#joyousjanuary #readathon @andrew65
Book 2.5 in readathon this week (review bk2 to follow). I've borrowed bk6 in the jack parlabane series from the lib + noticed on gr there was a bk 5.5 which gives some context to bk 6. Not sure how I feel abt series having these mini stories because as a completist I feel compelled to read so reverted to my kindle. Anyway at 56 pages an enjoyable romp with Jack exposing shenanigans in m.o.d.

My weekend reading was taken up by the joy of the last Jackson brodie story. Kate atkinson weaves great crime stories with lots of characters bot old + new while Jackson appears be drawn reluctantly into the plot. Here the North Yorkshire coast is the background to sex trafficking . The seaside atmosphere is captured well. More please kate.Hope to get 2 more books read before the readathon ends.
#weekendreading #joyousjanuary #readathon @Andrew65

Inspired by watching her on university challenge at Xmas I dug out of my tbr pile this novel which mixes fairy tale and dark storytelling with some brilliant short stories. Mr fox finds he is confronted by a character from his writing, mary foxe, while his wife daphne suspects him, the story skips time from 30s to today with skill reminding me of Angela Carter. Confusing but interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more of her writing.

I was lucky to see john Irving talk abt this bk + haven't dared read my signed hardback. I picked this paperback up 5 yrs later and really ejyd a story of a Mexican dump child Juan Diego both in his teens then as successful author in his 50s. I don't think I'll ever replicate the joy of finding Irving in my 20s with Garp then devouring his subsequent bks + while later novels haven't quite meet that thrill he is still my favourite author.

#12booksof2021 #December Thanks to @andrew65 for setting up this thread which allowed a reflection on some books that I enjoyed in 21 and seeing other people's choices.
This is my final one as I say goodbye to the Christmas decorations for another year and I've gone for a brilliantly represented voice of a troubled Scottish teenager struggling through the system and abuse but finding friends. A great character who I was sorry to leave behind.

#12booksof2021 #November @andrew65
I enjoy finding books that I hadn't heard of before and prove to be a bit unusual. Here I saw a post on a crime reading blog about the petrona award winner + it was worth tracking down in the library. 19th century religious fervour in Sweden may not sound compelling but it was a great historical crime story.

Back to work but yesterday was a Bank Holiday & I spent some time reading a new crime series with a decent police detective Washington poe. Fairly clichéd characters including what nowadays seems to be stereotype quirky young computer nerd but overall it was a good start and I will read more. Plot is a series of murders in Cumbrian stone circles, evidence points to suspended poe who is brought in to investigate with his new friend tilly Bradshaw.

#12booksof2021 #October @Andrew65
I only heard about this author on a tls podcast and tried this great book but have now noticed a lot of references to his book 'trees' on litsy. Hopefully I'll read more by him in 2022

My 1st read of 2022 & a great start. Set in 1643 in a small village in South of England Becky West lives with her mother and has lessons from a local yng man. When Matthew Hopkins ,notorious witch hunter arrives her mother, becky, & other women in the area are targeted as witches when natural events are attributed to the devil. Great writing + storytelling it captures the paranoia of civil war, scapegoating women + religious fervour brilliantly.

#12booksof2021 #September @Andrew65
Bit late in the day as I was finishing my 1st bk of 22 then watched the Harry Potter programme, can it really be 20 years ago that I went to cinema with a 6 yr old and was reading philosopher's stone to her.
Anyway Sept + my 5* was Passing but here is a shout out for an Argentinian crime/psychological story which I really enjoyed.

#12booksof2021 #August @Andrew65
A lot of easy reading in August as it was a lovely week in Northumberland so I am going purely on that memory of reading with fish and chips, beer, views, the North Sea and of course already excellent whodunnit with opportunity for a good litsy photo. We must be a strange breed of people who can probably be spotted in the wild trying to artisticly pose books for photos with family looking on askance.

#12booksof2021 #July @Andrew65
Happy new year to everyone on litsy. Here is my favourite book in July and a classic which was a highlight of 2021.
Wishing everyone happy reading for 2022 as well as good health and happiness.

Final bk of 2021 is for 1st rdg grp of 2022 + was a really good read. Told with Hilary Mantel's cutting wit + brilliant prose this is a story of 2 girls who form an unlikely relationship in childhood +into Catholic grammar school where their background is at odds with more affluent pupils. Skip to their going to London uni in 1970 where they drift+deal with sex,new friends, religion, rivalry,food issues,+more. A great story by a wonderful writer.

#booked2021 #poetry @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage
My NY resolution will be try more poetry as Ive often struggled. Id been intrigued by this collection having heard him speak + I found its portrait of men in all aspects raw, graphic, brutal + tender. The image of men as question marks hugging gives beauty to love they share. It doesn't shy from bodily function, + weakness as in the gym poem+ loss of a father. On to 2022

#12booksof2021 #June @Andrew65
June was an interesting month with hamnet being a highlight but I've gone for a classic mainly because of the photo I took outside Elizabeth Gaskell's beautiful house. The contrast between this + other buildings in this area is stark which ties in with the description of a city in the early 19th century. I enjoyed the bk +also looking up on Google maps where the dramas occur and are within a few miles of my home.

#12booksof2021 #may @Andrew65
Again my 5* rd is not the one I'm picking today and I have gone with an old friend in wallander. I've put off getting to the final in this series because it would feel like leaving behind a character that has kept me entertained for yrs despite how grumpy he was. Then I found this off shoot about Linda , his daughter, and am just sorry that henning mankell couldn't continue this thread. I'll say bye to kurt in 2022.

An amazing work of imagination + magic which I picked out of my pile of unread bks for my Xmas book with intent to read piraneisi next yr. Imagine Austen + Gaiman create a world in which 2 curious magicians alter the course of history with trips to the peninsular war, Waterloo,Venice,York moors,while the dark origin of magic ,the Raven King, manipulates them with spooky balls in which people are trapped.Beautiful,dark,funny writing.5* loved it.

#12booksof2021 #April @andrew65 was a gd rdg month in which my 5* read was Olive Kitteridge but my final round up choice is the culmination of sarah moss trilogy abt a yng woman from Manchester at the origin of women qualifying as doctors. Sarah moss is so skilled in her storytelling and here newly wed Ally is left in Cornwall working in an asylum with insane women as husband Tom builds a lighthouse in Japan. Can't wait to read her latest in 2022

#12booksof2021 #March @Andrew65
As with other months looking back on my reading year is curious. In March my one 5* read was henry marsh's excellent story of life as a neuro surgeon but I am going for my visit back to Kate Atkinson and her detective Jackson brodie which are great reads and I plan early in 2022 to get up to date with the series. The photo suggests that I was still finishing off last Christmas's snacks.

#My5stars2021 Thank you @Tove_Reads for tagging me in this challenge. I have put my 5* reassure together although in hindsight some of my 4* reads linger in the memory.
I have tagged widow basquiat as the lead because it was such a unique piece of writing, part memoir/fictional account of a life which had me looking at the art on line and longing to spend a day wandering the streets of New York after a visit to MOMA.

#12booksof2021 #February @Andrew65
A great idea as it's interesting to look back at a month's reading and reflect on what books stood out. In Feb highlights included 'left hand of darkness' and 'shadowplay' but I'm going to go with a very gentle love story set in a remote Australian town where 2 curious misfits seem destined not to find each other.
From recollection this was a v heartwarming tale at a point in 2021 when everything seemed v bleak

#12booksof2021 #January @Andrew65
I plumped for a 2014 book for the Jan choice, although 'drive you plough....' was another highlight.
I had a bit of an ali smith splurge in 21 with finishing the seasonal quartet. It's strange as I rd Hotel World when it 1st came out then neglected Ali smith until recently and realised how much I love her writing style. I'm also conscious that many people aren't such fans. I'll try and get to feb later tonight.

Not sure if this will be completed bk for 21 as I am now in my annual end of yr chunkster. A story abt a girl who goes to university in the early 70s and the friends she meets, the opinions clothes and behaviours she adopts. A dramatic event then shapes the rest of her life and we follow both the uni years and the subsequent life she leads. An interesting reflection on how influential those 3 years become and an enjoyable read.

#Top21of21
With thanks to @youneverarrived and @Centique for the tag. Here are some of my favourite reads of this year. As I've just started Jonathan Strange and Mr norrell I may not fit many more in before New year.
Hopefully from the images you can discern the books.

There seems to be a very mixed response to this bk but I really enjoyed it. I heard the author on the virago podcast then saw her bk in the library so decided to give it a go. Libertie, dtr of a black female Dr in civil war UsA, grows up with weight of her mother's high expectations and her life story covers the war, university, and marriage in Haiti. I understand the qualms but I found Libertie a fascinating character and this a very readable bk.

A wonderful evocation of a life and a unique time and place. A memoir + retelling of the story of Suzanne Mallouk, Jean Michel Basquiat's lover and muse, in short fragments.It is sad, honest, and a fascinating picture of the creation of art and torment of the artist. If I had a time machine I would love to go to New York in the 70/80's, pop to cbgb's, meet Debbie, Lou, and Andy, and if I cd grab a beer mat signed by Jean michel Basquiat!!

Amazing storytelling and an incredible voice in the form of 15yr old Anais; an orphan having lived in many Foster homes + found her last mother stabbed in a bath, she is now in a children's home suspected of leaving a police officer in a coma. In the home she finds a family. Quirky, intelligent, passionate,+ but violent + angry she suffers at her treatment by authority + men. This book is gut/heart wrenching, brilliant, a character drawn so well.

A story of 3 women, friends, whose story stretches from university to late 30s. It explores the tensions in the relationships, struggles with small children, infertility, thwarted ambition, hopeless male partners, ailing parents and more. It felt like the author was expressing personal experience and was a compelling read. It's a while since I read 'wake' so I'll definitely try and read 'the ballroom' next year.

My rdg grp's bk this month × I struggled with the story which was a must read some 20 yrs ago. Henry + Claire meet when 30 yrs separate them but again later when the gap is only 8. Henry's genes mean he time travels mtg himself and his wife repeatedly thru time. I'm afraid I struggled with the love story at the heart + while some nice bits felt at times the relationship was too weird and creepy. Not a hit maybe I shd have rd it back in the day 👇

The 4th outing in the Dublin series was a cracker and the storytelling gets better + better. In this Mikey Kennedy is a lead detective back from a divorce + teamed with a rookie to investigate what appears to be a domestic family killing. With a troubled history + problematic sister the bk brilliantly mirrors Kennedy breaking down with the victim father's slide into paranoia. With the rookie Ritchie being morally judgemental a great climax ensues

The story of Cyril avery from 1945 when his 16 yr old mother is hauled out of her pew by a priest + publicly humiliated as a whore in mass, through to hid final days had me at times laughing out loud to blubbing + wiping my eyes. A wonderful book that highlights the hypocrisy of religion, the definition of love,+ the fragility of humanity. I cld talk abt it for days 5*.
#Blackjack21 #booked2021 @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft

6th outing of Charlie Parker finds him hired to protect a woman, daughter of a child psychologist who has disappeared, from a nasty villain. The subsequent plot involves Charlie as ever in jeopardy as supernatural forces threaten and he turns to Angel and Louis for help. Grim subject matter but the usual great storytelling.

This is a very enjoyable series of crime novels set in the North East in the mid 1990s, thus one 1997 on the eve of the election. There are 3 main characters, a police detective and 2 journalists who combine to resolve cases where investigations stall. Here young women are going missing echoing a similar event 20 years before. It's definitely a page turner with a great sense of place and time. Is 1997 really so long ago !!!

#lesserknownbook #booked2021 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft
I saw this had won the Petrona prize + then saw no one had reviewed it here so fits this thread. Set in 1852 Sweden it uses the real preacher Lars levi laestadius in a crime context as he uses forensic techniques to investigate the murders of women in the parish where he preaches. With his Sami apprentice jussi, he runs up against the local sherriff who with local ⬇️

It is a while since I read bk 7 so had forgotten the very black humour in this very good series set in Aberdeen so it took me 100 pages to get really back into the world but once I did I was away again as DI Mcrae aided (?) by the wonderfully crude DCI Steele finds that when a satanic film is being produced in the city murders start mirroring the plot line. Definitely a favourite Scottish series so won't be as long to get to bk 9.

At my reading group last night we discussed the quartet of bks. It was ages since I started with autumn so it was great to realise the connections through the series + it made me want to start reading again.
Ali Smith is a wonderful writer who creates imaginative and well drawn characters esp children with great dialogue. Add focus on art and a political voice this is a unique picture of a country over 5 years far from at peace with itself.

Book 6 in the Ruth Galloway series finds her excavating a body which appears to be that of a notorious 19th century child killer, while DI Nelson is investigating the mysterious death of a child. These books are an easy read with characters who I enjoy. You don't need to think too hard and while it is becoming a little formulaic plot wise there is usually a climactic ending which is enjoyable.

I've read the DI Rebus bks for many yrs +with bk 21 rebus, retired + in poor health finds himself again part of an investigation involving the Edinburgh criminal World as an historic murder links to money laundering. Thru the series villain Big Ger Cafferty + Rebus have fought each other, in retirement they still hate each other but there grudging respect - frenemies??
#booked2021 #frenemies @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft

Attica Locke uses her writing to poke at the establishment and race, here as trump comes to office knowing there will be a backlash , federal law enforcement look for a crime against whites by a black person to temper the flood. Black Texas ranger Darren Matthews goes to investigate the disappearance of a white boy, child of a racist family. When the finger points at a black man Darren is suspicious. Great relevant writing, brilliant author.

This was a really riveting story which had me very disorientated never really being sure of time place or the reliability of the narrator July , one of a pair of sisters, the other September having been born 10 months before her. Set in a very run down run down coastal Yorkshire Holiday cottage and with a depressed mother the siblings tale emerges. I can't say any more as it is haunting and unsettling and definitely a book fora cold October night

Ali Smith is seething with righteous anger at the state of our nation and in the 3rd of the seasonal novels her target is our treatment of immigrants as well as a lyrical attack about social media + the hate it creates. The story itself is abt a TV director who loses his close friend/confidant as he embarks on a new project + somehow finds himself stranded in Scotland where he chances on 3 unique women incl a magical teenager. Brilliant writing.

I finally read the 3rd of this remarkably imaginative trilogy + if anything can draw me into science centred fiction it is this story which is unfortunately too close to the truth of the planets future. The story ties the previous 2 together + centres on Toby + zeb as a final confrontation looms. The Crakers add a lighter side + the characters overall are engaging. I can't think of a writer so diversely brilliant who must surely be due the Nobel.

This was a very atmospheric story capturing both the isolation and claustrophobia of life on a lighthouse in 1972 when the 3 inhabitants disappear without explanation. 20 yrs on a writer interviews their wives and slowly secrets emerge. A perfect story as the nights draw in and the air gets a little chillier.
#Newin2021 #booked2021 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft

This was a short but difficult read, not because of the quality but the subject matter. Its the narration of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to a self absorbed and controlling man and how this breaks her individuality. This relationship is also described with that with an abusive father, very needy mother, and other men who seem to want more than they give. Troubling but a powerful insight into what these relationships do to an individual

Brilliant storytelling in this tale about a protestant family in Glasgow. When shy Graham, drummer in a marching band meets lindsay in NI on a band trip a romance develops but the secrets and tensions in their families ripple across 20 yrs as we follow them and their son Stephen' tale. A generational tale of fathers/sons, religion, + lost hopes. A bk that I put down having loved the characters & as with great writing sorry to leave their world.

It is a few years since I did a readalong of this brilliant book via litsy so was really pleased to listen today to this week's episode of 'in our time' which is a very interesting analysis of the book and Anne bronte.
I know that there are lots of fans out there so the link is below- highly recommended
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100bw#:~:text=It%20examin....

Paddy meehan is a great creation +like the garnethill books by denise mina only appears in a trilogy. In bk 2 we left paddy discovering she was pregnant +on the brink of a major scoop about her criminal namesake. 5 years on a character from bk 1 is coming out of prison and an ex boyfriend has been violently killed. Paddy with problems at home +with her family sets out to investigate and is soon at risk. A great end to a good character and series.

Starting fall now #booked2021 #jewishauthor
With this very interesting essay by British comedian David baddiel about anti semitism and that it is a racism ignored at a period when society is very aware of discrimination in all forms but the stereotypes from Fagan to greedy bankers which informed the historic dislike +persecution of Jewish people still influences the language of politics +media.
@4thhouseontheleft
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage

I put this brilliant book down exhausted by this sad story of the effect of alcoholism upon a family. In Agnes, mother of shuggie and his 2 half siblings, we meet a woman who is lively, funny, and beautiful but humiliated by the men in her life who even when she seems to escape from her addiction at one point is drawn back in by a man's stupidity. The impact on shuggie is inevitable with the story book ended by his sorry circs after leaving home.

The @ReadingEnvy readalong allowed me to delve into a 300 yr history of North America + the relationship of man with the forest/nature. The story is of 2 families, the Dukes from a French immigrant, + the Sels from the indigenous mikmak people. As the stories alternate we see how colonialism and the race for profit destroys the land + people with consequences still being faced. At times dickensian, natural + social history, this was a unique read.