This was a cute romance that I read a couple of years ago.
Not quite a festive #wreath, but I‘ve loved Asterix since I was a child, so I‘m going with it!
#Day18
#Tree
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
Not quite a festive #wreath, but I‘ve loved Asterix since I was a child, so I‘m going with it!
#Day17
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
so-soI confess, I‘ve not read The Appeal yet, but I‘m on a “festive reading” wave and this one, ahem, appealed. I may have enjoyed this more if I had read The Appeal beforehand, but as it is, it felt a little flat. The power struggles and general bitchiness is amusing (and rings true) bit as a mystery, it didn‘t work for me. General consensus seems to be that The Appeal os worth reading so I will bring that to the top of my 2025 TBR pile
pickHaving read book 2 in this series, I decided I should read the first one! Although having pretty cover, being released in November and set in the week before Christmas 1952, this isn‘t a typical festive crime novel, but the narrator is amusing and tells a good tale, so I enjoyed it.
This one wasn‘t in my extensive collection of seasonal crime novels. But it is now. Because that‘s how I roll 🤣
#Bell
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
The book that inspired the film It‘s a Wonderful Life
#Day11
#Gift
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
Another from my extensive seasonal crime collection…
#Day9
#ChristmasCheer
#Santa
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
Life has been happening so I‘m a bit delayed on the #ChristmasCheer postings! Be prepared for a catch-up.
So, #Day8 is one from my extensive collection of seasonal crime novels
#Advent
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
pickBook 2 in a seasonal series featuring Inspector Frank Grasby. I haven‘t read book 1 yet, but that didn‘t affect my enjoyment of this. Grasby is a strange combination of cowardly incompetent and brilliant deduction.
so-soSomewhere between So-So and a very soft pick. On the one hand, it‘s the sort cute seasonal feel-good novel that I like to indulge in at this time of year; on the other hand, it‘s a bit too implausible even for a seasonal feel-good, and the ghostly sub-plot was weak.
From my TBR, subtitled “97 Stories to Read With the #Lights On”…. Ghosts and Christmas are a traditional combination.
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
First in a festive crime series. I‘ve read the second but not yet read this one 🤦♀️
#Holly
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
I am slightly obsessed with penguins, so my Christmas #Decorations include a lot of them!!
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
This one is lurking on my Goodreads TBR; I‘ve no idea how long it‘s been there!
#Elf
#ChristmasCheer
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
I appear to have been on some kind of mission this month (called trying to catch up on my Goodreads challenge!), 12 books in a month must surely be a record for me.
Best by far was There Are Rivers in the Sky, a truly beautiful novel.
Worst by a huge margin was Starting Over (men who blame their own violence on others should never be considered as love interest material, in books or in real life).
#NovemberWrapUp
pick‘‘Tis the season for seasonal themed books and perhaps a slight change in how I judge books, when the main thought is does it make me smile. This one fits the bill - not the greatest literature, and the MC can be irritating, but overall I liked the humour.
pickThis short novella captures the feeling of a first crush, and the mix of emotions are so inherent those months when we leave childhood behind and head towards adulthood
pickSoft pick for this one. I haven‘t read The Maid so this was a new author to me. Not quite what I expected - I expected crime, and got heart-warming. The mystery isn‘t very mysterious (except to the protagonist), but it‘s a sweet seasonal story
pickAstley, appearing last month at Cheltenham Literature Festival, admits that he has had a great life and is very privileged, and such a life doesn‘t make for a great autobiography. Nevertheless, his upbringing, his relationship with his parents, and the experiences leading up to his “retirement” from the music industry at the age of 27 make for interesting reading.
pickA nice, feel-good novel. Originally published as a series of 4 novellas, it‘s a bit lengthy as a single book, but enjoyable nevertheless, with likeable characters.
Photo is of an actual boat café at Gloucester Docks, one end of the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal.
Strictly speaking, this is about fellwalking rather than #Hiking, but they‘re two sides of the same coin!
#DaysDevotedTo
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
panWhen I started this book, I wasn‘t expecting it to (appear to) be some kind of therapy writing, but that‘s what I felt like I got. I‘m very much not this book‘s demographic, so that probably will affect my appreciation, but I found the privileged pretentious student vibe annoying, the story moves horrendously slowly, and two main characters are too wrapped up in themselves to be able to truly understand the others‘s feelings and needs.
pickI really enjoyed this satirical look at a rural community at a time when social mores were changing significantly.
so-soI wanted to like this one, because Coles is pretty much a British National Treasure now, but it fell a bit flat for me. It‘s promoted as cosy crime but the first murder happens more than 80 pages in, and the main character don‘t really do any sleuthing, he seems to have “divine inspiration”. Good for a synopsis of a rural community in the 1980s, though.
This one seems to have been a popular read in the UK since in the past year or so.
#DaysDevotedTo
#Kindness
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
A book I didn‘t know existed until I was looking for ideas for today‘s prompt!
#Science4Peace
#DaysDevotedTo
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
When I visited the National Gallery, many years ago, this painting by Joseph Wright of Derby stopped me in my tracks. I‘ve never forgotten it. It‘s disturbing but fascinating at the same time.
#ArtMuseum
#DaysDevotedTo
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I adore this series
#Coffee_Tea
#DaysDevotedTp
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
1. Sunday afternoon, the weather‘s dull, dark, rainy, but I‘m indoors with the fire on, a cup of tea on the go, and a good book in my hand ☺️
2. I‘ve just started reading the tagged book, which I‘ve been looking forward to diving into since I saw Elif taking about it at Cheltenham Literature Festival last month.
#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs
This is the best book I‘ve ever read connected to achieving a #HealthyLifestyle.
#DaysDevotedTo
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
panPublished by Choc Lit, so was expecting a light romance - and that‘s where this seemed to be heading. But then the female MC has a major wobble, and the male MCs response shocked me.
It should have had a trigger warning. There are red flags throughout this book. We should not be teaching young women that the male MC‘s behaviour is acceptable.
This seems appropriate for National Redhead Day - the history of the Redhead!
#DaysDevotedTo
#Redheads
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Not strictly book related, but the word “candy” always makes me think of the song “I Want Candy”, and this was the version that I most remember as it was released when I was a teenager.
#DaysDevotedTo
#Candy
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
I‘ve not been paying as much attention to Litsy lately as I ought, so I‘m diving into #DaysDevotedTo to be pulled back in.
This one has been on my TBR for far too long, I must read it soon!
#Sandwich
@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
panI wanted a quick and easy read and found this lurking on my Kindle. Not sure how it came to be on my Kindle, but I wish it hadn‘t been. The main characters are caricatures with no character development, the story is implausible and the book is overly long.
Ah well, at least I can take it off my Kindle now.
so-soI enjoyed the first few chapters of this collection of short stories loosely linked by the character of the book‘s title. From about halfway, the book feels like it‘s lost its way a bit - which in a way reflects the loss of a way of life due to “progress”, but always makes for a less interesting read.
Meanwhile, the feminist in me is grateful she doesn‘t live in a culture that doesn‘t treat women as chattels.
so-soI absolutely adore Bettany Hughes. Her TV shows and in-person talks are fascinating and engaging.
But I have to say, I found this a bit of a slog to get through at times :-(. Lots of good info but not as engaging as the author herself.
so-soThere were parts of this book that I liked, but mostly it just felt to me like rambling. I can understand why some people like it, and why it‘s been Booker shortlisted, but it‘s not my cup of tea. I feel it can be summed up by a quote from the book itself: “It‘s just imaginings and projections, and they could all be wrong.”
pickA very soft pick for me, which I feel sad about because I wanted to love it. Set in the 1979/80, year when I was approaching my teenage years like the main character, the drawing of life at that time was good, and it touches on a number of serious subjects, but it also feels like it‘s plucked straight from Joanna Cannon‘s The Trouble With Goats and Sheep, plus I‘m uncomfortable with the hook on which the story has been hung
pickI feel like I‘ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride with this book. At times, the level of detail was infuriating, I found the behaviour of the main character, Rika, difficult to understand, and I was expecting to give it a low score, but by the end, I felt a connection with Rika. I loved the book, and I‘ve got lots of ideas for simple food involving butter that I can make when I get home from work!
pickI feel this is a Marmite book, people will either love it or hate it.
I‘m definitely in the “love” category.
After reading in fits and starts around work and other commitments during the week, I devoured the last 200 pages this afternoon. The writing style won‘t be too everyone‘s taste, but I loved the slightly old-fashioned vibe to it. I loved the characters, I felt their pain, their loss, their happiness.
My top read of ‘24 so far.
