Bookworms 2020

Fridayschild

Welcome LuckyLucy.  It's been a while since I have posted on this thread.    We have just put our house on the market so have been otherwise occupied.  That said, I have managed a few audible books while I have been painting and spring cleaning!  I have read quite a few on your list and would give them similar scores,  so we may have some similarities of taste in books.  I will be copying your list for the future.  I really enjoy looking through my list of possible reads and choosing a new one. 

I have recently returned to The Mirror and the Light after abandoning due to a sore wrist at the beginning of lockdown.  Also the subject matter was less than uplifting at that time.  I am glad I shelved it for a while as I have now been pulled right back into the court of Henry and Thomas Cromwell. 

Since my last post, I have read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell which I thought was exquisite. Poignant, beautifully written and deeply moving.   That will be in my top five for the year alongside The Offing and probably the Hilary Mantel too. 

I've also just finished Mudlarking by Lara Maiklam.  Excellent read if you are interested in London and it's history, which I am.  Much more of a rolling narrative which ebbed and flowed with the tides of the river, which made for a much more interesting read than a list of things extracted from the mud.  I hope she writes something else as she has a real talent for writing in my humble opinion. 

I've really enjoyed reading about all your books and audibles, thank you and happy reading!. 

Fridays Child

ruby_eskimo

Welcome back Fridayschild.  The Mirror and the Light is on my TBR list (I'm waiting for the paperback to come out so it matches with the rest of the Wolf Hall trilogy on my shelf) as is Hamnet but must resist buying more books

Finished Americanah last night - loved how the tale wove between the two main characters and could really sense what life was like in Lagos from the descriptions.  I've added her other books to my library wish list but again that will have to wait till I've got through the massive pile here first.  

On to How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi next and so far so good, the style is really engaging and certainly makes you think.

pollypenny

I'm waiting, hoping for Hamnet to come on Kindle daily deal. I really don't want to buy any more books. They've started to breed again after by previous purge. 

Last week I read 'A Thousand Moons' by Sebastian Barry. It's a sequel to Days Without End. 

Excellent. He's replaced David Lodge as my favourite author. 

LuckyLondonLucy

Hamnet on Audible was lovely - if you have an account, I'd recommend it.
I finished When we were Orphans last night... and although I thought it started well, for me it really went downhill towards the end so got a 2*.  Starting Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz today which I've heard good things about.

ruby_eskimo

Had to take a break from How to Be an Anti Racist as I was in a bit of a funk yesterday.  The book is engaging but the topic was a little too much for me to handle.  So I started A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas as a little light escapism and I'm already 20% of the way through the 700 pages.  

LuckyLondonLucy

ruby_eskimo said:

Had to take a break from How to Be an Anti Racist as I was in a bit of a funk yesterday.  The book is engaging but the topic was a little too much for me to handle.  So I started A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas as a little light escapism and I'm already 20% of the way through the 700 pages.  

I do want to read How to Be an Anti Racist... but I don't feel quite ready for it yet.  I mean, can we ever be ready I know, but for me right now, I kind of want easy reads.  I'll definitely get to it though!
Currently looking up Mist and Fury!

ruby_eskimo

@LuckyLondonLucy I know what you mean, I've read a lot of books relating to race recently so I might be a little overwhelmed by it all, but it's a very engaging book, probably more so than others I've read around the same topic.  

Mist and Fury is the third book in the A court of thrones and roses series which was supposed to be YA fantasy but there's actually a lot of rather *cough* adult *cough* scenes with fairies in it so it has a disclaimer on the back saying it's not suitable for younger readers   I find them quite easy to read so good when I want to take my mind of things.  There's 4 so far, although the fourth is more of a novella and the fifth is being released in January I think.  I know they aren't for everyone but it will be the easiest 700 page book I've read this year.

Charly27

Welcome welcome LuckyLucy. You have read more books in lock down than I have read this year! I will also be copying your list and adding it to my ever growing TBR list. 
 We just had a week away in Southampton helping to put right DSS and DDIL’s bathroom. They also got married in a socially distanced registry office service which step dad and I as step mum (complicated blended family) observed through the window.
Not much reading done. Anyways I’ve finished Fireside on Kindle and I would only give it 2 stars and now need a break. Exactly what I thought would happen in the plot happened with only a little twist. Wasn’t awful, always heart-warming reads. Next will be my library selection. I couldn’t request specific titles but broad categories. This is what I received:
An almost zero waste life - Megean Weldon
Jean Rhys - Wide Sargasso Sea

Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the sun - Ladipo Manyika
Low Maintenance Gardening- Andi Clevely
Sew Quick, So Cute - Fiona Goble
Gregg’s Italian Family Cookbook - Gregg & Anna Wallace
 I’ve also just downloaded audible as I have a free trial so thanks for suggestions. 

ruby_eskimo

Finished Mist and Fury yesterday - gave it 3 stars as it's not the most outstanding example of literary fiction but it was enjoyable.  The pacing was a bit all over the place and I had to re-read a few bits multiple times because I couldn't process what was happening quickly enough. 

Going to finish up How to Be an Anti-racist now and then will read the 4th book in the series which is more of a novella than anything but should keep me going till the 5th book comes out next year.

Hobsons_Choice

Has anyone taken up the Daily Mail offer? Buy the DM  at Tesco and you can buy a popular paperback novel (chosen by them) for £2.50. I've had a Lisa Gardener and a Martina Cole, all latest editions. It's even worth reading the Daily Mail for (or at least doing the crossword)!