Choosing a book to take with you on a trip is always a little chancy. You want a book that will hold your interest. You want a book that you won’t finish reading leaving you nothing to read. And you want a book that’s fun to read. The Second Rumpole Omnibus was the book I chose to take with me on my flights to and from Albuquerque. Our itinerary, compliments of Southwest Airlines, took us from Buffalo to Baltimore (1 hour), then Baltimore to Albuquerque (4 hours). On the trip back, with typical airline logic, we flew from Albuquerque to Phoenix (1 hour) and Phoenix to Buffalo (4 hours). In those 10 hours of reading, I managed to read about 600 pages of this 654-page book. The Rumpole stories delighted me and the tedious travel hours flew by. You can’t ask more from a book than that. GRADE: A
Table of Contents:
Rumpole for the Defence
Rumpole and the confession of guilt
Rumpole and the gentle art of blackmail
Rumpole and the dear departed
Rumpole and the rotten apple
Rumpole and the expert witness
Rumpole and the spirit of Christmas
Rumpole and the boat people
Rumpole and the Golden Thread
Rumpole and the genuine article
Rumpole and the golden thread
Rumpole and the old boy net
Rumpole and the female of the species
Rumpole and the sporting life
Rumpole and the last resort
Rumpole’s Last Case
“Rumpole and the Winter Break”
“Rumpole and the Blind Tasting”
“Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim”
“Rumpole and the Judge’s Elbow”
“Rumpole and the Official Secret”
“Rumpole and the Old, Old Story”
“Rumpole’s Last Case”
I am looking for a book to take with me to DC right now. I have one–but am never sure if I will like it. The kindle should solve the problem but I have never gotten used to reading on one. Every novel feels the same on a kindle.
Patti, I almost always take short story collections when I travel. There are so many interruptions on a flight so I find it easier to concentrate on humorous short fiction rather than a novel. I’ve also chosen Large Print editions if I can find them.
Great choice! I usually take a paperback plus the Kindle and almost always do what you do – read short stories. I have a lot of collections loaded on the Kindle. Patti, this way you can read something you know you’ll be able to finish on the flight and if you don’t…no big deal.
Also, you can never go wrong with Rumpole. I’ve read them all and think he’s best at story (rather than novel) length.
Jeff, I totally agree with you. I prefer the Rumpole short stories to the novels.
Rumpole is a perfect short story choice. Even if the “short” story is long, it’s so engaging that time flies by.
I love the Rumpole stories, good choice, George. It’s been a long time since I read any Mortimer.