Goodreads

Always a bit slow to pick up on technology, I finally found how to put my Goodreads list on my blog, selecting (after a couple of false starts) the option of posting the twenty-seven or so most recently-read books.

Still mostly crime novels, and generally a preponderance of Scottish  crime, which I began reading over a year ago in preparation for 'Not wanted on voyage', my NaNoWriMo2011 novel.   I'd not had anything against crime novels, but felt that there was plenty more other stuff I'd choose to read first.   Now, I own at least a bookcase full and have my daughter, youngest son and friends to thank for the loan of many more.

Obviously the original idea was to learn about crime writing.   Invariably I got hooked on the story and forgot to be watching how it was done.   Eventually I learnt to re-read those that I thought might usefully point me in the right direction, and at the same time I realised that I preferred those books which became a series, in which there was the development of a small cast of central characters.
Some, such as Stuart McBride - an early loan - I found too far from my natural style, but I am now wanting to re-read, others I found too awful for words and they were very quickly sent to charity shops, many were so good that I almost gave up there and then, and latterly, as can be seen, I have concentrated on those I was due to see at the Orcrime festival.

I've now got back into the habit of using the library too since, much as I prefer to own books, there is a space constraint:  already this year I have read ninety plus books ...

When 'Not wanted on voyage' is fnally done I shall return to the follow up, working title 'Susannah Elphinstone' (and ~40K words so far), but that's intended to be more of a thriller ...