*2021 - 50 BOOKS FOR THE YEAR*

Blinko
I found the Goldfinch really hard to get into, I knew from the start it was going to drag out, because the opening scenes seemed, quite unnecessarily, to go on for ever

If you ever get that far, there is a period in the middle, which is a bit faster moving, but found it really disappointing.

Book number 3 - The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans. I have read and enjoyed other books by this author but didn’t think this was one of her better ones. Good story which eventually revealed the family secrets but took 509 pages to get there so became a bit tedious to read. If the library was open to get other books I don’t think I would have finished this one! Hope the next book is better.

I started on The Goldfinch by Donna tart. Not my kind of thing at all. Has anyone enjoyed it? Did it ever get to the point?

Finished ‘Execution’ by S. J, Parris. Giordano Bruno triumphs against, but what a page turner! I suppose I shall have to catch up on the previous ones in the series now.
Current read is ‘Quantum Curators and the Faberge Egg’ by Eva St John. Mildly diverting at the moment but I’m only on page 22!

#11, Mum and Dad by Joanna Trollope. A good read, although I thought it was quite similar to her other recent books. I’ve heard a lot about Where the Crawdads Sing so that’s going to be my next read.

Elrel
I’ve not heard of it, but sounds really interesting, something for our granddaughter’s to read maybe

‘Bloody Amazing - 123 taboo smashing poems
...it’s about bleeding time’
Remarkable collection of poems by women writing about their bodies and their reaction to them. I wish it had been published years ago as it would made me feel I wasn’t alone at various stages of life! Several poems about the impact of first periods especially touched me.

Happy to share the idea of my favourite book of 2020. The name of the book is "IKIGAI." This book reveals the Japanese secret to a long and happy life. The word "iki" means life, and "kai" means realizing hopes and expectations. The concept of this book is well structured with simple language. It is a small but beautiful book to read and has more cultural values, ending with little curiosity. I enjoyed reading this book, and I strongly recommend this book to people who are conscious about their health and stay long life with more happiness. I completed this one last week.

Now started reading the book "The Unspoken Name" by A. K. Larkwood.

Please recommend to me some books related to Science fiction..

5 The Offing by Benjamin Myers. I didn’t finish this. It’s awful, so overwritten with ridiculous metaphors bursting out of the pages. It’s also badly researched with oil seed rape and alpacas being raised in 1947 Yorkshire?

6 Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. Can’t really go wrong there, can you?

I’ve just finished West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. It was an Amazon First Read, which I often find are not worth bothering with, but this was wonderful.

A very quick, easy read for #11 - Changing Times by Jack Sheffield. Set in a North Yorkshire village in 1963/4, it was perfect comfort reading at this time. The next book will be meatier.

#9 - Night and Day by Caron Allan
A quick ‘cosy crime’ - not particularly memorable but an ok read.

Finished my fourth book ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’. To say I enjoyed it seems wrong but it is definitely a haunting book that I would fully recommend. Next up is ‘Bel Canto’ by Ann Patchett. I read her’Patron Saint of Liars’ last year which I really enjoyed so great hopes for this one!

I miscounted. Silent Graves was #9. I have just finished #10, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant. It is set mostly on the Isles of Scilly, with some episodes in Hampstead, partly in 1951 and partly in 2018. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have The Binding on my to be read list- not quite ready for it yet.

#10 Like This, For Ever by S J Bolton, a gripping crime novel, the 3rd (I think) in the DC Lacey Flint series. I’ve read a couple of other books by this author who now writes as Sharon Bolton. All good page turners!

#5. The Pure In Heart.

Will start The Betrayal Of Trust next.

Unfortunately have read the Simon Serailler books by Susan Hill in completely the wrong order. I ordered them from the library after recommendations by GN members, and had to get them when available, so all out of sequence.

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#6..The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanne Nell another audible book
Light hearted but the characters you will recognise from people you know...didnt want it to finish! Made excuses to listen during the day along with cross stitch.

Book 6
The Binding-Bridget Collins
I’ve had this on my pile for nearly a year, waiting to be read.
I found it to be a beautifully written book, strange and unusual, not really like any book I’ve ever read.
Ultimately a moving love story, that could never really have a happy ending.
Some of the characters were so well written, that you felt you knew them, I loved it.

If I had had a book of the year last year, jenniewren it would have been that one. Fabulous in every sense.

Finished #9, Circe by Madeline Miller, a retelling of some of the Greek myths and legends, from the point of view of Circe, daughter of Helios the sun god. Really well written, drew me in from the first page. I used to enjoy reading these myths when I was a child - this reminded me of them, but far more graphic than the versions written for children!

Just finished #8 Silent Graves by Sally Rigby. An enjoyable, easy to read police procedural, but fairly predictable. Juno, l agree with you about the Agatha Raisin books.

Because it was an audio book and undemanding I was able to skip through my #8 book Agatha Raisin: Pushing Up Daisies while doing other things. I quite enjoyed it but in my opinion the later Agatha Raisin books are not a patch on the early ones. Book #9 is a Kindle freebie This Time Next Year Sophie Cousens. It is the author's first novel and billed as a "romcom".

Book three
The House on Fripp Island-Rebecca Kauffman
Easy read, not very demanding, entertaining, but fairly predictable.
Book Four
The Other People-C J Tudor
This was a strange but compelling novel, so many twists and turns. At the end I wasn’t sure I had tied up all the loose ends. There are elements of the supernatural along side the search for a missing child by a distraught father, as the pieces start to fit together, it’s hard to put it down.
Book Five
The Remains of an Altar- Phil Rickman
I’m a big fan of the
Merrily Watkins books, lady vicar, and deliverance consultant. To be honest, this wasn’t one of my favourites, but still a good read.
Bridie, I read Platform Seven at the end of last year, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but I thought it was really interesting, would recommend.

1)
Nalas world by Dean Nicholson.
Lovely story about a guy who is cycling around Europe and finds and adopts a stray kitten, nice easy read.
2)
Summer at Shell Cottage by Lucy Diamond.
Easy holiday type read, family drama.
3)
The Secret Hours by Santa Montefiore
Rich girl goes rogue ! Secret pregnancy all revealed in a will, run off the mill...OK.
4)
Platform Seven by Louise Doughty.
A ghost story , telling the life of what happened to her in her life , brilliant novel, quirky.