TSS: October in Review and R.I.P. V Wrap-Up

So this month has actually been a really good reading month but not so good on the review front Bad case of writers block with all my writing mojo going towards the avalanche of school related writing I’ve had. I really do hope that my writers block goes bye bye in the next few days since I have an intensive thesis writing season coming. So on to what I’ve read in October and then for a wrap-up post for the R.I.P. V Challenge that I really enjoyed!

Image Credit

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal this was a deliciously creepy and well told ghostly mystery. I am so glad that I read it and highly recommend it to almost everyone. It portrays a India after partition that is both modern and old fashioned. It is so vividly told that you feel like you are there (which helps with the creepy factor). Great read!

Pettson tältar (Pettson Goes Camping) by Sven Nordqvist The books about Pettson and his cat Findus are childhood staples here in Sweden and I am so incredibly glad that most of them have been translated into English because it means that I am better able to share them with you, my readers, as well as some very special people in my life who do not speak Swedish. The stories are funny and sweet but what takes these stories into the amazing is the illustrations which are detailed and often tell a bigger story. These illustrations also lend an extra dimension to the books as an adult and when you share it with a child. Highly recommend them!

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett I enjoyed this instalment of the Discworld series (even though Death only has a cameo). This book deals with the sport of foot-the-ball (football or soccer depending on where in the world you are). As I am a life long fan of the beautiful game I found this book to be hilariously funny. The description of the offside rule was priceless. As with all of Pratchett’s books this book also had something more profound to say, this time about loving yourself for who you are, not for the labels others put on you.

Och jag läste att det var omöjligt att leva lycklig förutan dig (And I Read that it was Impossible to Live Happily without You) by Mark Levengood This was a quick read consisting of short thoughts or stories. I’m pretty sure not all the stories were true, they held elements of truth but many of them were told to make a point, a point worth thinking about. Unfortunately this book has not been translated into English but I wish it had.

True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy [audio] This was a really interesting listen. Although Kennedy himself didn’t narrate the book it felt like he was. It was him telling his story. Although he does cover some of the less than stellar parts of his life he doesn’t dwell on them. And to be fair, he says he won’t up front. What I did find interesting was his thoughts on the historic events he saw and lived. I recommend this book to anyone interested in American political history.

Guardians of the West by David Eddings for me this is a comfort read pure and simple. I get to get together with old friends and have a laugh. And right now I really need literature that doesn’t challenge me. These books are witty and do require you to keep track of some things, but for me as they are a re-read they don’t pose a great deal of difficulty. I am super stressed with school and reading these are the prefect antidote to intellectual overload.

I’ve also read King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda and Sorceress of Darshiva all by David Eddings but they will come in a review together fairly soon (I want to finish Seeress of Kell which is the last book in the series before the Epilogue/Prologue books). I realised that it was to difficult for me to do individual reviews of these books so I’ll lump ‘em all together

I had a list for the R.I.P. V challenge. I love lists. I read some of the books off the list, some I did not. I did LOVE all of the books I did read. They ranged from the creepy to the lovely (in a creepy way). They all had things that go bump in the night and were shrouded in mystery. I read three books and listened to two on audio. What did I read?

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal I am not normally a ghost story person but the premise of this book had me intrigued. And in the end I loved it. It was just creepy enough mixed with mystery and a, to me, fascinating culture. I highly recommend this to anyone! And the ghosty creep factor should make it an excellent candidate for anyone wanting to do the R.I.P. Challenge next year.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors and this book really lived up to my expectations. Although it did not include much of my all time favourite characters, Death, it still had plenty of bump in the night characters to fulfil its inclusion in the challenge.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins I had some problems with the portrayal of women in this book, yeah yeah yeah I know it isn’t fair to hold a book to our more modern standards but still… I kinda do. But in general I really enjoyed this book. It was a great ghostly mystery. This book more than deserved its inclusion in the R.I.P. V challenge as it had both mystery and certain ghostly apparitions.

 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling [audio book] For me this was a re-listen and I love listening to Stephen Fry read these books, he does such an excellent job of it. In addition to this listening to this book made me fall in love with the Harry Potter series all over again (and today October 31st, 2010 is the 29th anniversary of the death of James and Lily Potter may they Rest in Peace). This book had to be included in the R.I.P. V challenge as it has things that go bump in the night as well as mystery and intrigue.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman [audio book] I couldn’t put my finger on why I loved this book, but loved it I did It was a sweet book with some scary parts. Definitely a good R.I.P. V book

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.