I'm rereading Birds Without Wings by Louis de Berniere.
This is the fourth time, but there are so many stories linked together in the novel and it's beautifully written, so I'm enjoying every word. A second read is usually good, as one is not tempted to page-turn too quickly.
pollypenny I’ve read Captain Corelli and another one by Louis de B but not this one. Another one to go on my TBR list. I read one of my library books A Dog’s Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron. It was a good book to read about the relationship between dogs and their humans and I really enjoyed it. Then I read Winter Solstice Rosamunde Pilcher and I loved that. I’ve now continued with my winter list and onto Jo Kneale ‘Celebrating a Contagious Christmas’. I was way too ambitious picking up those books but luckily no pressure to return them!
‘One of our greatest freedoms is how we react to things’ said Mole.
2021 52 book club challenge 26/52
WIP 2/12
Morning all! Finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires - really enjoyed it as did everyone else in my bookclub Lots of great themes throughout that were explored in a sensitive way (e.g. race, feminism, misogyny) with added humour and not a lot of gore which is rare for Grady Hendrix. Also worked my way through:
- A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom: another one my mum got me, primarily because it's set in Prague which is my favourite city. I left it to read now because I was supposed to be in Prague last week but obviously that was cancelled so it made me a little sad to read about the places I would have been but in fact the story itself was a little over the top that it distracted me from my personal feelings If you want an easy read with a "will they / won't they" love story at the centre of it then this is the book for you. - Life in Pieces by Dawn O'Porter: a book I got from the library which is a compilation of Dawn's blog posts from the start of lockdown and the aftermath of the death of her friend Caroline Flack. It's a nice mix of blog posts and then essays on a topic that the posts brought up. Some of it was hilarious and other bits made me want to cry. Probably not for everyone but I've been a fan of hers for years so it was a nice insight into her. - The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas: one of the new ones I bought this year and a short story at about 140 pages. Set in a Norwegian village, it tells the tale of two girls who meet at school and then one of them disappears. The imagery was very evocative, especially of the ice palace that appears when the local waterfall starts to freeze and creates these "rooms" and sculptures from the ice.
Now I'm on to Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia which I picked up from the library over the weekend. About a third of the way through so think I might be able to finish that this week.
Emergency Fund - £4691.90 / £5,000 :: Total Mortgage OP - £3037.51
Just finished the audiobook version of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Absolutely loved it and made me think about what my 'book of regrets' would look like.
I've also finished Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens ...my neighbour lent it to me in the Summer & I've only just got around to reading it 😆. Found it a very engrossing read & at the end of it wondered why I hadn't read it earlier.
Currently reading Just my luck by Adele Parks - it's ok, a little chick litty though .
Lloyds OD / Natwest OD / PO CC / Wescott / Argos Card / JD Williams cleared thanks to the 1 debt v 100 day challenge
Happy New Year everyone! Just catching up on what I've read since the last update.
Finished Mexican Gothic and it was...ok. Didn't blow me away but an interesting take on the gothic genre and definitely a slow burn with lots happening at the very end. Also read at the end of 2020:
- The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data by David Spiegelhalter: this book is very applicable to my job and is one that I started reading as a library book and eventually bought a copy to keep as I can see myself referring to it a lot. It helps explain statistical methods and data interpretation in simple, easy to understand formats with lots of examples. - The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz: a follow on from the Millenium series by Steig Larsson. Enjoyable but it's just not the same as Steig's originals - The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz: Had to finish the series, hope this is where it ends as it tied a lot of things up neatly. Wasn't too keen on the sub plots but still a decent read. - A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende: I love Allende's books and this was no exception. Her stories are often intergenerational and sometimes the same characters appear. This followed a group of refugees from the Spanish Civil War who were given the chance to make a new life in Chile and all that entails. It kind of intersected with some of the events in The House of the Spirits (her most famous work) and overall felt very comforting. - Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito: Really enjoyed this tale of a teenage girl on trial for carrying out a school shooting with her boyfriend who was killed during the shooting. It alternates between the trial and the events that led up to the shooting. One of the few books where I wasn't able to guess the ending.
That left me with a total of 132 books read in 2020, averaging 12 a month which was quite an achievement!
So far this year I've read the following:
- All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr: a selection from my book club and it has been on my TBR list for a while. Really enjoyed this tale of WW2 from the perspective of a blind girl in Paris and an orphan boy in Germany and what they have to do to survive. - The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison: Liked this but probably not the best book to read in current times. It's half diary, half novel, following an unnamed protagonist who wakes up after surviving a global flu pandemic that appears to kill off mainly women and children... - In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park: I've seen a few of Yeonmi's videos on YT and wanted to know more about her life in North Korea and what she went through to escape. Definitely an eye opening tale and would encourage you to read if you're interested in human rights or an insight into life in North Korea. - The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown: This was a recommendation from a friend after we talked about our goals for the year. It talks through why we feel the need to be perfect whereas actually the process and actually being consistent with our thoughts and actions means so much more. My word for the year is Consistency so this was a perfect read for me. - The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare: Loved this story of a girl growing up in Nigeria who is married off to a much older man when her father has money issues. You may find the start difficult to get into as it's written in the first person but as the girl gets older and exposed to more things, the language subtly evolves to match her growing maturity. - The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Another one that's been on my TBR pile for a while and have to say I liked it. If you want to read dark academia books, then this is definitely the one for you, following Richard and his Classic's friends as they live out their teenage fantasies at a private US College. - The Book of Etta by Meg Elison: A sequel to The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, where it's 100 years after the global pandemic and society is starting to recover, or is it... - The Book of Flora by Meg Elison: The final book in this trilogy and I didn't enjoy it. Felt it was slightly unnecessary to the overall story but was an ok read overall. - Who Thought This Was A Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco: Alyssa was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Barack Obama and it's part White House / Campaign insider, part life advice. Enjoyed her take on the subjects she covered but would have liked more White House stuff in there.
That's about it. Currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehogby Muriel Barbery which is one from the 1001 books to read before you die list. About a third of the way through and it seems to be a slow starter but I think things are about to get a bit more interesting.
Emergency Fund - £4691.90 / £5,000 :: Total Mortgage OP - £3037.51
Hi thought I'd jump in ....I'm rereading Terry goodkind sword of Truth series at the moment.....also enjoyed Michael Connelly Bosch detective series and John Connelly Charlie parker novels
Finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog - found the second half a lot more interesting than the first half, definitely a slow burner! If you like to read books with a lot of philosophical discussion between characters, then this is the book for you.
On to The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold. It's our book club's choice for this month and I've already learnt a lot that I didn't know, especially about how the workhouse system actually operated back in Victorian England.
Emergency Fund - £4691.90 / £5,000 :: Total Mortgage OP - £3037.51
Replies
Words, words, they're all we have to go by!.
(Pity they are mangled by this autocorrect!)
2021 52 book club challenge 26/52
WIP 2/12
- A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom: another one my mum got me, primarily because it's set in Prague which is my favourite city. I left it to read now because I was supposed to be in Prague last week but obviously that was cancelled so it made me a little sad to read about the places I would have been but in fact the story itself was a little over the top that it distracted me from my personal feelings
- Life in Pieces by Dawn O'Porter: a book I got from the library which is a compilation of Dawn's blog posts from the start of lockdown and the aftermath of the death of her friend Caroline Flack. It's a nice mix of blog posts and then essays on a topic that the posts brought up. Some of it was hilarious and other bits made me want to cry. Probably not for everyone but I've been a fan of hers for years so it was a nice insight into her.
- The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas: one of the new ones I bought this year and a short story at about 140 pages. Set in a Norwegian village, it tells the tale of two girls who meet at school and then one of them disappears. The imagery was very evocative, especially of the ice palace that appears when the local waterfall starts to freeze and creates these "rooms" and sculptures from the ice.
Now I'm on to Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia which I picked up from the library over the weekend. About a third of the way through so think I might be able to finish that this week.
I've also finished Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens ...my neighbour lent it to me in the Summer & I've only just got around to reading it 😆. Found it a very engrossing read & at the end of it wondered why I hadn't read it earlier.
Currently reading Just my luck by Adele Parks - it's ok, a little chick litty though .
Finished Mexican Gothic and it was...ok. Didn't blow me away but an interesting take on the gothic genre and definitely a slow burn with lots happening at the very end. Also read at the end of 2020:
- The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data by David Spiegelhalter: this book is very applicable to my job and is one that I started reading as a library book and eventually bought a copy to keep as I can see myself referring to it a lot. It helps explain statistical methods and data interpretation in simple, easy to understand formats with lots of examples.
- The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz: a follow on from the Millenium series by Steig Larsson. Enjoyable but it's just not the same as Steig's originals
- The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz: Had to finish the series, hope this is where it ends as it tied a lot of things up neatly. Wasn't too keen on the sub plots but still a decent read.
- A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende: I love Allende's books and this was no exception. Her stories are often intergenerational and sometimes the same characters appear. This followed a group of refugees from the Spanish Civil War who were given the chance to make a new life in Chile and all that entails. It kind of intersected with some of the events in The House of the Spirits (her most famous work) and overall felt very comforting.
- Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito: Really enjoyed this tale of a teenage girl on trial for carrying out a school shooting with her boyfriend who was killed during the shooting. It alternates between the trial and the events that led up to the shooting. One of the few books where I wasn't able to guess the ending.
That left me with a total of 132 books read in 2020, averaging 12 a month which was quite an achievement!
So far this year I've read the following:
- All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr: a selection from my book club and it has been on my TBR list for a while. Really enjoyed this tale of WW2 from the perspective of a blind girl in Paris and an orphan boy in Germany and what they have to do to survive.
- The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison: Liked this but probably not the best book to read in current times. It's half diary, half novel, following an unnamed protagonist who wakes up after surviving a global flu pandemic that appears to kill off mainly women and children...
- In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park: I've seen a few of Yeonmi's videos on YT and wanted to know more about her life in North Korea and what she went through to escape. Definitely an eye opening tale and would encourage you to read if you're interested in human rights or an insight into life in North Korea.
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown: This was a recommendation from a friend after we talked about our goals for the year. It talks through why we feel the need to be perfect whereas actually the process and actually being consistent with our thoughts and actions means so much more. My word for the year is Consistency so this was a perfect read for me.
- The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare: Loved this story of a girl growing up in Nigeria who is married off to a much older man when her father has money issues. You may find the start difficult to get into as it's written in the first person but as the girl gets older and exposed to more things, the language subtly evolves to match her growing maturity.
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Another one that's been on my TBR pile for a while and have to say I liked it. If you want to read dark academia books, then this is definitely the one for you, following Richard and his Classic's friends as they live out their teenage fantasies at a private US College.
- The Book of Etta by Meg Elison: A sequel to The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, where it's 100 years after the global pandemic and society is starting to recover, or is it...
- The Book of Flora by Meg Elison: The final book in this trilogy and I didn't enjoy it. Felt it was slightly unnecessary to the overall story but was an ok read overall.
- Who Thought This Was A Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco: Alyssa was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Barack Obama and it's part White House / Campaign insider, part life advice. Enjoyed her take on the subjects she covered but would have liked more White House stuff in there.
That's about it. Currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery which is one from the 1001 books to read before you die list. About a third of the way through and it seems to be a slow starter but I think things are about to get a bit more interesting.
On to The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold. It's our book club's choice for this month and I've already learnt a lot that I didn't know, especially about how the workhouse system actually operated back in Victorian England.