hogglestock

I haven’t posted a shelf since July. I almost forgot this is something. I think I was subconsciously worried that Hogglestock was becoming too shelfy. I was also kind of tempted to take new photos of the shelves that I have yet to write about as some of them have changed noticeably since I photographed them. But I thought better of that notion because I had always intended it to catch one moment in time, and updating photos could really get me into a loop of updating that would never end.

SHELF SIXTEEN: 29 books, 21 unread, 8 read, 28% completed

MacInnes, Helen – The Salzburg Connection (completed)
MacInnes, Helen – The Double Image
MacInnes, Helen – Rest and Be Thankful
MacInnes, Helen – The Snare of the Hunter
MacInnes, Helen – The Hidden Target
MacInnes, Helen – Agent in Place
MacInnes, Helen – Message from Malaga
MacInnes, Helen – Prelude to Terror
After I became wildly enamored of the vintage thrillers of Eric Ambler thanks to a tip on Twitter, I asked the Twitterverse if they new of a comparable female author. A friend mentioned Helen MacInnes. She was a little hard to find at first but then when Nonsuch Book and I made a roadtrip to Baltimore to go to Book Thing (the “store” where all the books are free) I found a cart load of them.

Marouane, Leila – The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris (completed)
I don’t remember anything about this book but I know I liked it and found it amusing.

Martinac, Paula – Out of Time (completed)
Woman walks into an antique shop, takes home a vintage scrapbook of four women, ends up haunted by the lives of “the Gang”. Good Lesbian fiction from small press. Very under the radar.

Maugham, W. Somerset – Christmas Holiday (completed)
Maugham, W. Somerset – Catalina
Maugham, W. Somerset – Mrs  Craddock
Maugham, W. Somerset – Then and Now
Maugham, W. Somerset – The Complete Short Stories Vol 1
Maugham, W. Somerset – The Complete Short Stories Vol 2
This is another example of a prolific author I very much like but is way underrepresented on my shelves. Novels of his that I have read and are missing here include Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, The Razor’s Edge, Up at the Villa, and Cakes and Ale.

Maupin, Armistead – Tales of the City (completed)
This is really only on the shelf for the sake of nostalgia. I doubt I will ever read it again and the million other follow-ups leave me kind of bored. But, back in the day I loved this book.

Mavor, Elizabeth – The Ladies of Llangollen
Two women from titled Irish familes set-up housekeeping in Wales in 1780 and live together for 50 years.

Mawer, Simon – The Glass Room (completed)
Mawer, Simon – Tightrope
Mawer, Simon – Mendel’s Dwarf
I loved The Glass Room. It is so well written and plotted and the subject matter is fascinating. I’ve only read one other Mawer: Trapeze (not pictured). It was enjoyable, but nowhere near as accomplished as The Glass Room.

Maxwell, William – Over by the River
Maxwell, William – All the Days and Nights
Maxwell, William – The Chateau
A well-regarded author (especially of short stories?) who I have never read. These three volumes are here merely because he is supposed to be so good. Maybe that should be my next self-imposed challenge: to read at lest one book by authors I haven’t read but who have multiple books on my shelves.

Mayle, Peter – Anything Considered (completed)
I realized recently with another Mayle book just how fluffy and superficial his books are. Although I really enjoyed this caper about truffle hunting years ago when I read it, after my most recent experience I know I will never go back to this one so I moved it to the donate pile just last weekend.

McCarthy, Mary – Cast a Cold Eye
McCarthy, Mary – The Groves of Academe (completed)
McCarthy, Mary – A Charmed Life
McCarthy, Mary – The Company She Keeps
My two favorite McCarthy’s (so far) are on the next shelf and I have only read one of these. I don’t really know much about McCarthy but I loved The Group so much that I buy her novels whenever I see one I don’t have. But more about her next time when I walk about my two favorites.

NEXT TIME: McCarthy to Murdoch