Posted on by Cathy

📘 All the Ws. . .

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

 I’m listening to:-

Huda and Me – H Hayek.  A surprise find on the abc listen app.  A ‘fun’ tale about a couple of migrant children who ‘run away’ to find their parents in Lebanon.  Yes, it’s probably classed as a children’s book but that hasn’t stopped the smiles on my face.  A big big plus is that the narrator – Jean Bachoura – speaks clearly.

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At the moment I’m reading:-.. – .
well I was until a short while ago – the head and eyes are feeling much better so I’ll be back to it soon (and hopefully reading/commenting on blogs)

The Sleeping and the Dead – Ann Cleeves (2001). 

Reprinted or (as mentioned in the foreword) ‘re-launched’ in 2022 to celebrate the author’s milestone anniversary with her publisher.

The Sleeping and the Dead is a tense psychological crime thriller from CWA Gold Dagger award-winning writer, Ann Cleeves.  source

* Detective Peter Porteous is called to Cranwell Lake where the body of a teenager has been discovered. After trawling through the missing persons files, he deduces that the corpse is Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972.

I often wonder about genre descriptions – described as a psychological crime thriller (explained) I’m eager to find out what it’s all about.  To me the first few chapters are just setting the scene, very slowly, a little cozy like, almost Midsummer Murderish but I’m sure they’ll change as pages get turned . 
* * * * 

Tea is so intoxicating – Mary Essex (pen name of Ursula Bloom) 1950

* I shall turn this into a tea-house, with lunches if requested, and shall serve pleasant meals in the orchard,” announced David, “and with my penchant for cooking I ought to make a fortune.
“Oh dear!” said Germayne.

An ‘off the shelf’ library pick purely for its title.  Can tea be intoxicating??.
 It sounded like fun and so far is just that.  I’m not sure it would appeal to a much younger person – set in the early to first half of the 20th century the writing is delicious, so humorous and descriptive with characters, settings and attitudes definitely ‘of that time’.  Perhaps not their ‘type’ but people of my parent’s time.

Memories of a fun afternoon- Afternoon tea with a difference. 

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I recently finished:-

The Bottle Imp – Robert Louis Stevenson (1891)

(This was a suggestion in last month’s comments – Found in the Gutenberg Project’s copy of Island Night’s Entertainments (summaries), short enough at 15,000 words to qualify as a Novella.  Did you know there’s a yearly ‘challenge’ Novellas in November for those readers who celebrate short reads?). 

An interesting little tale – be careful what you wish for, it might turn out to not be what you want, it could surprise you in many ways!

The Year I met you – Cecilia Ahern (2014)
Jasmine loves two things: her sister and her work. And when her work is taken away she has no idea who she is.

We meet Jasmine – who has been fired and put on ‘gardening leave’. . . still on the company payroll but unable to look for another position for 12 months.
During that time she talks to –  in her mind as well as in real life – Heather her sister,  Matt her neighbour,  Kevin her ‘cousin’, her father, his new wife Leilah and their young daughter Zara as well as Monday (yes that’s his name – he was born on a Monday!) a ‘headhunter’ who approaches her with a job in mind.
There are others she talks to, sharing her thoughts and feelings with – and, oh, does she talk. . . On and on in great long sentences and huge great paragraphs.  I almost gave up at one time but did finish –  wondering what on earth was that all about🤔😊.

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig (2020)

 Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived

31 Replies to “📘 All the Ws. . .”

    1. Hello Sherry. Sadly my library only has Fablehaven online and ebooks are not a favourite of mine. The cook book isn’t there at all so I’ll not be able to read either
      Thanks for dropping in and commenting

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    1. Yes EC – life is looking good again😊. I’m not tempting fate by having a book in my hand all the time, just taking it slowly a few pages here and there.
      I think you’ll enjoy Tea is Intoxicating- it’s certainly not ‘deep’, just humorous in its own way

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    1. She did seem to waffle on a lot. Indecisive- definitely.
      I read to the end because I’d heard so much about the author and this book so I needed to discover what was so marvellous about it. Just wondering if all his books are like this one

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  8. Hi, Cathy – ‘Tea is So Intoxicating’ is a fantastic title. That book cover would make me stop and pick it up for sure!
    I see that you have Kate Morton’s ‘Homecoming’ on your list of possible reads. I highly recommend it!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I adored the Midnight Library but really struggled to get into The Year I Met You. Tea Is So Intoxicating sounds interesting, but the one going on my list is The Bottle Imp. Thanks for linking up with us.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Some great titles here Cathy! I do like Fiona Mcintosh but tend to agree with you about being a bit long at times, The Orphans is one I’d like to read. Thanks for linking up with us for #WOYBS this month.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. It sounds like you’ve read some really good books lately. I haven’t read any of them, but I’m sure I would enjoy them. I’ve never read an Ann Cleeves book, but I feel I should give them a go as I enjoy crime novels and she wrote Shetland, which is on TV and one of my favourite programmes.
    Popping over from Book Worms Monthly.

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    1. Hello Sarah. I agree you must try some of Ann Cleeves books, I was a hesitant to begin with but once I’d read the first of the Shetland series I was hooked. The tv series is loosely based on the books – I’m not a lover of adaptations, rather read the book than watch someone else’s idea of the storyline. I’ll admit to watching the first programme and what it lost in the depth of the characters it made up for in the magnificent scenery.

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  13. The only one from this list I recognize is The Midnight Library which I thought was pretty good. Not sure if it really lived up to the hype surrounding it at the time but a decent enough way to pass the time.

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    1. Have to take the good with the bad Mark – I’d say I enjoy probably about 80% of what I read and I’m not slow in setting aside what I don’t. Life’s too short to read for the sake of it!

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  18. So many good books here! Kate Morton is usually a hit with me and Ann Patchett is always a favorite. The Midnight Library didn’t quite to it for me, but so many readers loved it. Hope you have a great week.

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