Book Reading Anglophile

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m an Anglophile.  Yep, I like Great Britain and would consider living in a country which would refer to me as a “Yank” (I don’t go north of the Mason-Dixon line often) and serves tea hot and not on ice.  Love Brit humor….drier, makes you think about it more and less crotch grabbing than American humor.

So the top of my latest reading are two books set in Britain.  Both of which I loved.

The first, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Yes, ZOMBIES!  Billed as being written by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (doesn’t that name just scream Brit?) it actually works.  All the time I’m reading the book I kept picturing scenes in my mind from the mini-series with Colin Firth.  You read along, almost word-for-word from the original book and then, oops, there’s a zombie or ninja or Elizabeth’s abilities to kill zombies.  And it works so well.  You buy into the fact there has been a plague about 50 years earlier which turns people into zombies and off you go.

Definitely a good summer read.  And if you don’t look at cauliflower differently after the “autumn zombie hunt” I’ll chop your head off.

My second good read recently is The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson.  This is the first book in what is suppose to be a series and the premise of the series is really good.  Two brothers, both barristers, have offices on the 200 block of Baker Street.  Part of their lease is they are suppose to collect and file letters sent to Sherlock Holmes (221 Baker Street).  Unfortunately, they get caught up in one of the letters which is 20 years old.  And it all goes downhill from there.  Or uphill if you like, since this is a good read.

And with the temps here in the 90’s with humidity to match, it is refreshing to go back to Jolly Olde England (although a lot of Letters happens in L.A.)  I remember back to the 4th of July I was in London, huddled under a wool blanket I was so cold.  I need a spot of tea now….on ice!