January reading list

In an attempt to find something to focus on that is neither pandemic nor politics related, I'm going to try keeping a monthly record* of not only what I've read, but vague thoughts on what I've read.

So here goes for January

The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

Part 3 in the His Dark Materials trilogy.  I'd decided to re-read the trilogy in December, and the final part fell in January. I had loved these when they first came out, and every now and then have thought about re-reading them but for some reason they still seemed quite recent. It turns out they're over twenty years old, and it came as something of a surprise to discover just how much I didn't remember of the details. In fact, I barely remembered anything beyond the odd vague story arc, and who the main characters were. And I didn't even remember all of them to start with. Which just goes to show there is a benefit to getting older and forgetting stuff. It becomes possible to re-read books and enjoy them almost as much as first time round. 

The Golden One - Elizabeth Peters

Amelia Peabody mysteries are a comfort blanket, a hot water bottle and a cup of cocoa; they're a soothing balm against the cold and grey. Possible to read without taxing the faculties too much, but entertaining, silly and enjoyable. For those who haven't read them, they're murder mysteries set in the late 1800s to early 1900s in Egypt with a redoubtable archaeologist heroine and her family. Firmly tongue-in-cheek. I hadn't read this one before, so it was a particularly enjoyable treat.

The Game of Kings - Dorothy Dunnett

First in a set of six books, the other five of which will not be troubling my bookshelves. This book slowed me down enormously as, despite having a reasonably entertaining plot, it was bogged down with too many characters, too much double-triple-quadruple crossing, a tedious habit of quoting Latin and French and, finally, unnecessarily florid prose that would have required frequent dictionary-consultation if only I could be bothered. Oh, and a transparently derivative hero - the Scarlet Pimpernel was implausible enough, without being copied and embroidered upon to a point of utter absurdity.

I blame the third of these for the fact that I only read three books in January, which is below average. Apathy and exhaustion may have played a role as well. But two hits and a miss is an acceptable ratio.

* Given my current mental and emotional fortitude, I can imagine this attempt lasting at least a month.