I didn't do particularly well in April's #BookSpinBingo -- didn't finish my #BookSpin or #DoubleSpin selections and didn't get any bingos. Oh well, better luck next month! As always, it was fun making the attempt. Thanks for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks

My May #BookSpinBingo list! @TheAromaofBooks

Another excellent installment in the outstanding Shardlake historical mystery series set in Tudor England!

I was so happy to be vacationing in London and visiting my daughter while reading this book, so that I could see the real-life places that the fictional Shardlake visiting. I'd love to visit Portsmouth one day, where much of this particular story takes place.

#ShardlakeBR @dabbe

This Golden Age crime novel from 1923 is a weak pick. The plot is not terribly plausible and there is a lot of melodrama but I still enjoyed the story.

#gottacatchemall (Luvdisc: happily ever after) @PuddleJumper

As usual, lots of implausible things happen to Nancy and friends, but this time involving the Kennedy Space Center, which is an interesting aspect. The plot's a mess, but the book was still fun to read.

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall (Rockruff: rough character) @PuddleJumper

The second book in T. Kingfisher's Sworn Soldier series, this novella works as a standalone. A gothic horror story that's both creepy and cozy. It's been nominated for the #hugoawards Best Novella.

#52bookclub25 (non-human antagonist)

I‘ve loved every novel we‘ve read so far in the #ShardlakeBR. So, on my last trip to London, where my daughter now lives, I just had to visit a few of the places where Matthew Shardlake spent his time, including Chancery Lane (where his home was supposedly located), Clifford‘s Inn (one of the Inns of Court), and the Old Bailey prison.
#dabbe

A weak pick. I liked the mystery and loved the Provence setting, but had some trouble getting used to the snobbish main character. Still, I enjoyed this novel enough that I plan to continue the series.

#gottacatchemall (Comfey: flowers on the cover) @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub25 (“I think it was blue”)

I thoroughly enjoyed this one — steam trains, dwarves, terrorism, all handled deftly by Moist von Lipwig. Great characters, including the train Iron Girder.

#OokBOokClub @julesG
#52bookclub25 (A character who can fly)
#gottacatchemall (Lillipup: character with facial hair) @PuddleJumper

It was a good #BookSpinBingo month. I finished my #BookSpin choice and got two bingos. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks for hosting!

My April #BookSpinBingo list. @TheAromaofBooks

This is the book that I really needed to read right now, given all the anger, violence and chaos in the world. The author's premise is that human beings are essentially good and kind and that flawed studies from earlier times and distorted media reports make us believe otherwise. Highly recommended.

#gottacatchemall (Komala: Read a book you‘ve slept on) @PuddleJumper
#BookCrossing

This story showing a day in the life of workers in a restaurant about to shut down resonated with me. My parents had a Chinese restaurant and so much was familiar: the worries about staying afloat, the conflicts and camaraderie among staff, the disappointment when no customers show up, and then the chaos when they all come at once!

#gottacatchemall (Rattata: dark cover) @PuddleJumper
#BookCrossing

I liked the interwoven stories and the parallels between the Kindertransport children of WWII and the refugee children separated from their parents at the US border in more recent times. It makes me very sad to think of these situations that are still affecting many refugees today.

#52bookclub25 (Includes Latin American history)
#gottacatchemall (Oricorio: passionate character) @PuddleJumper
#BookCrossing

I loved this book the first time I'd read it a number of years ago and the reading experience was just as great the second time around. I enjoyed reading along with #HashtagBrigade even though I fell behind. @BarkingMadRun

I also enjoyed the 2018 TV series based on the book.

#52bookclub25 (In the public domain)
#gottacatchemall (Tauros: a gang of some type) @PuddleJumper

Our book club at work picked this, and there will be a lot of interesting themes to discuss. The novel features an unusual use of time travel to explore ideas of fate, regret and loss in a gripping well-paced story.

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel about a dragon slayer and his bard. It's different in that it is set in modern-day Southwestern Ontario and is an alternate history novel with political and historical events explained in the context of fossil-fuel consuming dragons.

#52bookclub25 (Character‘s name in the title)
#gottacatchemall (Drampa: dragons) @PuddleJumper

Another charming installment in the Anne of Green Gables series. This one featured a few of Anne's children but was mostly about a family they befriend.

#gottacatchemall(Cottonee:friends stick together)
#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean

Given the mixed reviews this book had received, I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. It was definitely weird and I'm sure there was a lot that went over my head, but I was never bored and the snarky footnotes were the best!
#ToB25

This was the first book I've read from the Superintendent Wycliffe series and it was a weak pick for me. The mystery was just OK but I did enjoy the cozy seaside setting and Wycliffe's character, so I'm willing to try more books in the series.

#192025 #1978 @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall (Eevee: Read a book you own) @PuddleJumper

An interesting perspective from a quirky paranoid and neurodivergent character, but I didn't like the pacing. It felt like nothing was happening for much of the book and then suddenly there are loads of revelations.

#52bookclub25 (Author‘s last name is also a first name)

Nancy and friends are on a sea voyage and discover smuggled jewels in a trunk. There were some interesting aspects to the plot but also a few crazily implausible events, like a meteor crashing nearby.

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall (Dhelmise: Read a book set at sea)

A memoir from a food blogger filled with recipes, many inspired by the author's visits to Paris. I made the French lemon yogourt cake from it and it was delicious!

#52bookclub25 (300-400 pages long)
#BookCrossing
#gottacatchemall (Lycanroc Midday: book with knives) @PuddleJumper

Finally finished January's #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub selection. The story was cleverly constructed but I found the huge portion of the book that was Aunt Addie's novel really dragged.

#BookSpinBingo #BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks
#52bookclub25 (Includes a diary entry)
#gottacatchemall (Oricorio: a book with romance) @PuddleJumper

A humorous adventure about a robot who discovers he has murdered his master and tries to understand why and what to do next. An interesting look at AI, robots and the meaning of life (artificial or otherwise).

#52bookclub25 (Written in third person)
#gottacatchemall (Magearna: robots or AI) @PuddleJumper

I liked learning more about the Ethiopian immigration experience but otherwise the sprawling, disconnected narrative and bland main character put this near the bottom of my #ToB25 list.

A bit late with February‘s #FoodandLit update. I made momos. They taste good but I‘m still having trouble getting them to look as nice and uniform as shown in the cookbook. #Nepal @Catsandbooks @Texreader

A very good but disturbing story about a girl from Nepal forced into the sex trade in India.

#FoodandLit #Nepal @Catsandbooks @Texreader
#gottacatchemall (Emolga: power outage) @PuddleJumper

A good novella in the new Captive's War series. I'd also read earlier the first novel in this series and liked it very much. Can't wait to see what the James S.. A. Corey duo gives us next!

#gottacatchemall (Rattata: set somewhere dangerous) @PuddleJumper

A humorous, clever and satirical story about book censorship. I enjoyed all the references to Orwell's 1984 and other banned books.

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Raticate: betrayal) @PuddleJumper

I had this sitting on my shelf for years and was happy that the #HashtagBrigade motivated me to finally read it. I suppose I'd put it off because of the heavy themes, including mental illness and suicide. The novel was indeed disturbing and difficult to read, but also engrossing, poignant and even really humorous at times.

I liked this Discworld installment featuring Moist von Lipwig, though not as much as I liked Going Postal, in which he was introduced. I loved the introduction of canine Mr.Fusspot as chairman of the bank! As usual, Pratchett's satirical observations of the world are spot on.

#OokBOokClub @julesG
#52bookclub25 (Shares universe with prompt 28)
#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView

A weak pick for me. I liked the dark humour and satirical observations but it was frustrating to see the main character make one bad decision after another!

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Luvdisc: pink cover) @PuddleJumper

Set in Tasmania, this is an unusual story told in an unusual way, from the points-of-view of a large number of characters, most human but some not.

Very glad I got to discover this talented author via #BookCrossing.

#gottacatchemall (Komala: dreamy character) @PuddleJumper

Cambodian refugee Y-Dang Troeung's memoir contains fragments of stories from her life, photographs, and letters to her son, written as she battled cancer. The book is poignant, sad and informative. Tragically, Troeung passed away shortly before this book was published.

#52bookclub25 (Has short chapters)
#gottacatchemall (Goodra: recommended by a friend)

This was a reread for me. The story of black detectives investigating a series of murders in Mississippi, this was brilliant and darkly funny, as are all the Percival Everett books I've read.

#52bookclub25 (Final sentence is less than 6 words long)
#gottacatchemall (Marshadow: a book with a murder) @PuddleJumper

A really good February for #BookSpinBingo -- filled my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin squares and got 3 bingos! @TheAromaofBooks

My March #BookSpinBingo list! @TheAromaofBooks

A mixed bag, as most short-story collections are, but definitely more hits than misses, and a few really memorable stories. A number of scenarios and themes reminded me of King's novels, and I wonder if he'd used these stories to try out ideas that he developed more fully later.

#LosersClub @BarkingMadRead
#52bookclub25 (Title starts with letter “N”)
#gottacatchemall (Dhelmise: ghost or spirit) @PuddleJumper

It was interesting to get into the heads of the young female competitive boxers featured in this novel. I liked how the author conveyed the intensity of the moment while also shifting to times in the girls' pasts and futures.

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Marshadow: fight or fighter) @PuddleJumper

Last weekend, our area got 30cm of snow, and it put me in the mood to read the next book in remote and wintry Rockton. It's definitely more fun reading about snow than shovelling it! This was a good page-turning mystery/thriller.

#52bookclub25 (Genre Four: Set in Winter – thriller)
#BookSpinBingo #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
#gottacatchemall (Whimsicott: storm or strong winds) @PuddleJumper

I loved this 4th Shardlake book, as I have every book in the series so far. Shardlake hunts for a serial killer motivated by religious fanaticism. This is a page-turning mystery/thriller in an interesting historical context.

#ShardlakeBR @dabbe
#52bookclub25 (Genre One: Set in Spring – historical fiction)
#gottacatchemall (Comfey: character in the medical field) @PuddleJumper

This reread of Indian Horse was, for me, just as poignant and powerful as the first time around. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the history of residential schools in Canada and why hockey is so well-loved in this country.

#OhCanada @Jess861
#gottacatchemall (Rattata: survivor character) @PuddleJumper

A coming-of-age story about a Black man who works on Barack Obama's campaign (though Obama is not actually named). The novel had some interesting moments but didn't seem especially exciting or insightful to me.

#ToB25
#52bookclub25 (Cover font is in a primary color)

This is among my favourites of the #ToB25 books I've read so far. The writing is beautiful, there were interesting and unexpected twists, and I spent some time mulling over the ending. Looking forward to the #LitsyToB discussion.

#gottacatchemall (Emolga: yellow cover) @PuddleJumper

In this installment, Nancy tap dances, communicates in Morse code and is surrounded by a huge number of Persian cats. I didn't like this one as much as earlier novels, but the 1970's white pantsuit that Nancy sports on the cover is pretty awesome.

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle
#52bookclub25 (Related to the word “puzzle”)
#gottacatchemall (Psyduck: involves a puzzle)

A charming and likable conman resurrects a post office and takes on a ruthless oligarch. In this satire, the target of Pratchett's jabs is government.

A noteworthy quotation: “What kind of man would put a known criminal in charge of a major branch of government? Apart from, say, the average voter.“

#OokBOokClub @julesG
#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#gottacatchemall (Marshadow: sneaky character) @PuddleJumper

I have a much better appreciation of this book than I did when I had first read it a long time ago. I love how Anne has matured and evolved over the series but still retains much of what made so many people love her from the original Green Gables book.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean
#52bookclub25 (character with red hair)
#gottacatchemall (Dhelmise: set on an island) @PuddleJumper

There was a lot about this novel that I enjoyed: the diverse collection of characters, the pokes at conventional ideas about women's work, and even the unusual combination of first and third-person narratives.

#ToB25
#52bookclub25 (breaks the fourth wall)
#gottacatchemall (Drampa: protective character) @PuddleJumper

This novel was a weak pick for me. I can't say I enjoyed reading the book but it was hard-hitting and felt very honest. I was going to abandon it at first but then wanted to see how the main character would evolve.

#ToB25
#gottacatchemall (Eevee: book you borrowed) @PuddleJumper