Wednesday, November 19, 2008

K's Holiday Wish List

As I'm sure you can guess, I have an Amazon wishlist and it is chock full o' books. I thought I would share with you some of the titles I am wishing for -- just in case you are pondering what to wish for.

The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, compiled by Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert. It was obvious from reading Michael Cox's books that this area is his specialty so I'm curious to see what stories they collected. The author list includes J.S. Le Fanu and M.R. James, of course, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Apparently there are 35 stories -- and for $15.99, this seems like a great deal.

The Law and the Lady, Wilkie Collins. Another blogger read this recently and liked it and it's about time that I read another Collins book. I think I actually have four or five of his books on my wishlist right now.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective, Kate Summerscale. This is a non-fiction account of a Victorian murder, investigated by one Detective Inspector Whicher from Scotland Yard. This book is supposed to be similar to The Beautiful Cigar Girl in that it goes beyond the story -- in this case, to also talk about the beginning of the modern concept of a "detective" and of forensic police methods.

The Painter of Battles: A Novel, Arturo Perez-Reverte. This is a thriller about a war photographer turned painter, trying to exorcise his demons and forget his past. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to do this when someone from his past shows up and forces him to face the repercussions of his actions. I've been waiting for a new Perez-Reverte for a while and am glad that there is one out of the Captain Alatriste series. This book sounds somewhat similar to Iain Pears' The Portrait so I'm interested to compare them.

And a few more:
The Journal of Dora Damage, Belinda Starling.

Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks From Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West, Shannon Mckenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon.

Uncle Silas, J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

The Enchantress of Florence: A Novel, Salman Rushdie.

Did you see anything that looks interesting? Tomorrow I will post Z's Holiday Wish List!

Always wishing for world peace,
K


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1 comment:

  1. That is a very interesting wish list, I hope Santa delivers some of it to you!

    I hadn't heard of Cox's ghost story compilation, so will look out for it. I already have The Law and the Lady, The Suspicions of Mr Wicher, The Journal of Dora Damageand Uncle Silas in my TBR pile though, so should probably read one of them first.

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