26-ish books for 2023

1 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
2 The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier
3 lessons in Chemistry
4 touch of love by Jonathan Coe
5 The bird in the bamboo cage by Heather Webb
6 The man who died twice by Richard Osman
7 The Glass Blowers by Daphne du Maurier
8 The travelling cat chronicles by Hiro Arkawa. Lovely but sad.
9 Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif. Enjoyed I think. Darkly funny.
10 Everyone in this room will someday be dead by Emily Austin.
11 The Helingor Sewing Club by Ella Gyland. Really enjoyed this one, about the evacuation of Danish Jews to Sweden in the second world war by local fishermen with the help of the whole community.
12 The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
13 Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier.

Loved both of the last 2. Not decided what to read next but have a few options.

11. This time next year. Easy to read romcom
12. American dirt. Tough read because of the story. Really recommend this book
13. What July knew. Really good book and sad one.

48 Magic Rises
49 Magic Breaks
50 Magic Shifts
51 Magic Binds
Now reading 52 Magic Triumphs. The final one in the series.

16) The Bees by Laline Paull. Follows the dramas and adventures of a bee - Flora 717 - who doesn't fit in with the other bees in the hive. The elements of class / societal structure worked well and the relationships were plausible. I knew bee life was complex but didn't realise it was quite so brutal. Not my usual sort of thing at all because my imagination isn't great and I wasn't convinced I would be able to get into it, I thought it might be an interesting idea that quickly ran its course, but it was really easy to picture and immersive. Lots of suspense and I ended up properly rooting for Flora.

I’ve finished
9.Death and Croissants- Ian Moore , which I can’t help I just didn’t like after already reading his “Death and Papa Noel “so I will not even start “Death and Fromage “they’ll all go to charity shop as will the unfortunately pre-ordered next one in the series . I didn’t like the style of the book and also just got bored .
I have now started on
11.Project Hail Mary -Andy Weir ,I have read the “ Artemis “ , and watched “ The Martian “ his two other books . This is very thick so will take me a while i’m sure .
In between I finished a book on my kindle .

12 State of Wonder - Ann Patchett

Read this on the back of The Dutch House, absolutely loved it. So excited that I have recently discovered Ann Patchett and have all of her back catalogue left to read!

19 Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
20 Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham

16: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I have read the first three JAckson Brodie books before and enjoyed them but not read the last one and though a reread of the other 3 first would be a good idea, found it on Borrowbox (audio). It felt slightly dated now but a good detective novel none the less.

13. Just ignore Him - Alan Davies. Not an easy read but very powerful.

This month I've finished:

1. 1999: Manchester United, The Treble and All That by Matt Dickinson.

1. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Still reading
9.Death and Croissants -Ian Moore
but finished in the meantime on my Kindle a book that’s been half read for years I’d say
10.Mind The Gap , The new class divide in Britain - Ferdinand Mount which I have to say was a bit dry and boring hence I hadn’t finished it for years and now skim read the rest .

I was tempted to get Toast by Nigel Slater out of the library. I might give that a try.

I've read a few more since I last posted. Fierce Bad Rabbits by Clare Pollard about the history of children's picture books with some anecdotes from her childhood thrown in. I loved this book, and found it so easy and pleasurable to read. Sad to come to the end.

Also, Backstory by the Comedian David Mitchell. This was good. I think I'd get on with David Mitchell in real life.

11. Women who run with Wolves. Clarissa pingola estes (audio)
12. The Lost Notebook - louise Douglas

Been off the reading ball this last little while. Couldn't find what to read after West with Giraffes. The lost notebook was a nice easy read. But bits at the end were a bit vague i thought.

15: Toast by Nigel Slater. I first read this memoir about 15 years ago, and found it again in a charity shop recently. His upbringing was dysfunctional to say the least.

11 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I absolutely loved this, beautiful book

I have finished book
8.Bad Mormon-Heather Gay
and started
9.Death and Croissants -Ian Moore
I already read his short Death and Papa Noel so we’ll see what this one is like . I also have his next book and have preordered the following one so let’s hope I like it !

Book 11 Ladys Well by L J Ross

Agreed! All The Light is one of my favourite books ever

just finished #11 Spring Cannot Be Cancelled by David Hockney and Martin Gayford and highly recommend it even if you don’t normally read non fiction (like me) felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket of Hockney’s calm and exquisite world

just finished a book for work but I don’t count those on my read sadly - it’s a goodun though!

Yes A gentleman in Moscow is a tall order to follow!

14: Waypoints - My Scottish Journey by Sam Heughan (audio). Sam challenged himself to walk the West Highland Way one November, this book combines the story of his journey with his memoirs and is beautifully written and narrated.

Orangebadger I also adored All the Light. It’s being made into a tv series I believe.

I also loved A Gentleman in Moscow. The Lincoln Highway is another great book but, for me, not quite in the same league as Gentleman.

6. All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr.

The best book so far this year, not that that's saying much as I am not getting through many!

Any historical fiction fans may enjoy this WW2 book. A wonderfully written story, one part from a French girl who is blind perspective. The other a German orphaned boy. And how their lives intertwine. Very clever and beautifully written.

Onto The Lincoln Highway a book I have waited a while to read as absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow.

I hope it's ok if I join in, so far this year I've read
Cat Lady - Dawn O'Porter
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin
Galatea: A Short Story - Madeline Miller
Broken Summer - Jung-Myung Lee
Nightbitch - Rachel Yoder
The Whispering Muse - Laura Purcell
Cleopatra and Frankenstein - Coco Mellors
She and Her Cat - Makoto Shinkai
Ponti - Sharlene Teo
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Lonely Castle in the Mirror - Mizuki Tsujimura
What Lies Between Us - John Marrs
The Forgetting - Hannah Beckerman
Keep It In The Family - John Marrs
Medusa - Jessie Burton
The Things We Do to Our Friends - Heather Darwent
Sweetpea - C.J. Skuse
Perfect Remains - Helen Fields

I'm currently reading Tender is the Flesh - Agustina Bazterrica

45 Magic Strikes (my favourite of the entire series)
46 Magic Bleeds
47 Magic Slays

I just started book 24, 'Duffy and Son' and I am loving it so far. Its set in Ireland and is about a father who wants to find a partner for his son who is about to turn 40. Its funny and charming and very engaging.