We recently had a letter from a reader querying one of our clues about her favourite book Rosy Is My Relative by Gerald Durrell.
Lynne Watts writes: “This book is my favourite and I have kept my tattered copy for 30 years, recently my daughter found me another in an old shop and they have pride of place in my bookcase. I recommend this book to your readers (if they are lucky enough to find a copy) It will give plenty of smiles and lots of laughs.”
Another reader, Patricia Rudorfer, tells us about reading Minerva Lane by Judith Glover. The setting was the Wolverhampton area of England in the 1800s. She came across an unfamiliar word – tranklements – which I have written about in Crossed Wires.
Reading is one of the most popular hobbies, whether it’s to while away time while travelling, or in a doctor’s waiting room, or as a form of escapism – to escape stress by inhabiting another world.
One of the side effects of this is that we increase our vocabulary, improve spelling and grammar, learn interesting facts and expose our minds to the thoughts of others.
Expanding the mind, learning about new concepts – there are so many reasons to pick up a book.
My sons Patrick and Dominic loved Roald Dahl’s stories and Kitty read all the Harry Potter series. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell was one of my childhood favourites, and in my teens and 20s, I devoured Leon Uris’s novels such as Exodus and Trinity.
James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific and The Drifters were next, followed by The Killing Anniversary by Ian St James and The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett.
When I asked my husband James for his favourites, he came up with The Magus by John Fowles, The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay and The Prince Of Tides by Pat Conroy.
I’d love to know what your favourite books were – or still are now. I’ve always thought that reading is the most fun you can have – if you’re not doing puzzles, of course.
Please post some comments on how you feel about reading .
Happy Puzzling!
hi Christine…. just wanted to say that my 95 yr old mum has been doing your crooswords for many years and won $50 a while ago. Now i’m hooked on doing crosswords again, well when I get time in between my band and my computer. LOL
About books… well I guess computer mags are more my reading matter but I dont buy them these days and prefer the internet for anything I want to learn or know about.
But I wanted to say that my favourite book (from my childhood days) is Anna Sewells “BLACK BEAUTY” and I still have my own book which was given to me many years ago when I was a little girl, from an Aunty. I’ve been a horse crazy woman all my life and owned quite a few during my better years before parathyroidism took over my body (let alone the fact that I couldn’t even get my leg up and over, I doubt that my joints could handle galloping around these days LOL) But my 29 yr old daughter Enid is a very gifted woman when it comes to horses so when I get the time I just like to watch her showjumping and other horsie interests that she is into.
Thanks for providing my brain with daily exercise. At least thats getting a work out even if the rest of me isn’t LOL.
best wishes from Hilary in Glenfield NSW
Hi Christine and all the staff. My favourite book is The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I get it off the bookshelf every now and then for a really good read. I hope that when my 2 year old nephew is old enough he will love it too. Many thanks for your great puzzle books from Felicity.
Thanks Hilary and Felicity, Black Beauty was my favourite as a child, and The Wind in the Willows was very popular with my children.
It’s good to know there are some avid readers out there. With the fast-paced lives we lead these days, it’s hard to fit in the time to read, but it’s a great way to wind down at the end of a busy day.
Christine
One of my favourite books is Forever to Remain by E V Timms. As a child I also loved all the Coles Funny Books, the illustrations were amazing, I also loved Wind in the Willows because my father used to read it to me.
Now I look for books that amuse, me like the Sue Grafton A to Z mysteries or the Cadfael Series.
I’ve been enjoying the Lovatt puzzles for years, I always carry a small one in my handbag for when I have appointments, they keep me amused.
Thanks for all the fun.
Judy
Thanks, Judy. We had a couple of Coles Funny Picture Books when our children were young, which we found fascinating to read, as they were written in such a different age. They’re not what you’d call politically correct nowadays but they reflect the society of the late 1800s in Australia, with a lot of humour from E W Cole himself.
Christine