Farewell Cordelia

Finishing The Skull Beneath The Skin was bittersweet for me. Sadly, P.D. James only wrote two Cordelia Gray mysteries. Finishing this book was like saying goodbye to this great character. Perhaps it is for the best. If there were more Cordelia Gray books I would probably neglect my coursework in favor of solving English mysteries.

In this book Gray is charged with protecting an aging ingenue from death threats. As the novel progresses, Gray has a murder mystery on her hands. The Skull Beneath The Skin has a very different pace than its predecessor, An Unsuitable Job For A Woman. James takes her time with this novel offering great detail and back-story for each character. The bulk of the action takes place on an island off the English coast. The characters have little to do as the police investigate the murder. Cordelia discretely puts her detective skills to work to solve the case.

As I say farewell to Cordelia, I begin classes for this semester. My reading will now become more focused on course related materials. Any extra time I have will hopefully be devoted to reading children’s and young adult literature so that I can continue to become fluent in those works. Ramona the Brave is up next on the blog docket. Cheers.

Back to Narnia

With The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and half of The Horse and His Boy under my belt, I’m quite smitten with The Chronicles of Narnia—but what’s new. People have been telling me to read these books for years. So, if you want recommend a book to me, start now and maybe I’ll read it before I’m 40.

The Chronicles of Narnia are much beloved. This leaves me with the feeling that there is little I can say that would add to the conversation. But I do have a couple of points. As I said above, a lot of people tried to push these books on me when I was a kid. At the time, I wasn’t a fantasy reader. If you are an adult new to fantasy, I strongly recommend taking a second look at The Chronicles of Narnia.

Earlier this week I was discussing fantasy literature with a woman I know. Unfortunately she believes that fantasy is inappropriate literature for anyone, including children. Her stand comes from religious conviction. I offered The Chronicles of Narnia as a faith friendly fantasy option since they are packed with Christian themes and imagery. I’m not sure that she will take my recommendation, but perhaps you will.

A Reading Frenzy

A quick blog to check in. As winter break at UNT comes to a close, I am frantically finishing up my "engaged reading." Blog posts to come: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Tokyo Vice, and Skull Beneath the Skin.