Karl's Reading List

Published by Fabbri Publishing Ltd: Barcelona, 1992. First published as a novel in Italian, 1883. What a truly weird book. This is the OG version of Pinocchio, and it feels very dated, and odd. I once read half of the book The Adventures of Roderick Ransom by Tobias Smollett, and it gives me vibes of that, in the way the story unfolds without much overarching structure; rather, it simply feels like a rambly bed time story being continuously extended with plot points that feel like the author is just going: "and then, this happened!"  In some ways this makes sense, as the original stories were published in serial format before being grouped together as a novel, but authors like Charles Dickens shows that these can still be coherent narratives. Pinocchio doesn't really worry about things like that! Sure, there is a through-line in that Pinocchio is a disobedient puppet who continuously makes poor choices - surely, meant to be a morality lesson for the reader - but other bit...

Published by Harpertorch/HarperCollinsPublishers: New York, NY, 2002. Originally published in 1988 as O Alquimista in Portuguese. English translation by Paulo Coelho and Alan R Clarke, 1993. I've had this book recommended to me in the past, and finally got around to reading it. It is not a long book (167 pages) and is an easy read - in fact, I read it in a single sitting. It is also a simple story, told in a style that is allegorical or "parable-ic." The protagonist of the story is a boy introduced on the first page as Santiago, but from then on only referred to as "the boy." He has taken up the life of a shepherd in order to see the world, after having learned reading and writing when his parents desired for him to become a priest. After having a vivid dream, 'the boy' seeks to learn its meaning, firstly from a gypsy fortune-teller, and then by meeting Melchizedek, the king of Salem - a historical figure found in Genesis 14, and often seen as a metaphor...

Published by Page Classics/Page Publications: Location unknown, 1924. First published 1920. This is the first ever detective novel written by Agatha Christie, and also the first to introduce the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, along with his regular associates Hastings (who acts as narrator) and Inspector Japp. It is amazing, knowing how many Poirot books Agatha Christie would write, that the character is already so fully formed in this first entry. It is also interesting to note how well written this entry is, too. The twists and turns are suitably twisty and turny, and still seem to make sense in hindsight, and Poirot is suitably clever enough. As far as set up is concerned: Hastings is visiting with a friend, John Cavendish, at Cavendish's family home, now run by Cavendish's step-mother, who has remarried since Cavendish's father died. A suitable number of suspects is on hand when the step-mother dies, seemingly by poison. Hastings calls Poirot (staying nearby) to inve...

Published by Pan Books Ltd/Fabbri Publishing Ltd: Barcelona, Spain, 1992. First published 1895. One of HG Wells' most famous stories, The Time Machine is an 1895 novella that popularised the term 'time machine' itself! The novella is a very easy read, and not quite as grim as some of HG Wells' stories - though it still manages to be mildly cynical about the development of humankind. Our protagonist, only ever referred to as 'The Time Traveller', is an inventor who, at the beginning of the book, hosts some dinners, where he firstly demonstrates a model time machine, and then - arriving late and in quite a bad state to the second dinner - tells his guests (including our un-named narrator) the tale of time travelling that makes up the rest of the main narrative. The Time Traveller tells how he travelled forward to the year 802,701, where he encountered two species descended from modern humans: the innocent child-like Eloi, and the subterranean cannibalistic Morloc...

Published by The Chicken House: Somerset, UK, 2004. Originally published in Germany as Tintenherz, 2003. Translated from German by Anthea Bell. I read this book in the background of English classes during silent reading time, and honestly, if I had been more organised and found another book, I probably wouldn't have finished it. It's very slow. Having some awareness of the book - mostly by knowing there was a movie based on it some years ago - I knew that Mo, the father figure in the book, has the ability to "read characters out of books." That is a hugely important part of the book, and not really a spoiler; its important to the set up. And yet, we don't learn about that ability - we're not even absolutely sure that the book is a fantasy - until chapter 16, which begins on page 143 out of 543. There are hints, but only hints. And yes, books can work well when they drop hints about things without outright telling you, but there needs to be other interesting th...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 8 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five Go Off To Camp. ' Followed by 'Five Fall Into Adventure.' Originally published 1949. In this entry, set in Spring (my favourite season), the four children and Timmy get permission to go on a cycling trip on their own, when Uncle Quentin has mistakenly double-booked himself elsewhere. They are only given permission because Timmy is 'such a good guard dog', but of course, the 1940s were a different time, when this sort of thing was probably seen as a little safer than now-a-days?? Of course, very quickly the five get caught up in a mystery, this time through association with a strange boy they encounter, named Richard. When I first heard Richard's name, I laughed to myself and wondered whether Enid Blyton had run out of names, seeing as how Dick (one of our main four characters) is...

Published by HarperTeen/HarperCollins Publishers: New York, NY, 2021. This is the fourth book I have read in the relatively recent subgenre of 'Jane Austen Murder Mysteries', having previously read Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James, and The Murder of Mr Wickham and The Late Mrs Willoughby by Claudia Gray. Each author has brought a different interpretation to what exactly a 'Jane Austen Murder Mystery' is, and as a result each author's books have a slightly different feel.   PD James wrote her novel as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice , but still keeping Elizabeth and Darcy as the main characters with the same personalities, meaning that they weren't really 'detectives.' Claudia Gray - whose take I have enjoyed the most - also makes her books sequels but includes new, younger characters who are driven to solve the crimes - it makes sense! Tirzah Price does something very different; she semi- retells the original Pride and Prejudice story but changes ...