Elinor’s Bookshelf

My rating: A pearl – an absolute pearl! In mid-19th century London, begins an atmospheric story of theft, love, and lack of honesty - or, perhaps, as you’ll discover if you read the book, at times too much of it. Susan Trinder gets involved in a deceptive thieving scheme with a villain of her knowing. But it goes further than she has intended, and she gets tangled in a web of secrets, and rides a twisting, ever-surprising rollercoaster of emotions. If London crooks can be cruel, so can country gentlemen. This is my first Sarah Waters (I know, I know...!), and it was perfectly paced, my curiosity and eagerness maintained throughout and apexing towards the end of the book (and keeping me up all hours)! It had all the right ingredients for me - the wicked underworld of 19th-century London, its dark streets and devious deeds; the Victorian country houses; the worlds of ladies and lowly villains entwined. Not to mention, love. It is beautifully written, with a deep and clever plot, a...

My rating: Call the Midwife, the first of a trilogy by Jennifer Worth, née Lee, is a memoir of the author’s work as a midwife, working with the nuns of “Nonnatus House”, in the East End during the 1950s. It is a collection of comical, sad, mischievous, happy, and unexpected true tales of poverty-stricken large families living in post-war London, often in squalid tenements, deemed unfit for human habitation. In this educational, warm, easy, and humane book, the reader gets a glimpse of sleeping by the Cut, pig breeding, boys never found in secret hideouts, the discrete lives of nuns, and the maddening heartbreak of poverty, adoption, and brutal loss. There has always been something about Cockneys, which is perfectly portrayed here: rough around the edges, fundamentally kind, and always up for a good laugh! This book really worked well for me, at times I was thoroughly engrossed, checking the map of London, reading up on workhouses, Cable Street (what has this street not been priv...

My rating: What a ride! Suzanne Collins delivers yet another page-turner! In this third volume of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen faces the consequences of shooting an arrow through the ‘chink’ of the forcefield in the 75th edition of the Games. Some contestants have escaped to district 13, others remain in the grips of the Capitol. An innocent-looking scented white rose sends her a clear warning. Will Katniss rise up, become the Mockingjay, and set alight the rebellion brimming under the surface of the districts? I love the writing in this book. Page after page, chapter after chapter, we delve into the intricacies of human relationships, of what can drive us crazy, pull us back to our true selves, the things we cling to, those that we cannot let go, the power of hope. The first two books were about the games - this is about a game outside the Games, it is darker, more powerful, more real. The story isn’t rushed, we get to grips with what is happening, know and understa...

My rating: This book is an absolute hoot - Arthur Dent wakes up one morning and is on a mission to prevent the demolition of his house. Little does he expect what his friend, Ford Prefect (a chap in charge of updating “The hichhiker’s guide to the galaxy”), is about to announce: the Earth is minutes away from total annihilation. Thus begins this most improbably adventurous and humour-peppered read. Only in this book can a spaceship commit suicide from talking with a depressed robot, a president have two heads and three arms, the answer to the most unfathomable question be given before it is actually asked (kudos to “Deep Thought”). Recommendations? 42. View all my reviews

My rating: « You may have known more about who you were then, than you do now. » In this work of quiet perseverance, author Susan Cain explores in-depth the introversion/extroversion personality trait, and some related theories. She delves into the physiological and psychological make-up of introverts and extraverts in a Western society where the ‘Extrovert Ideal’ has prevailed and we are all expected to sell, even ourselves. The author talks from personal experience, and subjects herself to multiple ‘experiments’, meets with subject matter experts, and interviews introverts over several years. She talks mainly about the US and, to a lesser extent, Asian American population in a bid to introduce cultural differences that promote/demote introversion. There was little reference to gender-specifics, which I expect would account for some of our differences, certainly in today’s western societies. The author careful avoids common pitfalls by: treating introversion/extroversion as a f...