Ruddy Gore

Another book in the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood.

Set in the era of the Flappers, this is another Australian-based murder mystery. In this case, the setting is His Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, 1928. The scene is a production of Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan, and the victims and suspects are the actors and crew.
Ambition, intrigue, emotional dilly-dallying, and murder are the order of the day. Add in a little oriental twist, and you have the makings of a good read.

Again, this is not a book of rocket-science or subtle agendas. It is a pleasantly easy read, but not so dumbed-down and formulaic that you can pick with 100% certainty *whodunnit*. In fact I spent much of the book going back and forward between characters, and still ended up wrong on a couple of counts.

This is another light summer read that entertains. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

The Code of the Woosters

Bertie Wooster is THE MAN !
Actually, Jeeves is truly THE MAN.

For those of you who have been blessed enough to have watched the 1990s Jeeves and Wooster series with the wonderful Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, the books just vividly bring the visuals of that series to life as you read.
The writing and characterisation is witty, quaint, slightly dotty and a downright pleasure to read.
Bertie, in the books, is not quite the full-on bungler that you would perhaps believe him to be. He seems to be more often caught between a friend and a hard place, and usually at the pointy end of an attempt at blackmail.

In "The Code of the Woosters" Bertie is at the mercy of his Aunt Dahlia and her need for a silver cow creamer. Unfortunately his stomach gets the better of him when Aunt Dahlia threatens to withdraw his access privileges to the heavenly Anatole (Dahlia's cook). And if there is one major weakness to Bertie, it is Anatole's cooking.
So, Bertie is bundled off to a country house to steal back the underhandedly purchased cow creamer. In the midst of this he is requested to sort out not one, but two betrothals. He is threatened with jail and with bodily harm by the head of the "Black Shorts", all the while.
It takes Jeeves and his Gentlemen's Gentlemen club to sort out the "Black Shorts" and the threat of Bertie marrying a family member to finally win out across the betrothals, blackmail, and eventually Aunt Dahlia's cow creamer.

The book is surprisingly long for the fairly simple comedy-farce plot, but the language is just so evocative of the inter-war period right into the 1940s proper, that it is a delight and rarely sags.

I would have to give this a 4 out of 5 for ease and crispness of reading, as well as a bit of a giggle.

The Sound of Paper

The Sound of Paper is another book on the creative life by Julia Cameron.

If you are feeling in need of a creativity boost, or just wish to read a lovely book, then this is one to enjoy.

I have four books by this author in my library at home, and this one is tempting me to add it to the collection. It is full of essays that track the seasons as the author compiles ideas for this work. You get a nice view into Ms Cameron's world, both personal and professional, but not so close as to create a feeling of voyeurism. It strikes me as someone sharing their 'flashes' of realisation and personal insight, but with a touch of down-home comfort.
I find myself feeling as though we were having a chat together over a cup of tea as I read these wonderful snippets of life. The form of the book appeals to me very much because of this tea-time feeling and the short essay structure.

Each essay concludes with a simple exercise which you can do to provoke and provide food for your creative soul. Actually, even if you weren't requiring it for 'artistic reasons', the exercises are still worth doing for the fun of it.

If you want to start from the beginning, then start with The Artist's Way.
You will find the themes of the books to be similar, but with "The Artist's Way" it is a more structured process of freeing yourself up to your own creativity. "The Sound of Paper" feels more like a Sunday afternoon amble through the creative playing fields.

On the whole I would give this a rating of 4 out of 5.