Week 43

This week I listened to a couple of audiobooks. The first one was When the Lights go out by Mary Kubica. I’ve read a few of her titles and love the thrillers she writes. The story is told in two viewpoints in alternating timelines. We experience Jessie’s story in the present while uncovering her mother’s story told from the past. Then we get to the big reveal, and I must admit, I was disappointed this time.

The second audiobook was a Reese Witherspoon bookclub title Something in the water. I was also listening to this as a bonus title for the Erin 9.0 reading challenge.

What a page turner! This book was full of twists, I never suspected any of them,  I just kept listening  not wanting it to finish! Highly recommend.  

Week 42

This week I worked on the bonus round for Erin 9.0 reading challenge and ticking off more categories for the Ultimate Reading challenge.  Dumplin by Julie Murphy was highly recommended by other readers in Erin’s challenge for the unlikeable character. Willowdean is a curvaceous sixteen year old living in a small Texas town. The highlight of Clover city is its yearly beauty pageant which her mother is head of the committee. Willowdean enters the beauty pageant along with a few unlikely candidates.

This book is due to be a film next year with Jennifer Anniston.

M

Next was another highly recommended title, also due to be released as a movie. The goodreads winner for debut author and young adult read, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This was a  powerful story... informative, eye-opening, emotional and message filled. I also highly recommend this one! 

Lastly is a book by someone not known as an author. Mycroft Holmes was a collaboration between Kareem Abdul - Jabber and Anna Waterhouse. After finishing The adventures of Sherlock Holmes I picked this book up based on Sherlock’s brother. It is set in the same time period as the original short stories and feels like it is written in the same voice. This story is set however in 🇹🇹 Trinidad, full of mystery and thrills. 

Week 40

Its spring break and I managed to get some serious reading done this week. I really liked the hint for the young adult once upon a book club title, and as soon as the title was known I ordered the book. In Another Time tells the story of The Women’s timber corp in Scotland during the war. I loved hearing about the strong lumberjills and it was a side of the war I hadn’t heard before. Interspersed in the story is a love story between Maisie and John. 

Americanah has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I bought it second hand as a title for my Read around the world for 🇳🇬 Nigeria. The title was also on an unlikeable character list and so it was one of my titles for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge. This was the tenth title read for this challenge. This book takes on race, immigration and emigration, the politics of natural hair, interracial relationships, what it means to leave home, and what it means to return, all things I have no experience with wrapped up in a love story. I liked the main characters Ifemeulu and Obinze, I’m not quite sure which character was meant to be unlikeable. I’m unsure about the ending, it left me wanting more. 

So after reading this book, I planned my titles for Erin’s 9.0 bonus round. Walk Two moons was on someone’s TBR pile the longest and it was also sitting in my bookshelf. I had bought this as a Newberry title that might be good to use in the classroom. It had been a while since I had read a Newberry title. I found it slow to start, but the ending was powerful and had me shed a few tears. This book deals with issues relating to internalizing feelings, judging others, coping with emotions and not taking things for granted. All things children in upper primary experience and are learning about. 

Week 38

This week I pulled a book off my shelf that I’ve had for quite a while, Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes. Set in two timelines, 1950s and the present. Lottie is a war evacuee that comes to live in a seaside town. She becomes friends with Celia Holden and together they visit the sea cliff mansion, Arcadia. Bohemian artist have recently moved and caused a scandal in the tiny town. Fast forward to the present, and we are introduced to Daisy who has been hired to renovate the seaside mansion. The story is slow to start, but then a beautiful story unfolds. This was my alliterative title for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge.

I’ve become hooked to mysteries since starting the Bookies R us challenge, and so another cosy mystery, Killer Transaction was my other title read this week. This was a quick read. Cindy York, a real estate agent just had a listing stolen under by colleague Tiffany. Left feeling angry, Cindy threatens Tiffany in a voicemail. As she comes back to the office later that night, she discovers Tiffany dead and after her threat, she is the prime suspect. This is the first in a series. I actually enjoyed it and would like for the other titles in this series.

7 books read towards the Bookies r us challenge. 57 books in total read for my good reads challenge in 2018. 😊

Week 35

After Reading The Cuckoo’s calling I wanted to read the original London literary detective -Sherlock Holmes! I have had the book for a while and it was one of my titles for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge. I didn’t realise The adventures of Sherlock Holmes 🕵️‍♀️ was a collection of short stories. I spent more time reading this book than others as I put it down after reading each short story. The collection is very cleverly written. At times I found the beginnings of the stories drawn out as they start very similarly. There are ten short stories in total, with my favourite being The adventure of the blue carbuncle. Reading the stories I reminisced about my time in London early this year. I wish I had visited the Sherlock Holmes museum now in Baker Street.

Another book towards the Ultimate Reading challenge and Bookies R us. 

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 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.

Book Challenge by Erin 9.0

The categories were announced today and I couldn’t wait to get home from work to check my book shelves and scan goodreads for recommendations. Two titles are audiobooks, the rest I own and have had them laying on my to be read pile for ages.

Here’s my selection

• 5 points: Freebie - read a book that is least 200 pages-  Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
• 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter N - Nothing to declare: memoirs of a woman travelling alone by Mary Morris
• 10 points - Read a book that has mostly an orange cover - The adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
• 15 points: Read a book with an unlikeable character - Americannah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
• 20 points: read a book from the of 100 books that PBS calls “The Great American Read” - A tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
• 20 points: read a book with something related to the water in the title- The secret river by Kate Greenville
• 25 points: read a book you’ve owned the longest but haven’t read yet - (audible) Swimming lessons by Clare Fuller
• 30 points: Read a book with an emotion word in the title- For the love of a son by Jean Sassoon
• 30 points: Read a book where each word in the title of the book begins with same letter. - Foreign Fruit by Jojo Moyes
• 35 points: Read a book featuring a character who shares your profession or similar one (teacher) -Because of Mr Terrupt by Rob Buyea

Starts July 1st 

Week 17

This book was on a list I discovered on Pinterest. I use Pinterest, goodreads and blogs to find new titles. I had read a Jojo Moyes title off the list and then added A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan to my to be read pile. I had this title on my audible app. 

A window opens reminds me of a Sarah Jessica Parker movie, I just don’t know how she does it. Alice is a working mum, juggling a career and raising three children. Her father’s cancer returns sending her life a curve ball.

This was my final title in Erin’s book challenge... Read a book by an author whose first and last name begins with the same letter. I originally chose a Monica McInerney novel, but didn’t take it on holidays with me.

24 books read so far this year. 

20th book in 2018

A Man called Ove (pronounced OOva) is one of the books that has been highly recommended on a number of sites I peruse to get inspiration for selecting books. So I added it to my audible app. Ove is a likeable character due to the influence of the other characters in the book. He is quite lonely after the death of his wife and after finishing up at his work. Parvana, his new neighbour injects a new lease of life into him despite his quirks. Parts of the book were quite sad, and some entertaining.

This book was originally written in Swedish, so I’ve changed my selection to this title for the category Read a book that was originally published in a different language than your own. It is also set in 🇸🇪 Sweden, so I’ve added it to my read around the world challenge. 

Week 12

I changed my mind for one of my books in the Book challenge by Erin for the category “Read a book with a character’s name in the title”. Originally I selected Huckleberry Finn, but after struggling with finishing it, I have chosen Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, to replace it.  I read this as one of books I “read” during my daily commute through my audible app. This book has some twists as Eleanor is not fine and has suffered through a traumatic experience in the past which doesn’t come to the surface until an incident occurs during the book. It has some twists, and if you have read it, let me know, as I want to talk with someone about the ending.

The other book I “read” in my commute is The fall of marigolds by Susan Meissner. I find it extremely difficult not having the novel to physically look at, as I have a habit that if I think I know how a book will end, I flick to the end to see if I’m right. Listening to an audiobook, you have to wait the entire 10+ hours to confirm you initial predictions. This was another historical fiction, based on the tragic events of the Twin tower collapse in 9/11 and the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in Manhattan in 1911. This story is told in the viewpoint of nurse Clara Wood, and in the more recent tragedy viewpoint of Tarryn. The book does not cover each time period evenly, telling more about Clara’s story, at times I pondered how do the two stories connect, when I felt the author had forgotten to revisit Tarryn and her story. It has some twists, that I didn’t see coming. I throughly enjoyed this new author to me.  

So I am ticking off the categories for the Ultimate reading challenge, a book with a name in the title and a book with a colour in the title. 19 books total for the year so far.

Week 11

I took a moment to check the actual weeks and I must admit that I was a bit eager posting somewhere along the way. This is now the 11th week, and I have managed to complete 3 books since my last update. The first book was Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes. This was chosen as part of Erin’s book challenge for read a book where most of the action takes place on a form of transportation ie. bus, boat, car, plane etc. I’ve read quite a few novels by Jojo Moyes and this is quite different. It is historical fiction based on the transportation of war time brides. The story tells about the friendship of three brides, Avice Radley, Frances Mackenzie and Maggie O’Brien. An absolutely beautiful read.

The second title was an audiobook, The subtle art of not giving a f@#$&. This was chosen for a book about philosophy. It was on the New York’s Bestseller list however I think it only made the list due to its sensational title. I felt the book was written by someone who was high, it would go from topic to topic without any clear links. Three of the author’s values we need to embrace are responsibility, uncertainty and failure. I really couldn’t relate to the author and his message.

 The next book was another title for Erin’s book challenge. Read a book with a mostly read cover. This book has a few covers but the one I’ve purchased in the past is red. The hypnotist’s love story. This is written by an author I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few titles from, Liane Moriarty. It was one of her earlier reads, and it didn’t disappoint. About a hypnotist, Ellen, her new partner, Patrick and his stalker, Saskia. Written in two voices, Ellen and Saskia. I found it hard to dislike the “stalker”.

That's 17 titles read since the beginning of the year and a few more crossed off the Ultimate Reading Challenge.

Week 8

Still reading.... I am surprising myself. I am making time to catch up with a good book. Work is at its most hectic, but I’m still finding the time. This week I wanted to tick off another book from Erin’s reading challenge. This is the furthest I’ve ever progressed with this challenge. I’m halfway through reading 5 books. The secret keeper by Kate Morton is on Book Riot’s 100 must read books. I had grabbed this one last year after suggestions after reading a Kimberley Freeman novel.

This a bit of a saga set in WWII and in 2011, it tells about the story about Laurel Nicholson and her mother with dementia. Through shifting through the timeframes you get to know Dorothy Nicholson (née Smitham) and her friend Vivien Jenkins. A really beautiful story that left me weeping in the final chapter. This was a true saga written over 560 pages, it has helped me tick off another title in the Ultimate reading challenge.

In my commute, I managed an audiobook, Comedian Tina Fey’s Bossypants.

I was really hoping that it would be a rip roaring laugh out loud kind of comedic book. I like Tina Fey, she is intelligent and I find what she writes about interesting. I just don’t find it LOL funny. In fact, the only time I laughed aloud was when I was listening with my son and it was awkward moment about tampons. We both looked at each other and laughed about the awkwardness. I don’t know if I’m gonna find that kind of a book, having read three female comedians’ stories this year. But I’m going to label it a funny book, funny in an intelligent way.

I am at 12 books for the year. I can't believe I'm a third of the way through my reading goal on goodreads. Its amazing how much I read last year for my Masters. I am spending the same amount of time but reading purely for pleasure this year. I think I can complete the Ultimate reading challenge this year. 

Week 7

I chose Keepers of the House by Lisa St Aubin de Terán for my read around the world challenge. This story is set in Venezuela 🇻🇪. My first book set in South America. It is about the Beltrán family who have lived at the Hacienda La BeBella estate for many years. It starts with the character Lydia marrying Don Diego and moving to the estate, befriending Benito. Benito has been loyal to the family for many years, and tells Lydia the history of the family and estate. After he dies, the recounts the history Benito spoke of. The book has many descriptive passages of the land where the story is set.

This title also fits the criteria for Erin’s book challenge as a title with “house” or “home” in it. And so now I’ve read 4 books towards the challenge. I could have picked many categories for the Ultimate Book challenge, however I selected a book written in the 20th century as it was written in 1982. So that’s a total of ten books towards the Goodreads and ultimate book reading challenges.