Hello again!
I can’t believe it’s already September.
Ok, ok, I know everyone is saying it right now – but it’s true! It may be cliché to find ourselves unable to avoid the conversations surrounding the passage of time, but it’s just the way life is. It’s a little chillier, the leaves are beginning to fall, apples and tomatoes are in season and I find myself enjoying holding my morning cup of coffee just that much more. September also has me thinking back over the past two thirds of the year – and, though I have accomplished much, I have sadly found that I have not read nearly as much as I had hoped. Looking back on my Summer List I think that I can only say that I’ve read three of the listed titles. I have read alot, don’t worry, but not so many on my list. Mostly review copies and books to fulfill our monthly themes! Which were wonderful, but awfully distracting.
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- Cats of Tanglewood
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- Boundless by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Jim Tierney
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- The Ruby in the Smoke
You can check out my review of The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel, which I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.
You can check out my review of The Cats of Tanglewood Forest which left me wanting to sink into the magical worlds of Charles De Lint. Just so fairy tale-esque and lovely to read.
And third, but certainly not least I read The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman – which was fabulous, just as expected! Pullman has this wonderful way of phrasing. He’s cheeky, he’s funny and each word holds weight. He doesn’t shy from vocabulary which is just so refreshing, and the way he tells a story is so honest and wonderful to sink into.
Ruby features his female detective Sally Lockhart who, after her father’s death, find herself in centre of a spiderweb. She is level headed, capable and ever so smart. When reading it I can’t help but feel that I’m reading a Dickens novel, the way the story roams through the city piecing together a large web of characters and connections. Brilliant!
My only problem – I can’t find number 2 anywhere! Not in Indigo and on Amazon I’d have to pay hefty shipping fees. *sighs*.
Now I did read some other books of note – but I will be reviewing them over the course of the next couple of months.
What did you get through this summer? Anything of note?
The Book Wars 
I spotted the cover picture of Ruby in the Smoke and followed it to your article. Just wanted to say that the other books in the Lockhart series are just as good – unusual in a series – and also not to miss the spin-off ‘Tin Princess’, which is a perfect piece of almost-fairytale storytelling. In fact, you’ve made me want to read them all over again (for the third time :-))!
He’s such a good writer!
I just drink it in like it’s water. :) I’ll keep scouring for that book! (and the rest!)
Cheers!
They also made a TV film
http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Lockhart-Mysteries-Ruby-Smoke/dp/B000NIBUP8
It was okay, but Pullman’s work doesn’t seem to translate to film and TV. The books are so good, no one can do them justice.
WHHHHAAAAAT??? I have to get my hands on this!
Ruby in the Smoke is also a great audiobook!