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#jessreads2022
blurb
Jess_Read_This
Year in Review | United States International Trade Commission
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🥂🥳Farewell 2022 and thanks for the lovely reads you brought me!
#jessreads2022

Ruthiella Well done! 👏👏👏 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

The struggle of one man to reclaim order to his holiday season beginning in October was quite humorously written. Mr Baxter endeavors to have his wife stick to a budget, trim down the Christmas card addressee list, and attempts to resist the “machinery” of the holiday. Despite his intentions, he remains a sentimentalist and gamely finds himself embroiled in holiday predicaments such as office parties and gift buying.
#jessreads2022

Leftcoastzen What a great cover! 2y
Jess_Read_This @Leftcoastzen The cover is why I bought it, haha! It caught my eye immediately. But the story is a cute one. I didn‘t realize the author wrote “Father of the Bride”- I always liked that movie (both original and the Steve Martin version). 2y
LeahBergen What a cover! 😍😍 2y
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Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen As soon as I saw the cover, I was throwing my money at the seller 😂 2y
kspenmoll Love the cover! 2y
Gissy That cover😍 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
Untitled | Anonymous
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Mehso-so

I wanted to love this one, especially as a few of these authors are favorites. But some stories read a bit bleak or didn‘t have a strong festive theme. The blurb statement “these stories are sure to fortify you over the Christmas period” didn‘t quite ring true for me. I did very much enjoy Audrey Burton‘s “Ticket for a Carol Concert”🎄

#BritishLibraryWomenWriters #JessReads2022

LeahBergen I‘m saving this one for next year. Maybe I‘ll connect with the bleakness by then. 😉 2y
Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen Ha! Maybe I will too by then and need a reread. I think I was fresh off of the cozy feel good read of Christmas in Nettleford, so anything with a sad ending in a Christmas themed book shook me 😂 2y
MaureenMc I just finished this one today! I kinda figured that with Muriel Spark as one of the authors, there was probably going to be some bleakness. 😆 2y
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Jess_Read_This @MaureenMc 😆 Good point! I did like the Muriel Spark story. I did not see that ending happening! 2y
MaureenMc @Jess_Read_This I‘m not completely sure I understood what was going on! 😆 It was definitely a “wait, what?” situation for me. 2y
Jess_Read_This @MaureenMc same for me! I had to go back and reread the prior two pages because I thought I missed a major plot point in Tom! 2y
elkeOriginal I didn‘t manage to read this one for this season so like @LeahBergen will get my bleak on next year! 2y
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quote
Jess_Read_This
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“Nothing much changes in Nettleford, darling. We just get a little older…”

🎄Loving this seasonal read while (finally) starting a small holiday break from work.

#jessreads2022

Aimeesue What a lovely cover! 2y
Jess_Read_This @Aimeesue I love the cover too! I had been searching for this edition for awhile before I found it earlier this year. I‘ve been anticipating reading it this month! 2y
LeahBergen Just look at that little beauty! I recently bought All Summer Through and I‘m making myself read that one first. I guess this one will be a next Christmas read. 😆 2y
Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen Oh! I have to go look for that one. This is my first Saville read and so far I am just loving it! I was looking at editions of The Master of Maryknoll on Abe today- that sounds like another good series of his. But I think I ought to look into All Summer Through! 2y
batsy Beautiful edition 😍 2y
37 likes5 comments
review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

This one was completely absorbing. Acland tells the story of Henry Aspen of Templeford Park and Mildred Charing of Blagdon Manor. Two neighbors and their friends coming of age in the English countryside makes for a relaxing beginning. However pride, ego, and a series of misunderstandings leads to life altering choices. Acland brings us to a resolution and lesson in her ending.
Terrific book albeit a bit rushed in the end.

#jessreads2022

LeahBergen And stacked so I can hunt it down! 2y
Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen I really enjoyed it. I think the ending was a bit rushed but overall, just a lovely read. 2y
batsy Sounds like a #furrowedmiddlebrowclub kind of read! Lovely cover. 2y
Jess_Read_This @batsy Yes!! I feel like we‘d have a lot chat about with this one. While reading I kept thinking that it would be a good one for the middlebrow publishers to bring back. 2y
Cathythoughts Great review! Stacked. 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

Dear reader, I order the sequel and promptly followed the author on Twitter (her only social media, I believe, without being too stalkerish) halfway through this wonderful mystery. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot. I might have guessed at one plot line but was surprised in the end when the case tidily wrapped up. A post WW1 mystery dealing with “shell shock” and the lives left in the aftermath of it all.
#jessreads2022

Cathythoughts Sounds interesting! Stacked. 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
Someone at a Distance | Dorothy Whipple, Nina Bawden
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Pickpick

The September Raising the Middlebrow Book Club selection on Goodreads. My second Whipple and I rather enjoyed it! I couldn‘t stop myself from some comparison to the play/movie “The Women”. I kept picturing the main character Ellen as Norma Shearer. It‘s a look at a happy family and marriage where infidelity takes place. The ending was unsatisfactory but I might say the same for “The Women” depending where your sympathies lie.

Kimzey Thanks for the review! 2y
LeahBergen Pretty photo! 2y
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Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen Thank you! Persephone Books just make it so easy for a pretty photo. I love the greys and the artwork editions! 2y
Jess_Read_This @Kimzey Thank you! ❤️ 2y
quirkyreader I have a preference more towards the grey covers. 2y
elkeOriginal All those Persephones! *swoon* 2y
Gissy I‘m glad you enjoyed it🤗Beautiful photo! 👌I love that cover!😍 2y
Jess_Read_This @Gissy Thank you!! ❤️❤️ 2y
47 likes9 comments
review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

I believe this was the first biography I‘ve read that I couldn‘t put down! Worsley‘s conversational yet educational tone made this incredibly enjoyable. The confiding manner in which she writes has moments shared that show how relatable Christie can be. A rather brilliant life led with problematic moments thoughtfully addressed. Highly recommend this one! #jessreads2022

jlhammar Now I'm even more excited to read this! 2y
Jess_Read_This @jlhammar I loved it! Seeing the breadth of time she lived all outlined out in historical context was amazing. She was born near the end of a luxurious Victorian time period, had an Edwardian adolescence into young womanhood, saw and served in WW1, the aftermath, WW2, the aftermath, and the 1950‘s-early 1970‘s. Worsley tries to show how it all influenced Christie and her writing. 2y
RebL I‘ve been looking all morning for my AC biography. I even folded my laundry purgatory pile. Tryna solve the mystery of my lost book. 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this quite a bit, being drawn in by the rural spell as the tenants were. I couldn‘t shake the feeling of melancholy that sat with me while reading. I think because the narrator sets the reader up for the inevitable departure? The domestic burden placed on the mother was overwhelming. I‘d be haunted by the scullery maid‘s ghost too! It felt like a social experiment at times bridging the gap between the old and new post war world.

Kimzey Thanks for the review! I brought it with me on my trip, but haven‘t started yet. Looking forward to reading it! (edited) 2y
Jess_Read_This Domestic Burden: which even shared amongst three women (two paid and organized into a 40 hour work week). It still read as the house ruled the mother. The amount of work to keep the place presentable was incredible. I could see the challenge in keeping anyone long term when other options for service/employment were available. Yet, I appreciated the begrudging love the family has for the house. I recognize that love in that of my love for my house (edited) 2y
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Tamra I‘m looking forward to the ghost! 👻 2y
Jess_Read_This @Tamra lol! The narrator refers to her a few times whenever things don‘t quite go her way in terms of the domestic burden of the house. 2y
batsy Great review! And you read fast 😁 I find the bits about the amount of labour involved truly mind-blowing. It truly demystifies the romanticism of a country manor, even though you can really feel the love that she had for the place. 2y
Jess_Read_This @batsy Thank you! I‘ve been home with a summer head cold this weekend with not much else do but recover and read. It‘s been nice to be able to get to the club books but I also appreciate the ability to breath through my nostrils again too 😂 2y
Ruthiella Wow! You read quickly! 😃 I‘m about 30% through and I know what you mean about the foreshadowing. It does cast a mood over it. So far it‘s reminding me of those American humorist housewives books and columns from the mid 20th century, Like Please Don‘t Eat the Daisies by Jean Kerr or The Egg and I by Betty McDonald or this fabulous Shirley Jackson collection (edited) 2y
Jess_Read_This @batsy I like how you put it “it truly demystifies the romanticism of a country manor” the book did that for me. I love a good country manor book setting and this one allowed me to see it for the hard work that running one actually is. 2y
Jess_Read_This @Ruthiella I actually just recently picked up a copy of Please Don‘t Eat the Daisies after watching the movie on Turner Classic Movies! I‘ve got a copy of Egg and I too- I haven‘t read it yet. Raising Demons is also one I haven‘t read yet. Good comparison! I hadn‘t thought to compare it to Daisies but you are 💯 right on that. 2y
LeahBergen Ooo, you‘re speedy! I‘ll come back and read this when I‘m done. 😆 2y
Cathythoughts Great review! I‘ve only read the first few pages, I need to get a move on. 2y
CarolynM I‘m just getting started. Like Leah I‘ll come back to your review when I‘ve finished reading🙂 2y
MrsK Wonderful review! I‘ve finished too and my review will follow soon. I will say that I was struck by the sense of melancholy throughout. (edited) 2y
LeahBergen Lovely review! I felt such a pervasive sense of sadness while reading this (which was not helped by all the coverage of the Queen‘s death that I watched at the same time 😆). 2y
Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen @MrsK The melancholy and sadness was hard to shake while reading for me. Leah, I couldn‘t imagine combining the coverage and reading this book!💔 2y
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review
Jess_Read_This
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Pickpick

It‘s a mark of a good author, in my humble opinion, that keeps me buying each 400+ page book in a mystery series that is now nine books and counting. I have come to adore Lane Winslow and the characters I‘ve met in King‘s Cove. Just a brilliantly and thoughtfully written whodunnit series.

#jessreads2022

robinb One of my absolute favorites! I simply devour them. ❤️ 2y
Jess_Read_This @robinb Me too. She‘s an author I immediately preorder when I see the option available! 2y
MrsK Read your review and placed the 1st book in the series on my wishlist. If someone in the family doesn‘t get it for me I‘ll just have to do it myself! 2y
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Jess_Read_This @MrsK I hope you love the series as much as I do! The first is probably my favorite. It made me wish to rent a cabin for a month in Vancouver. One day maybe. When you get a chance to read it, please let me know your thoughts! 2y
batsy I have not heard of this series! Your review makes me want to seek it out. And I love the cover. 2y
Jess_Read_This @batsy I hope you enjoy the series! I think it approaches “cozy” without crossing the line, if that makes sense? Whishaw also doesn‘t skirt around problematic portions of history post WW2 which I appreciated. The mystery is usually layered with character development in which we see them trying to get on with their lives and routines. I also enjoyed reading about the passing seasons and locations in the series. 2y
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