Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Feature [Time] Travel

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books that feature travel”. I misread it as “time travel” and got interested, although I have not previously participated in this meme. When I realized my mistake, I had already come up with a list of ten time travel novels I read recently, so here you are:

The #1970Club – some books I have enjoyed as recommendations for next week

On Monday, October 14th, Karen and Simon will launch the #1970Club, a week-long celebration of books first published in 1970. It is very entertaining to see what everyone comes up with and when I started to consider what to read, I saw that I had already reviewed some of the best books published that year. Some of these might appeal to anyone still looking for the right book to read this weekend!

Favorite Reads of 2020

Like most of you, I read a lot of books in 2020, including many books I owned but had never read. I was relieved, however, when the libraries opened their doors for curbside pickup – by the time they did, I had 50 books on hold! I don’t read to achieve specific numbers, but I like to keep an eye on what I’m reading, so here are my top ten and the runners-up for this extremely long and stressful year: 

Suspense 

The Deepest Grave by Harry Bingham (2017). This is the sixth book about Fiona Griffiths, a police detective in Wales who is complaining when the book begins about how long it’s been since she had a murder to solve. She is thus thrilled to learn an archaeologist has been found murdered and decapitated, plunging Fiona into a complicated quest to find the criminal. Fiona’s erstwhile-criminal father, a fascinating character, plays a bigger role in this book than usual. I love this series and wish it had a bigger audience. Start with Book 1, Talking to the Dead. I keep lending my copy to people, which is dangerous. 

WWW Wednesday: December 2, 2020

It's Wednesday so it’s time to take a look at what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I’m planning on reading.  This was inspired by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading The Oaken Heart by Margery Allingham (1904-66), better known for her classic Golden Age mysteries featuring detective Albert Campion. 

Bookshelf Traveling - November 29

Time for another round of Bookshelf Traveling in Insane Times which was created by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness and is currently hosted by Katrina at Pining for the West. This is a shelf in my guest room where most of the children’s books live and contains three favorite British authors: Ruth M. Arthur, Elfrida Vipont, and Joan Aiken.

My Blog's Name in Childhood Favorites

Desperate Reader spelled out the name of her blog from her collection of Virago Modern Classics and Simon from Stuck in a Book used books from his TBR but I thought I would do it from some of my favorite children's books:

The Saracen Lamp (Book Review)

Title: The Saracen Lamp
Author: Ruth M. Arthur       

Illustrator: Margery Gill

Publication Information: Atheneum, 1970 Hardcover

Genre: YA, Multigenerational

Plot: The book begins in 1300 when a French girl, Melisande, prepares  for her marriage to an English knight her father met on (the Ninth) Crusade.  Her trusted friend, Joseph, a Saracen servant, makes a beautiful lamp, gold with stained glass, to take with her.  Part I of the book is about Melisande’s life in England as she adjusts to married life and a new country, tries to keep peace with her disapproving mother-in-law, Lady Constance, has a family, and copes with tragedy.  Toward the end of her life, Melisande becomes aware of the presence of a young girl, in a chair with wheels.  She guesses/hopes the child is from the future and will one day live in Melisande’s beloved Littleperry Manor.

16th century Alys takes over the narrative in In Part II.  

What was your favorite book as a child?

The New York Times asked today what was *your* favorite book when you were a child and it is interesting to see all the comments. Many mentioned favorites of mine such as The Phantom Tollbooth, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series, Narnia, The Lord of the Rings but I was also interested to see an early comment listed the Malory Towers and St. Clare's books of Enid Blyton, which very much influenced my early (and lasting) love of English school stories. Many of the books I loved as a child were books that were already published so I tried to remember books that my sister and I eagerly anticipated coming out in the same way we now await HP VII tomorrow night.