@StayCurious and #LittensLoveRomance people, and any other romance reading Littens - this is hilarious.

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/we-are-a-picturesque-small-town-and-we-refus...

#BookReport for September

A bit of a slow reading month, I‘ve been getting out and about a bit more. Thank You For Listening was my favourite.

Witty, clever and very enjoyable rom-com that has a lot of fun with the tropes and conventions of genre romance while delivering strong characters, interesting subplots and a convincing HEA. Thanks to @rachelm for putting it on my radar.

Sadly neglected 12 year old Emily, desperate for love and attention, soaks up the kindness and intellectual stimulation provided by her grandmother‘s boarder, Max, while the callous, self-involved and sometimes downright cruel adults in her life pursue their own schemes. A razor sharp examination of domestic politics in the suburbs of 1950‘s Australia, it is quite a contrast with the mid C20th Furrowed Middlebrow books! #ozfiction

Quick trip to the bookshop yesterday😄

Another enjoyable instalment in the Mirabelle Bevan mystery series, in spite of a few annoying editorial errors. I particularly liked that it espoused a more nuanced geopolitical world view than is usually found in light fiction or in most newspapers.

A gentle meander over 30+ years from the tail end of WWII to 1979 in the lives of a group of East Londoners who relocate to Florence. The fact that I‘m not a fan of Florence, or Italian art, and the ambiguity of the relationships made this a like rather than love book for me but it made for an interesting discussion at my IRL book group last night. Sorry about the sticker - I should have removed it when I bought it, it‘s now well and truly stuck!

That's the best reason to spring clean I've ever been given.

Since the long lockdowns of the last couple of years the birds in my area have been a lot less shy. This pretty little guy didn't react at all to me walking past. I'm loving the tagged book on audio - witty and clever and having a lot of fun with romance tropes.

This book has been on my TBR since Alexis Hall gave the ARC a glowing review on GR so I was happy to start it with the #LittensLoveRomance readalong. I enjoyed it so much I couldn't resist racing on ahead of the group (sorry). Gracie is a delightful heroine and Sam a worthy hero. It's all pretty far-fetched and I was a little annoyed by the pretext for the obligatory break up, but overall a very enjoyable #romantsy.
@StayCurious

This one didn‘t charm me as much as most of our other #furrowedmiddlebrowclub reads. I think it‘s because it was more about the events than the characters - I felt like I knew what happened in the house, but I didn‘t really know the people who lived there. Or maybe it‘s just my current mood. A low pick for me.

A close-up look at the career of a shameless social climber as she seeks to be a central figure in every new grouping of society that comes to her attention, finds she doesn‘t much like the group once she‘s in it and leaves a trail of distress (both financial and emotional) in her wake. Modern parallels abound. Thanks to @Lcsmcat @Graywacke and all the other #WhartonBuddyRead -ers for the interesting discussions.

I didn‘t manage to read either my #bookspin or #doublespin book for August, but I‘ll try again in September. Thanks Sarah 😘

#BookReport for August. Favourite for the month was Lessons in Chemistry, with Husband Material not far behind.

A fun #romantsy that made me laugh quite a few times. I particularly liked Maurice the warlock cat. I‘m not really into magic or the supernatural in any form, so I doubt that I would have read this if not for #littensloveromance. Thanks for the readalong @StayCurious

What a wonderfully entertaining book! While the 1960‘s attitudes were frequently infuriating, Elizabeth Zott‘s intelligence and indomitable spirit were an absolute joy. I loved it.

So many reasons! Too many to list here, but I guess mostly for entertainment and information - I think I learn something (however trivial) from every book I read, even the least “intellectual” of them.
Not really, but my family were always supportive of my desire to read in preference to most other things.
Every day, often on several occasions during the day.

#littenswanttoknow. Thanks for tagging me @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Ruthiella 😘😘

Gravity. Not yet in the database at time of posting.

I‘ve seen a lot of love for this m/m #romantsy but it was all a bit too serious, too overblown and melodramatic for my taste. I‘m all about the MCs finding 💖true lurve💖, but the constant declarations of undying love in the second half were just way over the top. Also, the hockey stuff didn‘t ring true. The writing is better than average so I won‘t pan it, but it‘s close.

I think I just shouldn‘t read psychological thrillers because I don‘t find them satisfying. I‘m going with pick for this because I thought it was well written, but the so-called twists seemed awfully obvious to me. I intended to read this for #NewYearWhoDis2022 but I didn‘t get around to it at the beginning of the year. I‘m glad I finally got there.

I am continuing to love Georgette Heyer's mystery novels - the plots are clever and the characters are delicious! I guessed the culprit in this one, but it didn't interfere with my enjoyment at all. And Matt Addis is a fabulous narrator.

1. Stacked after reading @BarbaraBB ‘s review
2. I‘ve read several very enjoyable books this month it‘s hard to pick a favourite, but I think I‘ll go for Husband Material because it had all the #romantsy warm & fuzzies & it was a lot of fun to boot.
3. Easy to pick my no1 favourite - London - so hard to decide after that! I‘ll go with Broome in the early 80‘s before the developers arrived & Antwerp.

Thanks for the tag @Eggs

#WondrousWednesday

I think the author is trying to write a kind of Australian version of Stephanie Plum. Unfortunately it didn‘t really work for me. There was one little section that raised a laugh but otherwise it fell flat. I nearly bailed, but I wanted to see how she was going to tie things up in the end. Not really satisfactorily as it turned out. Maybe I‘d have liked it better if I‘d read the earlier books in the series. #ozfiction

Wow! There is such a lot in this little book. Beautiful, atmospheric writing that felt so real in its portrayal of small town Irish people at Christmas time, an element of nostalgia for simpler times (even if it‘s hard for me to think of1985 like that), a glimpse of the heartlessness of strict religious regimes & a simple moral question. “… was there any point in being alive without helping one another?” Thank you, Cathy, for the gift of this book

I enjoyed this book so much! It‘s rather a sad story, I thought, but the writing, the wit, the vignettes (a single paragraph summation of Angela‘s season) & the throw away remarks (“‘Nobody could be more nit-witted than the hunting crowd.‘ ‘Nonsense! What about Patrick Chalmers and Siegfried Sassoon?‘”) were a total delight. Does anyone know what Hymn No 573 was? All Things Bright & Beautiful maybe? Great choice @rubyslippersreads
#PersephoneClub

Book - Angels and Men by Catherine Fox
Writer - Kate Atkinson
Movie - All About Eve
TV - Absolute Power
Band - Australian Crawl
Song - America by Simon and Garfunkel

Late to the party but can‘t resist a tag from my mate @Lizpixie 😘

#manicmonday #letterA

Does anyone else‘s mind go blank when faced with these questions😶🤷🏻‍♀️

Another thoroughly entertaining golden age mystery, although I would very much like to know why the Australian character was speaking with an American accent and using American idiom.

Oh, I just loved this gorgeous, funny, warm-hearted romcom! And I thought it handled the dysfunctional family situation (very like one I‘ve been involved in) and the issues that arise from it incredibly well. It‘s a refreshing change for the conflict in a romance to arise from genuine differences in experience, personality & outlook and have it discussed as dealt with like adults (well, for the most part). #romantsy

1. Without fail
2. I think it‘s about choice. Obviously, the amount of time taken up with things that you have no choice about varies a lot according to your particular circumstances, but when you can choose, choose to read.
3. Romance or cozy crime.

#WondrousWednesday

Thanks for the tag @Lizpixie 😘

I think I would subtitle this book “Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”. It‘s all in the head of the self involved narrator who would be extremely unlikeable except for the hints about past traumas. I found it compulsively readable & frequently blackly funny, although I couldn‘t help but worry about the emotional well being of the numerous, anonymous children the narrator apparently enjoyed producing far more than actually engaging with.

Recent acquisitions

Not that I‘ve read even one of the last stack of books I bought

One of my very favourite books. I‘ve lost count of how many times I‘ve read it.

#AlphabetGame

Thanks for the tag @robinb

Want to play @Cathythoughts @Lizpixie ?

Here‘s my #Bookspin list for August. Thanks Sarah😘

#BookReport for July. Mainly light reads as I haven‘t had the time or concentration for anything challenging for most of the month.

The latest in the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey romance series, this time featuring an off-season trip to Italy. I wasn‘t particularly taken with the MCs of this one, but I enjoyed catching up with some couples from earlier books. #romantsy

Another cozy mystery, this time with a between the wars setting and amateur detective with a touch of the Bertie Wooster‘s although one hundred times more shrewd. An easy, fun read. Thanks @batsy for putting this one on my radar.

I'm obviously on a cosy crime kick. This one is a fun mash up of stately home/village green murder mystery with the Church of England liturgy, informed by the author's experience as an Anglican parish priest.

Tippy Chan, Uncle Pike and Devon are back to their Nancy Drew ways trying to find the truth about the bombing of Riverstone‘s town hall. While not as funny or charming as The Nancys, this sequel was still an enjoyable read. And it looks like there will be a third instalment. #ozfiction #doublespin

Another twisty golden age detective story that kept me guessing right to the end. Most enjoyable.

A total delight from start to finish. Being the diary of Hester Christie, wife of a mid-ranking army officer between the wars, as she navigates the politics of the Regiment & her neighbours, then enjoys a summer holiday in the Scottish Highlands. I‘m so glad there are 3 more in the series, I need more Hester in my life. Shall I download the other books immediately and look for vintage hardbacks or just order the Furrowed Middlebrow editions?

I was very keen to read this book & I'm very grateful to @Centique for gifting it to me, but unfortunately I struggled with it. It didn't really engage me until the BLM protests began. I enjoyed the last 100 or so pages a lot more than anything that went before. Thank you again Paula 😘

I don't have this reminder on my phone, but I'm thinking it might be a good idea.

I just went to look at these books. I honestly didn‘t mean to buy them all🫢😆

Whether it‘s wartime propaganda or just general middle class English snobbishness, I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse of the way they looked at life, the way they thought and spoke and acted in those blessed days of peace, to paraphrase DE Stevenson‘s proposed Foreword to the first edition. On a more serious level, it was also a reminder not to blindly believe your country‘s take on the attitudes/intentions other countries.
#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

What an extraordinary book this is! A blend of Aboriginal spiritual story telling (insofar as I understand it) with a multigenerational family story that matter-of-factly describes the enormous variety of everyday prejudice, discrimination and injustice experienced by indigenous people in an outback town during the second half of the 20th century. A fascinating and deeply disturbing reading experience. #ozfiction

Winter sun reading spot

On the surface this appears to be a camp comedy about a gay man who is thrust unwillingly into the role of caretaker for his young niece and nephew. But that's just the surface. At heart it is about the collision of old and new grief and a man coming to understand why life goes on being worth living.

I understand you, Sophie.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

NAIDOC week read
🖤💛❤️

#Bookspin and #Doublespin list for July. Thank you Sarah😘

#BookReport for June

My favourites were Goodnight Vivienne, Goodnight and Operation Hearbreak