This Summer Read (Part 2)
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7) The Time Machine (H.H. Wells / 1895)
A Victorian scientist propels himself into the year AD 802,701 and finds himself among the Eloi, an elfin species that appears to live in a world free of suffering, but in tunnels beneath their paradise lurk the sinister Morlocks. When the scientist’s time machine vanishes, he knows what he has to do to return to his era.
8.) Doctor Who?: Revenge of the Juddon (Terrance Dicks / 2008)
A modern take on the same theme, time-traveller Doctor Who visits a castle in Scotland. The castle disappears, leaving just a hole in the ground. The Doctor realizes it is the work of the Juddon, ruthless intergalactic mercenary space police plotting to take over the world. The Doctor Who books are a tie-in with the very popular British TV series of the same name.
9) Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie / 1934)
Detective Hercule Poirot’s little grey cells whirr away as he untangles the mystery of an American tycoon found dead in his train compartment with a dozen stab wounds.
10) A quite belief in Angels (R.J.Ellory / 2007)
Joseph Vaughan is a teenager when a string of girls from his community are murdered. Ten years later, one of his neighbours is found dead, with articles taken from the dead girls. The killings resume. Who is the real killer? A bestseller on Amazon, it is this summer’s crime title smash hit.
11) The Alexander Trilogy: Fire from heaven; The Persian Boy; Funeral Games (Mary Renault / 1969 / 1972/1981)
Alexander the Great said, “It is a lovely thing to live the courage, and die leaving an everlasting fame.” Mary Renault’s trilogy is a superb fictional account of the man who spoke those words. It takes the reader on a real-life adventures story that moves from the rugged mountains of Macedonia, via Persia and Egypt, to the Indus. Along the way, we meet many intriguing characters, not least of whom is Alexander’s formidable mother, Olympias.
12) The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory / 2002)
Nothing can come between sisters like a kingdom. Mary Boleyn becomes the mistress of King Henry VIII. When he tires of her, she sets out to school her sister, Anne, to take her place. A novel of high drama, politics and passion, It won the Parker Romantic Novel of the Year award (2002) and was recently made into a movie starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Philippa Gregory’s other Tudor titles include The Queen’s Fool, The Virgin’s Lover, The Boleyn inheritance, and the Other Queen (to be published this august).
This Summer Read
Posted by Admin | Filed under Readings
A holiday means time to indulge in a good book. But how to choose wisely as you pack, so that your luggage does not go into excess weight? Which books will satisfy your literary soul? Below are some suggestions:
1) The Golden Notebook (Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing / 1962)
Middle-aged Anna keeps four notebooks, chronicling stages in her life. The fifth notebook - the golden one - is her attempt to pull it all together. A novel that has left its mark on the ideas and feelings of three generations of women.
2) Life of Pi (Yann Martel / 2002)
Tipped to win the man Booker Prize’s 40th anniversary Best of the Booker award this July, this is the tale of Pi, an Indian boy, the only human survivor of a shipwreck, who spends 221 days on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, and orangutan and a Bengal tiger. The novel combines a boy’s own adventure with a meditation on faith and survival.
3) Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen / 1813)
This romantic comedy continues to draw readers to this day. Heroine meets rich hero but it’s loathe first sight. She fails for a less-than-ideal choice, who causes a family crisis. The hero saves the day. This nuanced tale underscores the issues of, yes, pride and prejudice, and love’s eventual triumph.
4) An Offer You Can’t Refuse (Jill Mansell / 2008)
Jill Mansell is the best selling queen of chick lit and in her latest book, the heroine, Lola, is offered a payoff of 10,000 pounds by the snobbish mum of her boyfriend Dougine, to break up with her son. Is it true love or will money talk?
5) Frankenstein (Mary Shelley / 1818)
Forget blockbusters featuring square-jawed actors with bolts through their necks. Obsessed with creating life, a scientist called Frankenstein plunders graveyards for material to fashion a new being, which he brings to life. This creature sets out to destroy his maker. Some consider this the classic that shocked the sci-fi genre into existence.
6) Twilight (Stephenie Meyer / 2005)
Bella is the new girl in town who feels a strange attraction to a youth, who rebuffs her and then saves her life. The reason for his coldness? He is a vampire. Meyer, a cross-over young adult/adult novel sensation, has been touted as the new J.K.Rowling. Twilight, the movie, will out this December.