This book was recommended by the same friends that recommended Project Hail-Mary. Since that one was good, I dove into this one with enthusiasm. Like that previous recommendation, this one was also good. This lost-and-found family story begins with a Nova Scotian native family of berry pickers working in Maine. One random summer day, after... Continue Reading →
The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley. Pub 2024
I had high hopes for this book. A Christmas gift from a fellow bookclubber, this time-travel romance seemed very promising. However, after pushing to the half-way point, I gave up in frustration, then skimmed through the remainder of the book. Perhaps I missed out, but I was too worn out from rolling my eyes to... Continue Reading →
The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu. Pub 2008. Translation by Joel Martinsen, pub 2015.
This is book two of the Remembrance of Earth's Past series that began with The Three-Body Problem. It picks up nearly where the last left off, after the defeat of the rebel human groups – those who were keen on being taken over by aliens and actively helping them and putting humanity at risk. The aliens have very... Continue Reading →
Mrs Death Misses Death, by Salena Godden. Pub 2022
I was tricked into reading this book by a) hearing it mentioned somewhat favourably on a podcast, and b) being lulled by the title as a clever play on words. Unfortunately, this book has the ignominy of being my choice for the drivel category, and so early in the year. I hope this is a... Continue Reading →
Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons. Pub 1932
This book was a top recommendation from a fellow bookclubber a few years ago and, while it’s been in my pile for a while, only made it to the top this year, primarily as a way of trying to start the year off with a good book. Cold Comfort Farm is very much a novel... Continue Reading →
2024 Reading Challenge – summary
A super-big year – all 40 on the list plus 29 extras. I really don’t know where I found the time, but I’m very glad that I did and hope I can repeat it next year. With so many to choose from, completing the categories was much easier, with thankfully only two in the category... Continue Reading →
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, by anonymous. Pub 2020
This was a recommendation by a fellow reader, who advised that I would love this book. They were correct – I did. I had not heard of Duchess Goldblatt until now, but since this book I am a fan and follower of her on Twitter/X. This book is the memoir of the anonymous author and... Continue Reading →
So Late in the Day, by Claire Keegan. Pub 2023
Rounding out a trifecta of Keegan books this year is the collection of stories, all previously appearing in magazines or other collections. The tagline on the cover is, “stories of women and men”, and the collection lives up to that. In each story, we meet a man or woman who has an unusual relationship with... Continue Reading →
The MANIAC, by Benjamín Labatut. Pub 2023
I got this book as part of a vacation bookstore binge earlier this year. After loving the previous book by Labatut (When We Cease to Understand the World), I was looking forward to this one, and saved it up for some quieter reading time. Almost double the length of Cease, The MANIAC takes its name... Continue Reading →
A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, by Julian Barnes. Pub 1989
After recently re-reading Not Wanted on the Voyage and The Preservationist, I wanted to revisit this book for its themes and images from the Noah’s Ark story. These appear in every chapter as either the topic of the chapter, a metaphor, or a mention by a character. Four chapters have a direct connection, while others... Continue Reading →
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