Rules and review

First of all let me make a few things clear:

• I never read the introduction to a book first. I learnt this lesson when I read the introduction to The Wide Sargasso Sea and discovered the entire plot of the book and how it related to Wuthering Heights within the first two pages of the introduction.... never again!!! Always skim through the introduction at the END.
• I never crack the spine of books (I am reformed spine cracker). I used to think that cracking the spine just made it easier to read he book but have since discovered that all it really does is make you spine of your books look a bit tatty. So, no more!
• I blame my book addiction to books and reading wholly on my parents and my studies. My parents introduced me to books by taking my sister and me to the library when we were kids. We were always encouraged to read and got given books for birthdays and Christmas. Then, in later life I went on to study English at university and "had" to read all these books (English, American literature, poetry, Shakespeare, Chaucer etc etc).. it was such punishment.... I never "recovered" after that.

What I want to do with this blog is give you an idea of what I read and what I think of what I've read. Please don't expect any deep analysis of the books I read. I am not a literary critic, but I just want to create a place where I can write about the books that I like.

#### SPOILER ALERT ####

Strange Tales - Rudyard Kipling
I finished this one today and thought it was a good read.
Not all the stories in the book appealed to me but overall it was well worth the read and although these may not be his "mainstream" work it was a good collection of stories introducing me to his work. Not all of them were really ghost stories - some were more stories of hauntings, re-appearing lost ones, magical happenings and the supernatural.

It is interesting how Kipling's personal life has such a major influence on the stories (he was born in India) that he wrote as a lot of them in this book are situated in the colonies. This kind of add an extra dimension to the stories, it removes them from the familiar surroundings and add a layer of "remoteness".
The one the I liked best was They. Set in England it tells the story of a man going for a nice drive in the countryside ends up "meeting" a ghostly group of children. He never actually gets to see them at all, the are more shadows and suggested presences. As far as I understood the story one of the little children actually turns out to be one of his children that passed away or that he knows. The story paints a very nice relation between the stranger and the blind lady owner of the house who wishes she could see her children and interact with them. the relationship between the house owner and the visitor as well defined and well written. They have a respect for one another and the man is curious as to what is really going on on the house of this remarkable character that he has met by chance.
The second one that impressed me was The Tomb of his Ancestors. It's a story that takes place in India and has a young soldier going to the country where his ancestors have been high ranking officers for generations. He gets to act out his role as a "leader" of a group of natives near his army base and slays a few tigers in the process as well! the story plays on the reputation of his ancestors and how he relates to "his" people and ow he manages to get them to fall in line with the wishes of the British government. The story gives you an insight the mind of both the English as the "dominant" power in India and the native population with their own beliefs and way of dealing with the invaders.
Some of the stories seem a bit rushed, too short to fully develop the story and characters in them but overall a good read.

Title: Strange Tales
Author: Rudyard Kipling
Wordsworth Editions, Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural
284 pages
ISBN nr 978-1-84022-532-7


And now for the state of play.......
Books to be read: 66
Books bought: 0