Saying yes to a bit of fluffy escapism.

#throwback to a few weeks ago, when I was on vacation and started this one. Finally finished it today and glad to be done with it. Pretty disappointing. A good premise, but I had a ton of issues with the execution.

Not sure I'll rush right out to read the next in this series, but I mostly liked this #nunlit pick, despite some dated bits and a solution I partially sussed out. I wish that modern mysteries were as short and moved as briskly.

This was a complete delight. Highly recommended if you are interested in Dame Judi, Shakespeare, theatre history, the RSC, or acting in general. I googled so many pictures and fell down so many Wiki holes, looking up people and productions she talks about.

I hadn't planned to read this on my lunch today, but then the reserve came in and I couldn't resist diving right into it!

How I spent much of today.

I thought this was great! It made me laugh a lot, but I also cried a few times. And even though it did that thing I hate of constantly referring to Something in the Past for ages before explaining it and at one point I actually said aloud to an empty room, "Please go get some therapy," I think I loved it?

Catching up with Jackson Brodie, before my hold for the new one comes in. I love this series!

Getting a slightly belated start on this #hashtagbrigade selection, but excited to read another Bowen.

Spent most of the day reading this. No regrets.

I devoured Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, so I've high hopes for this sequel!

Wondering if I'll love this as much as everyone else seems to ...

Very much enjoying this one.

I started this last month, when @peanutnine was leading the read along, but only managed to really sink into it this weekend. Still, terrifically delightful company on an intermittently raimy Sunday. Can't wait for the next one!

My copy arrived yesterday, so among other things today will be catching up with the #hashtagbrigade. Excited for another Gaskell!

Add me to the chorus of all those singing the praise of this one. I'm only about a third of the way through, but am loving it so much I just had to rave.

Not entirely connecting with this, but maybe that's a good thing? It's very honest and a little messy, which seems appropriate.

Finally going on the Emily Henry train, so to speak. I've a new job that will, I think, require me to read more contemporary and recent things.

A re-read for me, but still a pleasant time. It's probably my least favorite Elizabeth Fair, but very cozy and the quintessential #furrowedmiddlebrow publication, I think.

#furrowedmiddlebrowclub

Just the sort of sweet, feel good and lightweight novel that I needed, after a rather long week. I very much enjoyed Sister B and her community (big C and little c). The ending felt a wee abrupt, but it just guaranteed that I'd immediately download the sequel, so I guess well-played Fran Smith?
#nunlit

Late to the party, but happy just to be here 😉

A rather sweet, happy book, about a young couple's engagement and first year, as they settle into marriage and domesticity. There are challenges and some exasperation along the way, but ultimately there's just so much warmth here. Quite lovely and charming.

#PersephoneClub

Checking out a new-ish cafe, while my car gets inspected. 🙂

The last Alice Munro on my shelf. Pretty terrific.

Despite trying multiple times, I've never actually read this classic. I know how beloved it is, but there's just something about it that I don't connect with. However, it feels like a huge gap in my literary knowledge, so maybe giving it a go with the #hashtagbrigade will help?

I am here for whatever Stradal shares with us. I love that his books are so very much identifiably his and the connections between them. I purposely didn't read this until the paperback came out, because I knew I'd want to own it. Seeing the pretty mixed reviews in the meantime perhaps better prepared me for the bits that seem to have knocked others for a loop? Or maybe I'm just, at heart, a soppy Midwestern girl. Probably both.

I don't think I've ever not loved a Kate Atkinson book? This collection of somewhat linked short stories was a little weird and a lot wonderful.

Not sure where I heard about this one - I thought it was on here, but don't see any posts about it 🤷‍♀️. Anyway, it's a good lunch/break choice. Relatively entertaining, easy to dip and out of, not so compelling that I have to tote it around to keep reading.

There's a little bit of Coastal-Media-Type-Road-Trips-to-Find-the-Real-America 🙄, but not the worst offender I've ever come across. And it's balanced with lots of pie recipes!

One of the sillier, lighter offerings from Connie Willis, who even at her worst (which this isn't) I adore. It took me some time to really get into this complete mash-up of a book, but once I did it was a full-blown good time

Narratively, I am enjoying this one, although it's pretty early to make any real calls. Physically, on a book-as-object level, there is something I find irksome about it, although I'm not sure what. I may have to switch over to the ebook (or wait for the paperback).

Hooray for all the Gothic vibes! Boo for a heroine who is, er, let's be kind and say very, incredibly naive. 🤣 As a book, it's super readable and I mostly enjoyed it. But I also did a lot of eye-rolling and had to tamp down some irritation.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

A bit slow going for me, but I ultimately really liked this #PersephoneClub selection.

Whipple has created some wonderful, fully-rounded characters, many of whom aren't particularly sympathetic for lots of the book. The plot seems entirely plausible to me and it's a fascinating and insightful insider sort of look into the rise (and fall) of a “grasping“ family*.

I'd love an entire book about Carrie, please!

I am maybe reading this at the moment? Finding it a wee bit confusing in the initial pages, but that could just be my current head space. I really loved Three Bags Full, though and probably found it a little confusing at first as well.

I've been meaning to reread this for ages, so I'm glad that the #pemberlittens #hashtagparade finally motivated to do so. It certainly hits differently as a adult than it did when I was a high schooler. 😅

Interesting to see what I'd forgotten (what a timid wet noodle our narrator is for so much of the book; how much she lives in her head; how many problems would've been avoided with some good old communication) and what stuck. Still loved it!

A solid collection of short stories, featuring authors I am very fond of or who I have been meaning to read. Not all of them were new to me, alas, but I enjoyed almost all of them.

I think maybe this has sent me down more Wikipedia rabbit holes than any other novel I've ever read. It's truly a masterpiece, but also *a lot* and it's taken me an age to read. So I'm not going to be sorry to finish it (maybe today?).

Does it seem contradictory to can this one warm and prickly? Maybe, but it's what I'm going with to summarize this found family story. I really liked it.

This was a warm, easy, and engaging read, as practically all D.E. Stevenson books are, but I wouldn't say it was her most satisfying! There were lots of bits that I loved and a lot of bits that I found very frustrating (details in comments). Overall, I'd say pleasant but uneven, I think. #FurrowedMiddleBrowClub
p.s. having tons of trouble tagging today, so will try to add them later

Finally getting around to this, on my recent work lunches and breaks. I am very much enjoying it.

Lazy, rainy Saturday. 🙂

What a compelling, engrossing book! And yet another I probably wouldn't have read on my own, given the grim subject matter. The time and place are so wonderfully evoked and I appreciate how complex Gutcheon's characters and storytelling are.

#PersephoneClub

@Aimeesue @LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads @Caryl @sisilia @Tamra @Ruthiella @CarolynM @Gissy @elkeOriginal @daena @Cathythoughts @andrew61 @jlhammar @Karons1 @julieclair @willaful

No Macdonald in this one, but still a very clever and enjoyable mystery from Lorac.

I ultimately quite liked this one, although there were definitely times when it was iffy. A little bit to read and relatable perhaps?

I find Hallett's books so addictive! Wanted to read this straight through once I started, but had to, like, with and do life stuff. But now it's the weekend, so diving in and not looking up until it's over 😅.

A stunner, suffused with pulsing life and love, in all their messy glory. And beautiful sentences that will break your heart.

Excellent. I suspect I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

I appreciated this more contemporary look at nun life, which attempts to grapple with some of the darker aspects of the modern day Catholic Church and, life in general. It's not a title that would've otherwise come my way, so I'm glad it was a #nunlit selection. It did sometimes feel a little didactic, but it's a small quibble and as a whole it was still very moving.

A typical Susan Scarlett book - complete with an early meet-cute, a sweet romance, and a cheery, lovable heroine - mashed up with a domestic thriller - complete with sinister off-hand comments, a disturbing child, heaps of tension, and murder. It is rather incongruous, but somehow works. As is usually the case with Scarlett, you know all the bits from the beginning, but there's pleasure in how exactly it all plays out.

#furrowedmiddlebrowclub

I love Wahl's picture books and art, so am glad to finally make time for this. It's very relatable, even about aspects of high school I've happily blocked out 😅.

Did yesterday's post put me in the mood for Stevenson? Maybe it was a factor, although not the only one. In any case, this was the perfect choice for this moment.