Reading

A stand of beech - end of October

The photo bears no relation to the post.  I just like to look at it.  The post is about what I've been reading lately.

E.M. Forster - A Passage to India.
All these years and I've never read it, but have seen the film which doesn't quite do it justice.  It's wonderful.  Like Henry James, but with more happening.

Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things
Very sad, I found it upsetting.  It's about how easily fragile lives are damaged.  Wonderful writing from the viewpoint of a child.

Jo Nesbo - The Snowman
Billed as the next Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tatto), this was gripping with many twists and turns.  A good page turner.

Trea Martyn - Elizabeth in the Garden
Fascinating story of the rivalry between Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester and William Cecil Lord Burghley for the favour of Queen Elizabeth I.  They competed extravagantly to build fantastical gardens at The Earl of Leicester's house at Kenilworth and Cecil's home, Theobalds.  The gardens were designed to celebrate the Queen and all the emblems of her cult.  The book tells the story of the Queen's visits to these houses and the entertainments that were arranged for her.  They spent the equivalent of millions of pounds, but neither of these gardens exist today.