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August books
Other things took priority during August but there were two terrific books – a non-fiction about the life of Lord Lucan and a very fine novel, Stoner.A Lee Child novel was typically easy to read and fun.
Stoner – John Williams [Highly recommended]
Compartment No. 6 – Rosa Liksom [I couldn’t get into it]
The Betrayers – David Bezmozgis [It was a struggle]
Personal – Lee Child [More hokum from Lee Child. Recommended]
A Different Class of Murder; The Story of Lord Lucan – Laura Thompson [Highly recommended]No comments on August books -
Stoner – John Williams
Stoner by John Williams is a wonderful novel about the life of John Stoner, an undistinguished teacher at an American university. Set in the period 1890-1955, it’s a sad story – Stoner always seems to make the wrong choices – but so beautifully written. The novel was written in 1965, one of only four novels by the author, who was also a university lecturer.
For the past three days I’ve enjoyed Stoner’s company and I will miss him. -
Canary Wharf, London
A lovely sunny, cloudy day in London, a boat ride and some excellent pasta (Wild Boar Ragu Pappardelle & Ravioli Di Capra) at the Canary Wharf branch of Zizzi. Nice.
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The wonderful Frasier Crane
Just caught a wonderful episode of Frasier before another day of hospital visiting. Frasier dates a super-model but no one believes him. When he tries to obtain evidence by taking a selfie of himself and the sleeping supermodel in bed, the camera-flash fires and she wakes up and rightly goes berserk, leading to the end of the affair. Twenty-five minutes of brilliance.I needed that to get me through the day.
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Nice boat! Hamble near Southampton
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Hurst Castle, near Lymington
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Southampton sunset
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Scarborough. The last pictures.
The end of an era as we leave Scarborough for a good while. I’ve taken so many pictures of the place I decided that these last two, of the North Bay and of the castle, would be heavily artisticised (Google found 20 uses of this non-word!).
If you’ve never visited Scarborough, check it out. It has its beautiful bits and its ugly bits, and it’s also part of a stunning coastline as well as being a base-camp for the amazing Yorkshire Moors.
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July books
Another month of having read 7 books, all novels and all of them a success!Mystery Man – Colin Bateman [Odd, quirky, very funny. Not everyone’s cup of tea!]
Hidden River – Adrian McKinty [Terrific thriller set in NI & America. Recommended]
The Widow’s Tale – Mick Jackson [A widow’s near-breakdown – pretty good, read it in a day]
On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan [Interesting exploration of sexual hangups – Recommended]
Rendezvous in Black – Cornell Woolrich [Highly recommended]
A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman [Highly recommended]
The Affair – Lee Child [More hokum from Lee Child. Recommended] -
Staithes, on the Yorkshire Coast
What a lovely village Staithes is. I first visited it decades ago and I remember it as cold and grey. But on this visit it was a glorious, sunny day.
There were children amongst the people on the breakwater wall (see image below) who eventually realised that their route back to the beach was cut off by the high tide and that they would have to wait for the sea to recede. Those crabbing on the short pier, however, were comparatively safe!
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