice Peterson over the past couple of decades, and reread them about four years ago. Then I discovered that I didn’t have ‘The Saturday place’, so I put it on my wishlist, and was given it for Christmas 2024. I’m not sure why I haven’t picked it up before now, but finally I did take it from my to-be-read shelf a few days ago.

The main character is a woman in her early forties called Holly. We meet her, first, on a beach with Jamie in a prologue, set twelve or so years before the main story. We learn a bit about his history, and that he and Holly are planning a life together. He talks about where he wants his ashes scattered, and she tells him not to be morbid..

Then in the first main chapter - a very short one - Holly opens her door to a policeman, telling her the terrible news that Jamie was killed in a car crash. This was not a surprise, given the prologue, and it’s spelled out in the blurb on the back, too.  The novel isn’t about their marriage: it’s about Holly gradually finding new meaning in life, as she comes to terms with what’s happened.

Anne's house of dreams (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m enjoying rereading the ‘Anne’ books by LM Montgomery, at a rate of around one per month. I’ve just finished the fifth in the series, ‘Anne’s house of dreams’, which I last read in 2008. I read these books as a teenager and probably at least once as a young adult, so the storylines are familiar to me. But I don’t tend to remember a lot of details, and like them afresh each time.

This book opens with Anne getting married to Gilbert Blythe. It follows directly on from the previous book, ‘Anne of Windy Willows’, which I reread last month. Gilbert has finished his medical training, and Anne has given up her teaching post; as a woman in Canada a hundred years ago, she would no longer work outside the home once she was married. She liked teaching, but she’s glad to have given it up.

The wedding scenes are nicely done, and we meet some old friends who are delighted to see the happy couple married at last. Then the two set off for their new home, sixty miles or so away, where Gilbert has been appointed as the local doctor. He’s found a house, which he has described to Anne in detail, but she hasn’t seen it until this point. 

The woman he loved before (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m glad I decided to reread the novels I’ve acquired by Dorothy Koomson. I don’t have her most recent ones, which - so the reviews tell me - are quite dark thrillers. But I like her earlier books very much. I hadn’t read ‘The woman he loved before’ since 2015, so - unsurprisingly - I had no memory of it.

The characters, as is the case with most of this author’s books, are believable, rounded people even if some of the things that happen to them are way beyond my experience or knowledge. And the main two characters in this are a married couple called Jack and Libby. However the book opens in a dramatic way with what is obviously an excerpt from a diary, saying that someone has most likely died…

Chapter one is even more dramatic. Libby is falling in and out of consciousness, trapped in a car after a crash. There’s a fireman cutting her free, and also talking to her, so that she stays awake. She’s aware of Jack, but he isn’t in the car with her. We’re not sure if she’s going to survive, at first - but then we meet her in hospital, swathed in bandages, and in a lot of pain.

Family matters (by Helen Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

I started reading Helen Parker’s books for teenagers because, years ago, she was part of our local writers’ group. I read ‘Hide and secret’ a few years ago and thought it both interesting and well-written. I enjoyed the stand-alone sequel, ‘Island treasure’ too, when I read that a year or so later, although I would have liked more about the characters in ‘Hide and secret’.

So when the third book, ‘Family matters’,  was published, I put it on my wishlist and was given it last Christmas. I just finished reading it. I hadn’t really remembered the characters from ‘Hide and secret’, but realised after a few chapters that some of them were in this book: in particular Ruth, whose early years were spent in Cairo. She is now 14 and goes to a high school in Edinburgh. She still doesn’t feel entirely at home there, but she’s reasonably settled. Most of her local friends are ones who also belong to her church youth group.

One of Ruth’s friends is Lucy, who is excited that her mother has a new boyfriend, Zak. He’s very generous, and she hopes he might be her stepfather. Ruth has other friends with stepfathers, and they all like them very much; some of what Lucy says feels a bit strange, however. Not that he’s behaving inappropriately to Lucy, but she isn’t quite sure how to deal with a new man in the family - and one or two of the things she says don’t quite ring true.

Blessing the church (by Clifford Hill)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over twenty years since I read the book ‘Blessing the church?' It’s written by four different people: Clifford Hill, Peter Fenwick, David Forbes and David Noakes. I acquired the book after meeting Clifford Hill briefly at our church, and the first time I read it I was very impressed. So I thought it was time for a reread.

The overall idea of the book is to give a general overview of the ‘charismatic movement’ over the course of the 20th century. It particularly looks at how it was presented and accepted in the UK, and it leads up to discussion of the ‘Toronto blessing’ which was controversial in the 1990s. 

This book was published in 1995 so it’s now thirty years out of date. But the history is well-written and interesting, as is the examination of the different streams of the charismatic movement. The authors are careful to compare everything with Scripture, looking at the work of the Holy Spirit through the book of Acts, and Paul’s advice and warnings in some of his letters. 

Shopaholic and baby (by Sophie Kinsella)

(Amazon UK link)

I am thoroughly enjoying rereading the ‘Shopaholic’ series by the late Sophie Kinsella. I was surprised that I liked them when I first picked them up, around fifteen years ago; they are well-written with a lot of humour, and some quite poignant moments too. 

I finished ‘Shopaholic and sister’ last month, so it was time for the next in the series, ‘Shopaholic and baby’, which I previously read in 2012. I hadn’t remembered anything about it, other than that it was mostly about Becky’s pregnancy rather than her life as a new mother. She had just discovered that she was pregnant at the end of the previous book, so this one is set not long afterwards.

Naturally, Becky - a compulsive shopper - is excited at the thought of new purchases for her baby, even quite early in her pregnancy. She peruses catalogues and visits shops and specialist showrooms… she’s in the fortunate position of being married to a wealthy businessman, Luke, who doesn’t seem to care what she spends on baby equipment. 

In the fifth at Malory Towers (by Enid Blyton)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m a bit surprised to find that it must be at least thirty years since I last read Enid Blyton’s ‘In the fifth at Malory Towers’. The six-book series was my favourite as a teenager; apparently I read it three times in the 1970s, and I’m sure I must have read it at least once or twice as an adult… but I had not remembered most of the details. 

This book takes place in the term immediately after the previous book, ‘Upper fourth at Malory Towers’, which I reread last month. Darrell and her friends have passed the School Certificate (a kind of precursor of GCSEs) and have moved up to the fifth form. Alicia and Gwendoline did not pass the exam, but Alicia was ill and Gwendoline was faking illness, and both are now too old to stay in the fourth form. 

Darrell’s younger sister Felicity is in her second term, still in the first form, and is passionate about lacrosse. Darrell is delighted to be put in charge of sports for the younger girls, but worries that she’s showing favouritism if she puts Felicity in one of the teams.