Remind Me

I don't specialize in my preferences for reading. I always have research books of some kind on the go, for my own writing, of course - and often, I have a biography or non-fiction bookmarked at the same time as a fiction novel and the research material.

My bookshelves are made up of mysteries, biographies, non-fiction, young adult novels, and - as I don't limit myself to strictly "literary fiction" - I also have an ample supply of other forms of fiction crammed in cheek by jowl with the others. I also keep, very close to me on my bedside table, and the one beside my bath, a few of my favourite books to reread - both to comfort me, and to recharge me. Some of my long time much-loved authors are Barbara Pym, Jane Austen, Joanna Trollope, Anne Tyler, John Steinbeck, John Mortimer, and Alan Bennett. I have also been known to have favourite cookbooks on those tables as well.

As a voracious reader of mysteries, I go from M.C. Beaton to Magdalene Nabb to Georges Simenon, and many others in between.

I also have many YA writers I enjoy. Too many to list here, but we have some of the best YA fiction writers in Canada right here in Manitoba!

In non-fiction, some of my favourites are: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester; Who Killed Kit Marlow? by M. J. Trow (about the death of Shakespeare's contemporary, and long-time mystery man, Christopher Marlow); Her own Woman: The life of Mary Wollstonecraft by Diane Jacobs (Wollstonecraft was the mother of Mary Shelley. I thought this was an excellent book); Barbara Pym's A Very Private Eye, edited by Hazel Holt; The Secret, by Ashley Hay (about Lord Byron's wife - utterly fascinating story); Writing Home by Alan Bennett. (I read anything by Alan Bennett!)

Most recent reading:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam).

A stunning and intense story of how three different women deal with the issue of racism during the civil rights movement. It is moving, frightening and humorous all at once.

No Fond Return of Love, A Few Green Leaves, and The Dark Quartet by Barbara Pym

Poet Phillip Larkin believed Pym to be one of the most underrated writers of the 20th Century. He said, "The sparkle they (her novels) had on first acquaintance has been succeeded by the deeper brilliance of established art." And they are highly readable and thoroughly enjoyable!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Doubleday Canada).

I just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and adored it. Fell, hook, line and sinker, just as Pettigrew himself does. Set in an English village on the south coast, it is the story of retired Major Pettigrew who forms a friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper. It is charming and poignant, and I loved every second of it. I will read this one again for sure!

Heartstone by C.J. Samsom (HarperCollins Publishers).

I have just begun this fifth Shardlake mystery from the series by C.J. Sansom, set in the last years of Henry VIII's reign. Sansom is an historical crime novelist who has perfectly captured the time and the people in it. The main character, Shardlake, a hunchback lawyer, is intelligent, canny, fair-minded and real - and despite being despised by many in power, he is able to navigate though the terrifying world of the court's corruption and its politics, as well solve violent murders and fascinating mysteries - and still come out relatively unscathed. So far.

Lined up are:

Harperland: The Politics of Control by Martin Lawrence(Penguin Group Canada)

Curiosity by Joan Thomas(McClelland & Stewart)

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd), which my daughter insists I read.

And ... well, that's enough for now, I think! What would we do without a pile of good books waiting to be read!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Margaret Buffie was born and grew up in the west end of Winnipeg. She began writing in 1985 and her first novel, Who is Frances Rain? quickly became a best seller. Since then, she has published nine more books for young adults, all of which have found their way to many countries. Margaret Buffie has been honored with numerous awards and honours including the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for Body of Work and the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book Award. She joined us at our Grant Park location in October of 2010 to launch her latest work, Winter Shadows. Visit her website here.