The spider tells me I'm doing quite well. I am currently reading the books in bold
Fiction:
Cross and Burn by Val McDermid
My Island Homicide by Catherine Titasey
Non-fiction:
The Butterfly Isles by Richard Bakham
White Beech by Germaine Greer
It's going to be interesting to read the Val McDermid book because one of the recurring characters has my name. If you're a regular listener to ABC Radio National's Books & Arts Daily, you'll know why.
Quick impressions
The Confidential Agent: I didn't enjoy this as much as other Graham Greene books and I'm not sure why. It could be the setting or the claustrophobic plot.
The Impossible Dead: You know where you are with Ian Rankin. This is a Malcolm Fox novel. I don't think the character has had time to settle in, so he's not as colourful as Rebus. There's a very promising ensemble cast, so I'll be reading more.
Over Sea, Under Stone: Parents in children's books are so irresponsible, letting their kids wander off all the time, facing supernatural (and natural) monsters, discovering the Grail, etc. Lucky kids.
Watch Out for Me: This by a friend of mine. It is written from multiple viewpoints with intersecting time lines, which I found intriguing. I'm fascinated by stories that play around with plotting in that way. It's not easy to do.
Le Freak: I've mentioned this before, but Nile Rodgers has had a heck of a life. The story concentrates on his (hair-raising!) childhood, but really takes off when he starts talking about his musical career from Chic onwards.
Eureka: I don't know that it's possible to retell the story of the Eureka Rebellion in a completely fresh way, but I did enjoy this version by Peter FitzSimons. Lots of colour, lots of detail.
The Tall Man: Devastating story of the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee while in custody on Palm Island. I strongly recommend this one.
The Old Ways: Macfarlane has an eye for detail and a very fine skill for description. I wasn't sure if I was going to take to this as much as I enjoyed Roger Deakin's books, but I did. Now I want to go walking along the old roads, but not the Broomway, which runs offshore on a tidal mudflat on the south-east coast of England. That's crazy stuff.
