Recent Reading

Went to Toronto this past weekend, to attend a family wedding. Had a good time, and the trip was made all the nicer by being bookended by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which I read on the plane there and back. I've been trying to prolong my reading of it over the past two weeks, to extract every last bit of magic...but by the last 300 pages, I couldn't resist plunging ahead. Fantastic read - and the odd non sequitur aside, a very worthy end to a splendid series.

Other things I've read recently:

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - just finished this a few weeks ago, courtesy of a recommendation from a certain online book club. Loved it. Unputdownable stuff - not an epic work of literature or anything, but a compelling page-turner. How could I resist a tale of an eccentric aristocratic family, feral twins, a governess with a secret, and a decrepit stately home hidden deep in the English countryside? A caveat, however - this is a book for autumn/winter reading (it's set during November, December and January).
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini - I was quite excited to start this and find out what all the fuss has been about, but...eh. As J. told me, this is basically just middling fantasy fiction for teenagers. I'm sure I'd have loved it half a lifetime ago, but the adult me struggled to finish it. Worst thing is, I was given this as part of a box set, along with the sequel, Eldest. Who knows when I'll get around to that one - though Eragon improved towards the end, so perhaps there's hope.
• War of the Unknown Warriors: Memories of Britain, 1939-45 by David Souden - my sister-in-law actually gave me this for Christmas, but I only just got around to reading it recently. It's published by the National Trust, which is always a safe bet for me, of course. I really enjoyed this book, which chronicled the use of historic houses and estates in Britain during the Second World War, when so many of them were requisitioned by the government for use as hospitals, schools, military training sites, etc. Lots of photographs and reminiscences of people who lived in them during the war years...fascinating stuff. One of the illustrations was of this brilliant poster, produced by the Ministry of Food - I must copy it to put up in my kitchen. Love it!