I always think when I don‘t “get” a book, it‘s my lack of literary intelligence, so I‘m sure I‘ve missed some deep and meaningful observations of relationships or some such, but for me this was a bit bland and superficial.

I didn‘t feel any connection with any of the characters; the book seemed more to be a series of anecdotes about situations and events, rather than the characters.

I wanted more from the book.

I don‘t understand the hype surrounding this book. It‘s simply a repackaging of already well-studied areas, with added political bias and unsubstantiated and/or highly subjective statistics, and figures quoted with no context (because the context wouldn‘t fit the narrative).

There are potentially some important questions within this book, but it‘s buried in too much subjectivity and the author‘s own self-importance. ⬇️

The second in a series featuring DI Caius Beauchamp. I‘ve enjoyed both in those series, Beauchamp is a bit different from the usual troubled detective. The ending sets us up nicely for a third book, which o will look forward to reading.

This one had been on my TBR and, having finally read it, I‘m berating myself for not having read it sooner. A beautifully written story of a woman emerging from a poor background and the expectations placed on her, and becoming her own woman.

A memoir of sorts, in part telling the story of the origins and growth of Diwan, a chain of bookshops in Egypt founded by three women. The story of the bookstore, and the backdrop of Egyptian politics and revolution, but Wassef comes across (intentionally?) as a very hard-to-like person, and the writing style isn‘t to my taste.

I couldn‘t really get excited about this book. It‘s long, wordy, repetitive in some places, and though it‘s easy to read, I always had a reluctance to pick it up. There are moments that show some brilliant writing - a soldier‘s diary written on the frontline for example, but it felt at times very twee, and the characters are mostly stereotypes. It makes some good observations on love and war, but it‘s a chore to get through

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about two sprightly octogenarian sisters whose trip to Paris to be awarded the Legion D‘honneur brings back memories for both is a lighthearted romp with some depth to it. Recommended.

Another book where I can see that the writing is beautiful, but where I came away feeling like I wanted something more. It‘s not even 200 pages long, but I realised halfway through that it was taking me a while to read because I was bored.

My planned reads for April:

Online book club: Being Mortal
IRL book club: The Cloisters
Kindle TBR: Lullaby
Physical TBR: The Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller
New: The Excitements

This is what happens when you see the Waterstones “new releases” post just before to go into town to visit the shop‘s café!

March wrap-up: 6 books finished. The best read was You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce, worst by far was the Osman book

#MarchWrapUp
#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

I finished this a few days ago, and have been trying to process it since. It‘s another where I don‘t really know what I feel about it. The writing is beautiful, and the way the author creates a that feeling of an undercurrent of tension an Irish town affected by recession is very well done. I recognise that it‘s an excellent book, so it‘s getting a pick. But it‘s not really my “thing” - whatever my “thing” is!🤣

I heard about this book when the author appeared at an event at last year‘s Cheltenham Literature Festival, and I had high hopes, but it wasn‘t what I expected and I‘m not entirely sure how I feel about it! The novel takes us inside the head of a 40-year-old neurotic mother who is obsessed with her husband. It‘s a rollercoaster ride through one week of a relationship that‘s perfect from the outside, but deeply flawed within

I really wanted to like this one, and as a piece of historical fiction, based on the meeting of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, it‘s interesting - I had no knowledge of either men or of Sufism. But the parallel story set in modern era America is a bit mundane. If feels maybe it was added to make the novel palatable for Western tastes?

A competent novel from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It‘s set in a flying club in the 1930s, and as a pilot myself, it‘s interesting to see how much has changed over in the world of flying, and at the same time how little has changed.

Unpopular opinion:
For me, this one is between a so-so and a pan. Giving it a so-so because there was the hint of a decent story, but Osman drags everything out far too much? Are editors scared to tell celebrity authors that their books are too long? I was close to bailing several times on this one because of its verbosity.

The 1995 BBC TV adaption by Andrew Davies of Pride and Prejudice, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

#SundayFunday
@BookmarkTavern

First finish for March is this story of Cassandra Tipp - is she a victim of trauma-induced psychosis who killed her husband, father and brother, or is her tale of faeries true?
This superbly written novel is my favourite read of this year so far.

CW: implied child abuse/rape

#17 for #ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Plan for March:

Kindle TBR: Death of an Airman
Physical TBR: My Husband
Online book club: The Forty Rules of Love
IRL book club: The Spinning Heart
New (to me!): You Let Me In

#February #WrapUp

Kindle TBR: Underground Overground ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Physical TBR: There Was a Time ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Online book club: The Dutch House ⭐️⭐️
IRL book club: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
New book: One of the Good Guys ⭐️⭐️

Book 16 of #ReadAway2024

This is a thought-provoking book in that it covers the topic of male violence against women and how endemic it is in patriarchal societies. And because of that, I wish I could like it. But it follows the format of a typical psychological thriller, a genre I am not fond of. It‘s not bad, and is probably a good read for someone who likes the genre.

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

An interesting snapshot of life in a village on the Lincolnshire coast in 1940. The author was born in 1927, and joined the Navy at 17. Not so much a novel as a series of interconnected threads of daily life, the style of writing is as a dispassionate narrator looking in without judgement, which is a style that works well, I think, in this instance.

Book 15 of #ReadAway2024
@DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

This is an interesting tour of how the London Underground developed, and how it in turn caused London to develop and expand. It details the rivalries between the companies that originally owned the individual lines, and the key players who made the system what it became. The history and the architecture of the system fascinates me.

Book 3 of February
Book 13 of 2024
#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

#UnpopularOpinion but this one was just OK for me. I didn‘t feel much connection to any of the characters, the ending felt a bit rushed and too simplistic for what had, in parts, been a decent study of dysfunctional relationships. The reader is always just an outsider looking in, though.

First finish for February.

#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Planned reads for February

Overloaded infographic! My spreadsheet suggest my reading has been far too straight white British so far this year!
9 books read (if you include the 90 page novella) in January. My favourite was The Goodbye Cat, though The Queen of Poisons was a close second; the worst by far was Love, Lies and Lemon Cake.

#JanuaryWrapUp
#ReadAway2024 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

A soft pick for me. The underlying story is charming, but for me it read as a series of essays about the importance of a work-life balance - which is of course important, but it felt a little repetitive at times.

Book 8 of 60
#Readaway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

New bookmark 🐈‍⬛❤️

Not gonna lie, Suengwoo seems like my kind of person!

All set for a bit of reading time….

Books I didn‘t know I needed until I stumbled upon them while browsing. The history of a 1907 road race from (what was then known as) Peking to Paris, and a look at some of the architecture and history of disused parts of the London Underground network

Stand back, I‘m going in….

#Chunskter

It‘s #Readathon time!! My goals are very loose - to read as much as I can!

#JoyousJanuary @Andrew65

A collection of heart-warming cat-related tales from the author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles. The first story made me blub. Two of the stories feature Satoru, the main human character in Chronicles, ones prequel, the other a sequel. Based on the last sentence, I think Satoru‘s, and his cat Nana‘s, story, will feature further in another book. Which, of course, I will read!

Book #5 of #ReadAway2024
Book #1 #JoyousJanuary

The cat has a point….

Thought I‘d read something lightweight from my Kindle TBR. Sort of regretting it because it‘s awful but at least it‘s off the TBR now.

My version of the synopsis is in the comments as a spoiler, just in case anyone is foolish enough to want to read this.

#ReadAway2024
@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

I enjoyed this fun cozy. The uptight Englishman abroad brings to mind DI Richard Poole, the original, and best, DI in the TV series Death In Paradise. This has the same vibe, and it made me chuckle.

Snick this audiobook in as an extra to my planned 5 books this month for #ReadAway2024

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

The last of my #12BooksOf2023 is this small but perfectly formed novella by Claire Keegan that touches on the Magdalen Laundries of Ireland.

@Andrew65

Initially I wasn‘t sure I was going to like this; I found the main character unsympathetic. But as the story progressed, it turned into a page-turner that not only provides a good crime thriller story, but also provides a lot of food for thought.

#ReadAway2024 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Now this is my sort of thing, a relaxed “choose your own goals” year-long #Readathon 😊

I will be aiming to read 5 books a month: 2 book club reads, one from my ebook TBR, one from my physical TBR, and a new purchase.

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

And this was my top read in November.

#12BooksOf2023 @Andrew65

I‘ve done it again, forgotten to post my #12BooksOf2023! So here‘s my favourite read of October, which is an utterly charming story of a writer and her two new kittens. A perfect gift for any bookish cat lover!
@Andrew65

Meant to read this one before Christmas but ran out of time, so it‘s my first read of 2024 instead. First published in 1949, it is from the era of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. I rather like the amateur sleuth Mordecai Tremaine, and enjoyed this slow burn of a story.

This is my January E-Book TBR read for my personal #5AMonth #ReadingChallenge

Forgot to post my September choice for #12BooksOf2023 yesterday 😱 So here it is - a delightful book within a book in a whimsical Japanese style.

@Andrew65

My planned reads for January for my own personal #5AMonth #ReadingChallenge:

IRL Book Club - Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
Online Book Club - Heaven My Home
Physical TBR - The Goodbye Cat
E-Book TBR - Murder For Christmas
New release: The Queen of Poisons

1. I want to aim for 5 books a month, being:
- IRL book club read
- online book club read
- something from my physical book TBR pile
- something from my e-book TBR list
- a new release (or new purchase).

2. I‘m too much of a mood reader to commit to a challenge!

#Two4Tuesday
#ReadingChallenge
@TheSpineView

This story of the dysfunctional family of a narcissistic artist is much funnier than that description makes it sound! My favourite thread in August #12BooksOf2023 @Andrew65

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do.

And having done this for a year now, I am not planning on continuing in to 2024!

#ABookADay2023

If you‘re looking for a gripping thriller, this isn‘t it. It‘s a very slow-burn spy novel, that takes 100 pages before it gets to the actual plot. The overall plot is ok but thin, so there‘s a lot of padding in this 400+ page novel.

My seventh choice for #12BooksOf2023 is this look at the ongoing misogyny in sports governing bodies; the chapters on the 1970s/80s East German doping scandal are particularly shocking.

@Andrew65