For English it was Hard Times and for Irish, Peig, both of which were fairly gloomy. Poor old Peig - "If I'd known half the misery ahead of me, I wouldn't have been nearly as cheerful setting out". Misery lit avant la lettre. The other book for Irish was The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne, which at least had plenty of drama ("then he threw his spear and it went through 100 warriors and they dropped to the ground dead". I may be making that up, but it was close).
My recent reads:
104. Death in Delft, Graham Brack
Recommended on here - sorry, can't remember by whom. Solving crime in Golden Age Netherlands. There are references to the incident described in the non-fiction book Thunderclap, by Laura Cumming which I enjoyed recently, a pleasing synchronicity. Decent historical crime.
105. A Song for Summer, Eva Ibbotson
I've been raving about this author all year, so come on in and enjoy her, Best! That said, I think Madensky Square is her best. We're back to the lighter romances in this book. Our heroine goes out to work in a progressive school in Austria. Unfortunately it's the late 1930s and bad things are on their way. There were moments reminiscent of The Sound of Music and the Chalet School books. As always, I laughed at the jokes, fell for the characters, and cheered them all on. If I'm being critical, she seemed to be setting up a few storylines that ended up not going anywhere, but I enjoyed it anyway.
106. Lives in Ruins: Archaeology and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble, Marilyn Johnson
Last month I really enjoyed X Marks the Spot, about archaeology discoveries. That book referenced this one, which is a bit of an oddity. The author, a journalist, is interested in the archaeologists rather than the archaeology, so we get a number of portraits of individuals working in the field. She didn't dig very deep (there's a pun in there somewhere) but I was quite interested in the descriptions of how hard it can be to make a living. Being an archaeologist is my fantasy alternative career, so that's always a useful reminder.
107. Untrue Unto Death, Graham Brack
The sequel to book 104. More unravelling of criminal plots in 17th century Netherlands. Lots of time is spent on barges. Our hero is likeable. They're free on kindle unlimited and I'm trying to make the most of my free 30-day trial, so I might cram another one way. It's the literary equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet - you're not sure if you want another dessert quite so soon, but it seems a shame to leave it.
108. The Husbands, Holly Grammazio
I thought this was pretty original - our heroine didn't have a husband this morning, so how come one has just descended from the attic? And every time he goes back up, a new one comes down. Which should she keep? Good fun. I was interested in the question of how you're different with different partners, but this is fairly lightly touched on, and it retreats to the more well-worn theme that sooner or later you have to give up on infinite choice and commit.