Litsy

so-so

Floating Hotel, by Grace Curtis (2024)

Premise: The stories of the passengers and crew of a spaceship hotel whose best days are behind it.

Review: This is branded as ‘cozy sci fi‘, and while it takes place in space and has low-stakes, character-driven stories, it felt too distant to be cozy. It also could have been set at a grand European hotel during WWII with very little change. Cont.

Mattsbookaday That said, the sentence-level writing is beautiful and the characters are rich and fully developed, so this is certainly worth reading. But I‘m left feeling that I don‘t know why the author wrote it or what she was trying to say it.

Bookish Pair: Not to damn it with comparison to two far more successful novels, but this felt like a cross between Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2024) and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2h

1 like1 comment

majkia

Eye of the Needle | Ken Follett

A German spy is hunted through England. If he succeeds in contacting his handlers, he can ruin the plans for D-Day.

I've seen an adaptation of this, but it wasn't nearly as memorable as the book has been. Well written, suspenseful, surprising, with lots of twists and turns and spy-y things going on.

24 likes

DebinHawaii

Etiquette & Espionage | Gail Carriger

Thanks for the #Two4Tuesday tag @TheSpineView

1️⃣ After grade school I was hit or miss. If liked the subject (English, writing, History) I was good but if I wasn‘t interested (Math) I didn‘t apply myself & was not great!

2️⃣ I loved the Finishing School series & Mademoiselle Geraldine‘s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality seems like a fun school to learn useful skills like espionage, poisoning & proper curtsies.

Tag—you‘re it!🤗

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 2d

33 likes1 comment

Pearrr

Killers of a Certain Age | Deanna Raybourn

March 2025 Wrap Up
* Killers Of A Certain Age ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
* Between Friends & Lovers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
* Cursebound ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
* This Cursed House ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
* Witchcraft For Wayward Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
* Famous Last Words ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
* When A Wolf Loves The Moon ⭐️⭐️⭐️
* Cross My Heart ⭐️⭐️⭐️
* Fable For The End Of The World ⭐️⭐️⭐️

11 likes

majkia

Above Suspicion | Helen Macinnes

An early thriller by MacInnes. Set just before WWII. Ordinary English folks spying on the Nazis.

21 likes

Vansa

Kim | Rudyard Kipling

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#Two4Tuesday @thespineview
Super late to this but don't want to pass up an opportunity to gush about this glorious book!
1.I listen to radio dramas on the BBC,and music programmes on it too!
2.Kim is one of my favorite books,I read it over and over again and it's just as delightful each time.Its also very comforting which is surprising for a book that's also a fast paced spy thriller

TheSpineView Never too late to play! 🌞🤩😊 5d

16 likes1 comment

kspenmoll

The Spy Coast: A Thriller | Tess Gerritsen

Books I scored at the library this past Friday. Some old; some new. #libraryfinds

62 likes1 stack add

charl08

Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter | Clare Mulley

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'She was a very strong lady,' Marzenna recalled. 'For her, nothing was impossible.
---
Recommended history of Polish resistance in WW2.

The descriptions of Agent Zo's personal skills reminded me of my gran. Everyone loved her, but not for her small talk!
Personal gripe: one of those "hidden histories" where actually what the author means/ acknowledges is "*English speakers* didn't know about it...".

58 likes1 stack add

Robotswithpersonality

The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life | John le Carre

pick

Charming and chilling by turns.
What grabbed me is that it isn't a breathless tour of past exploits, derring-do, it's this well-spoken, self-effacing honest look at a bunch of moments the author decided might be interesting to the reader.
Carre(Cornwell) acknowledges his Service record, rather than slyly alluding to it, and sets out in the very beginning how much he will not be revealing and the reasons why. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? As a result, it is primarily his time as a novelist looking for background, characters, having experiences, that lead to the best stories, though doubtless his time as a spy opened certain doors that others deciding to write in his particular genre might not have access to. It's apparent that Carre has a great admiration of war journalists, and the events related help the reader to understand why. 1w

Robotswithpersonality 3/? It always saddens me to realize in a non-fiction setting, that there are parents who did not offer a supportive, loving home life, and Carre takes a lengthy chapter to introduce his father, and to a lesser extent his mother, so that one is fully engaged in puzzling out their characters, and clearly understands the reason for estrangement. 1w

Robotswithpersonality 4/? Likewise, while there are few allusions or direct statements, it appears Carre may have had difficulties in other personal relationships, though it seems that he knew many people, may have had many friends.
I suppose it's a testament to his writing that I find it strange to think he may not have been a joy and a help to those around him because the way he talks about so many of the people he encountered is appreciative, empathetic and even 1w

Robotswithpersonality 5/? amused.
Perhaps it's the contrast, he speaks lucidly, if not off-handledly, about a number of dark realities, I felt occasionally that I'd understand the full weight of a few stories better if I had a more thorough understanding of international political history.
I'm still interested to try his fiction (though there were a few spoilers within these pages), but I'm now prepared for the lower likelihood of happy endings... 1w

Robotswithpersonality 6/6 A note on the audiobook, as I did a tandem read: read by the author, a great voice, and impressive ability to replicate the accent/cadence of others, really added to the reading experience.
⚠️war violence, domestic violence, mention of SA, suicide, torture 1w

9 likes5 comments

jenniferw88

Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter | Clare Mulley

#wpnf25

Well, I've read 3 of them! Agree with 2 (Agent Zo & What the Wild Sea Can Be), not so sure about Raising Hare.

I'm glad The Eagle and the Hart didn't make it, but disappointed Sister in Law isn't there.

Will be getting Story of a Heart out of the library!

Hooked_on_books I agree with you on Sister in Law, which is tremendous. I would have swapped Neneh out for that one. 1w

jenniferw88 @Hooked_on_books I don't really want to read Story of a Heart because I had a heart transplant aged 12, so it's a bit close to home. BUT I told myself I'd read it if it made the shortlist. I've never heard of Neneh, so I am willing to give it a go on audio. 1w

Hooked_on_books @jenniferw88 That‘s definitely a close perspective to that book! I can say it‘s beautifully done and respectful to all parties, but of course I can‘t speak to what the reading experience will be like for you. Hopefully you‘ll give yourself a lot of grace to put it down if it‘s too much. Neneh, on the other hand, I knew as a one hit wonder plus I‘m not very interested in childhood memoir and she focuses a lot on that. 1w

jenniferw88 @Hooked_on_books I should technically be OK with it, as I had a domino heart transplant, which occurs when 1 patient (my donor) undergoes heart-lung transplantation and their healthy heart is given, as part of a “domino” procedure, to a heart transplant recipient (me), but thanks. 1w

53 likes4 comments

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