reading now

I am at present reading My Shit Life So Far by Frankie Boyle. It is very funny.

I just finished listening to a download of Peter May's The Blackhouse and am starting on the sequel, The Lewis Man.

Today, I finished listening to Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and have written a review. I am hoping the narrator soon records Catriona so I may listen to the sequel.

While I wait, I might see if I can find a good narration of Rob Roy by Walter Scott for next week's commuting time. Does anyone have a narrator they would recommend?

Just beginning More Fool Me by Stephen Fry. Looking forward to it. Hope more people use this group too. I live on Shetland.

>3 Sile: Sile: I recently bought a copy of Treasure Island to add to some of the old classics I should really get round to reading again. Thank you for reminding me that I haven't read Kidnapped since at school (too long ago!!) so I must order a copy of that too.

I finished reading More Fool Me by Stephen Fry, then read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in a couple of days. I am now on to The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. I think it's going to be a great read. Looking forward to my 2016 reading challenge which is an A-Z author challenge. I decided to have some rules so at least one has to be an autobiography/biography, another has to be an author I have not previously heard of, another must be a book I should have read by now but haven't and still another must have won some sort of award........and so on.
This is the list:
A. Addler-Olsen, Jussi. Redemption
B. Byatt, A.S. A Virgin in the Garden
C. Cornell, Paul. The Severed Streets
D. Dench, Judy. And Furthermore
E. Eliot, George. Adam Bede
F. Flagg, Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Wistle Stop Café
G. Gwyn, Richard. The Colour of a Dog Running Away
H. Hardy, Thomas. Far From the Madding Crowd
I. Itaranta, Emmi. Memory of Water
J. Jenkins, Elizabeth. The Tortoise and The Hare
K. Kepler, Lars. The Sandman
L. Laxness, Haldor. World Light
M. Murdoch, Iris. The Sea, The Sea
N. Nelson, Willie. The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes
O. Osborne, Brian D. Echoes of The Sea: An Anthology
P. Peer, Basharat. Curfewed Night
Q. Quartey, Kwei. Murder at Cape Three Points
R. Rushdie, Salman. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
S. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men
T. Trevor, William. The Story of Lucy Gault
U. Updike, John. Rabbit, Run
V. Vine, Barbara. A Dark Adapted Eye
W. Winton, Tim. Dirt Music
X. Xingjian, Gao. Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather
Y. Youngblood, Shay. Black Girl in Paris
Z. Zusak, Marcus. The Book Thief

I am really looking forward to getting going.

I began reading The Heart of Mid-lothian, the Penguin Classics edition. This is my first Sir Walter Scott, and I'm enjoying it. This edition is chock-full of notes and background information.

I also sent away for a copy of The Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.

Both of those books sound very interesting and I would love to hear about them as you read. I'm so glad to see this group being used again. I hope other people will join in too. If you have any Scottish LT friends please tell them about it.

Incidentally my (ex) brother-in-law is from Stornoway in the Western Isles.

Today I received my copy of Samuel Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and Boswell's The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (a two-in-one paperback volume from Penguin Classics). It has a great black & white cover illustration from the period, of (I think) Dr. Johnson and Mr. Boswell strolling arm-in-arm up High Street in Edinburgh. However, I am at-this-time several chapters into Scott's Mid-Lothian novel, which dramatically weaves history and story-telling into a fascinating tale of old Edinburgh, its imposing prison, and injustice. I paid a too brief visit to that wonderful city back in the mid-1970s during my Navy days. I'm sure many of our Scottish LibraryThingers are more familiar with The Heart of Mid-Lothian than I currently am. Some of the incidents have a very contemporary ring to them. I'm bouncing back-&-forth between the text and the notes, which are helpful, since I am woefully ignorant of Scottish history and customs. I had to struggle a bit with the dialect used by some of the "rabble" (Scott's word, not mine), but I really like this book. My inability to conquer dialects is probably one reason why I've never finished any Mark Twain. I should work on that.

This Scott book was recommended to me by another member of LibraryThing on a different thread.

>8 Maleva: Maleva: Glad your books arrived safe and well! That black and white cover illustration sounds wonderful.

Your problem with dialects is understandable. Even here in the Shetland Isles there are several places where the dialect is much stronger (and stranger) than in other places. On the island of Whalsay, for example, I really struggle to make out what the folk are saying. It's a beautiful island but I don't visit often as none of my family are from there. However, they do have a great charity shop and I think it's about time I went and had a look at their books!!!

Keep us updated on your interesting reads!

I finished Scott's The Heart of Mid-Lothian, and I found it challenging but also very worthwhile. I just put my head down and charged like a bull into the Scottish dialect conversations, and the further I got into the book the easier it was. They were like speed-bumps, but did not get in the way of a rich and complex story with a firm footing in Scottish history. The introduction, notes and glossary that were included in this Penguin Classics edition helped ALOT, and I found myself with three bookmarks holding three different places at one time in this book, and I would bounce back-&-forth whenever I began to feel squeezed for answers and definitions. My paperback copy now looks well-read, and I'm bushed. It was a good, solid read, and my fondness for this book and respect for Scott had grown by the end of it, but it may be a while before I tackle another Scott novel.

I will confess that, at one point, I dropped the book for a switch in mood and time, and picked up William McIlvanney's noir tale Laidlaw, which was just the adjustment I needed before continuing with Scott. It was a hoot, although some of the title character's philosophical musings were pretty abstract for off-the-cuff conversations. However, now I'm interested in reading more Scottish noir, and I'm looking into additional McIlvanney titles, and I also want to try other authors of that genre. Hopefully I'll be getting some good reads for Christmas!

Now I've started The Blackhouse by Peter May.

Reading The Lewis Man by Peter May. I found The Blackhouse quite exceptional, and his second title in the Lewis Trilogy was delivered to me yesterday. I found that I really do care about these characters, some of which have been carried over from the first book and into the second. Yes, it's the characters that keep me hanging on, more so than the mystery itself, but that's fine -- whatever works. The setting, Isle of Lewis, is its own character and is so palpable that I can feel the cold and dampness and the wind and isolation. And the story unfolds in what seems to me a natural manner, not forced nor contrived.

What can I say -- I'm a fan.

Yesterday, I started on Cold Earth by Anne Cleeves, which is the seventh book in the crime fiction series, Shetland.

I am sorry to say that I had read the end of the Hamish Macbeth series by M.C. Beaton in any format, and now I need to find something to tide me over until the author writes another.

I have started the audio version of Small Death in the Great Glen by A. D. Scott today, and am really enjoying it.

I really enjoyed the Lewis trilogy. Peter May has been hinting that he may write another book set in the Hebrides.

Well, now that I'm living in Scotland and since we are in lockdown, I am reading The Scottish Clearances by T. M. Devine. I'm hoping to educate myself on this part of history, while also attempting to practice my Gaelic without the benefit of my classes.

I am thoroughly enjoying, and am almost finished Findings by Kathleen Jamie. I can highly recommend this book, as each chapter is a new discovery.