OVERVIEW: 2017 highlights

[feather_ghyll]

Here is a round-up of some things I posted about last year. I continued my reread of Eva Ibbotson books, slightly preferring Magic Flutes to A Company of Swans, although I’m grateful to the latter as it was my introduction to Ibbotson.

The book I enjoyed reading the most all year was Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, which takes the old ballad about fairies and sets it at a 1970s liberal arts college/university in the US. I read more fantasy than I always discuss here. Helen Macinnes’s While We Still Live powerfully brought the Nazi siege of Warsaw and its occupation to life. I also thought a lot of Josephine Elder’s The Encircled Heart about a woman GP before the coming of the NHS, the professional stuff having been inspired by her own experiences.

As I said in August, and as held true, the funniest book I read all year was Nancy Breary’s Give a Form a Bad Name. Mabel Esther Allan’s Over the Sea to School was miles, miles better than her ‘Death Goes Dancing’. Audrey--a New Girl by Joanna Lloyd was another girls own book that succeeded in being funny, while Evelyn Smith’s 'Binkie of IIIB' does the sort of thing other writers try to do so much better. Elizabeth ‘Binkie’ Seymour is to share her first term at St Helen’s school with her older sister Rose whose last term it is. [...] Binkie’s good nature and loyalty to the form lead to unexpected developments.

I read two Wells and Wong mysteries: 'Jolly Foul Play!' which takes us and the detective society back to school and 'Murder and Mistletoe' which takes them to Cambridge for Christmas and, perhaps, a glimpse of the future. While I admire Stevens for dealing with the ramifications of all the murders they’ve solved and growing up on Hazel (and Daisy to a lesser extent), it makes them slightly glummer reads.

I talked about two films, both starring Sam Clafin, 'My Cousin Rachel' and 'Their Finest' - I preferred the latter. Over Christmas, I watched the recent adaptation of Little Women starring Emily Watson, Angela Lansbury and introducing Maya Hawke-Thurman and others.

As for the Big Four, I read two Dimsie books, two Abbey Girls books, one by Angela Brazil featuring 'Gwethin, Hereward, Githa, Coralie, Gladwin, Ermengarde, Dona (sic), Tita and Ellaline.' I read two books by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, one a proper Chalet School book, and one featuring a character who appears glancingly in the series. I have further books by all four on by ‘to be read’ pile. In fact, I have quite a few Brazils waiting for me, and since a few days ago a Katharine L. Oldmeadow! I think that deserves an excited exclamation mark.

'Hilary at Highlands' taught me the importance of checking a book has its final page intact instead of assuming its there. I have to admit I don’t always remember to check. My resolution for 2018 is not to read such an abysmally low number of non-fiction books.

Last year's post.