I know. I know. This is a day late. And I’m sorry. It’s been one of those weeks. Work has been quietly bonkers, I’ve been exhausted and time got away from me. Rather than rush something out to keep to schedule, I thought I’d take the extra time and do it properly.
So the BotW is Helen Ellis’s short story collection, American Housewife. These a a series of deliciously dark and funny bite-sized tales, which I mostly read before bed. I’m not a massive short story reader, but they do make good bedtime reading because they have good obviously stopping places. And while these blackly humorous, there’s nothing here that’s going to give you nightmares. That said, Ellis doesn’t give you all the answers, some stories have distinctly ambiguous endings. Or even ambiguous middles.
I love the cover design – so simple and striking but appropriate for the book
I think my favourite story was the email war between two New York neighbours over their shared hallway. Or maybe the instructions on how to be a patron of the arts. Or the very unusual book club. Basically, there’s a lot of good stories here and I’m spoilt for choice.
If you fancy dipping your toe in the short story pond, this would be a very good place to start. And if you’re a short story fan, this should definitely be on your list. In fact I’d be surprised if it isn’t already. It is a hardback at the moment – and you’ll probably need to look in a proper bookshop for this (ie not the supermarket) or you can order it from Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles. It’s also available on Kindle and Kobo – at the much friendlier price of £2.99 at time of writing.
So I had a bit of a rationalisation this week. A couple of books are gone from the long serving list because I decided I didn’t want to finish them. A few more are gone from the pile and not mentioned on here at all because I started them and didn’t like them. I still have more to do to get the pile under control, but I’m working on it.
Read:
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich
A Mint Condition Corpse by Duncan MacMaster
Death of Liar by MC Beaton
Thursday’s Children by Rumer Godden
Dead White Female by Lauren Henderson
American Housewife by Helen Ellis
The Man on Top of the World by Vanessa Clark
Started:
The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders
The Venetian Venture by Suzette A Hill
Still reading:
n/a
In the spirit of dealing with the pile, I’ve been very restrained this week – I didn’t buy any new paperbacks at all – and my kindle acquisition was a freebie. I’m working on being better…
I know it isn’t that long since I had Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl as BotW, but I loved this so much I couldn’t not pick Carry On – the book about the characters that Cath was writing about in Fangirl. But you don’t need to have read Fangirl to understand Carry On as they’re separate entities – and there’s no cross over (or at least I didn’t notice any) between the story of this and the fan-fiction that Cath wrote in Fangirl (Rowell has said that this is Canon not fan fic).
Paperback copy of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
So, Simon Snow is returning to Watford School of Magicks for his final year. But his girlfriend has broken up with him, his mentor wants to move him to safety away from the school and his roommate-cum-arch-nemesis hasn’t turned up – which Simon would be loving except that he’s a bit worried about him. Then there’s the ghosts that keep turning up and the fact that the Evil Magic that’s trying to destroy the world (and particularly Simon) is still out there.
Now if this sounds a bit familiar to you, in Fangirl the Simon Snow series had a similar sort of world impact that the Harry Potter series did/does – so yes, it’s about a school for Wizards, and a Chosen One and his friends. But it’s also not the same. Magic works differently, the Baddie is different and the general dynamic is different and it’s not going to all work out the same (I don’t think that’s a spoiler). As I was reading this I was reminded of how much I loved the Harry Potter series when it first came out, and how much fun there is to be had from a YA series about a Chosen One and which doesn’t feature a dystopian future world where everything has gone to pot. And its been hard to find books like this – or at least I’ve found it hard.
I raced through this – reading pretty much 400 pages of it in practically one sitting (I stopped for dinner and Olympics) because I wanted to know what happened. I suspect Harry fans may have a love/hate relationship with it – I wouldn’t describe myself as a super passionate fan* but I really liked it. In fact I wish there were more books about Simon and Baz and their time at the school. It did what I want an adventure-y thriller-y book for children/youngadults to do – it has a strong core group of characters with strengths and weaknesses (who compliment each other but also don’t always agree), who have challenges to overcome. There is peril and adults are around but some of them are the problem and the rest might not be able to fix it.
I can’t guarantee that if you like Harry Potter you’ll like this, but equally I don’t think you have to like Harry to give this a try – if you like chosen one stories, quest stories, adventure stories then this one may well be for you. And it should be everywhere. My copy came from Tesco, but it’s also on Amazon, Kindle, Waterstones, Foyles, and Kobo.
*I own all the books (some in German and French as well), I reread Azkhaban fairly regularly and the other early books to a lesser extent, but don’t reread the end ones as much. I’ve seen most of the films (but not the last one), I haven’t bought the script for Cursed Child, but I have tried to buy tickets to see it and I haven’t been to any Harry theme parks or attractions.
Romance, crime and magic appear to be the themes of last week’s reading – and I didn’t even realise that I was doing it! Some of the stories below were not full length novels, so I didn’t quite read as much as the list might suggest – although at over 500 pages Carry On might make up for that a bit!
Read:
What I Did For A Duke by Julie Anne Long
Rivers of London: Night Witch 3 by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel
Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham
A Right Honorable Gentleman by Courtney Milan
So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Play With Me by Alisha Rai
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Started:
American Housewife by Helen Ellis
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich
Still reading:
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink
The Man on Top of the World by Vanessa Clark
I bought two books at the charity shop – for 75p altogether – they’re American editions of Old School Romances and you don’t see them very often so I had to have them!
This week’s BotW is Cressida McLaughlin’s latest novel, The Canal Boat Café. With the exception of this, I had a bit of a lacklustre week of reading last week – so I was glad to have something that I enjoyed and could actually recommend!
Say hello to my garden table and my copy of The Canal Boat Café!
Summer Freeman returns to the waterside village of Willowbeck after her mother’s death to sort out her mother’s narrowboat, the titular Canal Boat Cafe. Summer has been avoiding returning to the boat, but the family friend who has been keeping it going has run into some difficulties and needs Summer to take the reigns. Soon she and her dog Latte are moving on board and making new friends as Summer tries to work out what her future holds and what part the canal plays in it.
This originally started out as a four part ebook story, but is now out in proper paperback format. It’s still split into sections and there is a little bit of repetition of previous events, but as I was in the post-nightshift, too little sleep, too many hours at work haze it didn’t bother me because my concentration span was so shot! What it doesn’t have are the big, jarring cliff hangers that you often get at the end of sections in these novelisations – the sort of thing that are designed to get you to buy the next part to see what happens, but are then resolved within a few pages. And that is definitely a good thing. That’s not to say that there isn’t drama – because there is, but it happens at the point that it needs to happen for the story – not at where a part needs to end.
Summer and her friends (and not friends) have distinct characters and problems and points of view and the canal makes for a really appealing setting for them all to play out. It’s a lovely summer read, ideal for sitting out in the garden enjoying the sunshine – and it will probably make you want to go for a walk down the canal towpath, or even go on a holiday on the waterways.
You can get your copy of The Canal Boat Café from Amazon, Kindle, Foyles, Kobo, Waterstones – or like me from a large supermarket with a name that begins with T.
Oh boy, this week ended up a lot busier that I thought it would. And the reading has suffered. I was still quite post nightshift-y at the start of the week – so reading was slow and gentle, and then I did a lot of work and didn’t have a lot of free time. All this made me tired and find it slow to settle to anything.
Read:
Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries by Various Authors
The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne
Sweet Tomorrows by Debbie Macomber
A Killer Closet by Paula Paul
The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox
The Canal Boat Cafe by Cresside McLaughlin
Started:
What I Did For A Duke by Julie Anne Long
The Man on Top of the World by Vanessa Clark
Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham
Still reading:
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink
On the brightside, I didn’t buy any books. So progress there even if I didn’t read as much as I wanted.
This was a tricky decision, but I had a Margery Allingham as BotW a couple of weeks back so I went for a romance option instead. And it’s another contemporary romance as well! Daughters of the Bride is the latest from Susan Mallery – who has more books than I can count on Goodreads, even if this was the first of hers that I have read.
Courtney, Rachel and Sienna are preparing for a wedding – their mother’s. After their father died when they were young she’s found love again. But each of the three sisters has a secret (at least) from the others. Courtney is the misfit – she doesn’t feel as together as her sisters and she’s got a plan to prove to her family that she’s not the failure they think she is. Sienna’s boyfriend just proposed in front of all her friends and family, but with two failed engagements behind her, has she picked the right man this time? And Rachel has been divorced for a while now – but as her husband takes a more active role in her son’s life, she’s forced to reexamine the reasons for their break up and whether she’s ready to move on.
I really liked this book – all the sisters have strong stories and have been affected by the death of their father and the ramifications on their lives differently and it is a rollercoaster of emotions watching them work through their issues to get their happy endings. I had a favourite (I think you always do!) but the other two behind were pretty level. Their mum is a little harder to like at times – she’s tough and no nonsense and can be a bit self-centered, but as a reader you can understand why she behaved the way she did when her first husband died, even if you don’t understand her (seeming) inability to fully realise and acknowledge the effect it had on her children.
So there you have it – another contemporary romance book of the week and another book that would make a great beach read if you’re off to sunnier climes. My copy came from NetGalley, but you can get it on Kindle or Kobo, although the hardback price on Amazon is ridiculous (£20.40 as I write this) so don’t do that – it’s not long enough to be twenty quids worth of book!
I did five nightshifts last week, my brain had hit a go-slow by Wednesday morning and so I didn’t get as much read as I wanted. Fingers crossed I’m back in normal working order soon!
Read:
Daughters of the Bride by Susan Mallery
Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham
The Herring Seller’s Apprentice by L C Tyler
Ten Little Herrings by L C Tyler
Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander
Buzz Books 2016: Romance by Various Authors
Started:
Murder at the Manor: Country House Mysteries by Various Authors
Still reading:
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink
Those among you who’ve been coming here a while will know that Nightshifts = book purchasing. I was fairly restrained this time out – two Kindle sequels bought in the early hours and 3 books at the supermarket on Friday after I’d finished when my defences were low…
I’m back in the world of children’s books for this week’s BotW and Noel Streatfeild’s Curtain Up or Theatre Shoes as it’s called in the US and some newer editions here. I was sure that I had already read this – but it turns out, I hadn’t and it had been sitting on my children’s book shelf unread. A travesty.
The book has a plastic protective cover, so the photo isn’t great – but it’s so pretty I had to have a photo!
So, Curtain Up tells the story of the Forbes children – Sorrel, Mark and Holly. Their mother is dead, their father is missing in the Second World War. They had been living with their grandfather, but when he dies, they’re sent to live with their other grandmother – part of their mother’s family who they’ve never met. When they arrived in London, they discover that she is an actress and that she intends for them to follow in her (and their mother’s) footsteps and make a career on the stage. They’re not all happy about this – and life with their grandma is very different from what they’re used to and the book follows them as they get used to their new life – and discover some new interests along the way.
If you read any Noel Streatfeild as a child (or an adult) it will probably have been Ballet Shoes,the story of the three Fossil sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – and you’ll re-encounter these three (albeit at a distance) here, along with their theatre school. It’s a fun and sweet story which features rationing and wartime problems as well as the workings of the world of child actors. I love this sort of story – although today’s children may find bits of it strange – unless they’ve done the Home Front at school already!
I think my favourite Streatfeild may still be White Boots (Skating Shoes) but that’ may be because there are a lot of books about dancers and the theatre and not many at all about figure skating (I wish I could have been a figure skater, but even if my mother had sent me for lessons my flexibility, athleticism, build and height would’ve ruled me out pronto) but all the “Shoe” books I’ve read are great stories, well told that children can wish they were a part of, and adults can enjoy as well.
You should be able to get a copy of Curtain Up – probably badged as Theatre Shoes from any book shop with a good children’s department, Amazon have copies under both names – new copies of Theatre Shoes, a Kindle edition and second hand copies as Curtain Up. I suspect the bigger second hand book shops would be able to help too. Happy reading!
A bit of a struggle in the middle of this week – no idea why. And as I started a run of five nightshifts on Sunday evening, expect light, non-taxing reading next week!
Read:
Trouble at Melville Manor by Mabel Esther Allen
Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander
A Demon Summer by GM Malliet
Curtain Up by Noel Streatfeild
Man on a Rock by Grant Sutherland
A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody
Started:
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink
Still reading:
Daughters of the Bride by Susan Mallery
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
3 second hand books bought – one to replace a book I lost a while back, two to read.
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 