*2021 - 50 BOOKS FOR THE YEAR*

#30. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell.

#40 was The Careful Dresser by Linda Grant. An interesting insight into why clothes are so important to us.
#41 was I Murdered My Library, also by Linda Grant. This was a short read about how meaning of a large book collection to the author.
#42 was Digging to Australia by Lesley Glaister. I finished it but I found l could not relate to any of the characters, all of whom were unsympathetic.

Well, I finished American Rust, didn`t enjoy it one bit, 587 pages of misery. I haven`t christened my next book yet.

Some daft book about saving a Cornish theatre by Fern Britton.
It was ok.

I've downloaded a couple of books which I now realise I'd read years ago but they have been extensively re-written and have new titles.
Very annoying as they weren't free!

Book 61, started this morning, is another Inspector Montalbano book, The Patience of the Spider.

Enjoyed that, now reading book 62, another Montalbano, The Paper Moon. I`ve read them all out of order, but it doesn`t matter, still enjoying them.

#31. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell.

24. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. My goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever been so immersed in a book as with this one. I had no memory of my Dh coming to bed after me the other night, though he says I spoke to him, I was so deeply embroiled in Shakespeare’s world.

This will be my book of the year unless something extraordinary comes up in the next six months.

Book 63 now, Montalbano again, Rounding the Mark.

I need to update my reading record:
The Midnight Library - Matt Haig loved this, found it very thought provoking
The Evening and The Morning - Ken Follett - I had forgotten what a brilliant writer he is. It’s a thick book but I was engrossed right up to the last page.
Saving Missy - well written and made me feel very positive after finishing it.
I am reading 2 books at the moment-
The Librarian - Sally Vickers easy to read and very relaxing bedtime story
A little life - Hanya Yanagihara I’m finding this very difficult to have any sympathy with the main characters. Is it worth persevering?

Book 64, Excursion to Tindari, I think this is the last Montalbano in the batch. I`ve enjoyed them though.

#32. The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley.

#41 The Giver Of Stars JoJo Moyes. It is about packhorse librarians in rural Kentucky in the 30s. I really enjoyed it.
#42 Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch. A young London constable who is recruited into an arcane branch of the Met dealing with supernatural cases. So so good and the first of a series ?.
#43 Spellbreaker Charlie N. Holmberg. A bit odd. I finished it but didn't enjoy it.

Book 65, Black Country Orphan, by Annie Murray, I love her books. I think this is going to be an emotional one.

Just finished I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry. Fantastic family based psychological thriller. Beautifully crafted.

IN loved Black Country Orphan. Just starting book 66, Three Things About Elsie, by Joanna Cannon, but it`s not grabbing me yet.

#43 was Vintage Crime; a collection of short stories by members of the Crime Writers' Association authors, edited by Martin Edwards. Very enjoyable.
#44 was The Girl With Two Lives by Angela Hart; a true story about a foster child.
#45 was Mother Loves Me by Abby Davies . This was an easy, enjoyable story but required a huge suspension of disbelief.

Three Things About Elsie was a very odd book, can`t say enjoyable, can`t say not, just a strange book. Now on book 67, Bread, Jam and a Borrowed Pram, by Dot May Dunn, a true account of her life as a health visitor in the late 50s. It`s so hard to believe that some peoples living conditions were so bad by the late 50s.

#33. The Little Princesses by Marion Crawford.

25. A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago. It’s a retelling of a 17thC murder scandal, refashioned as a Thelma & Louise story. I got bored and skimmed the last third. Other people have raved about it so maybe it’s just me!

Book 68, The Christmas Rose, by Dilly Court, the 3rd in the River Maid trilogy. Loving it.

#34. Gallows View by Peter Robinson.

Robert Harris "Fatherland" quite riveting, one of his early ones. It's inspired me to check which others I haven't yet read of his. I haven't kept a note of how many books I've read so far this year, about ten I think, so not likely I'll manage fifty.

Book 69, A Christmas to Remember, by Anton du Beke. It`s his 3rd book, set around a posh London hotel in 1938, and they`re all about the same people who live, stay or work there. I enjoyed the first 2, liking this as well.

#49 Storm in the Village by Miss Read. Lovely light nostalgic read.
#50 The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley. The seventh of the Seven Sisters series that was meant to provide the answers to all the mysteries running through the books but rather frustratingly doesn’t! Lucinda Riley was apparently planning an 8th book but has sadly died so the mysteries may never be solved.
#51The Night Hawks by Ellie Griffiths. Latest in the Dr Ruth Galloway series. Enjoyable as always.
#52 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Excellent, thought-provoking novel raising questions about racism but also about identity and honesty - how much of ourselves do we really reveal to others and how well do we know those closest to us?