Utterly off-topic, but. In a moment of middle-aged madness, I signed up for an outdoor circuits class tonight. No idea where I‘m going, so I‘m 15 minutes early. Will you look at the colour of that sky?! 🌧 💦💦

#bfc22

So, how do you fancy a SURREAL experimental take on the queer working-class immigrant experience in Brexit Britain, set in a dead-end seaside hotel on the Isle of Wight? With reeboks and polar bears?

It‘s political and funny and angry and utterly out-there, and I enjoyed it, despite HUGE reservations going in. And it kind-of made sense too! Unexpected.

Having said all that, I have no idea who I‘d recommend this to!

I miss #BookReport /#WeeklyForecast when I don‘t do it! So here‘s a quick where-we‘re-at.

😊Loved both the books I finished. When I grow up I want to be Susannah Stapleton, & write fun, fascinating true stories about gutsy improbable women.

📖 Two print books in process. Diamonds is surreal nonsense. Rooted is a bit more self-helpy than expected. Loving the stories of Celtic women.

❓for #CampLitsy & an AudioArc.

Hope you‘re having a fab time

This is a little gem.

Susannah Stapleton stumbles across mention of ‘London‘s Foremost Lady Detective, Maud West‘ and dives in to learn more. But Maud is an elusive character (‘character‘ being the word)…

It‘s a micro-history of the indomitable Maud‘s life and work, the story of lady detectives at the start of the 20th century, a social history of a rapidly changing world, women business owners, respectable

July already? Ugh, no! Here‘s my #BookSpin list all the same.

July is VERY ARC-heavy (translation: I haven‘t read an ARC in months, I need to read at least one!!) I‘m so far behind with ReadAroundTheWorld it‘s getting silly, I‘d like to keep up with CampLitsy, and of course I plan to start 192025 📚📚📚

Plus I have some gorgeous books on my shelves…

#BookSpin day is Airshow day here, so looking forward to a moment of calm amongst the chaos 😂😂

🎉 It‘s mammogram day! 🎉

I figured Maud would be good company, so I‘m back on the bus learning about blackmail, public toilets and a touch of xenophobia.

An update on Maud. She‘s a master of disguise, a very creative writer, in a mysterious marriage, and goodness only knows what she was up to during the war! I think she‘d get on great with Amelia Peabody.

Photo taken from the top deck of the bus (BUSES? Remember them??!), because we‘re in the throws of a rail strike. Got a bit of a shock when I got to the bus station tonight. They‘d shrunk it, turned it sideways and moved it up the road….

She is exploring the possibility of them fixing the boiler in exchange for their squid-. No!, I say. The polar bears are novelists, the reeboks are poets, it is not within their remit nor skill set to fix an English boiler!

🐻‍❄️ 🦑 🦌 ✍🏻🚰🤯

And again, what AM I reading?! I‘m possibly enjoying this so far, but it has potential to be WILDLY annoying. Will let you know. Did you ever read this @jhod

The first book I‘ve read in a long time where I‘ve just wanted to keep turning the pages! The mix of fiction and Deaf History education is surprisingly well-done - it never felt forced, despite the sheer amount of information she was feeding through.

I loved the teenagers, their family dynamics, and the different experiences of youngsters growing up in different cultures/ language environments. At times it was heartbreaking, infuriating

I started this a couple of days ago (thanks @squirrelbrain ) exploring our relationship as women with nature, and the stories and Celtic myths that celebrate powerful women (kind of).

It starts with holy wells, and the keepers of the waters, so I thought I‘d stop by the Leechwells in Totnes yesterday - they‘re in amongst the high walls on the edge of town that surrounded a medieval leper hospital, and are seen as holy and healing (also v pretty!)

I was looking for something to listen to while I was cooking tea last night, and stumbled across this. Non-fiction, investigating the real-life story of Maud West, a detective of the Golden Age. And so far, it‘s fun!

I didn‘t get as far as reviewing this last week, but I LOVED it! Inventive, thought-provoking and heart-breaking. I wasn‘t 100% sold on the ending, but a resounding pick all the same.

Thank you #CampLitsy for introducing me to this - it‘s not one I‘d have picked up on my own.

This is a gorgeous little book of Emily Dickinson‘s bird poetry with illustrations by Ernest Seton Thompson. Somehow I‘ve never read Dickinson - as an introduction to her work this is just delightful. Thank you @TrishB 😊❤️🦜

I may have to share it with a small person, who is still a huge fan of all things book, bug and bird - when she was down, she came marching into my room to ‘show Mamma my book about ducks‘ then comments ‘it‘s a bit heavy‘…

I enjoyed this a lot more than book 3 - less graphic, several fun situations (bugging the House of Commons, anyone?) & much more Robin and Corm. As always, Robert Glenister does an amazing job with the audio.

But I‘m stepping away from this series now before it starts to annoy me. This one was overlong as it was - afraid 900 pages of less-than-comfortable reading in print because I don‘t use audible any more is just not happening. So long, C & R!

💖💖💖

Thank you so much @Caroline2 ! I‘ve seen such amazing reviews of this from so many people (and yet I really know nothing about it)!

I can‘t wait 😁. Thank you 😘

Thank you so much @TrishB and @squirrelbrain - these are just gorgeous.

I seem to be having a very bird-themed day! I‘m not sure I should admit this, Trish, but I don‘t think I‘ve ever read Emily Dickinson (will remedy that right away)! And the statue book looks like so much fun 🤩!

And Helen, I agree - IWRR does sound right up my street! It‘s not one I was really aware of, so I‘m very much looking forward to diving into this.

A combined #BookReport #WeeklyForecast this week. The forecast might not be entirely realistic!

I LOVED the 2 books I finished- will hop into the discussions about How High in a bit.

Devil-Devil was good, but not good enough 🫤

Lethal White - still enjoying, but did NOT need to be this long.

I‘d like to clear Dirt Town & Innocence from my ‘languishing half-read‘ pile.

And don‘t the bottom three look amazing together?

Have a good week, all.

Caught up with a friend yesterday after that couple of years. We had a lovely day doing (shock, horror) NORMAL things - talked a lot of rubbish, went to the immersive Van Gogh exhibition (v cool!), lunch by the river, ate vegan ice cream, found jeans that fit…

Look what she brought me 😍

Well, that was an experience.

That‘s it. That‘s my review.

Think I‘ll use this for #Booked2022 #MakeYourOwnPrompt, the prompt either being ‘What the flip was that?!‘ Or ‘Like nothing you‘ve read before‘.

I should add, I did come away from this smiling. It‘s highly entertaining, although what he has to say can be quite cutting. Possibly.

Thanks for the tag @squirrelbrain - I‘ve finally decided! My answers ⬇️ @RaeLovesToRead :

🏖 Beach!
🍦 Ice cream and hot coffee ☕️
🚂 can I have a train trip instead of a road trip?
🎶 Outdoor concerts (if they‘re at a festival, so much the better!)

I know it‘s criminal to say, but I‘ll skip the paperbacks if I can keep my Kobo (& find the charger…)

Have you answered @Centique @Magpiegem ?

Fun questions @MoonWitch94 😊 #ThoughtfulThursday

Dear people-in-the-know,

I joined @Librarybelle ‘s #192025 challenge, and thought I might actually do a little bit of planning. That went as well as expected.

The first book I wanted to put on the list was Mapp & Lucia (the book, not the series). StoryGraph insists it was originally published in 1912 (Yay! Time travel! Uh, no.), Wikipedia says 1931. My copy says 1935.

Would anyone like to declare an official publication date?

Thank you 😊

“3. You read books that are much stranger than the books you would write if you wrote.”

Yup.

And I‘ve just spotted question 3 on the front cover. This has made me laugh more than once. Honestly can‘t tell you what it is though!

I finished June‘s #BookSpin! I‘ve only been reading it for 6 months…

This is an absolutely beautiful book, but one to dip into rather than to read cover to cover. It takes (surprise!) 50 words for snow or related to snow from different languages around the world and recounts what it means, a myth, a piece of history, a tradition.. And of course each is accompanied by an archive photo of a snowflake.

Gorgeous slow reading! ❄️ ❄️ ❄️

I bailed. Bother.

I think if I‘d read this all in one gulp, it would have been fine. I loved the Solomon Islands setting and learning a little about the cultures there. It‘s a potentially fun not-quite-cosy, with a local policeman/traditional peace-keeper and an English nun.

But I never particularly warmed to the main characters and, having set it aside for a few weeks, I found I wasn‘t that fussed about the story. Ho hum. Moving on…

On a quest to finish some in-progress reads - this is my #WeeklyForecast.

It looks kind of dark. I might need to mix some sunshine in!

Have a great week, everyone!

A low pick for this #BusinessBook looking at the power of deadlines.

I guess it‘s more organisational behaviour that self-help (despite the subtitle). Cox, a journalist, goes into several companies to uncover how they approach deadlines - new restaurants, an Easter lily farm, a ski slope at the start of the season, a tech pitch battle, Black Friday and disaster relief.

The stories themselves were Interesting - the logistics

Look! I have read books this week! (3 of these are still in progress but who‘s counting?!). And my theme for the week is…. ❄️ Snow ❄️ Yup. Seasonal as ever.

Fifty Words is a good bit more sad having read the start of How High. Lots on the changing environments of snowy regions…

And now I‘m going to see if I can spot the Red Arrows as they fly back from an Airshow in the next bay. Hope you‘re having a lovely weekend, all.
#bookreport

My #BookSpinBingo board for June.

I‘m going all out for a bingo this month, largely because I really want to finish some of the books I have in progress. And there are some AMAZING books on this board. And yay! Nonfiction!

Being the organised soul I am, A life in Nature was on the board twice. Again. So I‘ve swapped the middle square for Jubilee reading with Voices of the Crossing.

#Bookspin: 50 Words for Snow
#Doublespin: A Life in Nature

I am DELIGHTED with the #bookspin and #doublespin choices this month!

My aim for June is to get 2 books that I‘ve had in progress forever finished. Snow was my first book of the year (eek!) and Nature wasn‘t started much later - for some reason my nonfiction reading this year has completely fallen through the floor. And I am really loving both of these - I‘m just not really reading them!

So yay for #bookspin and for finishing things!

Finally persuaded myself to sit down and start reading this morning (it‘s been a while!) Wasn‘t sure about the first story, but chapter two surprisingly won me over. Interested to see where this takes us, and looking forward to the weekend‘s conversations. #camplitsy

No, I have no idea what‘s going on with the graphic, either 🦖

Still.

Yay, it‘s almost #BookSpin day! My goal this month is to finish at least two of the books that have been in progress since January, and attempt to keep up with #CampLitsy!

As I haven‘t really read anything in a month, this could be tricky 🙀

Eek. #ReadAroundTheWorld is not going well this year @BookwormM ! I‘m still in the middle the last two months‘ books for the Solomon Islands and The Czech Republic. Which is particularly annoying as I was really enjoying both of them.

Have just reserved the tagged to ignore for 3 months for June‘s Liberia read 😬. Apparently I stacked this 5 years ago!

Feel like I haven‘t done a #BookReport in ages, so…

What‘s Next? Is a cute story about Baby Badger and Daddy exploring. Beautiful images, ok text, and A is now calling everyone ‘My Darling‘ (which is v funny)

Littlest Lighthouse Keeper is my favourite! Henry Mouse looks after the lighthouse, with help from Puffin and Spider.

Six Dinner Sid.. You can guess. Cats with attitude.

Thanks for the tag @julesG 😊

📖Not reading much atm, but I have started the tagged.
📓It‘s a print book. Loving library holds when I can get them.
🤷🏻‍♀️I *genuinely* can‘t rate this yet. It‘s like reading performance art. Or an exam. It‘s weird. I don‘t know if I get it - suspect it may come together later. I‘ll keep you posted.
🖊No, or at least very rarely.

#thoughtfulthursday @MoonWitch94

Tagging YOU if you haven‘t played yet 😁

Ooh. Thanks #NetGalley. Did NOT expect that to be approved!

Narrated by Janelle Monae and Bahni Turpin.

🎉📚🎉📚🎉

This is one of those rare things - a book I may have enjoyed more had it been longer! I loved the opening, and wanted to stay with Edwin on his journey. Olive‘s story made for perfect plane-reading. Mirella and Vincent - maybe reading The Glass Hotel would have helped me appreciate their story more?

And then there‘s Gaspery, who I almost wish I had an opinion on. But I just don‘t. He seems to sit in an uncomfortable position between mysterious

Aaargh! That went well then!

(Note to future self. You were trying to reserve Zambra. Multiple Choice)

Good morning Litsy!

My #WeeklyForecast & #BookReport this week are both these titles. Truth is I‘m reading very little at the moment - doing other things and enjoying a bit of silence - so these may all take a while. The photo‘s the back of local sand dunes yesterday- I fought my way through the amusements to the nature reserve. Gorgeous! Lots of birdsong and hares.

So books, then:
🌝 Sea of Tranquility: I‘m interested by this, rather

For any of you #ReadAroundTheWorld / #InternationalBookerPrize2022 / translated fiction folks, this is a really lovely newsletter from Tilted Axis, asking their IBP-nominated authors and translators for books-in-translation recommendations: https://mailchi.mp/d5b020b6d9b6/what-are-they-reading?e=80a23e9051

Stacking may occur!!

This is my #ReadAroundTheWorld book for the #CzechRepublic this month. Kovály was heavily influenced by Raymond Chandler, having translated his works into Czech. However, the story is as much or more about life under an oppressive regime as it is about the murder. Having read the intro by her son, I‘m almost wishing I‘d read her memoir instead - but he also says she was freeer to write about the real world in her fiction…

Either way, fab so far.

Squeaking in with a #BookSpin list. A bit of a focus on finishing things and ARCs this time. Don‘t think I‘ll be playing bingo this month - we‘ll see if I can actually complete BookSpin and DoubleSpin instead!

Morning! It‘s been a Bail-y, muddle kind of week (and it might not be done yet). Here‘s my #BookReport!

Finished
Still Born - plenty to think about. Hopeful-ish. 🪺
Boyfriend Material 😁

Reading
Entangled Life 🍄 This may take a while! Fascinating fungi. Who knew?
Lethal White 🕵🏼‍♂️ Always enjoyable
Devil-Devil 🏝 Love the Solomon Islands setting, completely disinterested in the plot. May bail yet.

Bailed. Neither of these were bad - I

I‘m having an outbreak of NetGalley nosiness.

Do you ever manage to get/keep your rating above 80%? Is that even a thing?

I‘m currently on 68%. On a good day I get up to 72%. But I don‘t think I‘ve ever got beyond 74…

And a blurry photo of a smuggler‘s tunnel, just because.

Sometimes life doesn‘t work out as you planned. And sometimes that‘s ok.

Two women, best friends, who never intended to have children. But Alina‘s views change as she gets older, leading to a difficult, life-changing pregnancy that neither she nor the doctors foresaw. Meanwhile Laura unexpectedly starts taking on a mothering role to her neighbour‘s child.

I really enjoyed this. It‘s messy and complicated, and people change their minds and love

I‘ve started 4 books in the last two days. This doesn‘t bode well. I was already in the middle of more than 3 others. Also, my phone keyboard appears to be in Spanish…

Anyhow one of these simultaneously is fascinating and relaxing (and I‘d gone in with VERY low expectations!), one is page-turning and surprising, one has fantastic characters, and then there‘s the other one. Any guesses?

Dug this out of the depths of my Audible library, where it‘s been lurking since it first came out. I gave up my Audible subscription a while back (and it has to be said, this series on audio is great), and I don‘t think I‘ll want to read book 5, so this‘ll be my farewell to Robin and Cormoran. It‘s good to be back with them for now though!

Sad to say I‘m bailing on this MG murder mystery. Either it or I am suffering from ‘that difficult second novel‘ syndrome - I loved the first book in the series ⬇️, Nik & Norva are wonderful characters and engaging sleuths.

Here, a rising rap star returns to the Tri (the estate) to shoot a video. But appears to be getting death threats, so the girls and best-friend George step@in to investigate.

And at 40% in, I‘m bored. Will happily try book 3…

A book to be savoured slowly, after you‘ve read the first 5 parts of the Septology. I simply wasn‘t prepared to put the work in, result being I found it almost unreadable. Lots of stream of consciousness philosophising on art and religion. With doppelgängers.

Don‘t trust my review - this is appreciated by greater minds than mine, & I won‘t be at all surprised if it wins the #InternationalBookerPrize2022

Full review: https://tinyurl.com/mv589xry

Still catching up with reviews from #InternationalBookerPrize2022. This is the one I came away from with a firm commitment to read everything else the author has in English!

Elena knows that her daughter would never have gone to the church in the rain, would never have taken her own life in that way. So Elena travels acoss Buenos Aires to investigate. Beautiful writing & translation. And yes, I cried.

Full review: https://rb.gy/fkd4xr

It‘s a #BookReport / #WeeklyForecast -type-mess!

Tomb of Sand ❤️🌈🦋
Death in the Stocks 😼

Mic Drop - so far, not as fab as the first one ☹️
Devil Devil - way better than expected! 🏝

Boyfriend Material - no idea what this was doing in my Libby Holds. It‘s fun though. And suitably snarky. 🪲

Ariadne - I kind of should consider reading this next. But given the *glowing* reviews it‘s had this week, I might not!

Happy Sunday 🌞