BooksPlease

My Life in Books 2022

Published on December 31, 2022 by Margaret4 Comments

I’ve seen this recently on several blogs and in the past I’ve done slightly different versions.The idea is simple: Using only books you have read this year, answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title.

Links in the titles below will take you to my reviews where they exist.

In high school I (read): Maigret’s Memoirs by Georges Simenon

People might be surprised by: The Riddle of the Third Mile (Colin Dexter)

I will never be: Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

My life post-lockdown was: State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)

My fantasy Job is: Talking About Detective Fiction (P D James)

At the end of a long day I need: A Room With a View (E M Forster)

I hate being: The Queen’s Lady (Joanne Hickson)

I wish I had: The Second Sight of Zachery Cloudesley (Sean Lusk)

My family reunions are (at): The Chalet (Catherine Cooper)

At a party you’d find me (with) The Honourable Schoolboy (John le Carré)

I’ve never been to A Town Like Alice (Nevil Shute)

A happy day includes: Small Things Like These (Claire Keegan)

Motto I live by: Now and Forever (Ray Bradbury)

On my bucket list is (to find): Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

In my next life, I want to have: The Fellowship of the Ring (J R R Tolkien)

Wanderlust Bingo Challenge

Published on December 28, 2022 by Margaret10 Comments

I have completed reading the books for this challenge, although there are four that I haven’t reviewed. It has taken me two years and I’ve read 25 books, some of which I wouldn’t have thought of reading if it hadn’t been for this challenge. I travelled round the world and ventured into Outer Space in Ray Bradbury’s Leviathan ’99 and into the realms of fantasy in J R R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring Trilogy.

I enjoyed all of them, especially the 5 star books marked with an asterisk *.

Here’s the final list with links to my reviews (where they exist):

North America (USA) Inland by Téa Obreht

Small Town ( Canada) A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson*

Island (Crete, Greece) The Island by Victoria Hislop

Train (travelling from Ostend to Constantinople, via Cologne, Vienna and Belgrade) Stamboul Train by Graham Greene

Far East (Hong Kong, Cambodia) The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré*

Indian Sub-Continent (India) Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga*

Village (Ireland) The Wonder by Emma Donoghue *

Oceania (Australia) A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville

Forest (Germany) White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey

Space (The Universe) Leviathan ’99

Mountain (Spain and other countries ) The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

South America (based on Peru) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett*

Free Square (Middle Earth) The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien*

River (Rio Negro in Brazil) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett*

Polar Regions (The South Pole, Antarctica)– Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen* (nonfiction)

Desert (Saudi Arabia) The Night of the Mi’raj by Zoë Ferraris

Walk (Malaya) A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

Southeast Asia (Vietnam) The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Africa (Belgian Congo) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Beach (England) The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths

Road (Scotland) Coffin Road by Peter May*

Europe (Belgium) Ashes by Christopher de Vinck

Sea (in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Middle East (present-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey) Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

City (France) The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

~~~

My thanks to FictionFan who devised this challenge – I’m looking to seeing what she comes up with next.

Blog Break

Published on December 19, 2022 by Margaret11 Comments

I’ve been absent from my blog for a week because I’ve been in hospital. Once I’m feeling better I’ll be back.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Book Beginnings & The Friday 56: Winter Garden by Beryl Bainbridge

Published on December 9, 2022 by Margaret5 Comments

Every Friday Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader where you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading. You can also share from a book you want to highlight just because it caught your fancy.

One of the books I’m currently reading is Winter Garden by Beryl Bainbridge. I’ve enjoyed some of her other books so I’m hopingto enjoy this one too.

My Book Beginning:

One morning early in October, a man called Ashburner, tightly buttoned into a black overcoat and holding a suitcase, tried to leave his bedroom on the second floor of a house in Beaufort Street.

Also every Friday there is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Page 56:

Only last week there had been a report in the Guardian about an innocent bystander from Manchester who had gone to some meeting or other behind the Iron Curtain and disappeared for three days.

Synopsis

Quiet and reliable, Douglas Ashburner has never been much of a womaniser. So when he begins an extra-marital affair with Nina, a bossy, temperamental artist with a penchant for risky sex, he finds adultery a terrible strain.

He tells his wife that he needs a rest, so she happily packs him off for a fishing holiday in the Highlands. Only, unknown to her, Douglas is actually flying off to Moscow with Nina, as a guest of the Soviet Artists’ Union. It is then that things begin to get very complicated indeed…

What do you think? What are you currently reading?

Historical Fiction Challenge 2023

Published on December 8, 2022 by Margaret3 Comments

Marg at The Intrepid Reader hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created where you can add the links for the books you have read.

Everyone can participate! If you don’t have a blog you can post a link to your review if it’s posted on Goodreads, Facebook, or Amazon, or you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish.

Any sub-genre of historical fiction is accepted (Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Historical Fantasy, Young Adult, History/Non-Fiction, etc.)

During the following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

20th Century Reader – 2 books
Victorian Reader – 5 books
Renaissance Reader – 10 books
Medieval – 15 books
Ancient History – 25 books
Prehistoric – 50+ books

I love historical fiction so in 2023 I’m hoping to reach the Medieval level, that is to read 15 books.

Classics Club Spin

Published on December 7, 2022 by Margaret5 Comments

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin.

Before next Sunday, 11 December, create a post that lists twenty books of your choice that remain “to be read” on your Classics Club list. On that day the Classics Club will post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by 29 January, 2023.

Here’s my list: