The Enid Blyton Society

I am sure there must be members on this forum, who have read some of Ruth Rendell's Books, I have never read any of Ruth Rendell's Books, but have enjoyed watching many TV adaptations of some of her Books, I bought a DVD Box Set, of the Inspector Wexford Mysteries (starring George Baker), from iOffer, I have also got the following DVD Box Sets - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Ruth-Rend ... th+rendell" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barbara-Vine-I ... th+rendell" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are some interviews with Ruth Rendell, on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... interviews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice purchase Billy.

I received a very nice letter from Ruth Rendell around 1996.I was writing to her about her books and she replied that it was nice to get a letter from a reader of the books,as most letters she got those days came from those who had watched the TV series.

A very nice lady.

pete9012S wrote:Nice purchase Billy.

I received a very nice letter from Ruth Rendell around 1996.I was writing to her about her books and she replied that it was nice to get a letter from a reader of the books,as most letters she got those days came from those who had watched the TV series.

A very nice lady.

Interesting post, Pete, have you ever seen the following site - http://inspectorwexford.info/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No,thanks Billy it looks great thank you.
I'm an Inspector Morse fanatic too.The books primarily,but the TV adaptation with John Thaw was superb.

     With regard to mystery stories, I wonder if there is something wrong with me. Other than the Enid Blyton mysteries, I have had very limited luck reading adult mystery stories: I seem to get so confused about all the details of the story. The first symptom this produces is increasingly turning back the pages to re-read some earlier incident in the light of information I learned later, or just to remind myself of something (often after spending 10 or 20 minutes finding the earlier passage I wanted to read). Then later, I put off continuing to read, and then so much time has gone by and I've forgotten all the important details, and lost the plot entirely - in such cases, I would need to start all over again.
     So I read - would you believe? - 90 percent of Sue Grafton's "M Is for Malice", and at that point lost the plot, and have so far never come back. It was quite interesting, but I just couldn't seem to cope with all the interconnected detail.
     Then there was a Ruth Rendell I read (forget its title - would know it if I saw it, though), and it was quite interesting, the way it developed (although the sordid life-style some families apparently took for granted gave me quite a grimy, depressed feeling) - but about half-way in, again I lost it.
     Same with "Kidnap" by John Boland.
     The most recent case was just some months ago, where I started reading Dick Francis's "The Edge", because my mother had so strongly recommended this author. But I found it almost unreadable, and didn't have the faintest idea what was going on, or know what characters meant when they said something - I don't think I got more than a chapter or two in, and I had not the faintest idea what was going on. Yet my mother finds him extremely readable and approachable. It really makes me wonder what's wrong with me.
     I think I'm reasonably intelligent - yet I can't seem to cope with mystery novels. Is there something wrong about the way I approach such novels? In theory, at least, there are quite a few I'd like to read, based on plot summaries I've read.

Regards, Michael.

Tonight, I watched part one of the following three part series - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0 ... detectives" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; the first episode focused on Detective novels, and Ruth Rendell, was one of the featured Authors.

I've read (I think) all of the published titles in Sue Grafton's alphabet series. I can't say I had that much trouble following them (or no more so than any other book, mystery or other). I generally only have trouble if I've not paid enough attention - and missed a detail or perhaps misread one or two words.

In those cases sometimes I'll go back and try to find where I went wrong, other times I'll just keep reading in the hope that the solution explains it anyway.

I enjoyed watching the following Screen Two production - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140942/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; this afternoon, which was based on the Ruth Rendell novel, The Lake of Darkness.

Very good performances from Nicholas Farrell and Phil Davis.

MJE wrote:     The first symptom this produces is increasingly turning back the pages to re-read some earlier incident in the light of information I learned later, or just to remind myself of something (often after spending 10 or 20 minutes finding the earlier passage I wanted to read).

Oh, me too, Michael! It isn't only mystery books, I constantly forget who is who. One advantage in reading on a Kindle is that there is a search facility, you just type the name in and you can see immediately who the person is!