January 22nd and Three Books Down ;-)

Wow, I haven't bookblogged for over a year! To be honest I didn't really read a lot last year as I was constantly working on my own, almost completed, first novel. I think I read less than twenty books in the whole of 2009. This is probably the fewest books I have read in a year since I was 2!! It will never happen again!!

2010 is going to be a year of catch ups! I have been eagerly adding to my amazon wishlist and am about to join a new library. So bring on the books!!!

My first read of 2010 was a Christmas gift off my sister and aptly named The Complete Book of Sisters by Luisa Dillner. It was a perfect read. Sisters galore, from my beloved Mitfords, Austens and Brontes to Serena and Venus Williams, Queen Elizabeth 1 and Queen Mary and The Pankhursts. (It did have some oiky sisters mentioned at the end for some reason - including a Spice girl - the pouting one married to the squeaky thick bloke who kicks a ball for obscene amounts of money - I absolutely refuse to call her Posh - but that is the only criticism. )

My next read was The Hidden Heart of Emily Hudson by Melissa Jones. I had read a number of positive reviews and grabbed it with a smile when I saw it half price in a local supermarket. I read it in a day and a half. Ahhhh, I've missed a good old story to lose oneself in. It is set in the early years of the American Civil in New England. Emily Hudson, an orphan, is expelled from her boarding school and sent to her Uncle and Aunt's home in Newport Beach. She is a free spirit and not afraid to speak her mind. Her Uncle, Aunt and spinster cousin are not her biggest fans but her eldest cousin William, a writer, is captivated by her. So is kind and dashing Captain Lindsay who asks for Emily's hand in marriage. However consumption, which killed Emily's family is always looming in the background. Without giving too much of the story away Emily accompanies William to London where she enrols in art school. But once again Emily is plagued with illhealth and decides to escape from William's clutches and bravely ventures to Rome.... and I am not telling you anymore!

Emily was a wonderful character whom I really cared for from the first chapter! I loved the style of writing, especially the letters. I wished it could have gone on and on.

Two interesting points.

1.The story is inspired by the relationship between the novelist Henry James and his cousin Minny.

2. Melissa Jones is the sister of Sadie Jones who wrote The Outcast which I admit I still haven't read!

Anyhow, it was a grand read!

The third book I have read is a reread. I picked it up from my bookshelf and all I could remember was that I really enjoyed it so I read the first page and kept on going. I must have read it when I was reading a book almost every other day when I was looking after Mum when she had her hip operation.

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Dominique is the tale of Razi Nolan, a lively, beautiful, intelligent girl living in 1920's New Orleans. Razi is going to be a doctor, a gynaecologist. She is way ahead of her time and is a birth control advocate. She meets Andrew P O'Connell and they fall instantly in love. He proposes to Razi but as she is due to go to a northwestern medical college and Andrew is off to Yale to study law she initially holds off giving him an answer. Then Razi dies in a freak diving accident, never having told Andrew her final decision.

Razi chooses to stay between this world and the unknown; every memory of her life remains perfectly intact. Alas, the rules are she is unable to stay with Andrew and throughout the years tries to find out what happened to him. Finally, more than seventy years later, Razi finds Andrew's once-treasured bookcase at a garage sale. Amy and Scott, a recently married couple with problems buy it - never expecting their purchase would come with a ghost!

A great story! I did prefer the 1920's material to the modern day but that's no surprise! I loved the imagination of the writer when it came to "the afterlife" - infact it has made me want to reread Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. I can see me picking this up and dusting it down again in 3 or 4 years. :-)

Next I am attacking " A Don's Life" by Mary Beard.

Happy Reading!!