Posted on by Cathy

📘What’s on the table…..January

The little one beside my chair that is!

Well, there are the ones I’m reading at the moment:-

The White Lady – Jacqueline Winspear 2023

Set post WW2, this one centres round a ‘retired spy’ who has relocated to a small village in Kent determined to forget her dangerous past life. Quiet and reluctant to become involved in village life she gets to know a young mother and child who live close by. The young husband is trying to distance himself from his family but they have ‘caught up with him’. 
Three chapters in, Elinor White has made her way to London to try to gather information about this family from an old wartime contact now with Scotland Yard. I’m finding it a little bit ‘wordy’ but will persevere- need to find out the reason she wants to help – and if it’s worthwhile.
****.

Unfinished Portrait – Mary Westmacott 1934

*The back of book blurb tells us that:.
…..Celia is alone….she is determined to end her life……she meets Larraby (an artist) who persuades her to ‘pause’….after a night of talk Celia reveals she is afraid to commit herself to another chance of happiness yet cannot face life alone….

I’m not sure where this book is going- the first chapter covers the meeting of Celia and Larraby, – from then on (I’m about a third of the way through) it’s covering her childhood. A rather disrupted but almost charmed childhood, with time spent travelling in France because father had been sick, then living with her granny because mother and father were travelling (because father had been sick) then back home because father had died.

So far it’s been a very easy believable read, humorous at times – especially the ‘time with granny’ – set late 19th moving on to early 20th century. Written by Agatha Christie under a pseudonym  I’m eager to get on and discover what comes next. 

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Homecoming- Kate Morton 2023

I have begun reading this very large book but it’s taking a little longer than I anticipated because I decided to get on with a couple of others that needed returning and then became engrossed in the two above.

I just need to finish those two then I can give this one all my attention.

*****

These two aren’t there – they’re the ones I finished recently:-

The Spy’s Wife – Fiona McIntosh 2021.

A ‘love story’ set pre WW2 featuring among other things – trains, cherries, walking (rambling/tramping) a ‘strong female’ with lip reading ability and double agent spies!
A little unbelievable at times but I did finish it.

The Orphans – Fiona McIntosh 2022

Book blurb:- ….. Orphan Fleur Appleby is adopted by a loving undertaker and his wife and she quickly develops a special gift for helping bereaved families. . . Raised in the outback of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, Tom Catchlove is faced with a life-changing tragedy as a young boy. . A chance encounter between the two children will change the course of their lives.

It’s a lot more than that though – set in 1930s when ‘things were changing’, like attitudes to women who ‘wanted to get on in life’, where a profession such as undertaking had always been handled by men and the thought of a woman being in that role was unheard of. Especially a woman who wanted to tend for and provide better service for deceased women and children.
Life on sheep stations was changing also with more emphasis put on health safety and welfare of workers. A huge amount of research must have gone into both situations as they related to both main characters – interesting to read but in some places a bit too much detail.
It turned out to be a ‘love story’ with a difference.
*****

After mentioning the other month that sometimes I have difficulty finishing books by this author I was pleased to have put that problem to bed by both finishing and ‘sort of’ enjoying both these (without skipping pages)

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And on the table on the other side are some recently ’acquired ’ unknowns – maybe one of those will be read next:-

I didn’t touch any of the ones I mentioned last month which is no problem because they were loaned – sort of gifted – “I’m in no hurry to get them back” .
And I’m not sure I’ll get to these either – passed on with the same disclosure

But look, it’s nice to have some older (very different) releases sitting there with none of that ‘must have them read by’ pressure 😊

Wild Lavender – Belinda Alexandra 2006

  • At fourteen, Simone Fleurier is wrenched from her home on a Provençal lavender farm and sent to work in Marseilles. Her life there is hard and impoverished, but Simone discovers the music hall and a dream; to one day be a famous dancer and singer

The Stone Angel – Katherine Scholes 2006

  • One summer changed Stella Boyd forever.
    It was 1975. And his name was Zeph    …….Fifteen years later, Stella’s life is full of excitement and danger as she travels the world writing magazine articles about women. But then one day she receives an urgent message that changes everything. Her father is missing at sea.

The Goodbye Summer – Patricia Gaffney 2004

  • Poignantly exploring one woman’s inner growth and self discovery over the course of a season of profound change, The Goodbye Summer is women’s fiction at its finest—heartbreaking, healing, emotional, and real.

Almost English – Charlotte Mendelson 2013

  • In a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother, Laura, and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her family’s crushing expectations and their fierce unEnglish pride, by their strange traditions and stranger foods, she knows she must escape. But the place she runs to makes her feel even more of an outsider

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Sharing with What’s on your Book Shelf Challenge

Also linked to Book Worms Monthly plus It’s Monday what are you reading 


34 Replies to “📘What’s on the table…..January”

  1. I love reading reviews of books read. I don’t have much choice, whatever English book comes way, I’ll read it. But I keep an eye out for a good book that you recommend. Reading the reviews is almost as good as reading the real thing

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It must be difficult for you Linda when even the back of the cornflakes box is in Greek😊. Do travellers leave paperbacks anywhere or aren’t the travellers who come your way into reading?
      There are ‘older’ books available online if you can hunt them out. The Gutenberg Project is a great site for that

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    1. Hopefully life will become a little easier for yourself and Leo Helen. Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the Maisie Dobbs series and The White Lady is one of only a couple of standalone novels. Details of the ‘time frame’ seem to be correct which is something some authors get wrong

      Liked by 1 person

  4. What an interesting group of books. It is always good to have choices. I think I’ve read that Kate Morton book but can’t recall much about it. (One of the benefits of aging – books become new again. 🙂 I’m making a note of The Orphan, Unfinished Portrait, and The Goodbye Summer. Happy Reading.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh yes Jane – we get part way into a book and that thought pops into our head – this is awfully familiar, maybe I’ve read it before! Hopefully you’ll be able to obtain copies of those you’ve noted.

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    1. I’m at odds trying to find a reason why I’ve found it difficult to finish some of her earlier books. Her Jack Hawksworth series was great, I thoroughly enjoyed Nightingale and now these two. Will have to wait for a new one to see if I’ve overcome the problem

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  7. Hi, Cathy – I love that you read multiple books at one time. That is a great way to keep things fresh and interesting and to read to suit the current mood. I also love your mini book reviews. You have a flare for getting right to the heart of what you are reading. Thank you for sharing with us at What’s On Your Bookshelf. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Thank you for those kind words Donna. I’ve usually kept tabs on books I’ve read but now I’m thoroughly enjoying my monthly recap. It’s making me think about the books rather than just reading them

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    1. I’ve read quite a few but somehow think I’d need to reread to remember what they were about. I think they always had dual timelines

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  12. I particularly like the sound of The Orphans, although I don’t like books with too much unnecessary detail either. I’ve read a few Kate Mortons, but not that one.
    Popping over from Book Worms Monthly.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Sarah. . I like to know an author has done their research and it was necessary for this novel but as you say- sometimes there can be just a tad too much. See if you can get hold of a copy, it’s a good read

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  13. Hi Cathy, thanks fro joining us for another month of books! I usually like Fiona McIntosh but haven’t read these as yet. We listened to Homecoming and it took a while but we did enjoy it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m having fun with the book link up Debbie and giving more thought to what I’m reading so this has become my monthly must do. I was just saying in another comment- there’s no real rush to have Homecoming finished. I’ll get there in the end

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I’ve been reading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. Thank you for all your recommendations. I read everything on my Kindle. 🙂

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  15. I’m excited to join the WOYB party. My making my way around to see what everyone else is reading. Someone else I follow just shared The White Lady book. I’ve not heard of any of those other books though.

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  21. I found Fiona McIntosh’s Orphans book similar to your experience – very well researched but a little too much stuffed in. I have just started her detective series which I am really enjoying but they are quite gritty, completely different to her more romanticised books.

    I shall look out for the Agatha Christie/Mary Westmacott – I haven’t heard of those before.

    I’ve still got to start the latest Kate Morton book. It seems a little bit daunting as it’s so huge but I’ve heard good things about it.

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  22. I’d be interested in reading the Mary Westacott book. I used to read so much Agatha Christie and was quite the fan, yet didn’t realize (or remember perhaps?) that she also wrote under the name Mary Westacott until the last year or two. It’s funny to me that I didn’t know that. Happy Reading! I’m visiting from Bookworms Monthly today.

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