Welcome back to another edition of Beyond the Bookcase! (For some reason when I say this out loud I sound like a 1950s American TV game-show host!). This edition I discuss some recommendations for August reading including an audio book, a novel, and a compendium of short stories.
When I visited Scotland in May of this year I started my visit in my favorite city in the UK and Ireland; Edinburgh. Edinburgh is cultural and architecture lover’s delight. From the old town’s medieval buildings to the new town’s Georgian splendor and the art galleries and museums there is something for every cultural taste. It also happens to be the only city I would want to live in the inner-city due to the abundance of parks, rivers, and the Botanic gardens on your doorstep.
One of my favourite things to do is to get on my walking boots (pictured above and muddy to boot!) and go for walks. Long walks, short walks, sunny walks, wet walks. I walk in nearly all weathers and don’t go outside unless it’s particularly snowy or very, very, very windy, and wet. I have taken it for granted that I can go out by myself and feel safe and walk. I live in Ireland; it’s relatively safe to walk most places even hiking and solo walking trips. I took it for granted that it was always like this but lo, and behold this wonderful book made me think again about women who walked before me who were walking trailblazers walking in a time when women being alone was seen to be dangerous and circumspect.
On this dreich, grey, and wet, July (!) day there is nothing better than staying inside with a cosy crime novel whilst the weather turns worse outside. The recently published British Library Crime Classics ‘The Edinburgh Mysteries – And Other Tales of Scottish Crime’ compendium of short crime stories centred in Scotland or written by Scottish Authors. Authors from Arthur Conan Doyle to G.K. Chesterton and Josephine Tey to Michael Innes offer us a glimpse into how Scotland has influenced crime from the Golden Era of crime and beyond.
Rachel With An E? – Anne With An E? Sense a theme here? My blog is in homage to Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. As like Anne I to get frustrated when people mis-spell my name as Rachael when it is Rachel. Also like Anne I’m always reminding people my name is Rachel With An E! The Anne of Green Gables series are some of my all time favourite books. But, I confess until recently I had not read past the first two books Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Anne of Avonlea (1909).