2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

The truth about Ruby Cooper... another good book by Liz Nugent.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This book has been celebrated and highly recommended so I'm certainly in the minority with my review.

I found Olive to be a most unpleasant character. In fact I felt no empathy with any of the characters. Olive is described in the blurb as 'compassionate' but I found no compassion in any of her words or deeds.
I thought I was reading about America in the 1940s/50s but it was only vague references to Trump that I realised it is set in the present day.

I continued reading to the end hoping the disjointed stories of various people would link up with Olive in some way - or I hoped she might do an act of kindness to redeem her.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I doubt I'd be persuaded to try another by her.

I started George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London and found the 1st two chapters so depressing at the moment I had to stop. Back on the shelf now.

I am now reading Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers. A good start and I will review it when I finished.

#76. The Winter Cottage by Rachael Lucas.

I haven’t been on the thread for a few weeks, I am so sorry to hear the sad news about Sparklefizz, we often seemed to enjoy the same books.

I posted previously that I had broken my ankle, unfortunately as soon as that was healed I managed to trip, and I badly broke 2 fingers. It’s been a trying summer and I seemed to lose my reading mojo recently, hopefully it will be back soon.

Here’s my most recent reads:
#59 *Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
Bone was born to a teenaged mother, into a family of hard living, hard drinking and hard fighting men. When her stepfather Daddy Glen becomes increasingly more vicious toward her, Bone finds herself caught in a family triangle that tests the family bonds and pushes her mother Anney to a terrible decision. This was quite a hard read at times, but ultimately worth it. 8/10
#60 Where the Pieces Lie by JD Kirk
Not one of the best in the series. 7/10
#61 How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
I remembered this being a best seller when it came out so got it on kindle unlimited. It was pure tosh. 5/10 (and that’s generous)
#62 The Optician of Lampedusa by Emma Jane Kirby
This is based on the true story of an incident involving ordinary people who rescued drowning migrants off the coast of Sicily. The impact on their lives was profound and this very moving little book is written with intelligence and sympathy. The author is a journalist who has reported on the mass migrations of recent years. 9/10
#63 A Killer of Influence by JD Kirk
Another in the series about DCI Logan, set in Inverness. 8/10

Continuing my list…
#64 Gone Again by Doug Johnstone
When Mark’s wife Lauren fails to pick up their young son from school, Mark spends the evening trying to contact her and checking with all her friends and family. As Lauren’s absence continues, we learn that it’s not the first time Lauren has disappeared and also that Mark has some violent incidents in his past. This was set around Portobello beach in Edinburgh, where I live, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but the ending was a bit overdone. 7/10
#65 A Rock and a Hard Place by JD Kirk
This is the most recent one in the DCI Logan series, set in the far north highlands, on the NC500 route. After some more lacklustre plots, this one was excellent. 9/10
#66 The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan
The second in the series about autistic DS George Cross, set in Bristol. A body is discovered on a building site a George and his long suffering partner investigate the victims complex life and relationships to determine what happened to him. Very good. 8/10

Bridey I really enjoyed The Truth About Ruby Cooper too and have recommended it to friends.

Terribull I read Middlesex a few years ago and though it was excellent.

72-Legacy of Sins-Anne Baker
When orphan Rose Quest turns 21, she needs her birth certificate to join the pension scheme where she works at Shearing's garment factory. She is shocked to see that she was born in the workhouse and starts to ask some very awkward questions about her mother. Then rumours spread that she was a love child of her boss, Edwin Shearing, which is a shock, as she has fallen in love with Edwin's son Ben. This would mean that they are brother and half sister.

An interesting family saga.

40. Honour, Elif Shafak

My favourite Elif Shafak of the three I’ve read so far. Spanning three generations, different time zones, and lives lived by the Euphrates and the Thames. It’s the story of Esma, her brother who is in prison for murder, her father who has left the family, her mother and her identical twin whose lives lead them down very different paths, and all the family members current and past whose fates are intertwined with theirs. It’s a compelling read.

73-H is for Homicide-Sue Grafton
260 pages of fast moving excitement, as Kinsey works undercover to catch a fraudulent insurance claims gang. I couldn't put this one down!

Book 28: The Map Makers Daughter by Clare Marchant
Book 29: Tennison by Lynda La Plante
Book 30:Hidden Killers by Lynda La Plante
Book 31 :Good Friday by Lynda La Plante
Book 32: Murder Mile by Lynda La Plante
Book 33: Dirty Dozen by Lynda La Plante. These Lynda La Plante books set mainly in the 1970s are about a female police officer who has to fight male prejudice in the police force while solving murders. They are set in London I have found them exciting.
Book 34: Chalk Dust and New Chapters by Gervase Phinn

#77. It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell.