Books Read In 2017, and Books Currently Being Read

A Good Read by George Bernard O'Neill

In 2017 I didn't read as many books as I would have liked to, and  there were also various ones (not mentioned here) that were browsed through or begun but abandoned to be read at another time because I'm a moody and sometimes fickle reader!   Many of them were mysteries. All of them are very good, and I do tend to have the problem of having so many enticing treasures to read that it's hard to settle, which is why there are usually several on the go at the same time. 
I've never posted my reading lists before, but here is my 2017 list:

The Shadow Guests by Joan Aiken 1980
She Fell Among Thieves by Dornford Yates 1935
Unicorn: Myth and Reality by Rudiger Robert Beer
Thornyhold by Mary Stewart (yet again) 1988
The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley 2011
A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley 2011    
The Man Behind The Glass by Greg Howes 2014
The Hound Of Death and Other Stories by Agatha Christie 1933
The Lothian Run by Mollie Hunter 1970
Empty Pocket Blues:  The Life and Music of Clive Palmer by Grahame Hood 2008
The Stones of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston 1976
Robin Hood by J.C. Holt
Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry Volume 1
The Mabinogion, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest (not finished)
The Silver Bough by F. Marion McNeill 1956
The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude 1935
Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes 1973
Adele and Co. by Dornford Yates 1931
The Club Of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton 1905
The Crime At Black Dudley by Margery Allingham 1929
Look To The Lady by Margery Allingham 1931
The Book Without Words:  A Fable Of Medieval Magic by Avi 2005
The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb 1993
Headlong Hall by Thomas Love Peacock 1816

Due to the pastime of researching books (when I really should just be reading from what I already have), I did add quite a large number of books to my library in 2017, and there's nothing wrong with that! I sold a few books and traded some as well.  Some of the kinds of arrivals include ones on the Pre-Raphaelites, mysteries, Scottish books, Irish books,  antique books, and Victoriana.  In December, via booksellers with very good and very cheaply priced books, I ordered a great bunch of Medieval history books that look fascinating, and have started on one of those (though already had plenty of other Medieval history books yet to read, but you have to get them when you find them...).  I was also given some books for Christmas that I'd selected, which included more Lady Gregory books and a big hardcover tome of delightful-looking stories by Washington Irving.

Along with previously wanting more books by Dornford Yates and John Buchan, last year I discovered that I need many of G.K. Chesterton's books; along with being a highly entertaining writer, he was a very wise man.

Finished books so far this year are: The Maidenswell Folly by Greg Howes, and The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. 

Currently reading:

Visions & Beliefs In The West of Ireland by Lady Gregory  (gathered superstitions and folklore)

Medievalism:  The Middle Ages In Modern England by Michael Alexander  (about the Medieval revivals in literature, architecture, etc...)

The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins

Drawn From Life by William Thackeray

Mystery On The Moors (Sons of the Wolf) by Barbara Michaels (vintage Gothic suspense)

It's tempting to set up a reading plan for the year, but that doesn't tend to work well for me, as interests can shift around and it can make it feel more of a chore to tie oneself down to only read from a list, no matter how wonderful a list it may be.  But there are a few I particularly want to read this year, including certain ones by Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan, Sir Walter Scott, and William Harrison Ainsworth; so have assembled a small list of a few titles, but leaving the majority of the reading to whatever I feel like. It would be good to pick up the pace a bit too, and get through more books this year (I'm a fast reader, but deliberately slow down to fully absorb stories, and generally read in somewhat short spaces of time).  I'm also continuing on with my own writing, and have various ideas in progress which I intend to get on with, along with my music and painting too; and also would like to be more frequent with my blog posts here if interest is shown, comments are very welcome.

What are you reading?  Do you make reading plans?

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

 With this new year I could begin with an overview of books read last year, or show the many book hauls there have been, but for now I'd like to mention this fine Victorian book read years ago, 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins, a very famous story written in 1868 which has been referred to as the first real detective novel.  This is a rather intriguing tale with a mysterious atmosphere that keeps one engaged and wondering, and with some surprises at the end.  The reader ponders on why Rachel Verinder behaves in such a perplexing way, and are people really as they appear?  In the beginning, what are the suspicious Indian conjurors lurking around the house up to?  The chapters consist of narratives by various characters in the story, beginning with good old Gabriel Betteridge, the House-Steward, who continually reads and quotes from his favourite book, 'Robinson Crusoe'.

 

Like with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story of  'The Blue Carbuncle', a unique and highly desirable gem that has been the cause of murder and mayhem in its history, the Moonstone is also the object of desire for some who will stop at nothing to obtain it. 

"The Moonstone, a priceless yellow diamond, is looted from an Indian temple and maliciously bequeathed to Rachel Verinder.  On her eighteenth birthday, her friend and suitor Frankin Blake brings the gift to her.  That very night, it is stolen again.  No one is above suspicion, as the idiosyncratic Sergeant Cuff and Franklin piece together a puzzling series of events as mystifying as an opium dream and as deceptive as the nearby Shivering Sand."  Penguin Classics 1998 edition

There have also been various adaptations of this story: a 1930s film, the 1972 BBC television series  with Vivien Heilbron, Robin Ellis, Martin Jarvis, etc...;  the 1996 television film with Keeley Hawes, Greg Wise, Antony Sher, etc...-all worth watching, though the last two mentioned are the best. Apparently there is a new version of it as well, which I've not seen.