I loved reading this book while I was on vacation in France in April. I expect that some things have changed since Mayle's classic was written, but he captures perfectly the food culture and relaxed atmosphere, at least in the small part of Provence (Avignon) that we had the chance to visit.

The story of Anne's daughter, this novel describes in realistic detail the lives of Canadians during WWI. Despite the heavy themes, this story still has plenty of charm and humour. I especially liked reading about the 1917 federal election as we were going through the 2025 federal election.

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread @BarbaraJean
#52bookclub25 (Has a moon on the cover)
#gottacatchemall (Emolga: cute character) @PuddleJumper

Nominated for the 2025 #hugoawards Best Novella, this story is about a scientist whose digitized consciousness is uploaded into a mammoth, brought back from extinction. An indubitably weird but intriguing concept.

#52bookclub25 (climate fiction)
#gottacatchemall (Goodra: character discovers they have powers) @PuddleJumper

This novel, a mix of horror and romance, was nominated for the 2025 #hugoawards Best Novel. This story, despite its creativity, didn't really work for me. I found it hard to relate to the main character, who is so gentle, delicate and understanding with the human she loves but otherwise happily chomps on the body parts of humans she doesn't.

#gottacatchemall (Spinda: character with distinguishing marks) @PuddleJumper

This fantasy novel about 3 teenagers who come back from the dead and one who never died in the first place is strange and extremely long. Reviews have been mixed, but I found the story funny, charming and wonderfully magical.

#52bookclub25 (has an epigraph)
#gottacatchemall (Pikipek: band or musical group) @PuddleJumper

I loved Sloan's earlier books but there was too much going on here for my tastes. I enjoy books featuring space travel, magic, AI, Arthurian themes and dragons, but not all at once. There were lots of clever moments but I found the book too chaotic.

#52bookclub25 (direction in the title)
#gottacatchemall (Drampa: child character) @PuddleJumper

A fictional story about conjoined twins growing up in Ontario, Canada. Despite the strangeness of the premise, the author makes the girls' lives seem ordinary (but still interesting) and relatable.

#OhCanada @Jess861
#gottacatchemall (Whimsicott: pastel coloured cover) @PuddleJumper

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