I really couldn‘t decide whether to give this a pick or a so-so. A pick because I have huge respect for the author writing a book like this, but a so-so because who on earth would I recommend it to. (Even fellow Littens who have much broader minds than the general public 😬).

It really is the most disgusting book I have ever read, from both a sex and worms POV.

Take heed of the CW at the front, and there‘s even a point in the book, as ⬇️

What an odd book! Was I supposed to be scared by it?

I started this when it was in #campToB earlier this year, but it didn‘t seem to be going anywhere so I hibernated it.

I actually really liked the storyline *without* the ‘monster‘ - hence why I‘m giving it a (soft) pick. For me, it would have worked a lot better had it just been Adelaide vs. Mrs Mudge and her brood. (And Adelaide vs. the privations of life alone as a homesteader)

Another #ToB book that I really liked (although not as much as Idlewild and Vintage Contemporaries)

Samuel has changed her name and wears men‘s clothes, but no-one questions her identity as she‘s married to Boots, a flamboyantly dressed Professor who still lives with his Mama. But once Samuel meets and falls in love with Frances, another Professor‘s wife their carefully-built world threatens to fall apart around them.

I didn‘t really ‘get‘ this rather experimental book - too clever for me!

Based loosely on a true story it follows the unnamed MC as he arrives to take care of a dying man, Juan Gay. He‘s also meant to be taking on a project that Juan has been working on for years, the much-redacted Sex Variants report from the 1940s. (Which is the true story part)

I found the redacted pages rather poetic, but didn‘t feel connected to the rest of the storyline.

Another #ToB longlister that I loved and wouldn‘t ever have read otherwise.

Idlewild is a small Quaker school in Manhattan. Nell is gay and is obsessed with Fay who, in turn is obsessed with gay men. During rehearsals for the school play they notice two sexually ambiguous boys who they encourage to join their Invert Society.

If you love academia novels you‘ll love this, and if you read and liked Cyclorama, I think this is even better.

I‘m pausing this #ToB longlister for now. I will return to it if it makes the short list, but I‘m struggling with it.

It‘s a tough read, not only for its content, but also stylistically. It is lyrically rather beautiful in places, but a lot of it is written in language where you have to deduce meanings.

Also, a few reviews have said you need to know Sacajewea‘s story for context, and also Lewis and Clark, and I don‘t know either story at all.

This is the final BBC Between The Covers book for this series. I went into this almost expecting not to like it, so I think that coloured my view a bit.

I actually found it a compelling read and I wanted to know what was going to happen next, but I couldn‘t connect with the MC. The MC, Professor Eustacia Rose, is a (neuro-diverse) poisonous plant expert, who witnesses troubling things from her secret roof garden.

Just a soft pick for me.

I loved this #ToB longlisted book, one I had never even heard of beforehand, so I very much doubt I would have read it, if it weren‘t for the ToB.

Em makes 2 friends in NYC in 1991, one who lives in a squat and one who was at college with her mum, and we follow their lives over a few years and also years later, in 2006.

It‘s one of those ‘quiet‘ books where there is no particular story arc, no big reveal, and no twist; just how I like my books!

Reading with a view on the wild and woolly Yorkshire Coast.

Been out for a walk on the beach and a scone; now to spend the rest of the day cosied up with a pile of books, a blanket and maybe a jigsaw.

Started the tagged book last night and loving it so far.

From the blurb, I feared this would be rather high-brow and impenetrable, but it wasn‘t at all.

Classed as a ‘long-form essay‘ this memoir links the author‘s mother‘s illness with constellations, astronomy, family history and Chile‘s dictatorship history.

I find it very difficult to compare NF with fiction though when it comes to prizes / competitions like the #ToB.

I promise I won‘t buy any more books from the ToB long list; I have enough already….oops! 🤣

These are two where I really liked the sound of them from the blurbs, plus I‘d never heard of them before. (Maybe American rather than UK?) They‘re used copies from Amazon but both in good condition. They‘re also quite chunky compared to many of the other longlisters.

Anyone else read these or planning on reading them?

Another interesting read from the #ToB longlist. I can see it making the shortlist, due to the unusual style. These are ‘crónicas‘ a word which apparently has no direct translation into English. The nearest definition would probably be narrative non fiction.

I worried that this would be similar to the Booker-nominated If I Survive You, which I didn‘t really connect with, but this felt a lot warmer, involving and engrossing, with only ⬇️

I‘m often not keen on anthropomorphism so I was nervous, but the lion‘s narrative voice at the start was so witty that I fell in love with him.

In the second half there were some ‘out there‘ storylines that I felt spoilt it a bit. (I know; what isn‘t ‘weird‘ about a sentient lion living in the hills above ‘ell-ay‘ and being sarky about all of the hikers, but hey-ho!)

Still a (strongish) pick though, just for the social commentary alone.

Today‘s ToB haul. White Cat, Black Dog is from the library - rather annoyingly I went along with a list of 4 books that were supposedly on their shelves, but could only find 1. (The others apparently had been returned to other libraries in the network but not shipped back to the main library 🙄)

The other 3 are purchases - the tagged will take all of 30 minutes to read; it‘s only 150 pages long and has lots of white space on the pages!

Loved this, which I read because it features on the BBC‘s Between The Covers.

An unidentified man is found sitting serenely, but lifeless, on a beach in Ireland. The book is a series of vignettes of the lives of the villagers and other people who may have known the man previously.

It‘s a beautifully written, lyrical book; one of those that‘s very quiet but impactful.

@TrishB - I hadn‘t realised until now you also read (and loved!) this one.

Thanks to @TrishB for putting this on my #readersradar as I don‘t think I would have picked it up otherwise.

Even so, I found it rather slow in the first couple of chapters and, as I‘m a bit fed up of ‘feminist retellings‘, I considered bailing.

Then I suddenly became engrossed and wanted to learn all about the life and art of Artemisia Gentileschi at the start of the seventeenth century in Italy - a wonderful book!

I finished this two days before the ToB longlist was published and hoped it would be on there.

It‘s a difficult book to review as it‘s so intense ( but fabulous); we follow Jack and Elizabeth as they first meet, and then look back to different parts of their lives and their (dysfunctional) childhoods. You‘ll recognise yourself in areas of this book, as well as your own relationships.

I liked the detailed offshoots about culture, pyschology ⬇️

Love this article from The Guardian!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/12/california-venice-book-club-finnge...

Particularly this bit…. 🤣

Fialka, who started the group in his early 40s, is now 70. “I don‘t want to lie, it wasn‘t like I saw God,” Fialka said, of reaching the book‘s end. “It wasn‘t a big deal.”

Visited my local library fundraising book sale this morning. (They‘re part of the county library network but volunteer run since threatened with closure a few years ago).

All books were 50p (!) apart from the tagged, which was a whole Q9 because it was on the special ‘posh‘ table. Inordinately flattered to find a fair few of the books that I donated earlier in the week on that same table!

Mostly for hubby but top and bottom for me.

I read this as it was part of the BBC‘s Between the Covers new series - they choose 6 new books and, this series, 6 recent Booker nominees. This was the only Booker nominee I hadn‘t already read, and I‘m not sure I could recommend it. It‘s a stream of the MC‘s innermost thoughts, within constantly shifting timeframes, so all rather confusing.

Of the new books, I‘d only read the Faulks when the list was announced, but have now read four.

I pre-ordered Family Meal from the library, following Meg‘s @Megabooks great review.

When I went to pick it up today I *may* also have perused the ‘New In‘ shelf, and couldn‘t resist Disobedient, which comes highly recommended by @TrishB . ☺️

#blameitonlitsy

Final book for #readingtheamericas23!

I borrowed the book from my Mum, which includes Zoo Quests in Indonesia and #guyana too, but #paraguay is also available in a stand-alone book, tagged.

I loved this book, which is David mostly looking for armadillos in 1958.

In fact I‘ve loved this whole challenge - thank you Barbara and Jess for hosting! I cheated a little bit this year, and two books did a lot of the heavy lifting, covering a number ⬇️

I liked The Power; I thought it was a clever idea, told simply (in a good way). Conversely, The Future, has a LOT of ideas and the narrative jumps about chronologically and also between characters.

There were also forum extracts that didn‘t work for me (badly formatted on the ARC) and a lot of comparisons with Lot in the Bible so I skipped those bits.

It sounds like I hated it, but I didn‘t; it‘s still a soft pick.

#netgalley #thefuture

I wasn‘t hugely looking forward to this; it was just to tick a box for #turksandcaicos for #readingtheamericas23. And then, when it arrived, it was the second in a series. 🙄

However, it was really quite good. Jess works for the UK Diplomatic Service (it helps that the author did too, I think) and arrives on the islands to find that the Governor has been in a serious car crash, then there is a murder and no-one is who they seem.

Another book featuring on the upcoming BBC series of Between The Covers. Set in India, Adi is 12 and wants to find out why his mother keeps disappearing. Assisted by a talking vulture he learns about her past, from the time of Partition onwards, as well as facing up to his own fears.

It took a few chapters for this to have any impact, but then it really did and I loved it.

CW re the treatment of women and girls, in the worst possible ways.

This book is in two parts; the first tells the story of the 1972 Andean plane crash, which the author survived and then trekked across the mountains for help.

The second part is about how the doctor used his experience, alongside pioneering discoveries, to treat unborn and very young babies with heart conditions.

I‘m using this for #Uruguay for #readingtheamericas23, as that is where the doctor is from; it would work for #Argentina too.

This was a fascinating true crime read, about the murders exactly 5 years apart, of Natalee Holloway, who many will have heard of, and Stephany Flores, who I had not heard of.

This guy truly is a monster.

I‘m using this for #aruba for #readingtheamericas23, but it would also work for #peru and #chile.

I

I read 1984 again before reading this feminist re-telling, as I hadn‘t read it since I was a young teen, and probably too young to appreciate it. I‘m really glad it was fresh in my mind as there were many subtle links between the two, outside of the main themes.

In both books I preferred the first half before they get to the Ministry of Love but I felt this was a worthwhile companion to 1984 and added more depth and interest.

#julia #netgalley

This was going to be a so-so as I found most of it quite confusing and a little boring; too many characters who were all related and a complicated legal case. Oh, and not a single character had any redeeming features; they were all awful.

The last few chapters completely changed it though - fabulous! My advice; concentrate from the start and don‘t skim read it like I did!

Henry liked it but prefers his new 🦖 toy!

I only requested this from #netgalley as it features on the upcoming BBC series of Between The Covers. I thought from the cover that it would be a fairly standard crime novel and wasn‘t overly inspired to read it. (But #listcompletist here! 👋)

Once I started it though, I couldn‘t put it down. Based on a true story (don‘t Google it though…spoilers!) we see Zina, a recent Cypriot immigrant to London who hardly speaks any English, accused of a ⬇️

As ever, another enthralling read from John Boyne, tackling a very dark subject.

It‘s only a short read and, whilst this means it packs a heavy punch, I do wish there had been space to explore some areas a bit further.

Willow Hale arrives on a tiny Irish island from Dublin, having changed her name. What is she hiding from and can she really ever escape?

#netgalley #water

Published in the UK 2nd Nov.

A few reviews incoming as I haven‘t had time to do any for ages….

Another fabulous instalment in the Kim Stone series; Ms Marsons never puts a foot wrong! This one very much focuses back on the personal lives of the detective team, with the continuation of a storyline from the last book, although of course there are still crimes to solve. As ever, the perfect mix between the two.

#netgalley #badblood Published 15th November in the UK.

Thank you for my lovely gifts, Jenny! @jenniferw88

The book sounds great, I love the little extras (always a fan of stationery!), and of course the 🐿️ card is gorgeous!

😘

#aam #authoramonth

This was…. fine. I enjoyed the crime aspect of it but the ghost element did nothing for me. (Was I supposed to be scared? Cos I wasn‘t)

It‘s still a soft pick and it kept my interest on audio whilst I was driving to and from work but I‘m not particularly inspired to read any more by this author.

Thank you so much for my lovely gift Katie! @youneverarrived

I‘m so excited to read this book as I loved Hot Milk. I‘ll definitely let you know what I think when I‘ve read it.

I love a proper leather bookmark too. Oh, and the wrapping paper was gorgeous, but Henry took a liking to it too (after I‘d opened the gifts, thank goodness!), so not fit to include in the photo any more! 🤣

I just love this series, and they get better with each book.

With this one though, I had to try not to snivel and sniff whilst sitting in the silent Gladstone‘s Reading Room. 😢

All of the fabulous books from our Blind Date with a Book swap at Gladstone‘s Library #readingretreat.

Are there any you‘ve read and would recommend?!

Thank you to @julesG ‘s kids for my lovely gifts!

Pingu is very tired after his loooong trip from Germany to North Wales so he‘s having a quick snooze before joining his friends on the #readingretreat.

#gladstoneslibrary
#gladstonerds

Unpacked my book pile at our #readingretreat.

I‘ve not had one of the rooms with the posh book wallpaper before!

#gladstonerds

Smog has destroyed most of the world‘s crops and food has become scarce. A young chef joins a mysterious mogul in his mountain eyrie in Italy, where seeds and crops are brought back to life and rich food is plentiful. She builds a relationship with the mogul‘s charismatic daughter, but what happens when she is asked to give more than expected.

This book really made me think, covering dystopian themes of scarcity and greed at the end of ⬇️

I forgot to review this when I read it earlier in the month, and I‘ve already forgotten it, hence why I‘m giving it a so-so.

Classed as Afro-futurist (yes, there are drones), it read more like a fable of folk-take to me. Sankofa, a young girl, gains special powers and is ostracised by the community.

It‘s a very sad tale and somehow not futurist, dystopian or fable-y enough, falling down the middle and losing out as a result.

#aam #authoramonth

As soon as I heard that October‘s #titlesandtunes was #blues I knew my song straight away. Mr Bluesman is Richie (former Bon Jovi guitarist) Sambora‘s tribute to the blues, and even features Eric Clapton. (And I love me some #hairrock!)

I have a book called The Blue on my Kindle, tagged below, but didn‘t really fancy it. The tagged book sounds so cute and is set around Washington Square Park. I listened to an audio sample too - wonderful!

I need to choose an audiobook for a long(ish) drive next week. (To the Gladstone‘s Library reading retreat x woo hoo!).

I‘ve been meaning to read a Cosby book for aaages and now feels like the time.

Is there an order I should read / listen? If not, which would you recommend is the best?

Thanks for your advice!

Here‘s my own shortlist for the #bookerprize, in order of favourites.

I‘m cheating a bit by having TWO lists as, whilst these are my faves, I don‘t think they‘ll all make the list.

Bird-Hearts, In Ascension and Prophet Song should make the list. Study for Obedience will be on there because I hated it (!). And I think This Other Eden and Western Lane are more Booker-y than some of those above.

Looking forward to the *actual* list tomorrow!

Well, I quite liked this one but what the heck is wrong with everyone at the moment, with these unresolved endings?!

@TrishB had seen a review that said if you can get through the first 560 pages, the last 60 are great. I actually found the last part to be very OTT and I hate a pathetic non-ending. Make a decision for your characters and run with it FFS! (Spoiler below, Trish!)

Granted, it could have been shorter, maybe one character less ⬇️

It arrived, at last! Thanks, Waterstones for being (predictably) rubbish with your delivery again.

Still, at least it‘s got pretty edges and it‘s signed.

Now to decide whether to read it now or save it until Gladstone‘s. Hubby just looked at my Gladstone‘s pile (which granted, is about knee height!) and said ‘Are you *really* going to read all of those books in one weekend?‘.

No, but I might read a bit of all of the books!

OMG Cindy @Cinfhen - you have no idea how close I was to getting the Verghese for myself! I got some vouchers for my birthday and *nearly* ordered it this morning, but I got distracted with work! 😮‍💨

Thank you so much for your beautiful gifts; the other book looks fabulous too.

J just said that he thought the choc looked ‘husband-friendly‘ so I told him I thought not! 🤣

And your note is so sweet too! 😘🥰

#europacollective

A great opportunity for North American Littens! (Not so much for the rest of us! 🤣)

https://www.europaeditions.com/news/2639/anne-berest-back

Arrived back from or camping trip with 4 books on the go, 2 physical and 2 on Kindle. Then realised I was part-way through The Bee Sting before we went away. Oh, and I‘m listening to Thirst for Salt on audio too, so that makes 6! 🤦‍♀️

So these make up my #weeklyforecast for this week, although I‘m also still waiting for the new Osman to arrive. (Waterstone‘s delivery service playing up again; it was only dispatched yesterday)

Thank you so much Megan @TheKidUpstairs for this lovely package that was here when we got back from our camping trip today.

I‘m so excited to have some #canadalit to read and, judging by the reviews on here, it sounds like a great collection! ❤️