A prolific month, although a very sad one because of the closure of my local bookshop. More of that later. I was in and out of the library several times this month. Every book borrowed has to be returned. And if I know that lots of people are waiting for the book, I make every effort to get it back as soon as I can after finishing it. Because I know what I’m like when I’m waiting for a book. So I don’t necessarily wait to pick another one up before I return one. I’m nice like that. Google have made it as difficult as they can to insert photos now. They told me to sign into my Google account, which obviously I have because I wouldn't be able to write this blog if I hadn’t , or allow cookies to proceed, which I'm not keen on doing because Google are data greedy and they don't care about people's privacy. But I found that if I allow cross site tracking I can insert photos. Obviously, I don't want to be tracked so I'll only allow it to insert one photo.
Anybody who read the blog last month will know that I ended it with a book by GR Halliday called From the Shadows. I read that because I'd enjoy the TV series The Dark. And I found that it deviated from Halliday's storyline to quite an extent. And I was interested to see whether the next book in the series might encompass some of those changes. The next one was called Dark Waters and it doesn't! It's enjoyable, quite graphic and dark but I found it a compelling read. And I may look out for the third book in this series.
I swore I would never read this. Because, hey, you can't mess with Jane Austin. But my sister had visited a friend and had told her that I was an avid reader. The friend said oh give this to your sister. I’ve never met her, she doesn’t know me, so I thought it was a very kind gesture. My sister returned from her trip with a copy of Emma Tennant's Pemberley. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think she captured the essence of Austen admirably. Plus I kind of get it. If you love a writer and you've read everything they've written, there's nothing left and you want somehow to carry it on. You've fallen in love with the characters and you wonder what might happen to them once you close the book. But I don't necessarily approve of it!
A friend gifted me Susie Dent's first book, Guilty by Definition, which I absolutely loved. For somebody that loves words, it's a no brainer. So I borrowed her next book Death Writ Large from the Library and very glad I did too. The same great playing with words and another mystery for the gang to solve with plenty of skulduggery and erudite clue solving.
Another Library book was Meera Sayal's memoir, Vigilauntie. I enjoy Meera's work so I was quite interested to read her memoir. I remember reading her first novel, Anita and Me, years and years ago and finding it very amusing. I enjoyed her non fiction. It was very focused on her career and less about aspects of her private life which I respect.
I read Lizzie Page's first book in The Airline Girl series after I'd attended an event at my local bookshop and met Lizzie. I enjoyed it and was looking forward to the next one. It's very entertaining because it is set in places that I know and I always find that endears me to a book. This story deals with the Berlin airlift after the second world war when Stalin and Russia blockaded Berlin. The first story featured Audrey and this one is about her colleague Lola.
My sister was listening to this on audio book. When I was little Emma Peel, aka Diana Rigg, was one of my childhood heroines. I aspired to be her. I didn't succeed! This is a memoir written by her look alike daughter Rachael Stirling. It is not the best written book in the world but the extracts from Ms. Rigg's diaries were interesting. It was also a library book.
Another library book and I think I might have been the first person to borrow this. Rebecca F Kuang's Taipei Story. I find Kuang a fascinating writer and I've read her most recent books. And I have The Poppy Trilogy waiting for me on my TBR shelves. This current book was good but a little underwhelming if I'm honest. This may be due to high expectations after Katabasis. I learnt a great deal about Taipei and the Chinese language but I find Lily quite hard to engage with fully, although I did sympathise with her after one incident that fractured relationships.
I am heartbroken at the moment because my local independent bookshop has closed down. A sustained fall in takings and the struggle to compete with the likes of Amazon and Waterstones has led to the downfall. For two and a half years it has been a haven for me, my happy place, somewhere I was comfortable to be. I attended some wonderful author events and book launches and I feel bereft that I won't do so again. The remaining books were discounted and I had this silly notion that if I bought some I might save the shop. I knew deep down that I wouldn't but I did buy a few of the remaining books. Not always books I would have considered in different circumstances but sometimes you can come across a gem or two. One of the books I bought is The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden. Easy to read, plenty of twists and light relief to some of the more intense books I select. I think of books like these as the equivalent to junk food. Tastes delicious, consumed speedily and doesn't sustain you for long. That is not meant as a criticism because I do enjoy junk food from time to time but when it's about books this one just ain't literature!
Earlier in the year, well the beginning of the year as it was a New Year’s resolution, I decided not to buy any more books, given the embarrassing amount that I already have. That embargo was broken when I bought the first Lizzie Page book and with the closing down of the bookshop, I continue to buy. Once I had started buying books I couldn't stop and I found this in a charity shop. The Family Friend by Claire Douglas. I've read a couple of her other books, all twisty, psychological thrillers. Easy and undemanding to read intellectually but gripping and I do enjoy trying to figure out what's going on.