January #AuldLangSpine wrap up!

Thanks to the always fabulous matchmaking skills of @monalyisha I received a great list of books from @CarolynM to kick off 2025! I read four this month, and all were great reads, with the tagged emerging as a surprise favourite 😍 I just loved discovering Gail Jones' beautiful, engaging writing.

Woah. That ending 😵‍💫😱

Four women work the night shift at a factory in Japan. They look out for each other, helping when someone's struggling, staying after work to socialize. Then one kills her abusive husband, and turns to the others for help, setting off a chain of events descending into the darker reaches of life in Tokyo.

Cont'd in comments

My second book read for #CanadaReads, and I wanted to love this one so much more than I did. The narrative that fractured into an almost dream-like state SHOULD have been totally my jam, but I just felt disconnected and confused. I think there are about five different books here, and they don't quite come together in any cohesive way. I'm left wondering why? Why tell this story in this way? Why leave certain alleys unexplored?

First book completed for #CanadaReads 2025

The title suggests that this memoir will focus on Ma-Nee Chacaby's journey as a Two-Spirit person, but that is only one part of the much larger story of her life. Born in the 1950s in a tuberculosis sanitorium, this powerful memoir tells an (almost*) complete story of life as an Indigenous woman in Ontario, with all the traumas and triumphs therein.

Cont'd in commments

My comfort reads often involve Thursdays: the Thursday Next series, and the Thursday Murder Club series. Or Becky Chambers (no Thursdays there, that I know of 😉).

#Naturalitsy #MidWinterSolace @AllDebooks @TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit

I've read 24. Being a theatre major definitely helped there, lots of plays listed. And presently surprised by the amount of Canadian content.

Three of my all time favourites were on the list:
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
The Diviners - Margaret Laurence

Thanks @dabbe for another fun #ThreeListThursday

Another pick from @CarolynM 's #AuldLangSpine list. A beautiful story about the redemptive and restorative power of music, the sea, and opening oneself up to connection and the possibilities of joy.

I had a hard time getting into Bucky's story at first. I was acutely aware of an older Black man from Chicago being written by a middle aged White British dude. Some of his dialogue and POV felt stilted. Cont'd 👇

Umm....I really hope this isn't real 🤦‍♀️

Probably not one I would have read if it wasn't for book club, but it was a decent trio of historical romance stories. An enjoyable reading experience, but one that is unlikely to really stick with me.

A pick for those who like their history mingled with romance, with no doubts that the characters will find their happily ever afters.

Discoveries like this are why I love #AuldLangSpine

I really wasn't sure about this one going into it. I was forced to read Heart of Darkness in high school, and have been put off by Conrad ever since. So a book about a PhD student studying Conrad, with scenes from his life, did not seem like the book for me. But of all the #OzFiction on @CarolynM 's list, this was the easiest to get my hands on, so I tried it. And I freakin' LOVED it.

Cont'd 👇

My littlest is home sick with a fever today. She asked me to cuddle with her so she could sleep, so it's time to read the tagged on my kobo! Sprocket and Aretha decided to keep us company (Aretha is afraid of children when they're awake, but loves to cuddle with my daughter while she sleeps).

Tagged is my latest #AuldLangSpine read from @CarolynM - I've never read Gail Jones before but I'm falling in love with her writing! @monalyisha

A low pick. I listened to an audio version, and I think I would have preferred a physical book for this one. Or if Libby had the Jason Isaacs version. As it was the narration was a bit distracting, and I didn't enjoy it as much as Case Histories. But it was still a good read, an interesting web of deceit and murder, with the hallmarks of a good Atkinson - no clean endings with justice wrapped up in a bow, just the messy stuff of life. 👇

I think I'm going to have to sit with this one for a few days before I can write a coherent review. It is a wild fever dream of a novella, one that will stick in my brain for a while, I'm sure.

#AuldLangSpine @CarolynM @monalyisha

My first read completed for #AuldLangSpine and my first chunkster of the year.

O'Hagan shows the wonderful possibilities inherent in a big book - sprawling, ambitious, epic in scope, combining social and political commentary with character studies showing multi-layered portraits of humanity (largely at its worst - don't come here looking for likeable characters, but if you like a well crafted unlikable character, dive in!). Cont'd in comments

❤️❤️❤️

This right here 👆

Revolution, girl style, now!

While being a fan of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre helps, I don't think it's necessary to appreciate Hanna's memoir. Some of this is hard to read, as she recounts trauma and violence at the hands of men, some she was meant to trust with her whole heart. I had to take breaks in some of the earlier portions to feel through the rage (blasting the Spotify playlist she made to go along with the book was a great break option).

Thank you so much @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego for this awesome #LCS #LittleChristmasSwap package! I'm excited for this classic locked room mystery (don't you just love the Classic British Crime series covers 😍), and some great candy choices! We all know Reese's shapes are the best Reese's, right? 😉

Thanks for organizing @bookish_wookish 🎉

New Kobo for Christmas means new stickerscape 💕

#12Booksof2024 December

For most of December I was reading fluffy, light books that weren't too taxing. But there were a few exceptions, and all were stand out reads. In Defence of the Act is an easy pick for best of the month. Unique, thoughtful, memorable.

Honorable mentions: Strong Female Character by Fern Brady, and Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2024 November

It was a month dominated by stories of the complicated, beautiful relationships of sisters. In the end, the McKenzie sisters eked out the top spot over the Blues. Their hopes and dreams of finding a way to be themselves amid the societal pressures of 1920s Vancouver were engaging, beautiful, often enraging, and all too relevant to today's world.

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2024 October

I love when style, substance, and story come together to create something unique and memorable. This one did just that, and once I got into the style, I couldn't put it down. Bonus, it was printed on beautifully textured paper by Coach House Books so it felt just as good as it read.

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2024 September

A great reading month, but Claire Kilroy's Soldier Sailor (with a fantastic audio narration by Simone Collins) wins out.

"You thought wolves were extinct in this land? I thought so, too. The sea is not glittering, and the mothers are not serene, and the wolves were never more alive than they are tonight. They are volatile, they are vengeful, and you have summoned them to your door."

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2024 August

The Safekeep is just so so good. Beautifully crafted, masterful build of tension, so much left to think about.

@Andrew65

"Tall and sharp at fifty-two, Campbell Flynn was a tinderbox in a Savile Row suit, a man who believed his childhood was so far behind him that all its threats had vanished."

Happily kicking off the new year with this #AuldLangSpine chunkster (although you're right @CarolynM it doesn't read like a big book, I've whipped through the first 90 or so pages already)

@monalyisha

All set for the New Year!

Liberty Scarf is for my IRL Book Club, one of the authors will be joining us at the end of the month (my first time as host with an author present 🤞)

The others are from @CarolynM #AuldLangSpine list. I'll be starting with the tagged (didn't realize how chunky it is! Read the first couple lines, it's engaging and intriguing right off the bat.)

Loaded onto the Kobo are two more from Carolyn: One Another and Rapture.

This one was on a few Best of '24 lists, but I'm left a bit underwhelmed. It was alright, but nothing stand out, and ultimately I suspect forgettable. I like the idea of reading about the aftermath of a relationship from one perspective, then flipping to the other side, but the balance here was out of whack. I would have preferred more of Jen, less of Andy. While I liked where Andy ended up, it took a lot of pages of just not much to get there.

#12Booksof2024 July is an easy favourite. I thought a book about OnlyFans and pro wrestlers was NOT for me. But I fell head over heels for Margo and Jinx and Thorpe.

@Andrew65

#12Booksof2024 June

Some really solid reads in June, but this slow examination of artists and art was the most intriguing.

@Andrew65

Wow, what an incredibly affecting, original piece of fiction. Through her narrator Jess, Black explores the effect of trauma on an individual's life, and the role of suicide in society. But also relationships, family, love, grief, and joy. It is a dark book, but balanced enough to avoid total despair. Black does an incredible job of balancing a book that looks so deeply at trauma without falling into “trauma-porn.“

TW: suicide, abuse

Catching up on #12Booksof2024 @Andrew65

January - Fault Lines was my surprise hit in January. This story of a woman straining against societal and familial expectations in modern day Japan resonated and has stuck with me every since. Thanks to @Sapphire for the #AuldLangSpine recommendation (and @monalyisha for her epic matchmaking skills)

"Perhaps this is how good parenting always happens; you middle through in desperate terror and then attempt to apply logic afterwards to justify your choices."

Sounds accurate to me!

Happy #Jolabokaflod 🎉

Thank you @melissajayne - I'm really looking forward to finally reading this one! And enjoying all this awesome chocolate 🍫

And thank you to @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing once again this year!

💯

New Emma Donoghue coming in March! And it sounds good!!!! https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443474238/the-paris-express/

I grew up on soul music, and reading the synopsis of this one from @CarolynM's #AuldLangSpine last called to mind favourite films like The Commitments and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. So it kinda sorta fell into my online shopping cart when I was doing some last minute holiday shopping, and arrived at my door today!

@monalyisha

I like it, in romance books, when the adult characters are having a misunderstanding and stop to say “hey, I think we're having a misunderstanding here, can I more fully explain my feelings?“ instead of stewing in silence for 100 pages or so.

Kate and Matt are (mostly) good at acting like reasonable adults and doing the above, and it made for a charming, fun read set in cottage country in the winter. It was a great, light, and fun diversion!

Between Best of 2024 lists, and Most Anticipated of 2025 lists, 'tis the season for TBR explosions! Here's Time's Most Anticipated list: https://time.com/7202423/most-anticipated-books-2025/

What are you most looking forward to? For me it's a toss up between the tagged (can't resist an isolated island setting) and Dream Hotel (I loved The Moor's Account)

This logic checks out.

Tagging the last new book I bought. Just ordered Rare Singles from @CarolynM's awesome #AuldLangSpine list 💕💕💕

A solid courtroom/domestic thriller about a conflict between neighbours, rife with racist dog whistles, which escalates out of control. Engaging, thoughtful, well paced. I was happy to find my library has another title by Abdullah, because I'll definitely read more!

This one has super #BlameitonLitsy pedigree - I first discovered Annie Hartnett through @Chelsea.Poole's #AuldLangSpine list a couple years ago, and when I recently posted about how much I loved Unlikely Animals @Christine recommended this one!

I loved this one so much, a bittersweet portrait of grief through the eyes of 10-year old Elvis. Hartnett has a talent for injecting just the right amount of quirk into her characters and stories (cont'd)

And my #LittleChristmasSwap is also heading out, directly from Amazon. @bookish_wookish

@LeahBergen if you receive an unexpected Amazon package around Dec 23rd - that's from me! Open Jan 6 😁👍 (once real mail resumes I'm going to send another small package with some items I couldn't replace online!)

Because of the Canada Post strike, I was going to ship my #jolabokaflod package through alternate couriers. Unfortunately, it was going to cost an exorbitant amount and it was 3X cheaper to buy a new gift through Amazon (which I hate using) and send it directly. 😕

The good news, my #jolabokaflod package has been shipped, will arrive by Dec 22 @MaleficentBookDragon

Packages!

@StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego my #LittleChristmasSwap package arrived today, now to squirrel it away until the opening date! Thank you!!! @bookish_wookish

Another package arrived from Amazon, and I'm pretty sure I didn't order anything - I'm guessing it's for #jolabokaflod? @MaleficentBookDragon

Killers of a Certain Age sequel, coming 2025? Yes, please!

I loved this book and its characters so much, thank you @squirrelbrain for sending it my way! I've seen it marketed as a mystery, which I think does a disservice to the book - if you're expecting mystery, you may be disappointed. This is a poignant coming of age, set in a small Yorkshire town in 1979/80; the mills have closed, Thatcher is coming to power, and the Ripper has the county on edge. Cont'd in comments

I saw @Amiable posted her favourite reads from past #AuldLangSpine matches, and I love the idea! As I look forward to reading from @CarolynM's list in 2025, here are my faves from my past awesome matches:

@MeganAnn - The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (historical fiction meets fairy tale retelling at its finest)

@sprainedbrain - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

@monalyisha - World of Wonders (so good I've read it twice now!)

Cont'd

#5JoysFriday

There are young snow leopards at the Toronto Zoo. My son and I took a trip to watch them play, it was so much fun.

First real snow of the season!

#AuldLangSpine match time!

Sprocket is in his full fluffy glory these days 😍

Delicious local ciders 😁

@DebinHawaii

@CarolynM what a great #AuldLangSpine list! The only one I've read is Clear, and I loved it so that's always a great sign. Caledonian Rd, Death at the Sign of the Rook, and Driver's Seat are all available through the library, so I've got my holds placed and will start there. Edenglassie sounds right up my alley, and it is released here on Jan 2, which seems like a sign. And I'll have to see what else I can get my hands on!

@monalyisha

First real snow day of the season! Excuse me while I curl up by the fire with this one from @squirrelbrain