Catching up on #ChristmasCheer
Day 8-#Advent Day 9- #Santa Day 10-#Festive Day 11-#Gift (colorful ornament crafted by & gifted to me from @Cuilin ) Day 12-#CandyCane Day 13- my family
##WinterGames2024 #HolidayBookDragons #ChristmasCheer
Day 10: Festive. Well this is my library looking very festive. The lights are so bright I can sit in my little cosy spot and read without a main light on.
@LiseWorks @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickThe story of women-mothers,daughters, grandmothers,friends-is first told through the eyes of Ruth. Her daughter Eleanor is a drug addict and no matter how much Ruth tries,she cannot help &what‘s worse her love is unrequited-love missed. Then Lily, Eleanor‘s daughter, comes into Ruth‘s life&the love these 2 feel for one another is beautiful, almost too idyllic. And there are also Ruth‘s many girlfriends&her female students.The writing is wonderful
pickFriends, this book WRECKED me!! …as in tears streaming down my cheeks after a full day of youth soccer tournaments. One of the most human, touching books I‘ve read this year, if not ever. British teacher Ruth loves and misses her daughter who is lost to addiction. Ruth‘s life is never the same after her granddaughter comes into the picture. I‘m not doing this justice, and it took patience for me to really get into the book but my, my it paid off!
pickI really enjoyed this satirical look at a rural community at a time when social mores were changing significantly.
pickThis was fascinating and frustrating. I closed the cover and thought how much the book reminded me of themes in I Capture the Castle. Which, well—of course. It was also written by Dodie Smith. But I Capture the Castle is a beloved favorite for me, so why did I resonate with its themes and find similar themes absolutely frustrating when played out in the characters of Families? ⤵️
pickSet in the midst of the pandemic,Jay,a once promising artist,now in his 40s&homeless runs into his first love,Alice&is confronted with the life&people he left behind.I gave this novel a pick bc I was intrigued but I feel it‘s more a so-so since the story& writing don‘t always work for me: overdone,pompous. BUT there‘s real depth, too. And the concept of life as art, some sort of modern philosophical Odyssey journey kept me engaged.The ending - hm.
pickThis is one of my favorite kinds of books - where we are dropped smack-dab into the middle of village life as though we‘ve always lived there. Nothing of much real importance happens, so every little daily detail takes on importance. Julia Dunstan reminds me a bit of Jane Austen‘s Emma - believing she knows best, she tries to fix and improve everyone around her. A delightful, light, entertaining read.
#FurrowedMiddleBrowClub
rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, Teresereading, kwmg40, Cathythoughts, jlhammar, Ruthiella, julieclair, MrsK
so-soI read this in July, and while I enjoyed it while I was reading it, I must admit that now I can‘t remember a thing about it, except the townspeoples‘ fear of becoming a New Town. Delightful, in the ephemeral way these books sometimes are.
#furrowedmiddlebrowclub
pickMy first Elizabeth Fair, but not my last!
1950s village England with gossipy busybodies, rivalries, romantic crushes, mixed in with urgent worries (based strictly on rumor!) of being overrun & turned into a smoggy New Town. Likable oddballs abound. My favorite: seeing their internal monologues directly contradict their outward words/actions. Enjoyable read with satisfying endings.
And the cover is 💯😉
Read with the #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub
