Monday, July 7, 2014

The Big Read Catch-up: Books Read March 2014

Nonfiction

2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said (Robert Byrne, editor)
A bathroom book.

Audubon Nature Encyclopedia, volumes 5 and 6

Golden Treasury of Knowledge, volumes 1 and 2
A bit of padding here – this was a 1960s “junior” encyclopedia-type series that I loved as a kid, and I wanted to revisit them.  Not exactly challenging reading, but fun.

The Book of Great Jungles (Ivan Sanderson)
Written in the 1960s, full of fun information and adventurous travels.

British Columbia: A Natural History (Richard and Sydney Cannings)
A somewhat dull read but with lovely photos.

Burne-Jones (Christopher Wood)
Biography of the British painter Edward Burne-Jones, allied to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (19th century); gorgeous reproductions.

A Clearing in the Distance (Witold Rybczynski)
A very engaging biography of Frederick Law Olmstead, a founder of American landscape architecture.

Wordbirds (Liesl Schillinger)
Not sure how to describe this – short, fun little book of made-up words that ought to really exist, accompanied by fabulous illustrations that happen to feature birds.  Delightful.

Fiction

A Comedy of Terrors (Michael Innes)
The Secret Vanguard (Michael Innes)
Classic British mysteries.

A Conventional Corpse (Joan Hess)
Damsels in Distress (Joan Hess)
A Holly Jolly Murder (Joan Hess)
Out on a Limb (Joan Hess)
Contemporary humorous mysteries.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid (J. Michael Orenduff)
I like this mystery series – set in Albuquerque and starring a slightly disreputable fellow called Hubie who sells Native American pottery and somehow manages to get into the most difficult scrapes, which he gets out of again in smart, often funny fashion.   The series should be read in order.

A Snicker of Magic (Natalie Lloyd)

Middle-grade novel about a wandering family returning home to a very odd little town where magic once worked wonders but is now gone – or is it?  Quirky and endearing characters.

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