Can I say that I both liked this and found it a slog? All the agonising and calculation and covering the same ground over and over went on for what felt like forever. I had just reread a Kate Atkinson and the pacing was just exquisite, the hidden details tantalising without making you feel that you don't even care anymore what happened. I nearly reached the don't care mark with Exiles. I also had a lot of trouble visualising the terrain ⬇️

I don't talk a lot about my life but... My partner's mental state was really bad the past few days. I eventually called his psychiatrist and got an emergency appointment for him and went along, for the first time. So much of what I thought about our journey together the past 21 months turned out to be completely and utterly different. I was shocked and hurt.

Overexplaining what happened in previous books can irritate me, but these veiled references to stuff that happened in the past are completely over my head - it's so long ago that I read the other books!

I have a lot of feelings about this. It's readable and pulls you along, but the bleakness cut a bit close to home in the light of the mess I've made of my own life. It dwells on the choices we make and the way life turns out and there is no HEA. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so back and forth on the mixed reviews on this but so far the raging dysfunction is a nice distraction from the hell that is my life. It's sooooo long!

I loved this book. Which would-be contemplative isn't familiar with some of the words of Julian of Norwich or other anchoresses, and yet I had never thought in great detail about what it must have involved. I loved the theme of the body being inescapable and eventually part of worship of God. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thought I would like this but I'm not enjoying the stories interwoven with the narrative. I should have taken out more books from the library last week!

I thought my girls (either one) might like this (they weren't interested) and then started reading it myself. Call me a prude but I don't think talking about "having his fun" and lust belong in a children's book ?

This one was fun as usual but also had some really sad parts!

This was just beautiful and I finished it in 3 evenings after work. Her writing it just so incredibly good. Sorry, I'm exhausted and others are so much better at eloquent reviews. Just read this!

1. I'm officially on leave! And it's for a full 2.5 weeks as I had to 3 more days in which to move house
2. Moving date was confirmed and all parties were happy with it
3. Lovely sunny Pretoria winter days
4. Had a bit of drama with a junior colleague but we resolved it quite well, I think
5. Some great reading this week

Today was horrid. Just too much going on. In between everything I looked at a house to rent, and my partner liked it (over video call) so that was not bad, but then the late afternoon was full of the stress of trying to get the application in on time. 🤞 Hoping I didn't just waste my money! I didn't get my walk in and my evening was mostly just spent in bed so far so I'm feeling pretty useless.

I seem to have become someone who enjoys audiobooks 🙂 I happened upon the Agatha Christies narrated beautifully by Rosemary Leach and they are very soothing on days that I'm so exhausted I can barely read. Work has been rough! I'm on leave in 2 weeks but so much still needs to be done before then. I haven't read Bertram's Hotel in years and it's been really enjoyable although I remember now why I probably kept skipping it.

This was a mostly light read for me despite the heavy theme of addiction. I found the writing good and the characters engaging even when their behaviour was repulsive. A soft pick.

I learned of Kate Grenville through Litsy and have become such a huge fan. At first I wasn't that crazy about this one, but after a small break, I loved it and I was sad to see it end. She is so good at writing about this period of Australian history. 4.5 🌟

Kindle deal enabled me to finally read this much-anticipated book. I'm sad that I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. I could never connect to Lewis and felt that we kept being told he was so wonderful but not shown. The odds of one person being affected by this mutation thing so closely seemed unlikely to me. The different narratives were also a bit disjointed to me. Still, the writing was well done and I'm not sorry I read it.

I hardly ever listen to audio but I was obsessed with this book! It was so much fun, taught me a lot about subjects I knew nothing about, and despite the nature of Margo's employment, which first had me raising my eyebrows, I really found it to be meaningful, moving and sweet. Extra points for Margo's parenting style 🙂

On another note - I worry these audiobooks on Spotify are somehow unethical but I don't know enough about it.

I think I would have enjoyed this more 20 years ago, but I still enjoyed it, with some caveats. My knowledge of Shakespeare is pretty shameful and maybe theatre students really do speak in Shakespeare quotes to each other, but that eventually started to grate a bit. The writing isn't terrible considering how young the author was, though, and I found the characters interesting and real, if perhaps a bit underdeveloped. I had to know what happened!

Pros: a wild ride set against the backdrop of real South African politics and a real rumour that billions belonging to Muammar Gaddafi ended up in South Africa. At times I struggled to keep everything straight!

Cons: I didn't care for his fictionalised names of real people (done to avoid libel, I guess) and I don't remember there ever being so many grammatical errors in one of his books.

All in all, Meyer really is very good at what he does!

Very work-related! 1. A productive 3 days in the Cape Town office, training a new colleague that I think will add value to our team.We get along great so far.
2. Back in my own house and bed!
3. My abstract for a local conference in August was accepted - an opportunity to grow as a public speaker
4. Gibran, my 💚
5. This is actually kind of left over from 2 weeks ago but from the 1st of June the company will cover my medical aid 🥳

@DebinHawaii

Finished this today on the plane home. I really loved it! I only found out now there is a film. The writing is so well done and I just had so much love and sympathy for Maud throughout. It's incredibly original without coming across as gimmicky, at least for me. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I arrived in Cape Town late afternoon and have nothing to do tonight - feeling very useless/unpopular/lonely. I went for a walk and saw some cute squirrels - we don't see/have them where I live. Aside from a bit of prep I need to do for the 3 days in the office, I plan on reading more of the tagged book, which I was enjoying on the plane.

I'm not sure this was the best book for me right now. I mostly enjoyed it but I don't know. Some of it seems like personal opinions on art and the future and the economy disguised as part of the narrative. And the ending really depressed me! But still, most of it was humorous and poignant and relatable so don't pay me too much mind.

The library was closed! 😭 And it's generally going to be closed on Saturdays because of a labour dispute. I self-soothed by buying from the sales table at the already slightly cheaper, less fancy bookstore. I was really looking forward to stocking up for my trip to Cape Town next weekend.

Oh and I Capture the Castle was a farmer's market buy earlier 🙂

1. Public holiday on Monday - I did Acrobranch with my girls (first time I did the course myself). I'm just sad that I didn't take a picture!
2. My partner completed his outpatient programme and had another really good week
3. Work was not too hectic (boss was away, which is always nice 🙂)
4. My youngest took part in her first choir performance last night and it was such a nice evening
5. Some sunny days in between the unseasonal continuing rain

It didn't take long since I heard about this book on the podcast for my self control to break down and to buy it. No regrets - I loved it so very much. The writing is solid, the story a wild ride and the characters crept into my heart. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

At one point I was very confused with the different generations and where we were, more or less, in the timeline. And it was also so depressing. But I'm glad I persevered and especially loved the last few chapters.

Twi is the main Ghanaian language we work with and I recently needed to read up on the Akan dialect family, so I found all the history around the Asante incredibly interesting. There was so much suffering, though.

My girls may be back but they're at their dad's tonight (family thing) and I miss them. It was cold and gloomy today and I feel at such a loose end this evening. I may finish Homegoing tonight or decide in 5 minutes that I need a break from the unrelenting sadness.

I've never played before and I suck at photo collages, but here goes. I can always use more gratitude in my life.

@DebinHawaii
1. Having my girls back with me after their grandmother (my ex-husband's mother) passed away and they were in Namibia for nearly 2 weeks
2. A somewhat quieter week at work
3. Neighbours who always help me with little things, like yesterday when I couldn't get my en-suite's door back on its track

Update - the weekend didn't much improve (now my love caught his son's stomach bug) and no, the library had none of the books people recommended to me. Bleh. I stil got a number of good books though and listened to an episode of A strong sense of place and really enjoyed it (and now really want to read Daryl Gregory).

Thanks, @Chrissyreadit !

Another Richard Osman raced through in a day 🙂 I feel like I like each one more than the last! Such an enjoyable distraction.

Today was a hard day. My partner has so many health and mental health issues and when I saw him today, I realised how scary tired he is - more than usual. It's just always something, it seems. Anyway I'm heading to the library in the morning as I read all my other loans except Homegoing, which I'm finding not exactly uplifting.

Any suggestions for reads that are light and/or engaging but not cheesy?

The night Effia Otcher was born into the musky heat of Fanteland, a fire raged through the woods just outside her father's compound.

#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

I don't remember when I last read this one - the joys of getting older and being able to forget every single thing about a Christie novel. It's one of her (underrated, in my opinion) novels with no Poirot or Miss Marple, just a cast of characters we get to know who solve the mystery on their own. Emily is delightfully plucky, brave and loyal. I really enjoyed it again!

I flew through this second installment and loved it. A lovely group of companions on a rainy Saturday. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wonderful Litten (I feel awful - I've completely forgotten who) sent me a parcel of books a few years ago (now our post office system has almost completely collapsed). I read Fates and Furies and it was good, but intense. I can't explain why it took me so long to pick this one up. Her writing is definitely unique; I often find it difficult to understand her characters emotionally. But the story is engrossing and the magical realism so well done.

"The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaces in Lake Glimmerglass."

#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

Thanks for the tag, @Trashcanman!

I'm no good at tagging people, though! Play along if the spirit moves you ?

Ever since I bought The Folded Earth by accident and loved it, I felt like Anuradha Roy was my own special secret. I hadn't thought to look for more of her books but came across this in the library and it was wonderful. I read it slowly, through many interruptions. Her writing is clear, precise and rich; never flowery or sentimental. Such a contrast to the previous book I finished. Just beautiful.

I have so many opinions. I don't really care for her writing and the way the timeline went back and forth in beginning I really disliked - all throughout the book actually it felt like she was writing about the same thing over and over again from different angles to get the most mileage out of it and it annoyed me. Other peeves included Alice the miracle baby who didn't need food or attention for 15 hours or something, the number of times ⬇️

This was one of those serendipitous times when I browse the Kindle for a book people have been racing about and it's a wonderful deal!

I loved it so much. It gave me a lot to think about regarding my own depression, suicidal thoughts and divorce. It made me think about my current love and the kind of life I want. I loved all the themes she touched on lightly, like asking for what you want. I can see why everyone loves it so much!

I adore this book. But oh my word, how did the editor miss this?

This was my rescue (I guess my sister bought it for Kindle) when I ran out of books on the plane and the flight left at 23:15. I have mixed feelings about Jennifer Weiner's writing but found this quite enjoyable. I could relate somewhat to her difficult child and financial worries though my situation was never that bad. I did want to throttle her while she was in denial and thinking she was so much better than others, though.

Maybe I need to accept that I just don't like Ishiguro's books since Never let me go. This had its moments but was mostly strange and ended on such a depressing note. Maybe one needs more knowledge on Arthurian legends.

Wonderful as always, this was my companion on the 13 hours or so I spent at Jomo Kenyatta airport trying to get home (and on the plane when we still thought we were leaving on time, haha.) The unravelling mystery from the past felt a bit like it had been done before but it was still good. I was super anxious about having packed my other book in my suitcase for some stupid reason.

Why is only the Spanish version on the database? Anyhoo... Don't expect brilliant writing, but it was entertaining on my flight to Kenya. I'm not sure Andy Weir should be writing female characters.

On my way to Zanzibar via Kenya. Flights keep getting delayed and I have to spend the night in Nairobi. At least I packed 3 books so I should be sorted. But I also wish we could just get going!

Having coffee while getting my car washed. This weekend has involved so many errands! The book is super stressful but good.

I had this on my shelves for at least 11 years and never noticed the Ophrah's Book Club bubble. I'm not sorry I finally read it but the blurb on the back uses words like "sweet" and "tender" and for me it was brutal! Women trapped in awful marriages with no love. I wonder what I would have made of this if I read it long before I left my own marriage. It was another book from the 90s where the 10/11-year-old acts very much more grown up ⬇️

This was a random library loan for me and I kept postponing it but when I read it, I ended up really enjoying it. Based on true events in Ireland in the late 1800s, the story is told from the dual perspectives of the landowner's wife in prison and one of the servant girls who worked in the house, told in 1968. The events themselves are sad and the writing gets a bit flowery at the end but overall is beautiful and insightful.

It was quite weird but mostly in a good way! The writing was beautiful, of course. 🌟🌟🌟🌟