Apologies for the 3-year delay in posting - books, books, books!

My only excuse is that I have been busy with work, with life, and with reading. During this time, I have read a lot of books, and I am not going to comment on all of them. Some have been my usual re-reads, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic), Sarah Addison Allen (Garden Spells), Laurie R King (Beekeeper's Apprentice), Elinor Brent-Dyer (Chalet School), Agatha Christie, etc, but I have also discovered new, fabulous authors! So many talented writers and so little time :-)

So where to start!?! I live in the South West of England, and WJ Burley writes wonderful detective stories set in Devon, Cornwall, and the Scilly Isles. I have read many over the past few years, and they are creative and beautifully written. I haven't read them all, but my favourite so far Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death, which is set in a bookshop, in Penzance, a lovely harbour town, near to where I live. There were so many twists and turns, and yet a gentleness due to Superintendent Wycliffe's quiet and pensive nature.

Another detective series I like is Inspector Morse, created by Colin Dexter. I have to admit, I am not a great fan of the books, as the couple I read were quite seedy. However, I found Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories in a charity shop, and was totally blown away by it. I love short stories, and this collection is brilliant. Only a few stories are about Inspector Morse, and the Greatest Mystery is a lovely surprise. There are other stories, which are still about crime, but more about prisoners and their antics. One of the tales was absolutely brilliant. It was a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, and it is done so well, that I had to double-check that it had not been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was my favourite and had a great twist at the end....very unexpected and enjoyable! This has rekindled my interest in the Morse books, so watch this space.

So, if you have read my previous posts, you will know that I don't just read crime fiction; I have quite a varied taste, although I do focus on fiction. Recently, I have discovered Japanese translations, and they are so beautifully told, gentle and creative. The first I read was The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, and translated by Philip Gabriel. I am in awe of translators. The translations of Asterix and Obelix were brilliant because the many jokes translated so well. Obviously, I can't read the original versions, but I am assuming the translations are true to the original. This one is poetic, as I imagine the original version is. I was sceptical at first. I love cats, adore them, but I wasn't sure if I would want to read a book from a cat's perspective, but I truly loved it and happily give copies of this book away as gifts, because it feels like I am spreading the love. This book is described as heart-breaking, but I would say it is heart-warming. There is so much kindness and gentle emotion throughout the book as the cat takes us on a journey through Japan, and introduces us to the beautiful Japanese culture and customs.

The next book I found was What you are looking for is in the library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts. This one focuses on a very special librarian, and a community which has a special attachment to a particular brand of biscuits, and needs the help of the librarian to solve their life problems, through the choice of books she issues to them, along with a little hand-made, felted gift. Each chapter introduces a member of the community, who is looking for something, but is not sure what, and they are directed to a large, rather intimidating, librarian, who surprises them with the book choices she gives them. This is such a lovely story, so inspiring, and makes me proud to be a librarian. I wish I could be as magic as her! Incidentally, the biscuits they are fans of are the Honeydome Cookies by Kuremiyado - I don't know if they actually exist, but someone has posted this recipe, in case you want to give them a go - in the book, they are described as "half-moon shaped cookie with a soft, honey flavored center".

The last book I am going to talk about today is The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page. My sister bought this for me as a gift and it was so beautiful. I have bookmarked so many wonderful quotes! The book is about a young woman who is taking care of her uncle's stationery shop. I don't know about you but I love stationery, and a shop full of pens, pencils, and paper, would be a fabulous place to work. This book has inspired me to write again, using a fountain pen, because she adds new stock to the shop, and encourages potential customers to try writing with a fountain pen and she collects what they write. She makes friends with a female vicar and an elderly customer, and discovers Highgate Cemetery, which is a place close to my heart - if you ever get the chance to visit, do go; it is full of the most incredible people. Anyway, together with her new friends, the main character moves forward with her life and helps them to find themselves too. It is such a beautiful story. The author created a fountain pen shop, PLOOMS, and I was tempted to buy a pen from them, but then I decided to do some research, and found a lovely company in Wales, and I bought a lovely, chunky fountain pen, which inspires me to write, rather than type, and I chose some gorgeous ink colours - magenta, forest green, and turquoise! I like this book because it encourages you to handwrite - there is one sentence, which describes how she learned to write by using exercise books and practising her letters, as a child - it reminded me of my own schooldays. And best of all, this book encourages you to reach out, make contact, stay in touch - "'Dear' is a good place to start" - absolutely, a small word, straight from the heart..."dear" - full of love and care.

And, on that note, I will sign off for now, but I hope to post again soon, Dear Readers. Stay in touch.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King

Happy New Year to you all! So, a couple of months ago, a lovely friend in America introduced me to a fabulous series of books – the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries. The first is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, and it is just amazing; beyond brilliant, in fact! Written by Laurie R King, the story behind this series, is that the author received a mysterious package, containing a series of journals and other gifts.

The journals were written by an orphan called Mary Russell, and they start when she is 15 years old, after the sudden death of her family, and her first encounter with the retired Sherlock Holmes, who is living in Sussex with his housekeeper, while tending his bees. They meet on the Sussex downs, and despite their age difference, they form a professional friendship, with Holmes becoming Mary’s mentor, and Russell becoming Sherlock’s apprentice. He teaches her his skills and tests her abilities, and together they become a team and solve complex crimes together. I am not doing these books justice. The first was so good, I had to immediately get the next two, and I have almost finished those now, so am ready for the next instalments. The second book is a collection of short stories, and provide some background information to give a better picture of Mary Russell’s history.

There are some incredibly powerful insights into World War I and what the soldiers endured in the trenches, but I also had not appreciated the impact that war had on women. Not only did many lose the prospect of being a wife and a mother, because many men either did not return from the war or were too badly injured or traumatised to become husbands and fathers. Furthermore, while the war was on, women took on traditionally-male roles, such as farming the land, flying planes across the country, and keeping the home-fires burning so that returning soldiers would have something to come home to. However, once they were home, they took back those jobs, and the women were left with fewer options. I found this all so thought-provoking!

The development of Mary and Sherlock’s personal relationship is also described in one of the short stories, culminating in their marriage, when she is of age. It is beautifully done, with no improprieties. Their relationship is complex, and they are clearly dependent on each other. I am so delighted to be reading this series of books, as they are such a pleasure to read. The books are so well-written, informative, suspenseful, sensitive, and unexpected. I am very grateful for the introduction!