Reading in Reykjavík

Marsh seems to have loved not only referring to and quoting books and plays, but she also made up titles, so there is plenty to work with in her books. The same titles crop up repeatedly, e.g. Macbeth , The Ingoldsby Legends and Jane Eyre . Death in a White Tie : Publications: The Times - newspaper. The Evening Chronicle - newspaper. The Daily Express - newspaper. "guides to the turf" - no titles mentioned - racing guides. Non-fiction: The principles and practice of medical jurisprudence by Alfred Swaine Taylor (as Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence ) - what the title says. Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis . Christian devotional. The Martyrdom of Man by William Winwood Reade. Philosophy/history. Fiction: "paper-bound banned novels of a peculiar indecency and no literary merit whatsoever." - I couldn't resist quoting this, not only because it's a funny description of porn novels, but also because ownership of porn/erotica seem...

Death in Ecstasy Stage work: "Hail Fellow" – either a play or a show – fictional Novels: Petronius – I don't usually include references to authors alone, but here is was clear it was the works (and the risqué contents) and not the author that was being referenced. Non-fiction: (the titles should speak for themselves as to the contents) Abberley‘s Curiosities of Chemistry . Published by Gasock and Hauptmann, New York, 1865. Appears to be fictional. From Wotan to Hitler – seems to be fictional. Jnana Yoga – could be fictional, could be real. Spiritual Experiences of a Fakir – seems to be fictional. The Koran - religious text. The Meaning and the Message – probably fictional. The Soul of the Lotus Bud – seems to be fictional. Verse: Eros on Calvary and Other Poems , by Jasper Garnette (fictional). Publications: National Geographic The Daily Mail The Saturday Evening Post  Other: Ole Man Adam – probably Ol’ Man Adam ...

The opening paragraph of the book I'm about to start reading looks very promising: Gissing lived alone (except for his Japanese butler) in a little house in the country, in that woodland suburb region called the Canine Estates. He lived comfortably and thoughtfully, as bachelors often do. He came of a respectable family, who had always conducted themselves calmly and without too much argument. They had bequeathed him just enough income to live on cheerfully, without display but without having to do addition and subtraction at the end of the month and then tear up the paper lest Fuji (the butler) should see it. From Where the Blue Begins , by Christopher Morley

Although I finished 21 books in July I expect the page count was pretty similar to an average month, because I read several short books. Of the 21 books, 13 were rereads. 5 were audiobooks, all of them re“reads“, although I had only listened to one of them before. 5 of the rereads were comic books (1 Spirou and Fantasio book and 4 Lucky Luke books) I have owned since I was a teenager and hadn‘t touched for many years. One of my favourite web comics, Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell , came to an end in July. It had been running for several years when I discoverd it, and I went all the way back and caught up and then followed it faithfully to the end. I hope the authors will publish it in book form one day. All the Nora Roberts novels were in the 2,5 to 3,5 star range for me, and I don‘t expect any of them will become rereads, unlike the In Death books that she writes under the J.D. Robb name. The standout book of the month was Shirley by Charlotte Brontë. I didn‘t like it as ...

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I have started re-reading Ngaio Marsh's delightful detective novels featuring Roderick Alleyn. Here are the publications mentioned in the first two: #1: A Man lay Dead: Novels/n ovellas:  Suspense - Joseph Conrad The Kreuzer Sonata - probably the novella by Leo Tolstoy, since the owner of the book is Russian Other: Webster‘s Dictionary Eyes and No Eyes - There are several publications with this title and I can't begin to guess which one is being referred to, because the reference completely went over my head. The Ideal Home - this appears to be a magazine along the lines of Better Homes and Gardens . #2:  Enter a Murderer: Stage works: The R at and the Beaver - an imaginary play by an author whose name is not given; the murder takes place on stage during a performance of it The Pirates of Penzance - comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan Othello - Shakespeare  Madame X - Alexandre Bisson Other: The Morning Express - newspaper, may...

Happily, the body of the article isn't so prejudicial, but still: WTF was the headline writer thinking? I can just see the smirk on their face when they wrote this. (Judging from the tenor of the article, I'd say the journalist isn't the one to blame, but an editor/headline writer).