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)

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

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......

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Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Armchair travel to Northern England and Korea this week

 Posted this week / Mailbox Monday where I shared my library haul of 9 books and a DVD.  We watched Chernobyl, vey grim but fascinating.  I've read two of the books so far and also made a recipe from the air fryer cookbook.

Books read /  Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.  This very short book was a buddy read with Susan.

This is a short novella which packs so much in.  I know the term atmospheric tends to be overused these days in describing a book but this one places you directly into the cold, damp and often gloomy seaside. 

Our main character Thomas Flett is 20 years old but has the aches of an old man.  His love is music and his secret desire is to play guitar and write songs.  This he keeps hiden from his mother and everyone else he encounters.  This is set in the 1960 time period in Longferry England

His sad fate is taking over the shrimp harvesting as it was his father and grandfather's way to make a living.  He must support his mother ( who incidentally is only 15 years older than Thomas) by heading out to the shore early in the mornings and sometimes again in the evening, throwing nets to harvest shrimp to sell.

Then Edgar Acheson arrives.  Edgar is an American film maker who wants to hire Thomas to show him the shore and landmarks, safely get him around and make a film based on a novel.  Their interactions are interesting - Thomas suspicious at first and Edgar full of excitement about the perfect place to film. I liked the turn of events at the end. 4.5 stars

The Second Chance Convenient Store by Ho-Yeon Kim.

This isn't my typical genre but the short 206 page story was a nice read.  Set in Korea, Mrs. Yeom is traveling and realizes she has lost her wallet and valuables. 

A man named Dokgo calls her to say he has found her wallet and she arranges to meet him.  He is homeless but with an interesting back story as to why he ended up that way.  Mrs. Yeom owns convenience store and grateful for his kindness she offers him help by feeding him.  While Dokgo doesn't accept at first, his character development shows us about trust, forgiveness and kindness.  

Currently reading / Well, I started Horse by Geraldine Brooks and it pulled me in. But it's a physical book with smallish font and I am considering waiting until my Kindle hold for this title comes in. 

That's all I have for this week.  Maybe make some bread for the neighbors who are down with the flu and plan a safe handoff :-)

Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Hello Sunshine 🌞

Happy Saturday! We had rain for days on end, steady and solid without breaks.  It was no fun trying to get Loki out to do his business. Thankfully we have a break for now and the skies are blue.  Here is a photo of a little shopping area 2 miles from our house.  They have a lovely tree decorated in the middle of the square and there are so many restaurants here, all decorated for the holiday. 🌞

While I was inside a few days I finished a dog themed puzzle which was fun.

📚 Book Chat 📚

Earlier this week I posted my 2025 Nonfiction Reading Challenge wrap up.

Books read / Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

What an emotionally charged memoir. So raw, so honest about how she experienced the pain, loss and how she kept it inside while dealing with the many aspects of an unexpected death of a loved one.  Keeping it together for her children, figuring things out on her own without allowing herself to mourn was heart wrenching to read.  Finally she gave herself time to think about everything and get away from everyone on Flinders Island where she could grieve and be alone.   Highly recommended memoir that packs a punch.  5 stars

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

We start this story with Heron (real name Henry) receiving the awful news he has cancer.  He has a 44 year old daughter named Maggie and is trying to decide how and when to tell her about his health situation.  He has brought Maggie up on his own and she never knew what became of her mother Dawn. So many unanswered questions.

Maggie's thoughts on hearing her father has cancer:

She cannot say, you cannot die, not now, because I will sometimes want to call you, to tell you a joke I read in the paper, or that I saw a famous person on the platform at London Bridge. You cannot die, because you will be missing from the photographs of all the days that haven’t happened yet—

The story is set in Ireland, switching back and forth between two timelines - 1982 and 2022. Maggie is obviously devoted to her father as all they had were each other.   

The sad thing is why Dawn wasn't part of Maggie's life growing up. You learn about archaic practices/laws in place in 1982 which tore a family apart.  This short book of 240 pages intensifies near the end when Maggie, now a 44 year old mother, discovers why her mother was absent in her life all those years. 

Currently reading / The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon. Translated by Janet Hong.

Coming up is the 2026 Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book'd Out and more book chat.  Wishing you a happy and healthy week.

Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Hello December....❄

Hello world. I've been absent for a bit but probably haven't missed anything crucial.  I guess.  Life got mad at us in November.   Earlier in November my husband had to go to the emergency room. They transported him to a larger hospital and kept him a night so that was stressful all the way around, for all of us. He is doing well now.  Then I was violently ill from some stomach bug. Knocked me for a loop.  Also had other things come up and frankly, besides a little bit of reading and starting a puzzle - nothing worth getting on the keyboard to share.

Apologies for my lack of visitation and response. Hope to catch up soon.

Thanksgiving was quiet as it's just the two of us.  We were able to talk to our son for a bit and hear how his turkey roasting was going.  Doug and I had meatloaf, potatoes and gravy, veggies and I had also made a pumpkin pie.  You can't beat Libby's recipe for pumpkin pie.  I hope you all had a nice holiday if it's one you partipate in.

Books //   Recently I finished  The Art Thief by Michael Finkel and it was a buddy read with Susan.  (Review in link)

Also read a novel by John Boyne which was well done, in my opinion.  Review of All the Broken Places HERE on Goodreads with spoilers mentioned but hidden. I will be looking for more John Boyne novels in 2026.

I was reading The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.  This is set in 1962, rural west England shortly after WW II.  Apparently there actually was a severely frigid winter in that year.  It's slow but I thought it would pick up soon with some revelations about our main characters. Perhaps I am an unsophisticated reader as it was nominated for book awards but...just didn't resonate with me.  The extreme detail and minutiae in some passages had me wanting to flip ahead.  But again, I am probably in the minority about this book.

As I get older I tend to DNF something I'm not loving because i have so many other books I want to read.

Currently reading Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. Sad and absorbing, can't put it down.

Watching / We finished season one of Bad Monkey starring Vince Vaughn. A good mixture of crime, drama and humor.  

Also finished season 5 of Slow Horses.  Love Gary Oldman.

First Christmas movie of the year was It's a Wonderful Life and that was a treat for me.

Wishing you all well, good health and plenty of whatever makes you happy. 

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Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday  for Slow Horses

Book chat and Loki's dental escapade

Happy Wednesday my bookish friends!  I am gearing up for our first Halloween in a neighborhood since 1991 - yikes!  We haven't had trick-or-treaters in so long so we have been buying candy on each of our grocery trips.  Decorating was fun.

Loki had a dental procedure on Friday and he took forever to get back to normal.  We were worried because he was supposed to bounce back the next day.  He wouldn't eat or drink for 2 days. Here he is making my life easy in the kitchen...my foot makes a decent pillow.

📚 Book Chat 📚

I finished The Elements by John Boyne. A page turner of a novel and I am glad I didn't discover these individual stories until he put them all together.  Unbeknownst to me, these four stories Air, Fire, Earth and Water were previously published as novellas.  Putting them all together links up certain characters throughout each "Element."  

I liked the settings in Ireland, especially in the first story titled Water where a woman took time to heal and evaluate her life on a remote island off Ireland's west coast . The stories are disturbing but not graphic.  Triggers for rape, spousal abuse and revenge are present.  The writing is fantastic. 

Thank you Jackie at Junkboat Travels for alerting me to another Graham Norton book.  I am reading Frankie and may be caught up with Norton's fiction.

📚Upcoming 📚

I played along with the Classic Club Spin which I listed HERE and my book will be The  Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford.

My next nonfiction is  The Art Thief  by Michael Finkel and eventually a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.

What is on your reading agenda for the rest of the month?

  Linking up with:

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

Reading, CrocktoberFest and Planting

Hello bookish friends.  First week of October has me reading outside thanks to cooler temps, using the slow cooker and planting pollinators. I hope your week is going well.

Currently reading The Elements by John Boyne.  

From Goodreads - "The narrative follows a mother on the run from her past, a young soccer star facing a trial, a successful surgeon grappling with childhood trauma, and a father on a transformative journey with his son. Each is somehow connected to the next, and as the story unfolds, their lives intersect in unimaginable ways."

I'm over halfway through with this book and it's quite a page turner.  Set in Ireland and England, there are triggers on rape and abuse but nothing graphic. 

Four different stories and circumstances with the point of view of a perpetrator, a victim and I am not so sure about the enabler label on one story. Anyway, Boyne is linking up these stories and people in each section titled Air, Earth, Water and Fire. I can't put it down.

Surprise in the mail - Thank you to Deb at Readerbuzz for the seed packet and lovely card!  I have planted them and hope for some pollinators to visit.  I also planted my Seed Pop but so far, only a few sprouts.  Maybe I am overwatering.  We will see.

Here is the one I planted.  They come in different varieties for butterfly, bees and birds.

CrocktoberFest time.  This slow cooker isn't mine but I thought it looked so cute .

First thing I wanted to do was make this Peach and Pear Cobbler (click on link for recipe).  I made it ages ago and posted on my defunct food blog.  Dessert in a slow cooker - yes please.  Next crock effort is a lentil soup.  We are starting to get cooler temps.  Very excited.

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Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

September reading and October plans

 Well we got through September.  While I am longing for fall temperatures here, my friends in the southern hemisphere are about to experience Springtime :-)  Clearly I need a home is two  parts of this world, haha.

So a wrap up of September reading and watching.  

I was saddened to learn of Nan's passing.  She wrote at Letter from a Hill Farm and will be missed.  Les wrote a lovely tribute to Nan and you can read that HERE. 

📚 Books read 📚

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (a buddy read with Susan at the Cue Card)

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal

Forever Home by Graham Norton

Vanishing Cornwall by Daphne du Maurier - a nonfiction for my 2025 Nonfiction Reading Challenge at Book's Out. and British Isles Friday.

I enjoyed the book and learning so much about the history of Cornwall.  It was a place du Maurier had such a passion for and influenced so many authors we have read in classic literature.  The part about Yorkshire and the Bronte sisters and family was very interesting to me.  Reading about their Cornish mother and aunt and how it sparked their imaginations, inspiring the plots and locale in their books.

The myths and legends about Arthur, King Mark and Tristan were page turners as well.  Too many stories in here to address all but if you have an interest in the history, landscape,  myths and legends about Cornwall, please check your local library for a copy of this book.

As a few commenters stated they didn't know Daphne du Maurier wrote any nonfiction.   I thought I would include a screen shot of the book listing her books.  She wrote many about Francis Bacon, I suppose her big interest, as well as memoirs.

Category for the nonfiction challenge is Myths and Legends.

Watching

We have enjoyed all three of these shows.  You can't go wrong with Gary Oldman in Slow Horses and while I have not read the book series by Mick Herron I like the show.  Looking forward to the next season as it airs.

Chief of War is almost entirely in Hawaiian and is subtitled so be prepared to read it. 

Slow Horses

Chief of War

Friends and Neighbors

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Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2025 Nonfiction Challenge 

Joy for British Isles Friday 

Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth and a book question

 Two woman who experienced tramatic events in their lives come together and travel.  It's more than that though.

It's about friendship, trust, facing the grief in your life and choosing to move forward. Mariah Ellsworth was an Olympic champion snowboarder and experienced a devasting injury.  Later in the book you'll find out how she was injured and why she's in physical therapy. It definitely wasn't what you would expect. She is also mourning her mother Rachel and decides to finish a book project Rachel started about Parsi tea houses in London, Marrakech, and India.  But she can't do it on her own. She needs physical help and a person who can speak fluent French.

Veronica answers the advert and applies for the position to travel with Mariah.  She is old enough to be Mariah's mother and that makes for an interesting relationship. Veronica needs the job and the money as her husband left for for a younger woman and continually tries to indercut her on alimony. Her adult children are whiny, they don't want mom to be away at Christmas time yet they don't plan to spend any time with her. They will be at a ski resort with dad.  Veronica is  in a bad place and this job and travel is exactly what she needs.

Definitely an armchair travel book.  I liked her book We Believed in Mermaids more than this one but I was never tempted to DNF this book.  If you like the settings in England this book has a bit in London.  The authors book The Lost Girls of Devon will immerse you in that part of England.

Trading Post / Here is  something I thought I'd throw out there and see if anyone has seen this book I am having a wee bit of trouble acquiring. 

The End of Seeing by Christy Collins - Can't find this one on Amazon and I am looking to find a used copy that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.  Big ask.  If you happen to see it at a used bookstore, and it's not too expensive, I would happily trade you a book or paypal you the cost and postage.  Or point me toward a source I'm sure I don't know about and I can acquire. 

UPDATE- Thank you Deb, I bought it!  Just the right price too.

My book habit..... 🤷‍♀️

Upcoming is the nonfiction about Cornwall by du Maurier and The Correspondent review.

Sharing with Joy for British Isles Friday.

Weekly Update

My weekly update is a bit disjointed today so I'll just ramble on. I somehow strained my back and neck muscles. Probably the yard work we have tackled. It hurt to hold a Kindle or book up or for me to look down at the book, as I usually do.  No heating pad in the house so I ordered one from Amazon.  It is helping but if anyone has any ideas I'm all ears.

Question: Has anyone been in contact with Nan of Letters from a Hill Farm? I have not seen her post since March. I had a card to send her and realized I did not have her address.

Monday Mailbox - I'd not had many incoming books so have not been linking with Monday Mailbox hosted by Vicki.  I did receive this cookbook from awesome Jinjer and made a rice dish.  This week I am making a lentil soup.  

Also have the nonfiction by Daphne du Maurier Vanishing Cornwall. This is a memoir/history and myth and legend kinda book.  I've Cornwall but I love shows and book with the setting. 

Just finished a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and loved it. Review coming up.

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Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon 

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Vicki for Monday Mailbox

Good reading and recipes this first week of September

The first week of September almost behind us and I sometimes marvel we have been in our "city" home for almost three months.  I love the quiet street we live on, talking to people who are walking or doing gardening, being close to the library, pizza, ammenities....and no more 25 mile trip to get to the grocery store. Bliss.

Books // This week I finished a Graham Norton book called Forever Home.  The setting is Ireland, as are most of his books, and the subject matter of dementia and relationships are the main themes.   I've read three of Graham Norton's books so far and can say I enjoyed the others more than this one. Most of the characters were believable and well described but there is a subplot about three quarters of the way in that's ridiculous, in my opinion. 3.5 stars

Here are previous Norton books which I enjoyed. Holding, Home Stretch and A Keeper.

For what it's worth I very much enjoyed Holding and could recommend that one for those interested in Irish village life and interactions with the community.

Currently reading The Correspondent as a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card. The epistolary style is very appealing to me as I still like writing letters.  

What's for dinner //  Thank you to Jinjer for sending me a cookbook!  First recipe that grabbed me was the rice dish with mushrooms, onions and peas.  This rounded out the honeyed lemon chicken dish.  Recipe for the chicken here if interested.

This dish could be the main event for vegetarians (just swap out the chicken broth) or as a filling side.

Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon 

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

If I'm stuck inside, I'll be reading...

Only a week and a half into the month and I have some books to share with you.  Some I finished in the last 4 days and the Jim DeFede book I started the end of July. Lots going on here but mostly I am inside because of extreme temperatures, so reading is my go-to for entertainment.

 The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

This nonfiction was a fast read.  I had no idea about the coordination involved getting scores of planes to land as quickly as possible, steering clear of U.S. airspace after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. After a certain point crossing the Atlantic from Europe a pilot could turn back and return to their original airport or make that decision to push on. Unbeknowst to the pilots, they would be stranded in Canada for many days, with uncertainty about moving on to the original destinations.

Imagine thousands of unscheduled flights finding an airport in Canada.   This book focused on Gander in Newfoundland, the many passengers from all over the world.  The people of Gander coming together to provide food, towels, linens and cots, opening their homes to strangers to give them a place to shower or to stay with them instead of a makeshift shelter.  The spirit of community is a credit to the people in Gander and I wish more people around this conflicted world could be as kind.

There are may reviews on this book and many quotes already but the individual stories about where some came from, friendships made and the back story on handling such as unexpected large scale event made for fascinating reading. You'll read about a few families returning to the US after many weeks traveling to Kazakhstan with their adopted child, a couple who are worried about their NYFD son who is missing while on duty at the towers, refugees,  and so many more personal stories.  5 stars.

The Atlas of Abandoned Places

Places I will never get to and some I would love to see.  What a cool book.  In addition to the locations, including latitude and longitude, there is history and many photos.  Here is an example below 👇 As you can see from the photo they estimate roughly 750,000 of these garden shed sized bunkers all over Albania.  Many are completely abandoned but some have been repurposed as museums, storage for livestock feed and more. They are from the Cold War era.

In England you can see some very interesting forts along the Kent coastal area.  Guy Maunsell designed these forts, sometimes called Maunsell Forts or His Majesty's Forts, during WW II.  They were desgined to guard Thames estuary and the coastal region

They look like they belong in a Star Wars movie.  What a fascinating sight this must be along the Kent coast in England.  

Currently finishing up the Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. Wow, what a page turner. I need more of her books but I wonder if any of the others can top this one.

Next up I plan to read another off my Classic Club list, The Quiet American by British author Graham Greene. That's the plan anyway but you never know when a different book will lure me away.

It's still extremely hot in north Florida so Loki says

Yes, please, to a cold Pupcup.

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