Holiday reading

A glimpse into my suitcase …

The Seashell on the Mountaintop by Alan Cutler
"A story of science, sainthood and the humble genius who discovered a new history of the earth". I ordered this from the library after following a link from the Unity of Truth blog. I'm looking forward to finding out more about Blessed Nicholas Steno, seventeenth century Catholic bishop and geologist.

Eden by Tim Smit
The story of the Eden Project, pioneering “biomes” - giant conservatories replicating entire ecological environments - built in a disused Cornish china clay pit. An achievement that has become one of England’s biggest tourist attractions.

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
I enjoyed the first couple of books in his No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, but found that by the third it was all getting rather predictable. This one ia the first of another series about a lady philosopher and sleuth set in Edinburgh, so should be a slightly more novel novel (ouch!).

The Other Side of the Dale by Gervase Phinn
“The James Herriot of schools”. A gentle biographical account of the author’s time as a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales I've been meaning to read for a while.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This was lent to me a while ago and has been sitting on the shelf unread. A murder mystery told in the first person by the hero, a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Victory by Susan Cooper
Spotted on the shelf in the library while waiting for Angel and Star to choose books. Children’s historical fiction about Admiral Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the iconic moments of British history, by the author of The Dark is Rising sequence (which I have never read, but have heard good things about). The plot is based round a time-shift, a device that can be hard to pull off. I wonder how well she has managed it?

Natural Structure by Edward and Nancy Walsh
"A Montessori Approach to Classical Education at Home." I was intrigued by Montessori education when Angel was small, but never pursued it further than making a quarter of set of sandpaper letters. I'm always so impressed by the sheer neatness of Montessori learning environments. As someone who is not naturally tidy, I tend to look at them enviously. Maybe this book will inspire me.

I'm hoping for plenty of quiet reading-and-nursing time over the next two weeks. Not that I will get through all the books ... but I can try!