A few Reads of Summer 17 part #1

I don't know about the rest of you but reading a book one of the greatest simple pleasures that exist (true - its best enjoyed with the water gently lapping against the hull as you cruise on to your next destination - but tucked up in bed or in front of the fire works just as well). So here's a quick list of some of my favourites from this year as well as some old classics.

Alan Bennett 'Keeping On Keeping On' - technically 2016 but this is one of those books I just love to have by the side of the bed (In fact this weighty brick of a book even sailed across the Atlantic and down the East Coast of America with us) which you can read about here. I still dip into it randomly now and find I'm screaming with laughter. He is simply unique - grumpier with age I think - but simply superb. PS If it's your first dip into the diaries 'Untold Stories' is a little less grumpy.

Ian Rankin `Rather be the Devil` Rebus is back. To be fair/biased  I find  Rankin and Rebus just never disappoint;  there's a lashing of old nostalgia,  a thick fog of Scottish atmosphere and the promise of more to come

Emily Bronte 'Wuthering Heights' - I revisited this book after we enjoyed a visit to Howarth inspired by the highlight of last Christmases TV films - Sally Wainwrights moving 'We Walk Invisible' . I so much enjoyed it more than my first read many years ago; I felt like I understood the writer more and more as I read it. I also really recommend this Norton edition though as  it includes a lot of her best poetry (just bring a magnifying glass though the text is tiny).

Amy Snow (by Tracy Rees). It can't all be good - I just happened to get stuck with this one on a Baltic Cruise - lured by the Richard and Judy awards promotion on Amazon and the fact it was less than a few shillings as a Kindle download. Great set up but basically turns into a never ending Mills and Boon waste of cloud space.

Stephen King (End of Watch) - The final part of the Bill Hodges Trilogy. A slightly weak final installment that took  one left turn too many back into familiar WTF Stephen King territory for me - but as a trilogy its been a great ride. Stephen King is one of those authors where the ride will either thrill me with page turning  tension and atmosphere (Joyland, The Shining, Salems Lot, 11.23.63 to name a few ) or bore me to hell and back (Under the Dome, Duma Key, The Mist) -  J has a theory that a lot of his books are great short stories only; having read some of his short stories (Four past Midnight) I have to agree.