Books read in 2003.
2004
January
- February. Click titles to read reviews of some of the following.
Colour key;
Books I own.
Books borrowed from friends/relatives.
Library books.
# Rereads.
! Books read for the first time.
1 # The Apple-Stone (Nicholas Stuart Gray.) (bought at a
library sale).
Five children discover a mysterious stone that can bring things to life.
2 ! The Ghosts of Austwick Manor, (Reby Edmond
MacDonald) (bought at a library sale).
A model castle contains many
secrets for its young Canadian heir and his sisters.
3 ! To
the Hilt (Dick Francis.)
A Scottish artist is
embroiled in danger over hidden artefacts and a bankrupt brewery.
4 # Megstar
(Jean Ure) (bought at a library sale).
Jason would love to play the court jester in the pageant, but the teacher chooses someone else. Then Jason gets a second chance to shine.
5 ! The
Christmas Ghost (Robert Westall) (bought at a library
sale).
A small boy and a deceased
factory owner save lives on Christmas Eve.
6 ! The
Magic Cottage (James Herbert). (Audio version.)
A couple move into an old cottage in the country. At first Gramarie has a positive effect on their creativity, but soon doubts begin to creep in.
7 ! The
Lazarus Hotel (Jo Bannister.)
A self-exploration psychology weekend brings more than the participants bargained for when they are trapped on the top floor of an empty hotel. What is the link between them? Is one of them a murderer?
8 ! Away
With the Fairies (Kerry Greenwood.)
Jazz-age PI Phryne Fisher
has two cases; the murder of an advice columnist and, more importantly for her,
the abduction of her Chinese lover, Lin Chung.
9 ! Woman
of Leisure (Elizabeth Bennett) (bought at a charity shop).
Not what
I was expecting after reading two other books by E-B. Is this even the same
writer?
10 ! It
Could be You (Josie Lloyd) (bought at a booksale).
Chick-fic about accounts director Charlie. She goes blonde to attract smooth Daniel and then finds out that (and he) was a mistake.
11 ! Part
of the Furniture (Mary Wesley.)
Juno Marlow is supposed to follow her re-married mother to Canada, but instead she is caught in an air raid. Sheltered by a dying man. She emerges next morning with a letter to his father… A May-December romance with sharp edges.
12 ! Dark
Undertakings (Rebecca Tope.)
Ex-nurse Drew, newly employed by an undertaker, investigates a possible murderee whose death certificate has been too-hastily signed off by the doctor. Who's hiding secrets? Who isn't?
13 ! A
Touch of Frost (R.D. Wingfield.)
Inspector Jack Frost survives another round of cases on almost no sleep and a hazardous mixture of gambles, cock-ups and pure luck.
14 ! Sting
of Death (Rebecca Tope.)
Drew, Maggs and
Karen are involved in a reported disappearance.
15 # Bellwether
(Connie Willis.) (bought
via the internet).
Very funny novel
set in a scientific research building. Two scientists, separately and together,
study chaos theory, sheep and fads, hindered by a cranky office assistant named
Flip.
16 # Alchemy (Margaret
Mahy.) (bought at a local shop).
Very good YA
fantasy, replaying themes found in Margaret Mahy's earlier titles "The
Haunting", "The Changeover" and "Catalogue of the
Universe."
17 # Good
Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.) (bought via the
internet).
A very funny
take on the Apocalypse – protagonists include an angel who keeps a secondhand
book shop, a demon who loves his old Bentley, the antichrist (but he doesn't
know it) and a professional descendent called Anathema Device. Surprisingly
sweet-natured for a book of this type.
18 # The House Called
Hadlows (Victoria Walker.) (had
for many years).
Sequel to
Victoria's better-known 1969 title The Winter of Enchantment. Sebastian and
Melissa have another adventure that involves collecting elements from outside normal
time and space.
19 # The
Winter of Enchantment (Victoria Walker.)
(had for many years).
During a winter
spent waiting for his father's return from India, Sebastian fights evil magic
to rescue Melissa from a century of imprisonment.
20 ! Project
Pendulum (Robert Silverburg). (bought at a library sale).
A fun sf about
Sean and Eric, (adult) identical twins, who take part in a time travel
experience.
21. # A
Pack of Lies (Geraldine McCaughrean) (bought at a
library sale).
Teenaged Ailsa lives with her mother above their antique shop. Into their lives comes MCC Berkshire, from Reading… in exchange for a bed, he takes over the shop, but is he really interested in selling antiques or just in feathering his book collection? MCC tells a story for every antique he does or doesn't sell… but clues mount up to show MCC is not what he pretends.
22.
! The Mirror Image Ghost. (bought
at a library sale).
Lisa's mother has remarried, and Lisa must contend with a French stepfather and stepsibs. Her unhappiness draws her to the tragedy of Grandpa's family, most of whom died in the war. But did they? And who was the "ghost boy" who warned Grandpa not to go home to Vienna?
23. # Underground
Conspiracy (Catherine Storr) (bought at a library sale).
Jass likes riding the London Underground. She has a rather dishonest scheme going whereby she can travel all over the place on one short-hop ticket… so long as she never gets out of a station. When her cousin Colly comes to visit, she introduces him to the game. But someone else has noticed Jass' habit, and soon Jass is living on the edge of danger.
24. ! Haunted
Children (Alison Prince) (bought at a library sale).
Short stories that get progressively creepier (though I would have rearranged the first and the second… and possibly put the first one third). All deal with children haunted by someone or something.
25 ! A
Better Life (Frankie McGowan.)
Adopted
Anna finds her comfortable life disrupted when her widowed father remarries and
her own birth mother, the charming but emotional Sophia, arrives from Italy.
26. ! Dr
Who – The Early Years. (Jeremy Bentham)
(gift).
A fascinating journey into the beginnings of Dr Who, detailing much of the history and how-it-was-done of the show.
27 ! A
Dirty Death (Rebecca Tope.)
Lilah's father
dies in the slurry pit on the family farm. An accident… but then the neighbour
is murdered, and soon there's yet another crime. Are the deaths connected? Den
the policeman (who also appears in other Tope titles) is onlyone of those
investigating the dirty death.
28 !
Death of a Friend. (Rebecca
Tope.)
Den investigates
when a double fatality draws him into a maze of Quakers, huntsmen and animal
activists.
29 ! A
Death to Record (Rebecca Tope.)
Den would rather
not investigate a murder at Gordon's farm, and if he has to, he hopes Gordon
did it… having his ex-girlfriend Lilah on the scene doesn't help.
30 ! The
Crazy Shoe Shuffle (Gillian Cross.)
Lee's day starts
badly when his football is confiscated… and goes rapidly downhill from there.
Soon Lee is embroiled in a crazy game of switching identities as three of the
teachers at his school revert to their childhood selves and reveal some
surprising traits.
31 ! Owl
Express (Margaret Clark.)
One of the
Aussie Angels series, set at a wild life sanctuary. A storm at sea brings an
unexpected visitor for the Greens, and Oscar the owl decides to become a day
bird.
32 ! Spook's Shack (Wendy
Orr.)
Finn is caught
between two worlds as his parents sell their old house and set out to find a new
home overseas. Staying with his great aunt, Finn becomes involved in a magical
adventure with Jack Henry the ghost and his dog, Nipper. This ghostly adventure
is several cuts above the usual fare.
33 ! A
Taste for Burning (Jo Bannister.)
One of the Castlemere
books, with arson and distrust and, as always, a great three-way partnership
between Liz, Donovan and Shapiro.
34 ! Echoes
of Lies (Jo Bannister.)
A new series
debut for Jo Bannister, with Brodie Farrell as a "finder". Very good.
35 # Dragondrums (Anne McCaffrey) (had
since 1982).
The third story in the
'Menolly' subseries of the 'Dragonriders of Pern'. This one centres on Piemur,
Menolly's first friend at Harper Hall.
36 # Dragonsinger
(Anne McCaffrey) (had since 1982).
The second story in the
'Menolly' subseries of the 'Dragonriders of Pern'. This one deals with
Menolly's first week at Harper Hall.
37 ! The
Corner House Girls (Lilian Harry.)
A novel set just
prior to WW2 – 6 girls become "Nippies", waitresses at the Corner
House.
38 ! Murder
in Montparnesse (Kerry Greenwood.)
Phryne Fisher
stops a murderer, solves a rebellion in her household and we learn something of
her Parisian past.
39 ! Freedom's
Ransom (Anne McCaffrey.)
The folk from
Botany visit Barevi to ransom goods taken by the Catteni merchants. Catteni
Series #4.
40 ! Leaving
it to You (Wendy Orr.)
Linda gets more
involved than she bargained for in her Year 8 'Granny-visiting' programme. A
sad but heartwarming story.
41 ! Round
Ireland with a Fridge (Tony Hawks.)
In 1997, (as the
result of a bet) English comic Tony Hawks spent a month's hitchhiking journey
through Ireland with a fridge. This is his story. The bet was for 100 GBP. The
fridge cost him 130…
42 ! Beating
the Moldovans at Tennis (Tony Hawks.)
Tony Hawks takes
on another mad bet – this time that he can beat the whole Moldovan cricket team
at tennis! Only trouble is, he has to go to Moldova…
43 # What's
Hector McKerrow up to These Days? (Catherine Jinks) (bought
at a sale).
Mercy starts a message board
when she seeks information about actor Hector McKerrow, who starred in a 1960s
sit-com. Her request for input brings
more than she expects, and soon the search for Hector takes on a life of its
own. A dangerous life.
44 ! Rilla
and the School Play. (Margaret Pearce) (bought at a
sale).
Super-achieving Rilla wants
the lead role in the school play as well as a place on the swimming and netball
teams. She's convinced that only her
stocky figure (iinherited from Dad) stands between her and her goal.
45 ! Zooquest
For a Dragon (David Attenborough.) Audio book.
David Attenborough and his
crew head for Indonesia in search of the Komoda Dragon.
46 ! Sisteria.
(Sue Margolis) (bought at a charity shop).
Bev's estranged sister gets
in touch after a five year gap. Her proposal is amazing, alarming – and might
get Bev and her family out of their financial hol. But what will Bev's husband
say?
47 ! Cross
Stitch (Diana Gabaldon.) (gift).
Nurse Claire Randall goes "through the stones" near Inverness to a stirring adventure in 18th C Scotland.
48 ! The
Nature of Gardens (Compiled by Peter Timms.) Audiobook.
Four Australian writers
discuss the reality, philosophy and historical meaning of gardens in this
country.
49 ! Porterhouse
Blue (Tom Sharpe.) Audiobook.
A black comedy set in a
hidebound Cambridge college.
50 ! The Merlin Conspiracy (Diana
Wynne Jones.) (bought
at The Devonport Bookshop).
51 ! Drina
Dances in Exile (Jean Estoril.)
52 ! Drina
Dances in Italy (Jean Estoril.)
53 ! Drina
Dances Again (Jean Estoril.)
Three books from the
"Drina" series, about a teenager who discovers that her mother was a
famous dancer and determines to follow in her footsteps – while keeping her
parentage a secret from the ballet world.
54 ! The Shapestone (James Bibby.) (bought at
K-Mart).
A surprisingly good and
funny fantasy romp, in which the bright and beautiful Marcoby contends with a
ghost named Darien, a trainee monk named Glart and several other characters to
work out who killed her brother and how she can escape the same fate. Oh, and
there's a smart-mouthed amulet as well.
55 # Black Banner Players (Geoffrey Trease.) (bought over the
'net).
Number 3 in the Bannermere
series.
56 ! Bridget
Jones' Diary (Helen Fielding.) (audio book).
The first of the Bridget
Jones books, listened to on tape. Brilliantly read.
57 ! Bridget
Jones – The Edge of Reason (Helen Fielding.)
The second book.
58 ! Who
Stole Stonehenge? (Leela Cutter.) (bought at a
lib. sale).
A fun detective story in
which a daffy mystery writer, her neice and a lazy reporter crack the case.
59 ! The
Changing Tide. (Iris Bromige.) (bought at a
lib. sale).
A non-Rainwood romance from
this gentle, old-fashioned author.
60 ! Drina's
Dancing Year (Jean Estoril.)
The second of the Drina
books.
61 ! The
Practical Princess (Jay Williams.) (bought at a
charity sale).
Six fun fairytales in the E.
Nesbit mode.
62 ! Ten
Pound Penalty. (Dick Francis) (bought at a
sale).
A slight change of pace from
Dick Francis with a younger hero who doesn't get beaten to a pulp two thirds of
the way through the book.
63 # Devon
Venture. (Catherine Bell) (bought at a
sale).
An old favourite of mine, by
an author who doesn’t seem to have written any other books of this kind. Two
sisters, Carole and Jan, take up farming on a smallholding.
64 ! The
Toothpaste Genie. (Frances Duncan) (bought at a
sale).
A pleasant Canadian story
about a child who acquires a genie in a toothpaste tube. As usual, the wishes go
wrong, but the story has some original comic touches and the characters are
endearing.
