Week 34

The last fortnight I’ve read quite a few titles. The first was a book recommended by Reese Witherspoon from her Hello Sunshine book club. The  Light we Lost. This was an Ahhh-maz-ing love story that spanned 30 years. Another page turner I just wanted to read more about Gabe and Lucy’s story and find out what happened. I think will explore more titles from this book club in the future. 

Next I went back to my list for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge list and decided to try For the Love of a Son. This story was a true story, very heartbreaking. Maryam is a defiant Afghani girl fighting for equality. After an arranged marriage, she is continually brutally beaten  and her young son kidnaped by his father. Maryam remarries and moves to 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia. This is one mother’s search for her son. This book was my 5th title complete in Erin’s challenge and another title for my read around the world. 

The next book enjoyed was Where the road takes me. This young adult romance was full of cliches but the escapism was just what I needed after a busy days work.   Chloe is rescued by Blake when he is out for a jog one night. She attends his school and takes the same Math class but he can’t believe he has never set sight in her before. He can’t stop thinking about her, can Blake break down Chloe’s walls that she has built and let him love her? Totally predictable.

Lastly, the Bookies R us have picked mysteries for the next genre challenge and I have had The cuckoo’s calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) sitting waiting for me, this was the perfect time to get into it. A great whodunnnit that kept me guessing. I am actually interested in more in the series featuring  this ex military detective and checking out the tv series based on this book. 

The last weeks have been very productive reading weeks. I’ve now managed 49 titles towards the Goodreads Challenge, and a few more crossed off the Ultimate Reading challenge. 

Week 32

At the beginning of the fortnight I increased my goodreads challenge from my original plan of 36 books which I planned to be roughly 3books a month to 60 books. At the same time I was looking for a historical fiction book to sink my teeth into. I had seen many reviews about the Tattoist of Auschwitz, and a few mentions of the Librarian of Auschwitz. Having not long along finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and being introduced to Francie Nolan and her love of books. I decided to stick with another bibliophile character and download the audio version of The Librarian of Auschwitz. I didn’t research the book before I did and was surprised that it was based on the true events experienced by Dita Adler. The literary recount was originally written in Spanish and translated. It tells of the horrific imprisonment of Dita and her family in a camp at Auschwitz. A few minutes I had to stop the audiobook as it elaborated with quite detail about the torturous experiments of Dr Josef Mengele.

Dita is a 14 year old girl who is a teaching assistant in Block 31. She keeps a precious library of 8 books and through the terrifying recount of events. Her love of books and living books creates a sense of hope and courage in this horrific era. It is not just her story that is intriguing but the interview with Dita and the author at the end and details about what happened to historic figures we just read about.

This was a book set in Poland 🇵🇱.

The next book I encountered was a change of genre, but was still a heavy read. Behind closed doors by BA Paris was a thrilling read. Grace meets Jack Angel. He is such a charming man but the moment that they marry, things do not appear as they seem. This psychological thriller was a page turner and I can’t believe what Grace experiences. 

This makes my book total 45 books. 

Week 30

This week I received my very first book club box. I subscribed for three months to Once Upon A Book Club. I loved getting the book like pink box.

The idea of this book club is that as you read they have carefully selected gifts which you open at the designated reading pause. 

This month’s hard cover new release is The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah.

 

The gifts are wrapped in vineyard themed gift wrapping. I couldn’t wait to read and experience the world of the story. It wasn’t long before I got to the first book gift.

I couldn’t stop reading. 

  

 

 

 

I absolutely loved this book and the characters. I didn’t want it to end. This story is told in dual timelines. Helene narrates the past through a series of journal entries during WW2 , the present narrated through Kate. Kate is a sommelier, she is studying for the Master of Wine exam and visits her family vineyard in Burgundy, France. She finds a hidden wine cellar and the diary of her great aunt, and discovers the history of the vineyard during the war. It is exceptionally told. A great selection for a book club discussion later next month. I can’t wait for the next two instalments. 

This month the Bookies R Us challenge is to read as many historical fiction books as we can. This is my first. Overall it is my 43rd book this year for my goodreads challenge, and another for the ultimate reading challenge - a book about science. Helene is a chemist, it’s her knowledge of science that assists the vineyard during the war. 

Week 29

This week I knocked off two more titles for Erin’s book challenge and the ultimate reading challenge.     Because of Mr Terrupt was recommended by my son Liam, he had read it in primary school. When he saw it off the shelf and next to my bed, he kept asking, “what do you think of this book?”. I loved it, devoured it in an afternoon. It is about an inspirational teacher, Mr Terrupt told in seven of his students’ voices. I can’t wait to talk to him about it, I know he is going to want me to read the sequels too now.

A tree grows in Brooklyn is a PBS Great American Read and was my second book this week. It was slow paced but very descriptive narrating the story of Francie Nolan’s life almost 100 years ago. Francie loves books, reading and learning and even though her family is poverty stricken she manages to overcome many obstacles. This book is full of hope, determination and preservance. It’s a classic read as the setting and story are timeless.

Week 28

I couldn’t wait for my holidays from work and the first book on my list was the third in the Crazy Rich Asians series by Kevin Kwan- Rich People problems. This story continues with Nick’s grandmother falling ill. He hasn’t spoken with her since the night he proposed to Rachel in Book 1. The family antics continue with Eddie and his wife Fiona jostling for the favourite grandson position hoping to be the heir to the grand estate in Singapore,  Astrid and Collin’s union and Nick trying to see his grandmother before she dies. I loved this series and can’t wait to see the movie when it comes out. I wonder how much of the story they reveal. This also was another tick in my ultimate reading challenge for a trilogy or series ✅

The next book read was for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge. Swimming lessons by Clare Fuller was on my audible app the longest and so I used this for the category. The story switched between the past and the present. The past was told through hidden letters from wife, Ingrid to husband Gil, when they were going through a difficult time in their marriage. The present was told through the stories of Nan and her sister, Flora as they deal with caring for their aging father, Gil and the disappearance of their mother many years ago. It was an interesting read. Well narrated.

Lastly, I joined another book challenge group on Facebook last month called Bookies R us. Each month they have a challenge to read as many book for the chosen genre. The past month was Romantic suspense. I hadn’t read a title in this genre for a long time, not since the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. So I read Linda Howard’s open season and Kerry Lonsdale’s Everything  we keep and lastly, Nora Roberts - Public Secrets. The genre surprised me, I actually enjoyed the novels more than I anticipated. I will probably revisit this genre again. Public secrets was a saga that spanned thirty years. Francie McAvoy, daughter to rockstar, Brian McAvoy, comes into is his life after her mother tries to use her birth to win him back. Seeing that she has been abused and neglected he decided to gain full custody. Brian has a new life with partner Bev, and a baby on the way and welcomes Francie into his new family. Baby Darren is adored by Francie and she promises him that she will never let anyone hurt him. Tragedy strikes when there is a bungled kidnapping and Darren is killed. Much of the book is about how Brian, Bev, Francie and the band members cope with this loss. Francie can’t remember the exact details of the night of the kidnapping and is isn’t until many years later and with the assistance of the son of the detective investigating that Francie remembers what happened that night. This was my first Nora Roberts book but it was when I finished this I remembered I bought a Nora Roberts book not long after I had my son Liam for a book club. Well I never read it and I am now thinking that this might be the longest unread physical book I own. 

Week 27

This week I read Nothing to Declare - memoir of a woman travelling alone by Mary Morris. This was the first book in Erin's 9.0 reading challenge. "Starting with N". It was an interesting travel log and memoir of a woman who ventured to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua alone in the 1980s. Quite remarkable accounts of the landscapes, ruins and people in these parts of the world. I wonder if Mary returned to Mexico, I wonder what happened to her neighbour Lupe, who the book is dedicated to and her children. I choose this book also for my read around the world challenge for Guatemala.

Just recapping my read around the world challenge so far:

Oceania:

Australia - The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

Asia:

Korea - Kite fighters by Linda Su Park

Lebanon  - Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird

Israel  - One More River by Lynne Reid Banks

Afghanistan - A thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni

Iran - Leila's Secret by Kooshyar Karimi

Singapore -  Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Africa:

Kenya - Facing the Lion by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton

Sudan - A long walk to water by Linda Su Park

Rwanda - One Thousand Hills by James Roy and Noel Zihabmwe

Somalia - Through my eyes: Amina by J L Powers

Europe:

Ireland - A taste for it by Monica McInerney

United Kingdom -  The War that Saved my life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

Guernsey - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Denmark - Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

France - Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

Norway - The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein

Finland - Big Game by Dan Smith

Belgium - And We're Off by Dana Schwartz

Sweden - A Man called Ove by Fredric Backman

Russia - Sapphire Skies by Belinda Alexandra

Greece - Girl Gone Greek by Rebecca Hall

Italy - Trafficked by Sophia Hayes

Northern and Central America

United States - Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng

Canada - The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Jean E.Pendziwol

Mexico - Little Sister - Lucy Dawson

Jamaica - The Best of Us - Sarah Pekkanen

Guatemala - Nothing to Declare by Mary Morris

South America

Venezuela - Keeper of the House by Lisa St. Aubin de Terane

29 countries visited so far. 

29 categories completed for the Ultimate Reading challenge as well.

Week 26

This week was really cold, winter has well and truly arrived! So I enjoyed snuggling under the blanket and visiting my book world. The second book in the Crazy Rich Asians series arrived in the mail and so I couldn’t wait to see what happened next in Rachel and Nick’s world. This novel, China Rich Girlfriend has a bit of a back story about Rachel’s long lost half brother and father before we finally see the couple wed and go on their honeymoon to Shanghai. This series reminds a bit of sex and the city, lavish mega rich lifestyles... Next week, I will be enjoying the last in the series.

I also joined a new Facebook group who read different genres. The next four weeks are dedicated to the romantic suspense genre. When I searched the genre there were a lot of Nora Roberts and Linda Howard. I haven’t not read their books before so this week I added Open Season to my audiobook collection. This was very cliche with the recipe for a perfect romantic suspense. “Spinster” librarian has birthday decides to do a makeover, goes out to bars, witnesses a murder, gets a puppy and forms a relationship with the new deputy. A very quick read. More predictable than suspenseful although it has a ending twist. 

The second was also a romantic suspense genre, I discovered this title in Amazon’s best sellers for this genre and it was already an audible download. Everything we keep by Kerry Lonsdale was a completely different mood, opening with  Aimee attending her fiancé’s funeral the day they intended to be married. A psychic confronts her in the car park and tells her that her fiancé is still alive. Aimee slowly rebuilds her life, opens a cafe but can’t stop thinking about what the psychic said. Is James still alive? Predictable but has a few twists. I actually discovered it’s the first book in another triology. So I think you will find out more about this story in subsequent posts.

I plan to read one more book for this genre. With this book I completed my goodreads reading challenge. I think I will have to set a higher target for 2019.