This library is gorgeous. 😍

“As if trying her best to mend a broken friendship from her childhood, she immersed herself into the books, day and night, never leaving their side.”

“It‘s not food. It‘s an industrially produced edible substance.”
Every so often a book comes along which stays with you long after you‘ve read it. For me this is one of those books. Just looking through a food product‘s ingredients list and feeling empowered to know what specific chemicals could be doing to my body is life changing. I am going to be thinking about a lot of this book for a long time to come.

“We cannot lose weight just by increasing physical activity”.
🤯

This books is seriously challenging everything I thought I know about diet.

I‘m learning a lot reading this book, and think this paragraph really helps to distinguish UPF(NOVA) vs nutritional classification.

I am worried that a lot of the implied good vs bad will only be accessible to higher income households.

My bridger-binge re-read continues! I think I read this in about four hours straight without moving. 😂

There were two things which really bothered me once I noticed them, I‘ll put them in comments.

I am mentally exhausted at the moment from work and was in desperate need of a complete comfort read and this absolutely did the trick. I can‘t wait for Benedict‘s story to be the next Netflix season!

This is an odd book, but a very imaginative tale. It‘s a pretty slow unfolding of events, but not necessarily boring. It‘s hard to pin it to a genre, it‘s mystery, romance fantasy and adventure.

I liked the feminist stance towards the end.

I loved it and absolutely flew through it. Osman writes with wit and humour and what is becoming a characteristic style, even in this new series. I really enjoyed getting to know some new characters - as well as all the drama, action and mystery.

This was a great little non-fiction book. It‘s kind of both a biography and a story of Lulu Miller‘s life. I‘m convinced gosh really don‘t exist!

I completely understand why this was nominated for the women‘s prize for non-fiction. Masud weaves her stories of life searching the countryside in England with her memories from her traumatic childhood in Pakistan.

“You may say that it was the book, but it‘s how you read a book that is most valuable, rather than any power it might have itself.”

99p on kindle is a bargain for this one if anyone hasn‘t read it yet!

This is such a cute but mysterious little story. Burges captured the whimsical nature of virality on the internet. She also creates some beautiful descriptions of the rooms being decorated - Christmas in the bathroom was a favourite!

The ending did not happen the way I wanted it to, but I‘ll live with it.

I love a book that comes with a built in ribbon bookmark and gorgeous orange edges. (Image courtesy of google)
This story slowly unfolds at the beach over the course of a family‘s summer holiday. There is romance and familial drama with a big twist at the end.

@BarbaraJean well I read it. And it was actually quite good! There are about a million characters, but once it gets going it‘s good fun. Super fast paced, pretty thrilling. Elements of Norse mythology, particularly Loki. Witty sidekick. Definitely better than I was expecting!

😲 that ending! I can‘t believe I now have to wait until January for the next one. And then who knows how long for the next two after. ARGH! I loved the continuation of the world building and Violet‘s character development. There was a bit in the middle which did drag, but the ending more than made up for it! WRITE FASTER REBECCA YARROS!

Having read all Ali Hazelwood‘s books this did feel quite predictable. But equally it‘s a great storyline and perhaps what makes it feel like such a comfort read? Anyway I enjoyed it and read it in a day when I was feeling down and it cheered me right up!

So I definitely get the hype now. This was just superb and I am so glad that I waited until I could properly enjoy it. Violet is a superb character and I am excited to read more about the world that Yarros is building in future books.

I have been saving this for summer when I can commit to just sitting and doing nothing but read this. Excuse me while I go hibernate - see you on the other side when I‘m sure my life will be irrevocably changed. I fully expect to love this book I am so excited.

I‘ll be in Lofoten next month and I was excited to read a book set there. Sadly I found this disappointing, probably me but I just didn‘t “get” it and struggled to understand quite what was going on or why. Really really sad as I so wanted to like it.

Bailing as this is definitely not what I was expecting. It is not about running. It is not a memoir. It is a non-fiction introduction to mental health (mainly anxiety) full of a lot of facts and references. Useful if that‘s what you‘re after!

Overall I was content with the conclusion of this duology and glad I read it. One thing annoyed me but I'll add it as a spoiler in the comments. In general though I was impressed with the magic and world that the author had managed to create.

I really enjoyed this and understand why I‘ve been seeing recommendations for it. I loved the world building, the magic cards are really intriguing. The relationship between Elspeth and Ravyn is just sufficient to call this a fantasy romance.

Available on kindle unlimited too! (And the sequel is out, guess what I‘m reading next…)

Definitely felt appropriate to finish reading this on the beach on holiday. Such a sweet book, I loved Marcellus‘ musings on human life - I would have enjoyed more of these. Tova sounds a formidable lady.

Thank you for the recommendation @Bookbuyingaddict

This is weird but funny and so endearing. An intriguing premise, but the story is about so much more than the kids spontaneously combusting! I found myself really making time to read it.

When work was taking over my life this has provided some much needed respite.
Jen de Luca hasn‘t lost her touch with a magical renaissance faire adventure. I love getting to know the mystics in this one and hope they make a reappearance in future books!

A comfort re-read (or re-listen) for me. Appropriate for cricket season!
I do just love this series, I love the humour and the twists. It‘s so creative and never fails to make me happy.

I was so drawn in to this story. I thought the author did an excellent job of portraying the minutiae of suburban life in the 1950s, whilst adding all the mystery drama. Very enjoyable read.

I am absolutely devastated to finish this series. Every single one of these books has been so different and I feel as if I‘ve learnt something about myself through reading each one. They are abstract but clever and subtle. This one was particularly uplifting and I enjoyed the ending.

Ms Chambers I want more!

I feel like Romantasy is really running low on ideas with this synopsis! I kinda feel like I need to read it now though…
Quick poll, to read or not to read?

Read the TW before reading.

This drew me in. The weaving of the story is clever and very well done. I enjoyed the use of nature to add atmosphere and could imagine being there on the pond with the characters.

Library win when you‘re the first to get the book and it‘s still pristine!!!
Not sure what this says about the book though…

This is definitely much darker than I had expected based on the cover. Set in 1600 Norway, and based on real events this is about grief and love. I felt like I was on the island with Maren and Ursa, willing them to survive. Intimately and powerfully written.

I always enjoy an Asimov book and this was no exception. I love the way Asimov builds a futuristic world, and I thought this was a clever murder mystery story.

Minus points though for only having one very weak female stereotypical “wife” character. I know it was written a long while ago, but still sad.

Gosh I enjoyed this - far more than I expected to. The audiobook is “marvellous” (I‘ve found I now say marvellous all the time since listening to this 🫣). Jennifer Saunders is justifiably a comic great, and her stories and anecdotes are laugh out loud funny. Highly recommend the audio to appreciate her expression and comic timing!

This is how a nearby village is advertising its May Day duck race! So cute 🦆 🦆 🦆

A love letter to the Shetlands and Shetland ponies. On the whole a very pleasant diary of a year of life in the Shetlands. Over the year Munro suffers a personal loss and talks of how the islands rhythms and life help her heal. Slow paced and just a nice book.

This was not the light happy book I was expecting. This is a call to arms. This is an honest, and quite scary at times, account of what it's like to work in a hugely underfunded public library in Scotland. It is a plea to use your public libraries - and that they are so much more than just books. As Morgan says they “level the playing field“. Morgan brings the characters from the library to life, and is very honest in her opinion of management!

This book is Stern‘s debut from 2010 and is a collection of short stories. The characters are reckless but each story left me wanting to know more. Several of the stories touch on deaf people feeling isolated and struggling to communicate. The writing is good, and I got the impression of a writer feeling their way towards being a great one.

Absolutely loving reading this series. I got very grumpy with anything which took me away from reading this. Manon is probably one of the highlights of this book - such a great character with amazing development. Need the next one ASAP!

Two weeks until Dracula Daily starts!

Last year I kept up for about two months, not sure if I can do better this year…

https://draculadaily.substack.com/about if anyone is interested!

When Shaun Bythell in “The diary of a bookseller” mentioned meeting this author and her book I knew it was going on the list. I‘ve been keeping an eye out for books about deaf culture as I learn BSL and was delighted to come across a new one. Although I have to say inside another book wasn‘t how I expected to!

I somehow missed this when it was released. I‘m a big fan of cogman‘s invisible library series. Anyway it‘s 99p on kindle at the minute!

I have to say we‘re enjoying the Netflix show of this series. I haven‘t read the books, but now I‘m thinking I should! If only as I will want to know what happens after series one.
Although I will be thinking differently about getting on a cruise ship this summer…

I really enjoyed this, I thought it worked really well as an audiobook. Shaun is grumpy but loveable bookseller, who did make me feel guilty for owning a kindle. And not so guilty about my hoard of books. He paints vivid images of his customers and staff - not always favourable but usually very humorous.

Absolutely loved it. I gave up waiting for my library request and just bought it. 🤫
I especially enjoyed reading Celaena learn and learn embrace her magic. Super good baddies - lots of evil beings to fight.
Now to go straight on to Queen of Shadows.

SHUT YOUR MOUTH (new motto)
This was fascinating. It‘s well written - Nestor really gets the balance between research and anecdotes - and packs a powerful punch. I‘m definitely going to incorporate some new habits into my daily life - resolved to only breathe through my nose. Now excuse me while I go tape my mouth shut…

I was really nervous to read this having seen some mixed reviews, and knowing how much I adore Hazelwood‘s other books. But I absolutely devoured it and could not put it down!!! I loved the humour mixed in with the drama. Considering this was her first book into the fantasy genre I was very impressed. Also so happy that the end looks as though she‘s setting up for a sequel. Yay!

Geez this was a slow story, I reckon you could cut out at least a third of the book. I very nearly gave up on it several times. Quite a predictable conclusion. At least it‘s off the shelf.