{"id":3154,"date":"2012-12-31T08:03:55","date_gmt":"2012-12-31T13:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3154"},"modified":"2012-12-31T08:03:55","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T13:03:55","slug":"my-month-in-books-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/reading\/my-month-in-books-december\/","title":{"rendered":"My month in books – December"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the end of another month (how did that happen?). It’s been a busy time for me of late – not as much reading as I would hope.. but\u00a0here are some thoughts on the books I have\u00a0been reading.<\/p>\n

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A gripping read - recommended<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Up Close \u2013 Henriette Gyland<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been looking forward to reading this book for a while.. again, in the interests of full disclosure, the author is a good friend of mine. We both like reading romantic suspense, and Henri also turned me on to some other authors I have thoroughly enjoyed. With history like that, I suspected her first novel would be right up my alley.<\/p>\n

My love of with romantic suspense began with Victoria Holt \u2013 I so enjoyed the way the settings in her novels added to the tension\u2026 creating a brooding and dangerous atmosphere. And there were times you started to wonder if the hero was possibly the villain too. Up Close comes from the same place… the setting on the Norfolk Coast weaves an additional layer into the mystery that really kept me guessing\u2026 and yes, wondering about the hero.<\/p>\n

Like most people, when I am reading any sort of a mystery, I try to figure out the solution. At one point I decided I had it. BUT \u2013 I was soon to \u00a0discover I was very wrong. I don\u2019t put spoilers on this blog –\u00a0 but let me just say the answer, when finally revealed, was the right one.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another Henriette Gyland due for release in a few months \u2013 with the intriguing title of \u201cThe Elephant Girl\u201d. I\u2019ll certainly be at the head of the line for that one.<\/p>\n

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A Creed in Stone Creek \u2013 Linda Lael Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

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You can't go far wrong with handsome men in big hats and boots!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While living in the US and reading a lot of US authors, I confess I developed a taste for cowboy books … Contemporary cowboys – with big trucks as well as horses. Given my upbringing in the Aussie bush, and the sort of books and heroes I write \u2013 I guess this is not surprising.<\/p>\n

Linda Lael Miller is one of the queens of cowboy books. This book is one of several series she has to her credit \u2013 many of which have topped the US bestseller lists.<\/p>\n

First \u2013 I have to say the lady knows her stuff. The books give authentic descriptions of all things cowboy \u2013 from the smell of a sweaty horse (and rider) to the excitement of a rodeo. For someone like me, that authenticity is key.<\/p>\n

Her heroes are great \u2013 larger than life and drop down dead gorgeous \u2013 but with a softer side, and very human flaws.<\/p>\n

As an aside \u2013 her website<\/a>\u00a0has a fabulous video of how her cover shoots are done \u2013 featuring said gorgeous men in big hats and boots.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t read one of her books looking for great literature \u2013 but do read them looking for fun.<\/p>\n

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One For The Money \u2013 Janet Ivanovitch<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The series is popular - but not for me<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m not quite sure why it took me this long to read one of the Stephanie Plum novels.<\/p>\n

The 19th<\/sup> book in this popular series is about to be released – and presumably Janet Evanovich is working on number 20. There has also been a film.<\/p>\n

This is the very beginning of the Stephanie Plum story \u2013 and it seemed a very good place to start (yes \u2013 I watched the Sound of Music a dozen times when I was a child).<\/p>\n

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting \u2013 funny and sassy, I guess and that is what I got. It’s sort of Jersey Shore meets Moonlighting.<\/p>\n

It was well written and fast paced \u2013 but the comedy was a bit slapstick for my taste. Maybe my newly rediscovered liking for dark romantic suspense combined with my penchant for crime and thrillers made this just too lightweight for me.<\/p>\n

I’m probably not going to read the rest \u2013 but if you like your crime to be funny, and you like your comedy to be a bit slapstick \u2013 then this might be a good series for you.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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Solo \u2013 Jack Higgins.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An interesting setting for a post-war thriller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack Higgins is probably best known for The Eagle Has Landed.. and in my head he\u2019s very much associated with war books. I find them, a bit dated now\u2026 but picked Solo up as a change of pace.<\/p>\n

It is a bit dated in writing style. There are pages and pages of backstory that a publisher today would turn down in an instant\u2026 BUT \u2013 the story is riveting.<\/p>\n

This is one of those thrillers where you know almost from page one who the bad guy is\u2026 and the journey we take explains what made him a killer. It is also a journey through the mind of the man who will end the killings. The very dark story is woven through the unlikely setting of the concert stage.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed it as a change from the at times homogenized world of more recent titles.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

And the book of the month title goes to\u2026.<\/p>\n

Water For Elephants \u2013 Sara Gruen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A fabulous read - but sad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This book was recommended to me ages ago by a circus performer\u2026 a trapeze artist \u2013 who said it was the most accurate description of circus life he had ever read.\u00a0 That seemed a pretty strong recommendation.<\/p>\n

The novel \u00a0is a love story set against the backdrop of a depression era travelling circus. It was hugely successful \u2013 and adapted into a film (which gives me a great excuse to post a shot of the very attractive Robert Pattinson who starred\u2026<\/p>\n

I finally got around to reading it \u2013 and loved it. I found it incredibly sad \u00a0\u2013 but incredibly beautiful.<\/p>\n

My copy included historical photographs of depression era travelling circuses \u2013 but they weren\u2019t needed. The descriptions in the book were highly evocative. The characters were very real\u2026 and there were times when I was close to tears.<\/p>\n

OK \u2013 no spoilers about the ending, except\u2026 \u00a0Most people will assume a happy ending… which it does have\u2026 sort of.<\/p>\n

Highly recommended\u2026 but keep the tissues handy.<\/p>\n

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The elephant was cute too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the end of another month (how did that happen?). It’s been a busy time for me of late – not as much reading as I would hope.. but\u00a0here are some thoughts…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reading"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}