Fifty Books a Year (or fewer)

Tartlet do you mean the Girl On The Train or The Sealwomans Gift?

I meant to start the latter last night but fell asleep.

Started book number 3 - An Unsuitable Match by Joanna Trollope - have read and enjoyed nearly all her previous novels but got to page 92 on this one and gave up. Decided it was just too slow and the characters not very interesting. With so many good books to read I no longer continue with one if I’m not enjoying it. Have just started instead East End Angels by Rosie Hendry so will give more information on this soon although I am a slow reader so may be a while!

Sue donim I’ll be interested to know what you thought of it. I was disappointed overall and didn’t agree with all the many rave reviews it got.

Just finished ‘Murder in the Dark’ - Betsy Reavley
A crime, detective novel. Quite enjoyable for a 99p Kindle offering.
That was book 5

Just finished The Essex Serpent. Not my cup of tea but well written. Starting Peter James book Faith.

I've finished The Girl On The Train. It kept me intrigued but after the end, it felt somewhat unfulfilling. Thrillers are not my usual choice and I don't think I'm really cut out for them, because I've read three over the recent months for book groups, and I've found none of them satisfying.

My book No 6 is The Sealwoman's Gift by Sally Magnusson.

Up to now I've read, The Christmas sisters by Sarah Morgan, a lovely Christmas st read.
I then read, Well meet again by Lilly Baxter who also writes as Dilly court, this was a wartime romance between a German officer and a local girl living in the occupied channel islands.
I also read, Beautiful liars by Isabel Ashdown, this is a crime novel akin to a Ruth Rendell novel. I couldn't put it down.
Am currently reading , Spitfire girl by Lily Baxter and after the first chapter its sounding good.

bonji don’t worry, you’re ahead of me, haha. I’m only a quarter of the way through my second book! Like you, I do a lot of crafting, well sewing really. I spend my days sewing or knitting and read only while eating lunch and dinner, and again when I go to bed. No way I’ll get through 50 books in a year ??

Just finished book number 2 (ok I’m a bit slow compared to lots of you but do a lot of crafting as well as reading), Human Face by Aline Templeton which I can recommend. This is the first in her new series of detective books. Aline wrote the series about the detective Marjory Fleming I enjoyed all of those so worth reading if you have not come across them before. The characters in the new series are quite different so I’m looking forward getting to know them in future books.

I’m lagging! I’ve finished The Sun Does Shine, which I really enjoyed, and am now starting book 3, Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman, as I fancy something equally disturbing, but fictional this time!

Enjoyed another Dorothy Sayers Peter Wimsey series, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. Also enjoyed Death on a Longship by Marsali Taylor and The Candlelit Coffin by Elizabeth Bailey which Amazon compares to Georgette Heyer. Not as good as GH, no-one is for me, but a decent Regency mystery with a romance as a small part.

Finished Billy Connolly, made in scotland, loved it.
Book 4. Ruby Wax....How to be human..

Hello Lemongrove. I have that on tape and listen to it when I want something cheerful. Ive also got him reading The Lady in the Van which is another favourite listen .

Finished Eleanor Oliphant this afternoon . Read for
my March Book Club meeting . I enjoyed it very much as it is an easy book to read but a good story well told..& believable characters. Finishing of a Christmas Crime Classic book of short stories until I decide my next longer book!

Have finished 2 books so far. The Woman Who Kept Everything by Jane Gilley and Eleanor Oliphant is completely Fine.
Enjoyed them both, easy to read and interesting.

I really enjoyed A God in Ruins. Apparently Kate Atkinson is writing another Jackson Brodie book, really enjoyed those.

I thought ‘A God in Ruins’ “dropped away” a bit towards the end. I was disappointed.

Book 3 A girl can dream --- Anne Bennett
Book 4 --- Beneath a Frosty Moon ---Rita Bradshaw

Loved both books

I’ve just finished the White Chrysanthemum which is set mainly in Korea and has the Japanese army ‘comfort women’ as its central subject. I read it in two sittings, the last of which had me still reading at 3.30 this morning because I needed to know what happened next. Always the sign of a good book.

I didn’t really get on with A God in Ruins either so I’ve just parked it temporarily waiting for a second attempt because I usually enjoy Kate Atkinson.

Yes, it is a bit challenging keeping everyone in your mind - not one for reading as you drop off to sleep at night.

Homegoing seems to have been really popular amongst youngsters. The author is only young herself so maybe it appeals to them and they can relate to it more.

Thanks SueDonim, I will keep on with the book for a while - I am enjoying it, just struggling with placing everyone! So pleased to find someone else who loved Homegoing

Has anyone read Milkman?

My daughter gave me Homegoing to read and like you, Bathsheba I was blown away. An amazing book.

Do persist with A God In Ruins. I loved it and thought it better than Life After Life.

Well I finished Homegoing a few days ago. What a wonderful sweeping saga of a story, following two branches of one African family over several generations, taking the reader through the slave trade both in Africa and the US, right up to modern times. No spoilers here. Thoroughly recommended!
I'm a little way into A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, but not sure I'll get through it. I want to, because it is so highly acclaimed, but I am struggling with it. It jumps from one generation to another, backwards and forwards in time, and I am having difficulty keeping up with who everyone is, where they belong generationally. I could seriously do with a family tree! I may have to put it aside and start something else...

Here's another recommendation, although I'm only half-way through it.

'Wives and Sweethearts' by Alastair Massie and Frances Parton, comprises letters taken from the National Army Museum archives. With comments on the times and contents, and sometimes the lives of the writers and recipients, it makes fascinating and poignant reading.