Books 10 to 14 out of 52 in Book Challenge 2016 (52 books to be read in 52 weeks)

I’m a little bit behind on my book journal - so this entry is my way of playing catch-up. I’ll only briefly dip into each review, as I don’t really have time to do a detailed one right now.

I kind of enjoyed The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (218 pages). The stories of Mowgli were interesting, as was the story of the brave mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi. Who fights two cobras, in an effort to save his human family. I kind of wish I had read this as a child, the short stories may have caught my imagination more. Date Read: January 28 to February 02 2016.

Book eleven is Confessions of a Male Nurse by Michael Alexander. (317 pages, including acknowledgements). This took me a day to read (January 30, 2016), as I decided I wanted a little break from reading The Jungle Book. This was a very easy read, about Alexander’s time as a general nurse. Before he became a school nurse, but I’ve already covered that book in a separate entry. Not sure I would read this one again - the writing style was lacking a certain something.

The Observations by Jane Harris (523 pages, including acknowledgements) is set in Scotland in 1863. Young Bessy Buckley finds herself working as a maid to a peculiar mistress, Arabella Reid, who gets Bessy to do unusual tasks for her. Bessy soon realises that her past is closing in on her, and finds her situation spiralling out of control. As far as general fiction goes, this was all right. I had picked this up from my favourite book shop, which had this under their “blind date with a book” series. (Books are wrapped in brown paper, with a few words on what the book was about. If you have a copy already, you can return the “blind date” with a receipt). Not sure I’d read it again, but this was an interesting read. Date Read: 4th to 6th February 2016.

Emphyrio by Jack Vance (208 pages) is set in the future, on the planet of Halma. Halma’s craftsmen spend their days creating individual pieces to be sold across the galaxy, and are unaware of how much these pieces are prized. Use of machinery and making copies could cost someone their life. So Amiante Tarvoke is in a whole heap of trouble when he is found messing around with a camera. His son, Ghyl, decides to try to bring down the system. I struggled to maintain my interest with this book - it was a bit hit and miss. The ending appeared rushed, IMO, and a bit too tidy for my liking. It was an interesting premise, though! Date Read: 4 to 12 February.

City by Clifford D. Simak (257 pages, including Epilog) was an interesting choice - I don’t normally read two sci-fi novels one after the other. But I could not decide what to read next, so I picked this one up. I’m glad I did. The backdrop to the book involves intelligent robots, animals who are developed into conversationalists, interplanetary travel…this book is a collection of “legends” (stories) with explanatory notes for the perusal of the species at the top of the food chain - dogs. Man has given up, and the stories tell of the human race dwindling. Declining, while a new society rises. The stories tell primarily of the Webster family, central to the new society. I thought this was going to be a bit boring, but found myself loving it. The ending is such a downer....Highly recommended. Date Read: 12 to 14 February.

Books Read So Far: 14/52. Total Pages Read So Far: 3852