Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte(Classics Club Spin)

 The pick for my Classic Club Spin was Agnes Grey and while it was one on my classics bucket list, I didn't love it. That said, I completed the book. 

Agnes Grey wasn't what I thought it might be and I didn't find this book particularly engaging. I've heard from friends Anne Bronte's second book, Tenant of Wildfell Hall, is much better.  So I will try that book one day.  Won't be soon though.....

 As the youngest Bronte daughter Anne's experiences, personality and insecurities came through in this novel. The fictional Grey family face financial difficulties so Agnes decides she wants to help by becoming a governess.  Her mother and sister are surprised and don't show her any encouragement but Agnes persists.  

Agnes accepts a position with the Bloomfields, a heinous family who are snobby,  rude and cruel. The children are absolutely horrid! Straight off, that child Tom is a serial killer in the making with talk of hurting his pony and cutting up birds. Wicked child who follows his father and uncle's way of thinking.  Pure evil the lot of them.  Agnes only lasts a short time, is dismissed and moves on to the next position. 

Our author interjects religion and moralizing into Agnes' character,  complaining away while trying to enlighten the reader about the indignities of being a governess. 

Complain. Rinse. Repeat.  The romance between Agnes and Mr. Weston, a man of the cloth of course,  was tepid at best. 

Happy ending...kinda...but I won't think about this book and the nonexistant depth of the character developments later on.

I'm surely in the minority with my 2 star review of a Bronte classic but we all have different takes on a story.  It's one I wanted to knock off my classic club bucket list and ✔...it's done. 

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and The Classics Club.

Mid February Update

Hello February. So far this month has been productive in regards to reading and other pursuits. Lots of walking, cleaning out the house and ridding outselves of superfluous items and watching some of the Olympics.

Here's the midmonth roundup.

Read / Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty

Stella and Gerry have been married over 35 years so they know each others habits, have comfortable silences and their own little secrets.

The book starts with the minutiae of the evening as Stella is preparing them for their trip to Amsterdam the next day. When I say the minutiae of their activities I mean just that - it's all the little almost inconsequential details of turning down the heat, turning down the bedclothes, putting on lotion and being sure the toiletries bag is packed....like that.

The entire book is like this with normal conversations between the two.  There are also  flashbacks to the past where you learn about life changing events in their marriage,  They are a Northern Irish couple living in the north when violence touches their lives.  In their older years they live in Scotland, their son grown and living with his family in Canada.

I wrote a more detailed review on Goodreads HERE. Settings are Scotland but most of the book takes place in Amsterdam.

Crux by Gabriel Tallent

This book was a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card. I will admit the teemage chatter between two best friends, Tamma and Dan, was annoying at first but quickly gave way to the excellent writing and plot.  I was very much invested in the lives of our main characters.

Two teens living in poverty; one with opportunties for college, the other written off.  You'll notice when reading that Dan is described as a scholar and good looking.  Tamma is described by her deformities (mind you, her father caused them) and how she is perceived to be stupid. She is not.  She is a powerhouse of ambition and tenacity. 

Neither one has scenes with friends other than each other. There is a loneliness for both of them, Tamma gives it the middle finger but Dan has depression he tamps down. Both are alive and happy when climbing or planning a climb. They trust each other implicitly.

This story is about perserverance, friendship and loyalty.  I wrote up a longish review but realized I ought to mark it as spoilers so that's on Goodreads HERE. You will come to seriously dislike one of the mothers. 

📚 Currently Reading 📚 

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte as it was my Classics Club spin book and a nonfiction, titled  Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz.

Today......

Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday  with Irish author Bernard MacLaverty

Classics Club Spin time

It's time for the Classic Club Spin!   👈 Check that out through the link and join in if you'd like.  It took me years to finally join the Classics Club and I have been enjoying having a goal of reading books on my list.  The Spin is a fun little game.

Here's my book list for the Classics Club Spin 

1. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
2. Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte
3. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
4. And The There Were None by Agatha Christie
5. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
6. Daisy Miller by Henry James
7. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
8. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
9. Goodnight, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
10. Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
11. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
12. Lost Horizon by James Hilton
13. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
14. Out of Africa by Blixon, Karen 
15. Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
16. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
17. The Covenant by James Michener
18. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
19. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
20. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

When the spin number is announced on Sunday, 8 February, I will (hopefully) read that book before 29 March.  Wish me luck!

Will you be joining in?  Check out the announcement post HERE.

Sharing with The Classics Club

Monday Mailbox

My library books came in sooner than expected.  Here's what I got.

Four Lost Cties is a nonfiction by science journalist Annalee Newitz exploring the rise and fall of four ancient cities. I'm particularly interested in Pompeii as well as the indigenous metropolis Cahokia near the Mississippi River, where St. Louis stands today.

Crux by Gabriel Tallent is fiction, a buddy read planned with Susan at The Cue Card. This is a coming of age book about friendship, challenges and the realities of adult life and responsibilties.

Also picked up the latest issue of BookPage, a free publication I enjoy browsing through.  You can get it online but I like the old school paper version.

There are many articles of interest in here as well as upcoming publications in all genres for your interest. I was particularly interested in this bit about Allegra Goodman's new book This is Not About Us.  It's labeled as literary fiction and a family drama, which I like.

Did you get any books this week? I am still planning on working on my to-read list but interjecting the library haul on these chilly days spent indoors.  Still working on my short term reading goals as well.

Monday Mailbox is hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be at the Beach.  

Check out Monday Mailbox to see who linked up this week.

Books read and goals accomplished!

In my previous post I talked about making some short term goals and listing a few books I have on hand.  It's working well for me as I have finished two books I own.  One fiction and the other a nonfiction. 

After reading Cecile Pin's book Celestial Lights I found myself a fan of her writing style.  As I own Wandering Souls I thought I'd start with that one on Kindle.

This is the story of a family, broken apart while fleeing Vietman after the war ended. 

I can't imagine the fear and obstacles of leaving your country, grasping at an escape so scary, possibly unreliable  smugglers transporting you and loved ones..... hoping it will be safe. Hoping to escape horrid living conditions in exchange for a good life.

The story is told with multiple narrators.

"Because Anh, Minh Thanh were the 3 oldest children, their parents decided they would travel ahead on a separate boat, dividing the family in two. It hadn't occurred to Anh that this breaking in half was the first sign of peril. The first clue that her father knew that one of the halves might fall."

When Anh's parents and siblings don't arrive when planned she knows things went wrong.  Now at 16 years of age she is the care taker of her younger brothers.  She must keep them safe and fed while living with uncertainties in resettlement camps.

In between her story and viewpoint are passages from the deceased brother named Dao.  Seeing his sister and brothers from a ghostly existence.   Sounds odd but it worked, especially in explanations about their culture.

For a more my review is here on Goodreads.  #Historical Fiction #Asia #War

📚📚📚 Nonfiction

Next on my list was Hayley Arceneaux's book Wild Ride. A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships.

This is an inspiring story of a pediatric cancer survivor, how she handled the treatment and how it gave her a different outlook on life. That sums it up. She went into some good detail about the emotional side of cancer treatment, her adventurous spirit and how incredibly driven she was; however I would have liked more detail on how she was selected for the civilian spot for space travel and the mission training.

She traveled as much as could, learned another language and eventually got her dream job.  It's an easy read of 208 pages, listed as a memoir.  Could have been a Readers Digest short series rather than a book, in my opinion.  3 stars

Currently reading / Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty. This is about Gerry and Stella Gilmore, a retired Irish couple who now live in Scotland and their midwinter trip to Amsterdam. As I'm not too far into the book it appears there will be reflections on their 40+ year marriage and uncertainties about past events.  I like books featuring older adults...probably because I am one. :-)

Upcoming will be a buddy read with the book Crux by Gabriel Tallent in February.

That's all I have this week book related. Otherwise it was just a few medical apointments, Loki going crazy and havng a seizure because I snuck out early to get blood work, made a beef stew and homemade baguette for the comfort food needed in this weather.  Still covering the plants as lows are 23 F/ -5 C for the week.

Hope your reading week was fantastic.

Linking up with:

Joy for British Isles Friday (for Northern Irish author Bernard MacLaverty)

Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge (using the Wild Ride book for the Nonfiction Grazer category as I have another book in mind for Memoir)

Short Term Reading Goals

How many books do you have languishing on your shelves or your Kindle which you've owned for more than two years?  I have plenty.  So I ask myself, what inspired me to purchase them and when will I make time to read them....and then a few more titles distract me and it goes on and on.

As I was in a list making mood I noted a few titles I definitely want to make time for within the next 2 months.  That's a good goal for me as I am still reading from The Classics Club, the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge and some buddy reads. 

Here they are, in no particular order, and I think I can manage these by mid March.

Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah

Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

Within the Walled City by Virginia Evans

Nonfiction

Wild Ride: A Memoir of I'V. Drips and Rocket Ships by Hayley Arceneaux (thank you Katherine for bringing this one ot my attention)

A Time Remembered: American Women in Vietnam by Olga Gruhzit-Hoyt

Bush School by Peter O'Brien (thank you to Shelleyrae from alerting me to this one) 

I think I will start with the Cecile Pin book about Vietnam refugees. 

📚 Do you have a goal list of books you plan to read soon? 📚

Reading and fussing....

This week I finished the last book in the Dalton trilogy by Shannon Bowring.

In a Distant Valley by Shannon Bowring, a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.  This is the last book in the Dalton trilogy and what a wonderful series.  Bowring brings the characters to life.  You can visualize them, hear them, anticipate what they may say or do and hope to encourage them.  She made them real.  Can't wait to see what she comes out with next. I'll do a more detailed review on Goodreads.

Celestial Lights by Cecile Pin is scheduled to be published in March 2026.  I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from LibraryThing. 

This book starts in 1986 with the explosion of the Challenger and  Oliver Ines' birth. Little Ollie is growing up in a small English town, his bedroom ceiling and wallpaper are covered with stars which glow at night.  Around age 10 he cycles to a neighbor's home at the request of his mother to trade off produce and meets a girl named Philly.  The children have a connection and become friends, their lives weaving in and out of each others paths after a chance meeting at a London College.

Between the chapters are log book entries from Commander Oliver Ines as he is on a ten year mission, in charge of a spaceship and crew headed to Jupiter.

Ines is an astronaut employed by a private company owned by a billionaire. Hmmm....

 He reflects on events in his life, his childhood, university days, the career in the Navy and his love of Philly and family.  It's introspective as he considers his relationships and regrets, reconciling choices he made.  This is a well fleshed out character study of a man who wonders if he made the correct choices and if they were worth it.

Themes are family, friendship, belonging and compassion. 4 stars.

This is a book blog...mostly.  I try to keep frustrations on the state of our country out of my writing but this week was bad.  So....rant.

Rant..............

Political news - this sums it up. I honestly hope the damage can be reversed one day.  Hopefully in my lifetime.

The Agriculture Secretary actually suggested Americans can save money on food by eating "one piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli and a tortilla" - see here.

You know what I suggest?  These politicians who enjoy free health care and have financial security have to trade places with a family trying to make ends meet for an entire month.   Trade places with individuals experiencing financial insecurity during the days of rising costs, those experiencing food insecurity, without health care or the cush benefits these politicians enjoy and take for granted.

Put the names in bowl and draw = making sure a quarter of those names are those who are struggling with homelessness,  those who sleep in their cars, those who struggle to feed their children especially when some states have pulled the free lunches for kids.  See what they think about some real life issues.

Don't get me started on Greenland.....

Rant over.

Ok, let's end with more book chat. Just picked up The Ferryman and His Wife, a translated book by Norwegian author Frode Grytten and started it yesterday.  As you can see by the photo I was able to sit outside a bit.

  Tonight brings a wintery mix, as the weather station calls it, so I will be once again covering my plants as freezing temps are back again.  All week apparently.  Being inside means bread making, puzzles and reading.

Hope your week will be a good one. Lots of good reading and anything that makes you happy.

Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday (for Celestial Lights)

Subpar Planet by Amber Share{2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge}

This book uses the unique concept of gathering one star reviews of amazing travel destinations and combining it with historical info.  Some reviews such as "Only go if you like art" referring to The Louvre leave you shaking your head.  I mean...duh.

Educational and entertaining plus the armchair travel I crave.  That's a win-win-win for me! That said, I give it 3.5 stars.  

The layout of the book covers the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania with details about the history of the landmarks and wonders of the world.

The comment on the left side of the page is the one star review.  Might have been nice to have a more detailed review but what do you expect from someone who states Stonehenge is just a field of random stones or the sunrise over Mt Fuji was nothing spectacular. No pleasing some people.

The opposite page tells some history of the visited site and tips on best times to visit.  It's amusing but don't expect true photos of the venues. 

Tags are Nonfiction, Nature, Travel, Humor, Geography and History.

 Linking up with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge. Category: Humor

New books on the horizon

Hello my bookish friends!  How was your week? I've been fortunate to have some great titles available to me and had some good reading time.

Posted this week - my first nonfiction of the year Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

New books on the horizon - I picked up this month's issue of BookPage and found some good books coming out later this year.

A new Maggie O'Farrell and Ann Patchett book will go on my holds list as soon as they are published. The titles are Land and Whistler, respectively.  Also I saw Tana French has a new book coming out but I am not a fan of her Cal Hooper series so I will pass,  That said, I love Tana's writing and very much miss the Dublin Murder Squad series.  Hoping the next book she writes will go back to that series...hopeful but doubtful.

Currently reading / Subpar Planet by Amber Share.  A humorous nonfiction about celebrated landmarks and disappointed visitors.  

Watching/  I don't remember who posted about this show but we recently watched Ambassadors and it was enjoyable. Some comedy and  drama about  the British ambassadors to fictional Asian country Tajbekistan.   One of the actors is Keely Haws who we recognized from two other British shows -  Mrs. Wilson and Line of Duty

I hope you had a wonderful week with good books.  What are you reading or watching this week? Suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.

Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

First book of year - Finished

 I finished my first book of the year - Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick.

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption and Separated Twins.

In 1979 Chinese law was enacted to limit one child per family. You could petition or apply to have another child if your first baby was a girl.  Boys were desired and there were brutal laws about having children without a permit.  Having another child without a government sanctioned permit came with such severe penalties.   If you didn't have a planned birth you could be fined as much as a year's wages, have your house demolished and property confiscated.

If you were found pregnant without a permit a woman could be hog-tied and hauled away for a forced abortion.  Then they'd send you a bill. Those who hid an extra birth by giving the child to a family member to raise for a while were punished if a neighbor ratted them out.  Then the Family Planning Office would come seize the baby or toddler and take it to an orphanage where they would be a adopted out to foreigners.  All for a hefty price, it was like buying a child.

But that isn't how the government "marketed" the babies.  It was said the children were abandoned by their mothers so people felt good about adopting a child no one wanted.  An American family adopted a baby who, unbeknownst to them, was a twin.  What the adoptive family didn't know was this baby had a family who diligently searched for her for years.  There are many such scenarios like this.  Children taken and the birth families with little resources trying to find their babies.

This book details the history and focuses on one family in particular - the separated twins and how they came to find one another again.  It's good story, very sad at times.

Grace Newton, who is an adoptee and writes about it on her blog Red Thread Broken,  recalled a conversation she had on a flight to China.  Because she is Chinese the seatmate "launched into the familiar spiel about how "lucky" she was: "I didn't tell him how unlucky it is not to know your first family, to not know your medical history, to not know who you are and  have to fly seven thousand miles to try and figure it out, to feel like a foreigner wherever you go. Adoption has given me great opportunity,  but it was at a great cost," she wrote on her website.

The tags on this book are History, Adoption, China, Asia, Nonfiction, Memoir.

352 pages, 4.5 stars.

Linking up with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge. Category: History

New year, new planner and pen

Here I am welcoming 2026 with a pretty planner and a new Scriveiner ballpoint pen.  #happiness

Posted this week - A Couple of Favorites for 2025.  That was a good reading year for me.  I can't read over 100 books as some of you all can but the ones I did read were excellent.

My first book will be Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick.  I am already close to 60 percent into it.  Fascinating yet brutal how the female children were viewed and treated. #nonfiction

Watching /  We had finished For All Mankind and are now trying Invasion.  Drumming my fingers waiting on Shrinking to come back,

Last but not least we have Loki.  He has a toy that goes with him everywhere.  To bed, sitting outside getting sun.....his constant companion. 

The neighbors cat, Griffin, visits him quite a bit and they check each other out when we walk. But Loki is not going to share his toy.  Nope.

Linking with Deb for Sunday Salon.

A couple of favorites for 2025

 Writing up a list of favorites for the year can be challenging as I enjoyed just about all the books I read.  Here are a few standouts for me.  (Reviews/more info in links. )

I started January with my first book of the year titled Olive, Mabel and Me by Andrew Cotter.  If you have heard his sports broadcasts or his comedic "broadcast" describing his dogs vying for a bone during the lockdown years ago, that's the voice you'll hear while reading this book. #nonfiction

An absolute favorite here is The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke. Fascinating book and so well written. #nonfiction

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

The Correspondent by Virgina Evans - amazing. Buddy read with Susan.

Two John Boyne books - The Elements and All the Broken Places.

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks - powerful and raw emotional writing. #nonfiction 

The last book of the year was a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card and I have rounded it to 4.5 stars. The Booker prize winner Flesh by David Szalay.  Now that I have read it the cover makes me think, take a bite of the apple, says temptation. 

This is a slow moving character study of a Hungarian man named Istvan.  It starts when he is fifteen years old with some raunchy scenes involving his neighbor who is an older married woman.  You will read about his life experiences  from his teen years, his service in the military and his early work life.  Working as a bouncer, getting a job in security, then a driver for for the uber rich.  

 

In spite of the dialogue being simplistic at times I was never tempted to put it down.  It's Istvan's circle of life from schoolboy to an aged man with all those life experiences packed in between.  Very hard to review without spoilers so I will write about it on Goodreads with the Spoiler option to hide some observations.  

Honorable Mention

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave.

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

 

Seascrape by Benjamin Wood - another buddy read with Susan

There are so many more I enjoyed but these deserved a mention.

It's been so nice visiting other blogs and seeing what you loved reading this year.  All my buddy reads have been fun   💗📚  Of course there are more books around the house than I haven't managed to get to but...that's a goal for next year.

Please leave a comment to tell me a few of your favorites.  Happy new year and may you have good times, good reading, good health and lots of love in your life.

Sharing with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon 

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday as I read so many set in the British Isles such as Flesh, Seascraper, Story of the Heart, two John Boyne books and Olive, Mabel and Me.

After my nap I'll be reading....

Happy Saturday. After a crazy week of traffic and avoiding crowds we are settling into some quiet times for walking.  Our weather has been up and down with a few freezing nights which required covering the plants...then an upswing of record highs in the 70s this week.

This week I posted about the 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out. Join in if you fancy some good suggestions and love nonfiction.

Are you participating in Shelia's First Book of the Year photo collage?  Check it out at Book Journey.  I see my photo there from last year with my first book of 2025 - Olive, Mabel and me by Andrew Cotter. I've already picked put my first book for 2026 and it's a nonfiction.

Hello Santa, am I too late? (haha) I enjoyed reading the book lovers' wish list for Christmas many of you posted this past week so I thought I would make mine for fun.  Yes, I know Santa is gone but I do love making a list. Here is mine.

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz

 Evensong by Stewart O'Nan

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

Tata by Valerie Perrin I have enjoyed the three previous books by Perrin but this one has not been translated into English yet and available in my country.  According to the link here at Amazon. One day...

📚📚  Currently reading and almost done with Flesh by David Szalay.  This is a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.   Szalay is the first Hungarian-British  author to win the Booker Prize.  The settings are in Hungary, with our character living in a poor housing development, and London where he experiences a richer lifestyle through the employment of upper class individuals.  This is not a rags to riches story by any means. Lots of graphic passages.

Today......

Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday