Classic Club Spin time!

 It's the Classic Club Spin Time!  Here's my book list for spin #41

1. A Room with a View by E.M. Forester
2. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
3. Agnes Grey by Ann Bronte
4. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
5. Daisy Miller by Henry James
6. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
7. Goodnight, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
8. Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
9. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
10. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
11. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
12. Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier
13. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
14. Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
15. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
16. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
17. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
18. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
19. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell
20. To Sir with Love by E.R. Braithwaite

When the spin number is announced on Sunday June 15 I will (hopefully) read that book before August 25, 2025.  

Sharing With

The Classics Club

Italian drama and Typhoid Mary

 Happy Tuesday!  I thought I would take some time to catch up on the blog for tv and book chat. Here a few I finished.

Finished a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card - The Story of a New Name by Elena  Ferrante. This is book two in the series. I rounded up to 4 stars.  The characters are complicated and you want to read more about the interactions between Lila and Elena but wow, what a vile bunch of characters surrounding them.  

Elena and Lila have been friends since they were very young and always had a tempetuous relationship.  At times they are fiercely loyal to one another and other times, barely controlling their jealousy with sharp comments or snubs.  Definitely a different friendship than any I have ever experienced.  They are young women now, Lila married at 16 to the overbearing Stefano.  He beats her, he buys her the best of everything but he will never break her spirit.  Sadly, Lila realizes too late she should have not married him.

Elena continues with her studies and excels with her educational pursuits. While she has a bit of envy about Lila's financial stabilty and standing in their community, Lila in turn has some envy about Elena being able to continue school and escaping the life in the neighborhood.

Jealousy, barbed comments, love and more in this novel.

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I also finished Fever by Mary Beth Keane.

This is a historical fiction relying heavy on facts about Mary Mallon,  an Irish woman, also known as Typhoid Mary.  She was arrested in 1907 because she was suspected of spreading disease.  The story details historical facts about her incarceration, testing ad nauseum, her employers and more. After her arrest she was held at a hospital for medical testing then moved to North Brother Island where she remained in quarantine for decades.

It's quite an interesting story and the author keeps you engaged with the personal details about Mary's life. 

Other books I have read by Keane are Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon.  Looking forward to The Walking People.

As for watching, we have finished season one of Landman and Billy Bob Thorton is fantastic in the lead role.

It's spin time at the Classics Club so I will get my spin post up or scheduled before the weekend. I'm hoping for one of the British authors such as Graham Greene, Ann Bronte, Forester or Hardy.  We will see.

As I write we have two more nights in our home and then off to a hotel with Loki, then closing on the new place. Catch up with you later :-)

Sharing with:

Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy for British Isles Friday

If it's rainy I'll be reading.....

It's been raining  off and on for days and my flowers are thriving. I suppose I will plant more at the new house next week as I love the vibrant colors.

Library Loot

I was not expecting Frozen River to be available to me for weeks as I was number 22 on the hold list so I didn't think to suspend it.  The library does rent books when one is popular so I suppose that's what happened here.  Either way, I will tuck into this fat novel and hope to finish in my timeframe allotted.

Landman starring Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore was also available so we started watching it as we are done with season one of Jack Irish.  It's great so far but if you are offended by the F bomb, be warned.

A new addition of Book Page is available and I found several books for my TBR.  A highlight is Daughters of the Bamboo Grove,  a nonfiction by Barbara Demick.  There is an interview with the author and I found it interesting.

"Daughters of the Bamboo Grove tells the gripping story of separated twins, their respective fates in China and the USA, and Barbara Demick's role in reuniting them against huge odds. Painting a rich portrait of China's history and culture, it asks questions about the roots, impact and consequences of China's one-child policy, the ethics of international adoption, and, ultimately, the assumptions and narratives we hold about the quality of lives lived in the East and the West."

I don't usually drop the money for a new publication but I am mighty tempted for this one.

That's my week's Mailbox Monday and Sunday Salon.  Hope you received some goodies this week.

Sharing with Vicki for Mailbox Monday and Deb at Readerbuzz. 

Mailbox Monday

 Mailbox Monday is hosted by Vicki and gives us a chance to share what we have gotten in this week.

Katherine at I Wish I Lived in a Library had posted about this book But Have You Read the Book?  See her post here.  Fortunately my library had a copy.

It was fun going through the titles and seeing which ones I'd read, which I had watched but not read and which ones I'd read and watched.

As for DVDs in Mailbox Monday I grabbed sets one and two of Jack Irish and season one of Jack Irish.  If you are ever going to watch this series it starts with Set 1 and 2 then follows with Seasons 1, 2 and 3.

That's my week's Mailbox Monday.  Hope you received some goodies this week.

Sharing with Vicki for Mailbox Monday

Some good reading this month

The end of May already....wow. Nothing new here except catching up on some emails and errands. We finished watching the series Firefly and I sure wish they had continued it. Next week is my birthday so we will get a pizza and watch The Martian that evening. Loki has been looking a bit unhappy about the lack of furniture in the house these days but that will all change soon.

On to book chat.  I have been very behind in writing anything or linking up.

I read Rick Steves On the Hippie Trail but never linked up. Review in the link.

I also finished Where the Forest Meets the River.   This picks up five years after the first book with all the same characters and I loved it.  Can't wait for her to publish the last one in this series because I need to know what happens with Greg, Rose, Nate, Richard and ...well, all of the characters in this small town.  There have been some revelations, some closure and lots of hope but she sure left us with a few cliff hangers!

Most recently there was The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell, a recommendation by Les at Coastal Horizons.   As with any O'Farrell book I've read this one grabbed me straight away.  There isn't a lot of dialogue, especially in the beginning chapters, but the descriptive writing drops you right into the middle of Jake's Hong Kong new year celebration and resulting tragedy.  The other storyline, which will eventually merge, takes us into Stella and Nina's world in London, Wales and Scotland. All three of our main characters have big secrets.

Next up will be a roundup for Elena Ferrante and Rosamunde Pilcher books.

I hope you have gotten some good reading in this May.  Thinking of Shelleyrae at Book'd Out where she is dealing with severe flooding.  Thoughts are with you!

Armchair travel for May has taken me to Maine, Scotland, England, Hong Kong, Italy and Ireland.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday and Deb at Readerbuzz  for Sunday Salon.

 

Rick Steves on the hippie trail(2025 Nonfiction Reading Challenge}

Rick Steves' travel books and shows are always informative and entertaining.  This publication isn't a typical guide book.  Actually, it's not a guide book at all. It's a memoir and diary of an amazing trip he and his friend endured when they were in their twenties.

I did say endured as it was described as an primitive adventure with total lack of refinement. Filthy conditions for sleeping, dangerous border guards and at times meals with questionable concern regarding preparation. That said, it's exactly what he and his friend wanted to check off the bucket list.  The Hippie Trail. You know straight off you'd have rough conditions but it's the adventure of a lifetime.

This is actually the diary of two 23 year old friends who make this trip work on a showstring budget.  They controlled themselves by limiting photos to 11 per day.  These were the days of film and no cell phone snaps. 

The appeal to me was reading about the youthful carefree attitude regarding travel.  Something I have done, but wouldn't repeat now.

I was in Europe the same year Steves arrived to start this journey but my loose itinerary was all about seeing western Europe (and as much of it as possible) before money ran out. A one way ticket from Miami to Luxembourg and savings lasted me (and the now ex-husband) for a year and a half before returning home.  I interject this because I get the youthful sense of adventurous traveling, sleeping in a van, discovering new foods and cultures with zero responsibilities. 

Much thanks to Deb at Readerbuzz for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is shared with Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Category: Published in 2025

Also sharing with Vicki for Mailbox Monday.

Boxing and Reading

Hello fellow book bloggers. The whirlwind of putting the house on the market, selling in two days and getting in contract for another put my head in a spin. While I had finished two books prior I've yet to get it together for reviews.  Those two are coming up next week as I have to have a goal.  And I need some fun time that doesn't involve boxes, bubble wrap and labels  😊

Currently reading Elena Ferrante's book The Story of a New Name, the second in the trilogy, with Susan as a buddy read. I like it better than the first book and the story picks up where book one left off.

I had finished The Book Club by Roisin Meaney and couldn't remember if I posted it so...here it is.

The Book Club by Roisin Meaney grabbed me by the name of the book as well as the setting. A book club and it's in Ireland - yes, please. Just about all of it takes place in Ireland with some London memories thrown in. I enjoyed the mentions of Doolin, Cliffs of Moher and Nenagh, all places we have visited years past.

The main characters are listed in the front so I bookmarked that page for reference as I read. A makeshift library was created by Beth Sullivan as the town didn't have a library for the residents and the book club met in this cozy book filled cabin. The location was near the Sullivan home off a cliff with ocean views. That might be a deal breaker for me - moving to a town without a library. Good for Beth creating an impressive collection for the readers in town.

Beth is a 72 year old retired widow who has had her share of tragedy. Her only daughter, son-in-law and a granddaughter were killed in a car accident. Immediately after the accident her other granddaughter named Lil dropped out of college, stopped speaking then then moved in with her grandmother. This is important to the entire story line.

The story weaves in and out with several characters overlapping each other's lives. Not one single unlikable character in the book. Next door to Beth we have Tom, the newest addition to the community who has moved from Dublin to the Kerry coast. He is renting a house from Beth located next to hers. The empty house was her deceased daugher's so you know there will be emotional moments over that. Tom also has a secret and he doesn't reveal that to his new community.

The characters are well developed so I had a good mental picture of them and the dialogue was smooth. A coastal Kerry setting, a book club, a pub, a gift shop and nice people made this a feel-good book. While I wasn't tempted to abandon the book there were things that I wish had panned out differently near the end.

For instance, we eventually learn what Tom was hiding but it doesn't come up until near the end of the book. It's something people may not be comfortable with had they known about it without understanding the circumstances. Also Lil's constant writing in a notebook to communicate, as it's evident she has no medical reason to remain silent, got a little contrived. Things wrap up quite neatly but so quickly at the very end...meaning a few pages from the end. All the secrets and turmoil could have been introduced earlier, in my opinion, instead of a rushed ending. It leaves the reader to come up with their own conclusions to what happens to certain characters.

That said, I would read another of Irish author Roisin Meany's books as I was kept interested and love the setting. 3.5 stars

Loki

Last but not least - have a look at unbridled joy.  Loki rolling in the sunshine.

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon and Joy for British Isles Friday.