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Post by rosemary3 on Jan 1, 2019 16:55:19 GMT
Added December 2018: Dry - Augusten Burroughs (e) The Understory - Pamela Erens Death on the Cherwell - Mavis Doriel Hay The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera The Incendiaries - R O Kwon Pachinko - Min Jin Lee Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie Macdonald Family Matters - Rohinton Mistry The Real Charlotte - Somerville and Ross The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton Memoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar
Read in December 2018: 5 stars Experiences of an Irish RM - Somerville and Ross Tales of 19th century rural Ireland. Great fun. Felicia's Journey - William Trevor Brilliant, and although the basic story is no surprise, it didn't go the way I expected at the end. A Game of Hide and Seek - Elizabeth Taylor I'm enjoying my monthly Elizabeth Taylor reads, and this was the best so far.
4 stars Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi A family saga following two branches of one family from Africa in the time of slavery to the present day. More comments will be in the reading group thread. The Silent Traveller in Oxford - Chiang Yee Gentle strolls around Oxford in WW2, by a Chinese poet and painter who admires birds as much as colleges.
3 stars Dark Matter - Blake Crouch A great idea, with lots of twists and turns, but I wasn't convinced by the ending. The logic didn't hold up. Solace of the Road - Siobhan Dowd A good YA story although downplaying the dangers of running away. The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths I enjoyed this but found it a bit slow. I'm hoping the series gets better. The Human Stain - Philip Roth Heavily ironic story of a college professor who's been hounded into retirement.
Books added in December = 11 Books read in December = 9
Currently on TBR = 237
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Post by rosemary3 on Feb 6, 2019 6:31:05 GMT
Added January 2019: Charms for the Easy Life - Kaye Gibbons The Library Book - ed. Rebecca Gray Dry - Jane Harper A Very Long Engagement - Sebastien Japrisot The Vintner's Luck - Elizabeth Knox How To Talk To Anyone - Leil Lowndes (e) One True Thing - Anna Quindlen The Double - Jose Saramago The Jungle - Upton Sinclair The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein Angel - Elizabeth Taylor Below the Clock - J V Turner
The Sleeping Beauty - Elizabeth Taylor
The Circadian Code - Satchin Panda
Read in January: 5 stars: Pachinko - Min Jin Lee Loved this story of a Korean family settling in colonial Japan and the struggles they faced.
4 stars:The Sleeping Beauty - Elizabeth Taylor Well-observed story of a man nearing 50 who falls in love with a woman who has become reclusive after a car accident. Very funny in places too. Just tails off a bit at the end. Ashenden - Somerset Maugham Amusing spy vignettes based on Maugham's own experiences working for MI6 during World War I. The Colour - Rose Tremain A mismatched couple emigrate to New Zealand in the mid 19th century and get caught up in a gold rush.
3 stars: Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher Not sure about this one. I had no sympathy for Hannah, who seemed vindictive and self-obsessed, but it did avoid romanticising suicide. Sometimes I Lie - Alice Feeney A good psychological thriller. Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson Dual time (WWII/1990s), alternate history, codebreaking. I enjoyed the WWII parts very much, but the 1990s parts not at all. Untying the Knot - Linda Gillard A fascinating study of PTSD, but I thought it was a little light on plot. The Circadian Code - Satchin Panda The research behind advice we've been hearing for generations: go to bed early, get up at the same time every day, and don't eat just before bedtime. Nothing new, but it's well presented. Contact - Carl Sagan It's rare that a book literally puts me to sleep, but this was the perfect treatment for insomnia. In retrospect I enjoyed it, but it would have been better at half the length.
Added in January = 14 Read in January = 10
Currently on TBR = 241 ... creeping up!
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Post by rosemary3 on Mar 1, 2019 12:05:08 GMT
Added February 2019: Buried Alive - Arnold Bennett Weetzie Bat - Francesca Lia Block The Wooden Overcoat - Pamela Branch Lion in the Cellar - Pamela Branch Murder Every Monday - Pamela Branch Murder's Little Sister - Pamela Branch Claudine at School - Colette Dictator - Robert Harris The Scarlet Messenger - Henry Holt On Writing - Stephen King The Doorbell Rang - Rex Stout In a Summer Season - Elizabeth Taylor The 13 Clocks - James Thurber
Read in February: 5 stars: The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain What a great little hardboiled novel! The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan A set of dictionary-style definitions that slowly tell the story of a relationship undergoing the stress of infidelity. Angel - Elizabeth Taylor Loved this study of a delustionally self-centred romance writer. 4 stars: Charms for the Easy Life - Kaye Gibbons Charming story of women in North Carolina in the 1930s and 40s. Loved the grandmother! The Ruin - Dervla McTiernan A good solid crime novel, first in series, set in Galway. A Very Long Engagement - Sebastien Japrisot Wonderful story of a French girl determined to find out what happened to her fiancé in World War 1. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair A gut-churning story about the meat industry in Chicago around 1900 and the fate of some innocent immigrants who get caught up in it. Phantastes - George Macdonald A major influence on fantasy fiction from Tolkein to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. A little incoherent in places, and I wondered if the author was taking opium ... 3 stars: Maman, What Are We Called Now? - Jacqueline Mesnil-Amar Diary of a French Jewish woman in Paris in 1944 as the German occupation ends. Miss Julia to the Rescue - Ann B Ross Always a nice read, following Miss Julia through her usual ups and downs.
Added in February = 13 Read in February = 10
Currently on TBR = 244
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Post by rosemary3 on Apr 2, 2019 20:42:02 GMT
Added March 2019:
Trent's Last Case - E C Bentley A Month in the Country - J L Carr Claudine's House - Colette Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell (e) Right Ho, Jeeves - P G Wodehouse
The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
The Golden Apples - Eudora Welty
Read in March:
5 stars: The Pox Party - M. T. Anderson Amazing story of a boy brought up as an experimental slave in the 18th century. The Dry - Jane Harper Brilliant thriller and so atmospheric of the scary towns of the outback.
4 stars: Lion in the Cellar - Pamela Branch A very enjoyable madcap 1950s murder mystery romp. The Tooth - Shirley Jackson Amusing and strange short stories. The Double - Jose Saramago A mild-mannered teacher discovers there's a man in his city who looks exactly like him. Difficult writing style but some great observations on the human condition. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein A very sweet story of a dog who is almost human, and his motor racing owner.
3 stars: The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry A slow, sad story of an old woman looking back on a life that went tragically wrong. The Golden Apples - Eudora Welty A slow-paced series of linked stories set in Mississippi, slow-moving like the river, but evocative. Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli Okay, but didn't compare with Simon for me. The Scarlet Messenger - Henry Holt Contained every plot cliché from 1930s mysteries, from the beautiful young woman on the train to ... well, I'd better not reveal who the killer was! Fun, but rather predictable after all this time. Whisper To The Blood - Dana Stabenow Book 16 in the series - don't start here! I've enjoyed what I've read but there's a lot here relating to the previous book. The Story of Lucy Gault - William Trevor A girl in a devastating situation never quite grows up, seems to be the message here. Well-written but depressing.
2 stars: Knowing Me Knowing You - Mandy Baggot A freebie I downloaded when I first got my Kindle. Not for me.
No rating: Neuromancer - William Gibson I didn't understand enough of this to rate it.
Added in March = 7 Read in March = 14
Currently on TBR = 237
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Post by rosemary3 on May 12, 2019 19:42:12 GMT
Added in April 2019:
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter The Claudine Novels (C At School, In Paris, Married, And Annie) - Colette Strait is the Gate - Andre Gide The Book of Margery Kempe - Margery Kempe A Separate Peace - John Knowles The Marshmallow Test - Walter Mischel Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man - Siegfried Sassoon
Read in April: 5 stars: On the Black Hill - Bruce Chatwin Enjoyed this much more than I expected! Really quite uplifting.
4 stars: Deep Water - Patricia Highsmith Psychological thriller that starts slow but becomes very tense. Blood Red, Snow White - Marcus Sedgwick Interesting YA novel based on Arthur Ransome's involvement in the Russian Revolution (who knew?) Never Mind - Edward St. Aubyn A horrible story but very well-observed, like Evelyn Waugh at his most cruel. In a Summer Season - Elizabeth Taylor A marriage between an older woman and younger man that almost works, with the younger generation rushing headlong into the 1960s. The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West Uses amnesia in a WWI soldier to explore whether unwelcome truth should win over happy ignorance.
3 stars: The Preacher's Bride - Jody Hedlund Christian historical romance - not my usual thing but loosely based on the early life of John Bunyan and it was okay. Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie Macdonald I found this rather long and slow. Perhaps just not the right moment, as I don't have much time for reading right now.
Added in April = 7 Read in April = 8
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Post by windysisters on Sept 17, 2019 14:11:58 GMT
Added in August 2019: So Long a Letter - Mariama Ba
Rosemary, when you have read this might you consider swapping/sending to me for postage? It's been on my wishlist for aaaages! (No rush for you to read it - just remember me when you do )
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Post by rosemary3 on Sept 18, 2019 19:33:23 GMT
Well, that spoilt your surprise for Saturday I saw it on your list and it's only short so I read it at the weekend and it's in the pile with your name on it!
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Post by windysisters on Sept 19, 2019 10:15:13 GMT
Well, that spoilt your surprise for Saturday I saw it on your list and it's only short so I read it at the weekend and it's in the pile with your name on it! Aww, shucks - thank you!
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Post by rosemary3 on Feb 2, 2021 18:23:44 GMT
Read in January 2021:
5 stars The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman A fun read, perfect for cheering me up at the gloomy start of another lockdown at this cold, dark time of year. Schindler's List - Thomas Keneally A true story of survival in the holocaust of World War II. A lot of atrocities, painful to hear, but a lot of courage too. The Carlyles At Home - Thea Holme Persephone non-fiction focusing on Thomas Carlyle's wife Jane and her struggle to maintain their home in Victorian Chelsea. I found it fascinating. The Bees - Laline Paull I was fascinated by this dystopian story and learned so much about bees!
4 stars Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton A painful story of the harsh life for black people in South Africa in the late 1940s. Farewell Leicester Square - Betty Miller A Jewish boy from Brighton becomes a film director and faces anti-Semitism in England in the 1930s. A Persephone book. Books Do Furnish a Room - Anthony Powell The start of the post-war section of this long series. Widmerpool has made a surprising marriage, and a bohemian author called X.Trapnel is all the rage. The Sentence Is Death - Anthony Horowitz A crime novel for adults by children's author Horowitz. A divorce lawyer is killed with an extremely expensive bottle of wine. Fun. Hand In Glove - Ngaio Marsh A later Alleyn mystery, written in the 60s, but with all the traditional Golden Age ingredients. Just what I needed for a comfort read. The Blue Diamond - Annie Haynes Predictable but enjoyable 1920s country house murder melodrama.
3 stars Underworld - Don DeLillo A long novel covering the second half of the 20th century in America, the Cold War especially. Good, but it jumps around a lot and I wasn't drawn in. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame & Dina Gregory I downloaded this free from Audible and it turned out to be an adaptation with all the characters made female. It was okay - not much was changed except pronouns. On Writing - Stephen King Mainly a memoir of his own writing experience, with a bit of advice for writers. I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was amazing, as many people seem to. Red Harvest - Dashiell Hammett A hardboiled detective is hired to clean up a corrupt small town. He does it by shedding blood all round. Information Received - E R Punshon First in a Golden Age mystery series, published 1933. Dorothy Sayers raved about it - I couldn't quite see why, but I enjoyed it.
Currently on TBR = 227 books
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Post by rosemary3 on Feb 27, 2021 21:15:34 GMT
Read in Februrary 2021: 5 stars: Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson Story of an orphaned girl who is sent from London to live with distant relatives on the shores of the Amazon. Lovely! The Radetzky March - Joseph Roth A moving portrayal of a father-son relationship in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the run-up to the First World War. The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas 16-year-old Starr witnesses the shooting of a friend by a police officer. A YA novel with a lot of emotional depth, where no one is 100% good or bad. Cutter and Bone - Newton Thornburg Hardboiled thriller set in 1960s California, with some heartbreaking themes. Summer Lightning - P G Wodehouse At Blandings Castle, Lord Emsworth's prize pig is kidnapped, and the course of true love is not running smoothly for his niece and nephew.
4 stars: Buried Alive - Arnold Bennett Funny story of a shy artist who lets the world think he is dead. Crossed Skis - Carol Carnac A murderer joins a 1950s skiing trip. Some great characters and descriptions; not such a great plot, but a fun British Library Classic Crime. The Story of the Lost Child - Elena Ferrante Last in the My Brilliant Friend series about intense friendship and rivalry between two girls growing up and growing old in Naples. Less - Andrew Sean Greer Sweet novel in which a young-at-heart gay author takes on a long series of overseas literary engagements in order to avoid the wedding of his ex. Policing South Wales Docks: An Illustrated History - Viv Head Docks police existed from the 1850s to the 1980s. Short but interesting book, with lots of photos. Inside the Shadow City - Kirsten Miller Teen adventure featuring a mysterious girl and a hidden network of underground tunnels beneath New York. Devil in a Blue Dress - Walter Mosley A hardboiled noir with a Black private eye, set in LA in 1948. Interesting and a great first novel. Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell Touching and engrossing story of Shakespeare's wife and children. The Intuitionist - Colson Whitehead Alternative history: Elevator Inspector is an important job and some of them controversially do it by intuition. Confusing at first, but ultimately great.
3 stars: Self-Made Man - Norah Vincent The author disguised herself as a man to investigate different attitudes in society to male and female. Really interesting, but I cringed at some of the things she did to the men and women she was deceiving.
2 stars: The Reverse Commute - Sheila Blanchette Two parallel narratives: in one, a girl finds love on a train, but in the other, a married woman spends all her time complaining and bickering, very tedious. Romantic Hero - Candida Crewe 1980s romance with a horribly arrogant heroine. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle - Monique Roffey Not for me. I thought the characters were shallow and the story didn't go anywhere.
Currently on TBR = 215 books
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Post by rosemary3 on Apr 1, 2021 22:37:22 GMT
Read in March 2021: 5 stars
Mrs Harris Goes To Paris - Paul Gallico A lovely story of a 60-year-old London cleaning lady who sets her heart on buying a dress from Dior in Paris.
The Mirror and the Light - Hilary Mantel Her third Thomas Cromwell novel. It's long because it introduces a lot of past events, his childhood etc. I thought it was all worth it and a brilliant end to the trilogy.
All Systems Red - Martha Wells Short scifi adventure about an AI bot that overrides its governor module and starts making its own decisions. Loved it.
Midaq Alley - Naguib Mahfouz An evocative slice of life set in 1940s Cairo. Midaq Alley has a bakery, a barber's, a cafe, and several fractured households.
Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata Weird and wonderful story of a young woman who is totally at home in the predictable routine of working in a convenience store.
The Last of the Wine - Mary Renault A lifelong love affair between two men during the Peloponnesian war in ancient Greece, with Socrates and Plato in the background.
Touching the Void - Joe Simpson Amazing true survival story of a man who is given up for dead after a mountaineering accident.
A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore Beautifully written story of an intense relationship between isolated siblings in a crumbling country house with WWI approaching.4 stars
Starve Acre - Andrew Michael Hurley Spooky story of grief and malevolent influences in an isolated house in the Yorkshire dales.
Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas Worthy prequel to The Hate U Give, telling the story of Starr's father.
One Of Us Is Lying - Karen M McManus Excellent teen murder mystery.
A Great Reckoning - Louise Penny Chief Inspector Gamache investigates corruption at a police academy. I started at number 12 in the series and it would be better read in order, but I will read more.
The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective - Susannah Stapleton I really enjoyed this story of research into one of the early female private detectives, although it was slow in places.
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler Classic LA detective noir from 1929.
Call Me Star Girl - Louise Beech Psychological thriller/character study set around a radio station.
Guapa - Saleem Haddad One eventful day in the life of a young gay man in the Middle East.
Right Ho, Jeeves - P G Wodehouse The one where newt-fancying Gussie Fink-Nottle falls for wimp Madeline Bassett, but Bertie ends up engaged to her by mistake instead.
The Code of the Woosters - P G Wodehouse The one where Bertie is charged with stealing a silver cow-creamer. These were great for cheering up gloomy-skied walks.
The Wise Virgins - Leonard Woolf Middle class Jewish boy with a chip on his shoulder meets beautiful sisters of the leisured class. Interesting roman a clef with characters representing himself and Virginia.
Great Short Stories of Mystery, Detection and Horror - ed. Dorothy L Sayers A jumbo book of crime and horror stories from about 1850 to 1930 that I rescued from the reject piles at the shop, a mixed bag but mostly enjoyable.
The Girl Who Saved Christmas - Matt Haig A children's book which made a good audio, narrated by Carey Mulligan.
The Cat Who Played Brahms - Lilian Jackson Braun No. 5 in cosy mystery series. Jim Q takes his Siamese cats to a lakeside cabin for a break, but he and Koko are soon investigating suspicious goings-on.
The Cat Who Played Post Office - Lilian Jackson Braun No. 6 in series. Jim comes into a huge sum of money, but there are conditions attached, and the house he has inherited holds some secrets.3 stars
The Zig Zag Girl - Elly Griffiths Murder among stage magicians in the 1950s. I didn't find this convincing, but it was fun.
The Passengers - John Marrs A brilliant idea and I couldn't put it down for 3/4 of the book, but I thought it ran out of steam well before the end.
The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud - Ben Sherwood Charlie's life revolves around the ghost of his little brother Sam, who appears every evening to play. I enjoyed this, but found it a bit too sentimental.
Before Bletchley Park: The Codebreakers of the First World War - Paul Gannon Read for a challenge. It was well written, but there's not much to tell compared with WW2, so it seemed rather dry.Currently on TBR = 202 books (dangerously close to going under 200!)
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Post by rosemary3 on May 3, 2021 21:34:12 GMT
Read in April 2021:
5 stars: The Lonely Londoners - Sam Selvon A short but evocative novel from the 1950s by a member of the Windrush generation about life in London for Caribbean men.
4 stars: The Testaments - Margaret Atwood Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, set years later, among the resistance to the men's rule in Gilead. Unless - Carol Shields A minor Canadian writer has a daughter who has suddenly chosen to become homeless. Took me ages to get into, but I loved it when I did. The Shape of Water - Andrea Camilleri First in Sicilian detective series and first one I'd read. Enjoyed it, I would read more. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig An ultimately uplifting story about second chances and not giving up hope. The House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz A very good Sherlock Holmes revival - I could almost believe it was the real thing. Plats du Jour - Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd A book that introduced 1950s British housewives to French and Italian cooking.
3 stars: Fire Watch - Connie Willis I read this for the title story which is part of Connie Willis's time travel series. The others were good sci fi but not quite so much my thing. Bosnian Story - Ivo Andric A French consul arrives in the isolated city of Travnik during the Napoleonic wars. Not much happens, but it's interesting. The Man with the Dark Beard - Annie Haynes A reasonable B-list Golden Age mystery, obvious who'd done it, but still enjoyable. The Crime at Tattenham Corner - Annie Haynes A racehorse owner is killed the day before the Epsom Derby. A fun 1920s mystery with some red herrings. The Oxford Murders - Guillermo Martinez Murder with maths, set in Oxford. Enjoyable, but I wasn't wowed. They Can't Ration These - Georges de Mauduit A wartime book about foraging for and eating hedgerow food, from nettles and nuts to snails and hedgehogs. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination - Helen Fielding A ditzy journalist gets mixed up with a spy ring, or is it terrorists, or drug runners? Must have been topical in 2003 but the anti-Arab feeling seems dated now. The Soul Slayer - Paul Doherty In this battle of good vs evil, a team of priest, mercenary and innkeeper's daughter hunt down a soul-stealing warlock.
2 stars: The Vintner's Luck - Elizabeth Knox Friendship and love between a 19th-century French vigneron and an angel. I wanted to like this, but I couldn't connect with it. Nothing wrong with it that I can pin down, but I was bored.
Can't rate: Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit - John Lyly A 16th-century philosophical/allegorical story with a style that became very fashionable but for me just showed how our brains have changed in the last 450 years. The Man Who Loved Children - Christina Stead A horror of a dysfunctional family, painful to read, from 1940. Defies rating.
Read this month = 18 Added this month = 30
Currently on TBR = 217
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Post by rosemary3 on Jun 1, 2021 20:49:40 GMT
Read in May 2021:
5 stars:The Puppet Show - M W Craven Loved this first in the Washington Poe series, set in Cumbria. My cracker for the month.Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic Gibbon Lovely, evocative story of a harsh life in rural Scotland in the early 20th century.4 stars:Absolute Power - David Baldacci This was the only book in our shop that had sprayed page ends and I needed one for the 40 book challenge, otherwise I would never have chosen what I thought was going to be a political thriller. Actually there's not much politics in it, just a president, and I devoured it very happily.Demons - Fyodor Dostoevsky A monster of a book. The first 150 pages were a real slog. But then things start to happen.The Owl Service - Alan Garner Marketed as a children's book, but actually quite a dark fantasy novel set in a remote Welsh valley. I loved most of it, but found the ending too abrupt.A Virtuous Woman - Kaye Gibbons A lovely novella about an apparently mismatched but very happy couple living by their own principles in the American south.The Abbey Court Murder - Annie Haynes Probably the best of her 1920s/30s mysteries that I've read, focusing on the suspects instead of the police.The Crystal Beads Murder - Annie Haynes[/div] Inspector Stoddart investigates a murder on the edge of the horse racing world.The Psychopath Test - Jon Ronson Journalist Jon Ronson meets various suspected psychopaths and psychologists and tries to work out what exactly a psychopath is. As usual with Ronson, it's short on academic rigour but very entertaining.3 stars:Another World - Pat Barker This had some good moments, but it was full of characters I pitied but didn't like, and the kind of marriage where you wonder why they ever bothered.Sealskin - Su Bristow A beautifully told story but I was uncomfortable with the abuse, although I know it is a traditional myth.Who Killed Charmian Karslake? - Annie Haynes A good plot that's let down by a very plodding narrative style.The House by the Medlar Tree - Giovanni Verga Story of a hapless fishing family in a Sicilian village in the 19th century.A Dreadful Murder - Minette Walters Novelisation of a true unsolved murder with the author's idea of a solution.2 stars:Mother's Milk - Edward St. Aubyn Seemed like one long rant against all kinds of mothers, except for one sweet section from the POV of a child.Read in May = 15 Added in May = 10 Currently on TBR = 212
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Post by rosemary3 on Jul 1, 2021 14:49:32 GMT
June 2021
5 stars: The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater A dark YA story involving magic, psychics, destiny, and abuse. Sounds grim but I loved the depth of it.Falling Man - Don DeLillo Set in New York on and after 9/11, a short book that does a great job of conveying the shock of the attacks on the Twin Towers with a numbed writing style.4 stars:The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros A lovely book about growing up in a poor area of Chicago, with a great sense of community.The Case of the Missing Servant - Tarquin Hall First in series featuring Vish Puri, head of Most Private Investigators Ltd in Delhi. Amusing cosy mystery.The Book of Longings - Sue Monk Kidd Engaging story that imagines Jesus had a wife, although they are apart a lot and it's all about the wife - Jesus doesn't have a big role.Dark Fire - C J Sansom Second in Tudor mystery series has Shardlake investigating the murder of a child and the disappearance of a mysterious ancient fiery substance.3 stars:Tory Heaven - Marghanita Laski A satirical novel set in an ultra-conservative England just after World War II. Fun but a bit silly.Glass Houses - Louise Penny I struggled with this one - enjoyed the previous one in the series a lot more. It flipped backwards and forwards in time and I found certain things hard to believe. But the characters are appealing.44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith Not a mystery, but a story of people living in different flats in an Edinburgh house. Enjoyable, if a bit bland.The Happy Prince and Other Stories - Oscar Wilde Some of these stories were lovely, and some were too moralistic and Victorian for me. 2 stars:The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes Not for me - interesting about the horseback library, but too many other "issues" and characters that I didn't like.1 star:Kismetology - Jaimie Admans I thought this was dire. Instead of telling her horrible manipulative mother where to go, Mackenzie spends all her spare time running round after Mum and trying to find her a new husband.Added in June = 17 Read in June =12
Currently on TBR = 217
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Post by rosemary3 on Aug 2, 2021 21:43:24 GMT
Added July 2021: This Is How We Are Human - Louise Beech (e) The Terracotta Dog - Andrea Camilleri Born in a Burial Gown - M W Craven White Noise - Don DeLillo Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada Mystery in White - J Jefferson Farjeon Ross Poldark - Winston Graham The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
Reasons to Live - Amy Hempel Marking Time - Elizabeth Jane Howard (e) Confusion - Elizabeth Jane Howard (e) Casting Off - Elizabeth Jane Howard (e) All Change - Elizabeth Jane Howard (e) Money From Holme - Michael Innes The Maze - Philip Macdonald The Razor's Edge - W Somerset Maugham The Nice and the Good - Iris Murdoch Excellent Women - Barbara Pym (e) The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule The Moor's Last Sigh - Salman Rushdie The Gustav Sonata - Rose Tremain
Artificial Condition - Martha Wells
Read in July 2021: 5 stars: Just Listen - Sarah Dessen A YA novel that really packs a punch, about a girl who's experienced something she cannot talk about. 4 stars: Clap When You Land - Elizabeth Acevedo Novel in verse about two girls whose father's secrets come to light when he dies in a plane crash. Great until the end, which was a little too neat and nice. Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates - Kerry Greenwood A fun 1920s romp around Melbourne on the trail of a nasty international cocaine dealer. Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man - Siegfried Sassoon This dragged in the middle, but by the end I could see how Sassoon was showing the slow maturing of his character through all the hunting and other sporting episodes. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World - Elif Shafak Tequila Leila is an Istanbul prostitute who has just been murdered, but whose brain stays active for 10 minutes after death. She thinks over her life and the lives of her friends. I enjoyed this but I was freaked out by the idea of this conscious time when we know we are dead... Rickshaw - Lao She Story of a hapless rickshaw puller in 1930s Beijing. Artificial Condition - Martha Wells Second in scifi series about a security robot gone rogue. The Tree of Man - Patrick White Life story of an Australian husband and wife living off the land from approx 1890 to 1950. Long and slow, but as it was audio while I was doing other things, I didn't mind. White gets under the skin of his characters amazingly well, and there are some wonderful phrases. 3 stars: Reasons to Live - Amy Hempel Extra-short stories, more character than plot, little slices of ordinary Californian lives. DNF: Becoming a Londoner - David Plante Memoir of a gay American moving to London in the 1960s. Lots of name-dropping of people I'd barely heard of, and too long and slow for me at this busy time.
Books added in July = 22
Books read in July = 9 + 1 DNF
Currently on TBR = 230
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