tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6126064406307841892024-03-13T17:32:48.190+00:00Writer's Little HelperJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08947711142075013900noreply@blogger.comBlogger664125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-62097858639712574272021-03-24T21:13:00.003+00:002021-03-24T21:13:51.086+00:00Meanwhile over on Instagram<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9Y84XGulLLQReGrSWezzPOLa0HY9LFqru2c52mmrgNkNdaBS0SuEUvOeCuVoi1bg1srLAsmPFULPQwmYp_9rrMK_NxpY3g53piQKICaxXwfHaCtJmD3ViTwVu5rW4wPyS3a6u9f_TjA/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="821" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9Y84XGulLLQReGrSWezzPOLa0HY9LFqru2c52mmrgNkNdaBS0SuEUvOeCuVoi1bg1srLAsmPFULPQwmYp_9rrMK_NxpY3g53piQKICaxXwfHaCtJmD3ViTwVu5rW4wPyS3a6u9f_TjA/w400-h263/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Hello, long time no blog!</p><p></p><p>I'm currently putting my reviews over on Instagram. </p><p>You can find me <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeckybookish/">here</a></p><p>See you soon :)<br /><br /></p>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-1883978888110198322021-01-01T13:12:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:43.505+01:002020's Top Reads<div style="text-align: left;">2020 has been a roller coaster of a year that none of us could have predicted. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If anyone is looking for something to read to take their minds off the news then I've put together a list of my favourite books from 2020.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0LPxkzPzgwHUlKwSiwJm5-80rs-8F9yE-bgx9wQukHLV112-6zrYFUlrqljyj6d4twGW6Q92C-GxKF-84rmh5UosYXNHjNsZsFXs_IhFWj943HvQFZ4zDHTCaP_ahxmM5nPlWb6h86I/s2048/PXL_20210101_122033602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0LPxkzPzgwHUlKwSiwJm5-80rs-8F9yE-bgx9wQukHLV112-6zrYFUlrqljyj6d4twGW6Q92C-GxKF-84rmh5UosYXNHjNsZsFXs_IhFWj943HvQFZ4zDHTCaP_ahxmM5nPlWb6h86I/s320/PXL_20210101_122033602.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>FICTION</b><br />Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson (not pictured)<br />Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan (not pictured)<br />Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (not pictured)<br />XX by Angela Chadwick<br />Life by Life by Kate Atkinson<br />An American Marriage by Tayari Jones<br />The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid<br />Out of Love by Hazel Hayes<br />The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>NON-FICTION</b><br />Going Dark by Julia Ebner<br />Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby<br />So Hormonal edited by Emily Horgan and Zachary Dickson</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you're interested in reading any of these then please click through on this <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/2020-s-top-reads">link</a>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's to a healthier, safer new year.</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-12093670278197133202020-12-19T10:58:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:43.651+01:00The Flip Side<b><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781405945714"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781405945714"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT2Jsj0eDbwqZTbIU4wuUY9bJ59K4YorKateoyDgJ3YjgedG9NEvNHt2ZrGNvWcxG547duvfTxy2ib_nHuHta6ZsvcZawvZPuOHkOZdE7h30mMQrPk0jqwGsyosVokw88uSstM0V9bDY/s2048/The+Flip+Side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT2Jsj0eDbwqZTbIU4wuUY9bJ59K4YorKateoyDgJ3YjgedG9NEvNHt2ZrGNvWcxG547duvfTxy2ib_nHuHta6ZsvcZawvZPuOHkOZdE7h30mMQrPk0jqwGsyosVokw88uSstM0V9bDY/s320/The+Flip+Side.jpg" /></a></div>The Flip Side<br />By James Bailey<br />Published by Michael Joseph<br />Available in paperback and ebook</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>If you're looking for something uplifting, that will make you laugh to see you through to the start of the new year then James Bailey's debut novel, <i>The Flip Side</i> is just want you need.</div><div><br /></div><div>New Year's Eve, London Eye, Champagne, truffles, a ring, the feeling of being at the top of the world. Josh's life is about to change - New year, new fantastic life. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yet, when he steps off, he has lost his girlfriend, his job and flat. New year, no life.</div><div><br /></div><div>Told from the point of view of Josh, he has hit rock bottom - 28 and moving back in with his family in Bristol, no one wants to employ him and he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life - a quarter life crisis has hit him and he doesn't trust his own judgement. Its time to put his faith in fate and for every decision to be made by the flipping of a coin. It starts off as banter for this friends and to help him through a series of disastrous dates but when he comes across a girl in a gallery will the coin let them be together.</div><div><br /></div><div>James Bailey's cast of characters ranging from his friends and to his family are full of compassion and warmth as they try to help Josh through his tough year. Friendship and close knit families really shine through his book and really give it an uplifting, supporting read and also makes the romance a subplot to Josh's antics. He starts off the year alone in London but ends the year with his family and friends. I particularly liked the dynamic between Josh and his Grandfather and the warmth between these characters and how his Grandfather pushes him to find this mysterious girl from the gallery.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really love the message that this book gives to readers - turning failure around and using it to forge a new direction in your life. Josh comes to realise that a coin shouldn't take responsibility and that only he can be in charge of his life.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're nostalgic for classic rom-coms or enjoyed High Hornby's High Fidelity then you're going to enjoy this book. I'm looking forward to see what James writes next. <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781405945714">You can buy The Flip Side from your favourite bookshop</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Midas PR for providing me with a review PDF.</span></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-72784161818388739542020-11-12T11:56:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:44.941+01:00Recent Reads for September and October<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm9i2JsgLdgY9UNsk6TOrhnZMdRQ5QLBeB3QezqXcidsSYFpV8ogVeEtTC3DDJxXeCj1UOOkotbEfI4mDRRmslwGkvcDsoTjdZ6od7zjOg-bB_0Ql5CczTQY3qSlvX3ASLBaUfxskA4o/s1564/IMG_20201112_115059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm9i2JsgLdgY9UNsk6TOrhnZMdRQ5QLBeB3QezqXcidsSYFpV8ogVeEtTC3DDJxXeCj1UOOkotbEfI4mDRRmslwGkvcDsoTjdZ6od7zjOg-bB_0Ql5CczTQY3qSlvX3ASLBaUfxskA4o/s320/IMG_20201112_115059.jpg" /></a></div>I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog anymore or if anyone has noticed but there was a big gap between me post until last week. I have been moving house and let me tell you - it's more stressful doing it during a pandemic compared to when there isn't one so I haven't really had the time (been packing and then unpacking) or head space (who knew building flat pack furniture would tip me over the edge).<p></p><p>What I'm trying to say is that you're getting a combined reading blog post for both September and October.</p><p>Right lets get going with the books....</p><p>The best book I've read in the past two months is <b><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781982147662">The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo</a> </b>by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This has been on my Kindle for a while after reading <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/12/books-of-year-2019.html">Daisy Jones and the Six </a>last year and loving it. Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo is ready to tell the story of her glamorous life in Hollywood and to reveal her secrets. This isn't just a book about the many men she has married and divorced or even about the glitz of 1950s Hollywood but about forbidden love and relationships in a repressed time, secrets and lies and their impact on the people around us, unrelenting ambitions. This is an absorbing read and I couldn't put it down as there were many twists and turns. </p><p>Let me tell you about a library that sits between life and death, giving you the chance to sample different versions of your life if you had made a different decision. <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781786892706"><b>The Midnight Library</b></a>*, Matt Haig's latest novel, tells the story of Nora who has given up on life but ends up at the library. She is given a chance to undo the regrets she has been carrying around with her to find the perfect life but maybe there isn't such thing as 'perfect.' This is a touching and warm novel that explores regrets, family relationships, self confidence, and mental health. If you're looking for some hope at the moment and something to warm your insides then this is the book for you.</p><p>I was over the moon when Sarah Crossan released an adult novel as I had enjoyed <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/11/octobers-reading-part-1-books-from.html">The Weight of Water </a>and <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/11/octobers-reading-part-1-books-from.html">We Come Apart </a>last year. <b><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781526619495">Here is the Beehive</a>* </b>is not a typical novel about adultery told in a typical way. This is a book that needs to come with a warning - a warning that you're going to read this in one sitting as the story won't let you go. The book starts at the end of the affair where Connor dies unexpectedly, leaving Ana unable to share her grief and stand on the sidelines. This is a book about families, grief, secret and lies. You can read my review <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/10/here-is-beehive.html">here</a>.</p><p><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781529100662"><b>Feathertide</b></a>*, a debut novel from Beth Cartwright is one of those books that pulls you in by the cover and the intriguing plot. Born covered in feathers, Marea is kept hidden away in the basement of a brothel and kept secret from the world. Curious to find out more about her past, she goes in search of her father who remains a mystery. This is a fantastical fairy tale with mermaids, and mysterious mystic weather and fortune tellers. This is a coming of age story Beth explores sexuality, family secrets and lies, self acceptance with great details into the characters and the world. Beth also appeared on my blog, talking about her ideal bookshop. You can read the Q&A over <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/08/beth-cartwrights-imaginary-bookshop-q.html">here</a>. Thanks to this book I'm about to start reading a 1000 page fantasy novel as I've finally gotten over my resistance to fantasy!</p><p>A book completely different to Feathertide is <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781405936675" target="_blank"><b>Come a Little Closer </b></a>by Karen Perry, a thriller, read for work's book club. This was a twisty, turny thriller with most of the characters being unlikable or horrendous yet it grip me!</p><p>I also managed to read some non-fiction in the past couple of months, and the first book was a re-read for me. I was looking at my shelves wanting something that would pull me into the story and also be familiar as I had read it before. <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781526611642"><b>Three Women</b></a> was my choice and I still loved it as much as I did last year. You can read my review <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781529100662">here</a>. </p><p>I also picked up <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781529102758" target="_blank"><b>More Than a Woman</b></a> by Caitlin Moran after reading some of her previous books years ago, and this looks at the ways issues for women have changed in the past ten years. Ultimately I enjoyed this book about becoming a middle-aged woman but I think there could be more topics explored around feminism. The format was unusual as it's told across 24 hours but the short chapters were just want I needed after hitting a bit of a reading slump after moving and not feeling that great after having a flu jab.</p><p>But a book that doesn't disappoint... Last year one of my favourite books of the year was Elizabeth Day's <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/12/books-of-year-2019.html">How to Fail,</a> and I was really pleased to see that there's a smaller, shorter follow up called <b><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9780008420383">Failosophy</a>*</b> recently published. This short, sharp book shows reader's how they can practically turn failures into successes and explore how we can learn from the experience. Using examples from her podcast, Elizabeth Day, gives reader's an insight from some of guests in the way that failure, once recognised can inspire us to be better, more connected to the world. This is a great book showing how we can turn failure into success and leave you feeling less alone about failing.</p><p>I've started Christmas early or at least with my reading. <b><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/2876/9781913062514">The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke</a></b>* by Caroline Smailes is Crossed between A Christmas Carol and The Grinch who Stole Christmas, Caroline Smaile's latest novel, The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke, is a festive story about redemption and coping with loss, is a book full of hope and is exactly what we need for 2020's festive period. You can read my review <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/11/christmas-starts-here.html">here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you if you've made it this far!</p><p><br /></p><p>* I was sent these books via the publisher/netgalley.</p>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-12143521308109150382020-11-09T15:39:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:43.662+01:00Lets buy some books!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wHOrb8WLtQQ4_fY6pygco0zK8Kn1TgD42fone7eKhzKQ8AE-F_cErdtObxpXQe2ki3M4uEUAr255GOmZZqPbVSyXA0MyL8zGGWq8LXt3xXunkhzgLpfMN82xVfEkOg51_Qcurn4SYf0/s2048/Bookshop+Facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wHOrb8WLtQQ4_fY6pygco0zK8Kn1TgD42fone7eKhzKQ8AE-F_cErdtObxpXQe2ki3M4uEUAr255GOmZZqPbVSyXA0MyL8zGGWq8LXt3xXunkhzgLpfMN82xVfEkOg51_Qcurn4SYf0/s320/Bookshop+Facebook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week saw the launch of <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/">Bookshop.org,</a> an alternative online bookshop with a difference. </span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buying a book through <a href="http://Bookshop.org">Bookshop.org</a> ensures that your favourite independent bookseller receives the entire profit of each purchase (exactly the same as if you were to buy in store) which is what marks it out from other online booksellers. Buying through Bookshop.org allows you to shop online but still support your local high street retailer.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222;">I have set up an <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/jeckybookish">affiliate page</a> where you can find all of the books I recommend not only on my blog but also via my Instagram. </span><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/jeckybookish">Jecky Bookish</a><span style="color: #222222;"> currently has lists for books I've already read in 2020 and books about reading but I am looking to add more lists over the coming weeks so if you have any suggestions or recommendations then let me know.</span></div><div><p>Going forward, links will point towards my affiliate link.<br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-38885763199260304862020-11-06T07:00:00.007+00:002021-10-13T19:03:44.281+01:00Mixed Up: Confessions of an Interracial Couple <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2mlAAV752DnRSfEkgreRSbLwXceoAuXb_aBNaKZhD2FTuS7vF5GmWsXe4KgdckamN20YGvpYEZLvhIzgVcbkddDD0JFRa5ZRjHFEL_LYHcmJej3fmb8fP5mGLHvMl4kms4eDlT009r8/s500/Mixed+Up+Cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2mlAAV752DnRSfEkgreRSbLwXceoAuXb_aBNaKZhD2FTuS7vF5GmWsXe4KgdckamN20YGvpYEZLvhIzgVcbkddDD0JFRa5ZRjHFEL_LYHcmJej3fmb8fP5mGLHvMl4kms4eDlT009r8/s320/Mixed+Up+Cover.jpg" /></a></div><br />Today's blog post is a Q&A for <a href="https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Mixed-Up-Audiobook/B08JMF7ZJ4?qid=1601631818&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=c6e316b8-14da-418d-8f91-b3cad83c5183&pf_rd_r=N2K9WGQDVFBC5K2T2P1Y">Mixed Up: Confessions of an Interracial Couple</a>, an original audiobook from Audible. <p><i>Mixed Up: Confessions of an Interracial Couple, </i>an important and timely book<i>,</i> explores race and relationships in the modern day, with co-authors and real life couple <a href="https://twitter.com/tineka_s?lang=en">Tineka Smith</a> and Alex Court shining a light on what it is really like to be an interracial couple today. Using their own experiences, Tineka and Alex discuss the impact of Black Lives Matter on interracial relationships, racial micro-aggressions in the workplace, what its like being the first person in your family to date someone of another race, and more. With Tineka and Alex opening up about the ups and downs of their relationship, Mixed Up is an eye-opening exploration of privilege, discrimination and the realities of interracial love. </p><div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><br /><b>Tell us the idea behind Mixed Up</b><br /> MIXED UP is a back and forth confessional between my husband and I, where we reveal intimate struggles around race and our relationship through scenarios we’ve gone through. These instances include overt racism, micro-aggressions and situations where I was being racially targeted and my husband wouldn’t defend me or think that anything bad was happening. Throughout the book we take listeners on that journey of trying to grasp each other’s understanding (or lack thereof) around race, culture and everyday experiences. The confessions speak directly to the listener and we also have live discussion sections where we debate our different takes on a racist situations we have encountered. These live sections provide a different rhythm and give listeners a sense of the kind of conversations we shouldn’t be afraid to have around race. We really don’t hold back and I would say it’s a pretty honest and emotional listen. Sometimes we say to ourselves, we can’t believe we put that out there – but the response so far has been great so I definitely think it was worth it!<br /> <br /><b>What inspired you to write the audiobook?</b> </div><div>I experienced a horrific situation when a Black man spat in my face after seeing me kiss my White husband. That moment made me feel bad about being in a relationship with a White person and I was looking for books or stories of other couples who had experiences similar issues, but couldn’t find any. And that was when we first had the idea of writing a book about our experience as an interracial couple. My husband and I both have both worked as journalists so we originally thought about collecting stories from different couples and putting them together, but we were encouraged to tell our own personal story – and we’re grateful! <br /><br /><b>What message were you keen to communicate to listeners?</b> </div><div>That we all play a part in combating racism and encouraging acceptance and racial equality in the world today. We have to realise that we all carry some sort of bias around with us and we must acknowledge that people of colour share their racist experiences and instead of being gaslighted we should be trusted as reliable witnesses of our own experiences – and that includes our White friends and partners as well. <br /> <br /><b>What was it like to write a book with your partner? </b><br />I think fun at first, and also collaborative but it was definitely a little stressful at times. We didn’t always agree on what we wanted to say and we certainly had some heated debates around telling our story. We also had deadlines to meet whilst writing the book, and sometimes one of us would lag behind or procrastinate so we had to keep each other accountable. Which can be annoying but also beneficial. Also because there’s two people, I think the book was written much more quickly than it would have been had it just been one of us. <br /> <br /><b>Did you read each others chapters as you wrote them, or wait until the end?</b><br /> Well the funny thing is in the beginning we did start reading each other chapters as we wrote them. And we edited each others chapters to make ourselves sound like better people, but then of course the writing wasn’t as genuine. Then we caught each other both doing it and started arguing over it. Finally our agent intervened and told us to stop editing each other chapters! That of course made our chapters more genuine and heartfelt and we learned viewpoints about each other that we didn’t know before. So in the end, we waited until after the book was completed before we read each other’s chapters.<br /> <br /><b>What was most difficult about writing about your relationship and experiences? </b><br />I think in the moment it wasn’t difficult writing about our relationship or experiences for me personally. Alex found it a little more difficult but we did expect that because he is a bit more private or reserved and he was worried at times that the text was becoming too personal or revealing. I’m more of an open book. I think when the audiobook was just published we said to each other wow! How did we do it? We just couldn’t believe we had actually put so much of our personal experience out there but it has turned out to be so worth it. Friends, family members and people in general have been really receptive and encouraging. We have received so much encouragement from people all over the world and we are so glad that we can actually make a small difference in peoples lives. <br /> <br /><b> What was it like to record an audiobook together?</b><br /> Surprisingly fun but a lot of work! When recording, the microphones pick up everything - and I mean everything. So if it’s around lunchtime and your stomach starts rumbling, it will pick up even the faintest sound. So there was a lot of direction from the technical team – can you please say that line again because your stomach made a sound. But Alex (my husband) and I both loved it and would totally do it again.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLHXBIXaTjbmJu6PcAW5oYwTPdPPUNy6RzQu-DirWugGsiO6FYg0YtmLCsC9Uy4b6FAkmo3Kw7vvx_CpMFXtGv4aLD00WGIQjE0Yyz7WKNHz7AglW-GT8Fj-xULPKxzJg5yQT1bKJkVE/s1024/Mixed+Up+Blog+Tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLHXBIXaTjbmJu6PcAW5oYwTPdPPUNy6RzQu-DirWugGsiO6FYg0YtmLCsC9Uy4b6FAkmo3Kw7vvx_CpMFXtGv4aLD00WGIQjE0Yyz7WKNHz7AglW-GT8Fj-xULPKxzJg5yQT1bKJkVE/s320/Mixed+Up+Blog+Tour.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Midas PR for sending me a sample of this audio book and having me part of this blog tour.</span></div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-87333108704250325772020-11-05T07:00:00.025+00:002021-10-13T19:03:45.089+01:00Christmas Starts Here... <div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-unwrapping-of-theodora-quirke/caroline-smailes/9781913062514"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-unwrapping-of-theodora-quirke/caroline-smailes/9781913062514"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPeIqQeZTnBZZx0gZo5SAviQkpCVCZ1Fqr7iQiQCvXsMoOx97SR0c0kwTF-K3q68tEjdY91eIZBF5Gs3VAs0YC6aZYz7XbgRkZa1jKpfpvDa_op9OX87Ns7y6zaLawUr_8gy0QQhUp5g/s500/9781913062514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPeIqQeZTnBZZx0gZo5SAviQkpCVCZ1Fqr7iQiQCvXsMoOx97SR0c0kwTF-K3q68tEjdY91eIZBF5Gs3VAs0YC6aZYz7XbgRkZa1jKpfpvDa_op9OX87Ns7y6zaLawUr_8gy0QQhUp5g/s320/9781913062514.jpg" /></a></div>The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>By Caroline Smailes<br />Published by Red Door Press</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Available in paperback and ebook</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Crossed between <i>A</i> <i>Christmas Carol </i>and <i>The Grinch who Stole Christmas</i>, Caroline Smaile's latest novel, <i>The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke</i>, is a festive story about redemption and coping with loss, is a book full of hope and is exactly what we need for 2020's festive period. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Theo, consumed by grief from the loss of her boyfriend, leaves her flat on Christmas Eve and finds St Nicholas of Myra - the Saint people think is Santa Claus, waiting for her. Dressed in his traditional red suit, and proclaiming he is St Nick, Theo isn't convinced, thinking him to be some drunk old fat man trying to make a nuisance of himself. </div><div><br /></div><div>She isn't in the mood for working on Christmas Eve, she isn't in the mood for Christmas and she definitely isn't in the mood for St Nick and his apparent miracles. Yet, she is curious to know why he has picked her.</div><div><br /></div><div>St Nick is there to save Theo, and has also been sent a cryptic message from head office that Theo is going to be the first female Christmas Angel. He takes her through her Christmas past, seeing the mother she lost when she was very young before going into care, seeing the time she met her boyfriend for the first time, seeing him for the last time as he dies. St Nick gives Theo the miracle of hope, that her life is worth living and she is loved. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As Theo goes through her training, her confidence grows, her grief evolves as she finds a place for herself in the Christmas world. Caroline write such warm, and complex characters that you can't help by cheer along in their journey. This is why I really enjoy reading her books as she delves into the darkest secrets and lives of her characters and creates hope and a determination to grow as a stronger person. Both Theo and St Nick, at different stages of this novel feel like loss and despair have consumed them but through grit and determination show that hope will win.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But her training comes to a stop when St Nick's brother turns up, Krampus, who is full of jealousy and bitterness, wants the world to celebrate him. St Nick loses all hope as he reads about his popularity dropping and the world cheering for Krampus (I pictured Krampus to look like a certain US President). He doesn't want to get out of bed, doesn't want to work - Christmas is possibly over. It's left up to Theo to save Christmas miracles and make sure the world remembers St Nick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not only does this book tackle loss, grief, the dangers of social media fame but is also funny, festive and full of sweary humour. This is such a comforting back and really is a tonic for 2020.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This book needs to come with a warning that reading it will give you the sudden urge to put up Christmas decorations and buying wrapping even though it isn't December. At the time of writing this, I haven't yet put up my tree but I've been seriously considering It! You can buy The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke fro your <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-unwrapping-of-theodora-quirke/caroline-smailes/9781913062514">favourite bookshop.</a> </div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Red Door Press for sending me a copy.</span></p>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-68651369358233092702020-10-22T17:05:00.000+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.849+01:00Here is the Beehive<div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781526619495"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781526619495"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfTV3JTrL_SAu-Xx_-RZuCgueckSxmzbs6x8tFI7sZI2cfT01ZA8Zhyphenhyphen1yN5njnVfxbP_pRGm1iD8wZ9SSwgsJB0biRMX8U6IdYZpejJUAwuZzfgz6sbtE03Cpk2mdUwQWVd9UNzC5Du8/s402/cover185952-medium.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfTV3JTrL_SAu-Xx_-RZuCgueckSxmzbs6x8tFI7sZI2cfT01ZA8Zhyphenhyphen1yN5njnVfxbP_pRGm1iD8wZ9SSwgsJB0biRMX8U6IdYZpejJUAwuZzfgz6sbtE03Cpk2mdUwQWVd9UNzC5Du8/s320/cover185952-medium.png" /></a></div>Here is the Beehive<br />By Sarah Crossan<br />Published by Bloomsbury Publishing<br />Available in hardback, ebook and audio<br />Paperback is forthcoming</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Here is the Beehive </i>is not a typical novel about adultery told in a typical way. This is a book that needs to come with a warning - a warning that you're going to read this in one sitting as the story won't let you go.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years, during stolen moments in pubs, hotels, work. Each other's texts are read, then deleted making their relationship invisible to the world around them and only visible to them. Told in verse, the book starts with the end of their relationship where Connor dies unexpectedly, leave Ana unable to share her grief and stand on the sidelines.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Struggling to cope with the grief as it consumes her, unable to speak to her husband about her sudden sadness and distancing herself from her family. She is trapped with this secret and with memories she can't share with anyone. There are no messages or letters or photos from their time together that she can cherish them. It is as if the affair only ever existed in her mind.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Here is the Beehive</i> is gripping and lyrical, the words gliding along as snatches of their past reveal an affair that goes from being magical and perfect to slowly souring with Ana pushing for them to leave their spouses and Connor trying to avoid committing to their future. Secrets unravel about Ana and Connor's life during the flashbacks, and because Crossan wraps you up in the universe of this affair, it's a jolt when their spouses and children are mentioned. There are lives outside this bubble of two.</div><div><p>Usually a book about adultery is a straightforward story to tell but Crossan creates a complex and complicated situation not only in the way that the novel is laid out in verse but with these characters. Peeling away the layers of how a marriage is from the outside to look inside the private world of a long term marriage to the silences, the secrets to keep the peace, the comfort and the companionship. I loved the way the verses whipped you up into the story and pulls you into this complex and consuming relationship. Crossan looks at how betrayal, loss and obsession not only consumes Ana but starts impacting on her family, her work, her life.</p><p>I have read some of Sarah Crossan's young adult novels but I am going to try and read more of them and I can't wait for her next adult novel. This is a great read, and I highly recommend it!</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ebook of this book.</span></p><p><br /></p></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-2237771761727404162020-09-14T18:18:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.529+01:00August's Reading<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5un0cE7XfcjshlHccvjJd7w7s2fZwzIyQeHS2IoEWTeUrV5T9aPubyBYX59jy4gJMe969d0kMPtDD2SybhyphenhyphenE0WW77pKSqhUFAVldSzRS2euW5xGOUg121iQx5_CAI9MPrZYZZHsGEcRs/s1564/IMG_20200914_175342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5un0cE7XfcjshlHccvjJd7w7s2fZwzIyQeHS2IoEWTeUrV5T9aPubyBYX59jy4gJMe969d0kMPtDD2SybhyphenhyphenE0WW77pKSqhUFAVldSzRS2euW5xGOUg121iQx5_CAI9MPrZYZZHsGEcRs/s320/IMG_20200914_175342.jpg" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">I thought I hadn't really read much as it has been a stressful month but it turns out I managed to read seven books which I wasn't expecting when I was doing my sums.</span></div><p></p><p>So lets jump straight in....</p><p>Published only in August, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/true-story/kate-reed-petty/9781529408539"><b>True Story by Katy Reed Petty</b></a> is one of those books you can't put down and definitely deserves a re-read as I'm sure there are lots of layers to be peeled back on the plot and themes. If you like experimental writing and the way we twist reality to match our truths then you're going to love this book. I was kindly sent an ebook version of this via Netgalley but I know that I will be definitely getting a physical copy of this book. At the heart of this book, is a story about two college boys giving a girl a lift home after a party and the boys tell the story afterwards to their friends about what they did to this girl, sexually. The format of the book starts off as standard college novel but then cuts out to Alice, the girl who was in the car as she struggles to grasp what happens as her life is destroyed by that event. She can't remember the details but this event leaks into all aspects of her life. Through out the book, the reader sees Alice's college application and the different versions as she tries to tackle the truth and what happened, as well as screen plays and emails. The book also morphs into a thriller as one of the boys, not present in the car on that night, tries to find out the truth. This is such a relevant book not only on college sexual assault but also on how reality can be manipulated by either other people or our internal processes to match the truth that we have in our heads.</p><p>Similar to True Story was <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/out-of-love/hazel-hayes/9781783528967"><b>Out of Love</b></a>, Hazel Hayes's debut novel, on the way the form of the traditional novel is twisted to give a refreshing take on a story. This is a fantastic examination of a relationship told from the breaking up stage when it's raw and then the reader follows backwards into the bowels of the relationship and all the way to when they meet. I loved the structure of this novel, loved the complex characters and motives, and the plot is addictive. Lots of relatable events and feelings in this book.</p><p>I thought I knew what to expect with <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/ready-player-one/ernest-cline/9780099560432"><b>Ready Player One</b></a> as I had already seen the film BUT guess what, I was wrong! The film and book are slightly different - the basic plot is the same but the book really does add more layers and expands the plot. Famine, poverty, climate change, war have ravaged the earth, Everybody's escape is a virtual reality utopia called the Oasis. Walter Wade joins a contest to win the ultimate lottery, become the owner of the Oasis. This is action packed, full of lots of 1980s details which I loved, and lots of gamer details too (which I'm not that familiar on). Definitely enjoyed the book!</p><p>Another book to come out in August was <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/author/elizabeth-okoh/4224106"><b>The Returnees</b></a>. Elizabeth Okoh's debut novel, following three characters as they return to Lagos, Nigeria is the book for summer. Using her three protagonists, Okoh delves into friendship, identity and sharp contrast between rich and poor in Nigeria. You can read my review over <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/08/book-review-returnees.html">here</a>.</p><p>Lavish lifestyles are also central to a strange murder mystery,<span face=""Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"> </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-octopus/tess-little/9781529358803"><b>The Octopus</b></a>, a debut novel by Tess Little. This is an addictive book full of twists and intrigue. Elspeth arrives in LA for her ex-husband's 50th birthday party, expecting a lavish party full of people from the film world but instead there are only seven other guests, all people who have been part of Richard's life for an intimate dinner party. Watching from her tank, is Richard's pet Octopus, Persephone as the night of indulgence begins. The next morning - Richard is dead. I couldn't put the book down and I'm really wanting to read more murder mysterious - something I thought I would never write! You can read my review <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/08/book-review-octopous.html">here</a>.</p><p>This month I managed to read two non-fiction books, the first being <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-do-we-know-were-doing-it-right/pandora-sykes/9781786332073"><b>How do we know we're doing it right?</b></a> by Pandora Sykes. This essay collection, reminded me of Dolly Alderton's <i>Everything I know about Love</i> with the way it explores modern life. Exploring anxiety and agendas around womanhood, wellness, social media and happiness - Pandora shows how these on the surface are meant to be good for us but can also create a lot of pressure. I read this throughout the month, dipping into each topic around other books. </p><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-am-i-am-i-am-seventeen-brushes-with-death/maggie-ofarrell/9781472240767"><b>I am, I am, I am by Maggie O'Farrell</b></a> was a re-read for me, for work's book club and I loved it even more the second time round. Maggie O'Farrell's memoir looks at the author's seventeen brushes with death. Ranging from a near miss in the woods with a man who goes on to kill another girl days later, nearly drowning at sea, a childhood illness she was not expected to survive, miscarriages. This is an insightful look into life's fragility and the need to make sure you seize the day.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">* True Story, The Returnees were sent to me via Netgalley. The Octopus was sent to be directly from the publisher.</span></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-89323732750314996022020-08-31T19:18:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:45.384+01:00Book Review: The Octopous<div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-octopus/tess-little/9781529358803">The Octopus</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-octopus/tess-little/9781529358803"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cwbJz_lhwSbgWA67yukxovnhRh0tfpkH72ousS-PII3dq4n4j5yvp882qBIRjPBpAj4EzSAKMenFliUQpG6KScbZsDVTZUWRLXZsl35wXOoVStHyJBejdQKojmVrdPywzZW2pr3KUqA/s400/9781529358803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cwbJz_lhwSbgWA67yukxovnhRh0tfpkH72ousS-PII3dq4n4j5yvp882qBIRjPBpAj4EzSAKMenFliUQpG6KScbZsDVTZUWRLXZsl35wXOoVStHyJBejdQKojmVrdPywzZW2pr3KUqA/s0/9781529358803.jpg" /></a></div>By Tess Little<br />Published by Hodder & Stoughton<br />Available in trade paperback, ebook and audio</b></div><p>A lavish and strange murder mystery, The Octopus, a debut novel by Tess Little, is an addictive book full of twists and intrigue.</p><p>Elspeth arrives in LA for her ex-husband's 50th birthday party, expecting a lavish party full of people from the film world but instead there are only seven other guests, all people who have been part of Richard's life for an intimate dinner party. Watching from her tank, is Richard's pet Octopus, Persephone as the night of indulgence begins.</p><p>The next morning - Richard is dead.</p><p>On the surface it looks like a simple drug overdose but bruising on Richard's throat makes each guest a suspect. Manipulation. Lies. Blurring of the truth. Elspeth becomes entangled in the investigation and starts to even question her own version of events.</p><p>Tess Little takes the simple premise of a murder mystery and creates a cast of characters who are not all innocent - each guest - the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new boyfriend, the cinematographer, the manager, and the ex-wife have all had a run in with Richard in the past. Stories start to unravel of Richard's past and the way he has treated each guest and why he would want to invite these people to his house, and ultimately why would he want to trap the mysterious and intelligent Persephone in a tank in his mansion. </p><p>Tess Little delves into the power of money and relationships, and the ways how these are manipulated to maintain the upper hand. I really enjoyed the way this book looked at the way people are perceived between the public and private especially with celebrity culture. The characters will try anything to maintain their cultivated public persona as well as their private reputation or shield the truth from the people around them. </p><p>I really enjoyed this book, and kept guessing the murderer every twenty or so pages (and got my predictions wrong) and I just couldn't put the book down as I came closer to the ending. <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-octopus/tess-little/9781529358803">You can buy The Octopus from your favourite bookshop</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was kindly sent a copy from Hodder.</span></p>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-82853171214418987642020-08-25T16:51:00.000+01:002021-10-13T19:03:45.067+01:00Book Review: The Returnees<div class="separator"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgol8tQ18_GrWdoAZD3gufYXq1XQ_mveg32Hz3rO818WEBmDWx9CTRfdfDbrARQqcOOhEe3chtgk1atrZWU1GX95OP5954LO2syDJn_OPzozJVRcDldK5DZM9J-oAXcon65tA_-C5hu6uY/s0/cover185807-medium.png" /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/author/elizabeth-okoh/4224106">The Returnees</a><br />By Elizabeth Okoh</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Published by Hodder & Stoughton</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Available in hardback and ebook</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Paperback is coming out next year</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elizabeth Okoh's debut novel, following three characters as they return to Lagos, Nigeria is the book for summer. Using her three protagonists, Okoh delves into friendship, identity and sharp contrast between rich and poor in Nigeria.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Osayuki Isahosa is running away from London and a broken heart as she heads for a new Head of PR for a fashion brand in Lagos. While waiting for her connecting flight, she meets Cynthia is doesn't really want to go to Nigeria but her parents want her to do a year's service and find a purpose rather than being pampered in the UK and they also meet Kian, full of confidence and assurance that he is about to become the biggest Afrobeats star you could imagine in Nigeria.<div><br /></div><div>They all go their separate ways once they land, each experiencing different sides of Lagos - Osayuki has a driver to take her to glamorous parties and to the office, Cynthia must start her training in a camp before she is assigned a teaching job and Kian starts to realise that to get anywhere he needs to bribe people and sleep in a cramped flat with his cousin but slowly their lives start to intertwine.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Returnees is a coming of age story where our three characters face unexpected love, finding a purpose down an unexpected route, and a new determination that will reshape their lives. Even though their parents are not in the same country, they are still tied to their families and tradition and Okoh explores this push and pull against expectation and wanting to have your own defined direction.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okoh makes sure that you can't walk away from these characters and their lives by creating vivid characters who have to face twists and turns but makes sure that there are fantastic descriptions of the clothes, food and the locations. If you're looking to know more about a culture that you don't know much about then this book really pulls you into the life of Lagos and shows you not only the high light of boat parties and fashion shows but also the markets where you haggle for hair treatments and food.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This is a great read for the summer then you need to read this book. You can buy <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/author/elizabeth-okoh/4224106">The Returnees from your favourite bookshop</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was sent an ebook version via Netgalley.</span></div><p><br /></p></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-67218265177973668042020-08-18T18:20:00.008+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.839+01:00July's Reading<p><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Welcome to July’s reading wrap up!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvzLZngZ_awqCQa7ebM3QZFDplWtrI8Rl56RG2AYQJmdbp1VvebNV2CNO2SDoQeY7x2FoZp1rMxWFqUqzX6Hnkukyg1oN0wtlnsPVa5Y4V_kpbbIS0BoOLWcU7uFAph02N90Zw0QftfU/s1564/IMG_20200817_151216.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvzLZngZ_awqCQa7ebM3QZFDplWtrI8Rl56RG2AYQJmdbp1VvebNV2CNO2SDoQeY7x2FoZp1rMxWFqUqzX6Hnkukyg1oN0wtlnsPVa5Y4V_kpbbIS0BoOLWcU7uFAph02N90Zw0QftfU/w328-h328/IMG_20200817_151216.jpg" width="328" /></a></span></div><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-226cfd08-7fff-c136-5b80-748540b0c717"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The biggest theme across the majority of books I read during July was race, and living in a country where you’re not completely accepted and have to face prejudices. The first, </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/americanah/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/9780007356348" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Americanah </span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was one of those books that I purposely read slowly as I didn’t want to let the characters go once I had finished the book. Americanah tells the story of a young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the US to study at university leaving behind Obinze, her boyfriend and her family. For the first time she has to deal with what it means to be black and the prejudices she faces. Hoping Obinze will join her but he instead ends up in London with no official documents, living on the fringes, trying to find a way of making a living but finds he has to head back to Nigeria. Their lives branch away from each other. Adichie creates compelling characters as she gets them to face identity, home, religion and immigration, and the conflicts this causes. There are sections from Ifemelu’s blogs about being a non-American black person in the US which I really enjoyed. This is an important novel about race, and I highly recommend Americanah.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A spa retreat in the Hudson Valley, US boasts about daily massages, private grounds, limited access to the internet, fitness trainers and organic meals. It sounds like a dream. Plus you get paid to be pampered at the end of your stay. It’s just what we need in a chaotic world BUT there’s a catch - you need to stay for nine months, you’re constantly monitored and you’re going to be pregnant. </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-farm/joanne-ramos/9781526605238" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Farm</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Joanne Ramos’s debut novel shows commercialised surrogacy for the elite with their designer babies. Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines is a struggling single mum, living in a dominatory, trying to look after her elderly relative, makes it through the highly competitive selection process to be a host. Leaving behind her daughter, and with limited contact, she realises over time that she needs to break out. This is a great and enjoyable book exploring class, race, motherhood and money. If you’ve enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale or Children of Men then you’re going to enjoy The Farm.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Immigration and the way authorities treat people seeking asylum is central to </span><a href="https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Test-SYLVAIN-NEUVEL/dp/1250312833/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22SGW7GO8BFIA&dchild=1&keywords=the+test+sylvain+neuvel&qid=1597656339&sprefix=The+test%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Test</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a short novella by Sylvain Neuvel, set in Britain in the not so distant future. Idir takes the citizen test as he wants to stay with this family in Britain but the test takes an unexpected turn, and he must decide between life and death. I read this thriller in a day and it reminded me of Black Mirror full of twists and turns. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other two novels centre around coming of age as the reader follows the protagonist through their lives. Both novels, </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/life-after-life/kate-atkinson/9780552776639" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life after Life</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/tennis-lessons/susannah-dickey/9780857526861" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tennis Lessons</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are ambitious in the way the story is told to the reader. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kate Atkinson’s </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/life-after-life/kate-atkinson/9780552776639" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life After Life</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is wonderful. I’ve only ever read Behind the Scenes of the Museum and I’m not sure why I haven’t read more by her as I loved both books. Anyway, I’ve learned my lesson. Life after Life is a chunky book, and I’m glad I’m currently working from home as I don’t have to carry it around in my handbag. Ursula is born then dies. She is born again and this time lives. Each time she dies, she comes back with her past just lingering as a bad feeling. I loved the lives of the Todd family and the World War 2 details. What would you do if you had a second chance or a third chance to live?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're missing Fleabag or you enjoyed Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth then you're going to love </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/tennis-lessons/susannah-dickey/9780857526861" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tennis Lessons</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I couldn't put this book down as I read this coming of age story told in second person narrative. Using the unconventional second person narrative, Susannah Dickey's debut novel, Tennis Lessons, takes the usual coming of age story and gives it more intimacy and honesty between the unnamed girl and the reader as she navigates to womanhood and independence. You can read my review </span><a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/07/tennis-lessons.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last book of July was a non-fiction book that has been sitting on my shelf for a while even though I’ve been promising myself to read it much sooner. I originally picked up </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/everybody-lies/seth-stephens-davidowitz/9781408894736" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span face="" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everybody Lies</span></a><span face="" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz in a bookshop when I read the first couple of pages and noticed that the company I work for (or the wider company and not the division I work in) was mentioned and I became instantly interested in this book. This book looks at how we reveal our true selves on the internet (when we do Google searches) more than we do to the people around us. This is a great book about how we use the internet, and insights into data, revealing trends and biases. I Really enjoyed this book and I would be interested to see similar research from Covid-19 coming from big data.</span></p><br /></span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-39535853390151991902020-08-02T10:29:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.290+01:00Beth Cartwright's Imaginary Bookshop Q&A<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we have Beth Cartwright appearing on Writer's Little Helper, answering the Imaginary Bookshop Q&A as part of her blog tour for her debut novel, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/feathertide/beth-cartwright/9781529100662">Feathertide</a>, a magical fairy tale for fans of magic realism.<br />
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Here's a little taster about Feathertide:<div>
Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met. The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted. And Marea will never forget what she learns there.<br />
<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/feathertide/beth-cartwright/9781529100662">Feathertide</a> has such a gorgoeus cover!<br />
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Thank you to Beth for answering these questions - I love all of your answers!<br />
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<b>What would be the name of your imaginary bookshop?</b><br />Lemuria.<br /><br /><b>Where would your imaginary bookshop be located?</b><br />In a wood, or on a Greek island or maybe tucked away down the side street of a small Italian town. I’m too indecisive.<br /><br /><b>Would your bookshop have any special features?</b><br />There would be one main room and then lots of nooks to get lost in. It would be a warm, inviting space, with skylights, fairy lights and cats sleeping on cushions. At the back there would be a little café serving tea and cake, and maybe a roof garden. There would also be a writers’ (net)working space.<br /><br /><b>What would make your bookshop different from all of the other ones?</b><br />On the wall there would be a phone and you would be able to select a button to hear an automated message from an author telling you about their book. There would be many authors to choose from.<br /><br /><b>What sections would you have in your bookshop? And what sections would you ditch?</b><br />Different nooks would be created to evoke different emotions/ideas e.g love, friendship, fear, magic etc and books would be shelved there accordingly. I would have a second-hand section and I would minimise the amount of merchandise sold.<br /><br /><b>Every bookshop needs a display table. Which books would you have on your display table?</b><br />Poetry and magical realism because they are my favourites. I would also have a table for debuts novels to help make them more visible.<br /><br /><b>If you could run only one author event who would you have? You can pick a living or dead writer. What sort of event would they run?</b><br />Leonard Cohen. He would recite his poems, play songs on his guitar and tell us about his life on the Greek island of Hydra. There would be ouzo and meze and lots of laughter. He had a great wit.<br /><br /><b>A customer comes up to your till with a copy of your novel and asks you to give them a reason on why they should buy it. What would you say?</b><br />What you hold in your hands isn’t just a book, it is a reminder that dreams come true.<br /><br /><b>What sort of cake would you offer when launching your book in your bookshop?</b><br />Cupcakes with mermaid and feather designs, and ocean coloured buttercream.<br /><br />I really want a bookshop now!<br />
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You can buy Feathertide from your favourite <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/feathertide/beth-cartwright/9781529100662">bookshop</a>!<br />
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This blog post was part of the Feathertide blog tour, and you can read other posts including reviews and extracts at these other fantastic places on the internet.<br />
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You can read previous Imaginary Bookshop Q&As over <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/search/label/QandA%3A%20The%20Imaginary%20Bookshop">here</a>.</div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-47717802241493161332020-07-28T17:46:00.000+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.379+01:00Tennis Lessons<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEox8yHMaWALc_JWaOjafJGsXZjoiujEexzCQYDYfhtfHf9y4w2iLZSOpN52QkE7vsEdUGyvMQCWWnfC6NdWC4BBMn1weDbpOn2OIu-P7PxtAaHb2_xGbh6QBIYRckSyN-rcoWyD-0IY/s1600/cover182867-medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaEox8yHMaWALc_JWaOjafJGsXZjoiujEexzCQYDYfhtfHf9y4w2iLZSOpN52QkE7vsEdUGyvMQCWWnfC6NdWC4BBMn1weDbpOn2OIu-P7PxtAaHb2_xGbh6QBIYRckSyN-rcoWyD-0IY/s320/cover182867-medium.png" width="199" /></a><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/tennis-lessons/susannah-dickey/9780857526861"><b>Tennis Lessons</b></a><br />
<b>By Susannah Dickey</b><br />
<b>Published by Transworld</b><br />
<b>Available in hardback, audio and ebook</b><br />
<b>Paperback is forthcoming</b><br />
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If you're missing <i>Fleabag</i> and intense characters then I've got a book for you.<br />
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Using the unconventional second person narrative, Susannah Dickey's debut novel, <i>Tennis Lessons</i>, takes the usual coming of age story and gives it more intimacy and honesty between the unnamed girl and the reader as she navigates to womanhood and independence.<br />
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Told in short, poetic vignettes, the reader follows our character from childhood, delving into her private world and insecurities, her loneliness and the way she observes life as it happens to her. Her pet dies, her uncle's death that is never explained to her, her mother's unexplained illness, the coldness of her family at their growing disappointing at her.<br />
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Full of dark humour and very touching as the character's vulnerabilities are laid out to the reader. This is a relatable character who tries too much to be perfect which leads to her downfall, and at times reminded me of <i>Fleabag</i> with the self deprecating humour with a character isn't always likable, which in my opinion makes for a more rounder, realistic look at life.<br />
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She feels like she isn't normal and her friends think she is strange and the growing tension within herself of not being good enough spills out into her life with her anxiety causing her to not meet her own expectations with exams, having to battle with bullies, sexual assault. She tries to find acceptance but ends up feeling more like an outsider, watching others navigate successfully through life. Susannah Dickey creates a character that you can't shake even after finishing the book.<br />
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The writing style really draws you into the story, and I finished the book in two reading sessions as I just couldn't put it down. I also loved that this book doesn't have a predictable ending, and she isn't rescued by a relationship or ended up with a perfect life.<br />
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If you've enjoyed books like Sarah Haywood's <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-cactus/sarah-haywood/9781473660632">The Cactus</a> or <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine/gail-honeyman/9780008172145">Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine</a> then you're going to love this book. Tennis Lessons is available from your <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/tennis-lessons/susannah-dickey/9780857526861">favourite bookshop</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook arc.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-24127100498070653912020-07-20T06:04:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.801+01:00My Recent Reading - Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TIUCYXd4On5qXc8DffuDIRtkl-8WBWOlIyZIr2HkmViUHw4apVo4hArnVQHTcvaKuSDez4aK6nlB94ccgl6HgJ0-FoyMpmiaK2MqdhH5mRu-mGHQliGiwwI-CxyZUhxJzr5rIgoX_jo/s1600/IMG_20200720_060248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TIUCYXd4On5qXc8DffuDIRtkl-8WBWOlIyZIr2HkmViUHw4apVo4hArnVQHTcvaKuSDez4aK6nlB94ccgl6HgJ0-FoyMpmiaK2MqdhH5mRu-mGHQliGiwwI-CxyZUhxJzr5rIgoX_jo/s320/IMG_20200720_060248.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here's the second part of my recently reading during May and June!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can read part one <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/07/my-recent-reading-part-1.html">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/nothing-to-envy/barbara-demick/9781847081414" style="text-decoration: none;">Nothing to Envy </a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was another book club pick, and explores </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the lives of people who have lived and defected from North Korea as told by an American journalist, Barbara Demick. This book shines a light on a country in chaos, and the horror of famine, poverty and manipulation. These stories of six ordinary people show survival against all odds.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-portable-veblen/elizabeth-mckenzie/9780008160395" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Portable Veblen</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Elizabeth McKenzie was one of those books that has been on my shelf for a long time, and I promised myself at the start of lockdown that I would make a big push to read some of the books on my shelves rather than requested lots of new books to review. I originally purchased this because I loved the squirrel on the front cover and that it was shortlisted for the 2016 Women’s Prize. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's a quote on the back comparing it to Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves which I really enjoyed. And that quote is right, lots of intense family dynamics, curious characters and there’s lots of humour and compassion. Veblen and Paul are set to get married but their families, their beliefs on what marriage is and a squirrel are keen to stop the wedding happening. A quirky read and I wasn't expecting some of the events at the end!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following on from reading </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/on-turpentine-lane/elinor-lipman/9781785632006" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good Riddance</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Elinor Lipman back in April, I read On Turpentine Lane and I loved this one too! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faith buys a little house in her hometown with an unsavoury previous owner, she splits up with her fiance and then her boss accuses her of fraud. This is a funny novel about how Faith tries to get her life back on track. Twisting American life in this romantic comedy. A great book to take your mind off lockdown. I'm hoping </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/eyelightningbooks/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@eyelightningbooks</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are going to reissue more Elinor Lipman novels with fabulous front covers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-phone-box-at-the-edge-of-the-world/laura-imai-messina/9781786580399" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Phone Box at the Edge of the World</span></a><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a beautifully written and translated novel about hope for anyone who is grieving and feeling lost</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami in March 2011 after the earthquake in Japan, and not only does she have to cope with feelings of why she survived and the changed world around her but also she is left wandering how she will survive with her life ripped apart. The way that Laura Imai Messina writes about Yui’s consumed grief is raw, and at times I had to put this book down as it was such a powerfully and sad story but I couldn’t put it down for too long as it is heart-warming and shows how grief doesn’t just stop but evolves. Hearing about a disused phone box in an old man’s back garden where people go to talk to their lost loved ones with their voices tangled in the wind; Yui makes that pilgrimage to the phone box, leaving behind the city and takes a step into the garden, but doesn’t go inside. You can read the rest of my review </span><a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-phone-box-at-edge-of-world-by-laura.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/pretending/holly-bourne/9781473668133" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pretending</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Holly Bourne’s latest adult novel is one of those novels that surprises you with the way it tackles uncomfortable issues that need to be discussed as well as being fantastic and gripping. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I couldn't put it down as I really cared for the main character, April as she tries to cope with life and dating after being raped. This is a raw, honest and also funny story of April gaining control of her life. This is an intelligent and inspiring read!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June was also the month I read my first graphic novel via Kindle! I picked </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartstopper-One-Alice-Oseman-ebook/dp/B07HXZR6PD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BA4W4GUT9QBQ&keywords=heartstopper+volume+1&qid=1594228473&sprefix=heartstopper%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heartstopper </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hearing great things about it so snapped it up when it was on offer recently. This is a fantastic story about boy meets boy while in school. Charlie and Nick's story is a sweet story as they become closer as well as having to deal with bullies and friends who don't want to understand. The illustrations are great and really showed the emotions of the characters. I read Heartstopper in one sitting because I couldn't put it down! And it has ended on a cliff hanger so I'm going to need to read volume 2 very soon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you if you’ve made it this far!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was supplied via Netgalley</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-58182278291753432512020-07-08T18:29:00.002+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.435+01:00My Recent Reading - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEfw8IHdMGZd-np9QKxjBBevzJc7NvxaHKA_YhEEaydDULG9UG7OtrjydAXbkz3VnbjV8lQa3MkaGSi1VRrpBiWAeh94DT6kCERFppZARBlPCWzUCfWKTQsExDZ4ID8eMHupX9BnRBs0/s1600/IMG_20200708_182745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEfw8IHdMGZd-np9QKxjBBevzJc7NvxaHKA_YhEEaydDULG9UG7OtrjydAXbkz3VnbjV8lQa3MkaGSi1VRrpBiWAeh94DT6kCERFppZARBlPCWzUCfWKTQsExDZ4ID8eMHupX9BnRBs0/s320/IMG_20200708_182745.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello, I think I might be back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Still staying home, still staying safe but not really finding the time to blog!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the next couple of weeks I will have some reviews to share with you and hopefully a Q&A - more information coming soon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I might not have been blogging as much but I have been very active over on Instagram, and it’s currently my favourite medium for talking about books. You can find me </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeckybookish/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Going forward, I want to be more diverse with my reading and am hoping that you are also looking to do this as well. If you’re looking for recommendations then here’s my Instagram post with recommendations of books by black authors </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBIm0x2Ap4U/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During May and June, I read over 13 books ranging with over five of these being non-fiction, and I have also read a couple of books which I am hoping will be on my list for top reads of 2020 - there’s still six months for them to be toppled from the top!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is going to be part one of my recent reads as I didn’t realise until I started writing this post that I had read this much. Part two to follow!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those 2 books that I absolutely loved, and want to talk about first. The first is </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/an-american-marriage/tayari-jones/9781786075192" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An American Marriage</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the winner of the Women’s Prize in 2019, by Tayari Jones. This is a marvelous book about how black people are treated in America and I really learned a lot from this book. Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are chasing the American dream, on the brink of having it all until Roy is arrested and sentenced to 12 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Both struggle, trying to hold onto their love and trying to see if the American dream still exists for them both with Celestial growing closer to Andre, her childhood friend. Yet when Roy is released early, he expects life to be how he left it but everybody has moved on and he is the one stuck in a moment of time. The storytelling is fantastic as Tayari delves into the inner workings of these characters and their lives, pulling the reader into the story. I couldn't put the book down! Please read this as you won't be disappointed. I’ve added Tayari Jones’s other novel, Silver Sparrow to my wish list</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/xx/angela-chadwick/9780349700267" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">XX</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Angela Chadwick </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a compelling novel, looking into a possible future where two women are able to have a female baby. Scaremongering, right wing movements and media latch on to this controversial technique. This book has great LGBTQ+ themes, and really delves into the relationships of the characters as they have to tackle the prejudice from the media, strangers and also from the people closest to them. This is a fantastic book and I should have read it sooner rather than having it sit on my shelves for ages.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Actually there’s another book that since reading it, I can’t stop thinking about and is very relevant for the current situation we find ourselves in. </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/going-dark/julia-ebner/9781526616784" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> delves into the way extreme groups use the internet to recruit people and build their membership. Julia Ebner who works at a counter extremism think tank, explores the way these groups operate, the way they have changed their groups to fit new technologies and what is also being done to counter these groups. This book was so absorbing and insightful. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another additive book was </span><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/dark-matter/blake-crouch/9781447297581" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark Matter</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Blake Crouch, a pick for our work book club and this is a science fiction thriller about a college physics professor who ends up in a different dimension where another version of himself who has developed a technology to go into other dimensions. However, this new dimension where he has a successful career and lots of praise doesn’t contain his wife and son. He needs to find a way to get back to them! This book had lots of twists and turns and really plays with your mind. I’m definitely going to read another Blake Crouch book in the future.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also went on holiday while staying on my sofa, going to places that are definitely not tourist hot spots including North Korea, Cuba, Chernobyl and traveling around in a tuk-tuk. The trilogy of books, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-There-Chernobyl-Korea-one-strangest-ebook/dp/B0796T9N19/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1594222680&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t Go There</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TX8SLDD/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t Come Back</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083XGHYK8/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuk-Tuk for Two</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Adam Fletcher are full of interesting facts about these places as he goes in search for more meaning to his life. I read these back to back and really enjoyed reading this series, and I’m not much of a series type of person - I normally like to have big gaps between books but I couldn’t wait to read the next one! Adam also looks at the ups and downs of his love lift, going from having a girlfriend in the first place who is reluctantly dragged on these trips to splitting up in the second book, and to finding a girlfriend in the last book as he tries across India in a Tuk-Tuk.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Come back next week for <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/07/my-recent-reading-part-2.html">part two</a>!</span></span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-20579625323181453242020-06-26T15:25:00.000+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.771+01:00The Phone Box at the Edge of the World<b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-phone-box-at-the-edge-of-the-world/laura-imai-messina/9781786580399">The Phone Box at the Edge of the World</a><br />By Laura Imai Messina</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sGpVnk8DzUjWWcfA-DWcY6Jyp9Ei8ZXKRYnyZrJocMhUxEGiklP6p5GP_P-l5thk-ZXvkYMGTz2CDFeSmyyQqMj61fDiaypt308rEQu1J-PKYOQq3Pn5URityfaeuzIByfv0YmaC1qM/s1600/9781786580399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sGpVnk8DzUjWWcfA-DWcY6Jyp9Ei8ZXKRYnyZrJocMhUxEGiklP6p5GP_P-l5thk-ZXvkYMGTz2CDFeSmyyQqMj61fDiaypt308rEQu1J-PKYOQq3Pn5URityfaeuzIByfv0YmaC1qM/s320/9781786580399.jpg" width="198" /></a><b>Translated by Lucy Rand<br />Published by Manilla Press</b></div>
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<b>Available in hardback, audio and ebook</b></div>
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<b>Paperback is forthcoming</b><br />
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The Phone Box at the Edge of the World is a beautifully
written and translated novel about hope for anyone is grieving and feeling
lost. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami in March
2011 after the earthquake in Japan, and not only does she have to cope with
feelings of why she survived and the changed world around her but also she is
left wandering how she will survive with her life ripped apart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The way that Laura
Imai Messina writes about Yui’s
consumed grief is raw, and at times I had to put this book down as it
was such a powerfully and sad story but I couldn’t put it down for too long as
it is heart-warming and shows how grief doesn’t just stop but evolves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hearing about a disused phone box in an old man’s back
garden where people go to talk to their lost loved ones with their voices
tangled in the wind; Yui makes that pilgrimage to the phone box, leaving behind
the city and takes a step into the garden, but doesn’t go inside.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yui befriends the owner, and starts to go regularly, each
time she just sits outside the box, watching others step inside. Slowly she
starts learning the stories of other people who make the journey and becomes
close to Takeshi, who has lost his wife and left him the sole carer for this
young daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As Yui learns to live with her grief and letting go of the
life she thought she was going to have with watching her daughter grow up, and
starts to see that she needs to live her life to honour their deaths. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though this book made me tearful several times, this is a uplifting book about hope even if you feel like you've reached the end and lost everything. You can buy <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-phone-box-at-the-edge-of-the-world/laura-imai-messina/9781786580399">The Phone Box at the Edge of the World</a> from your favourite bookshop.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I was approved for an ebook advanced copy via Netgalley.</span></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-13437777829469299472020-05-29T16:23:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.672+01:00April's Reading - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBJ4xAeN-vQq6CJ56JHhTu9sWMqpTRJ-YtZIX_O6nnOnFicz3cfDBZ0uV-VLrB9d2tMj3m2BcmiGjW8ZHbjM8do6xfENC6X-wjRcC05uf3iEehl-VoqieaLamXUiFdvGSgCzADzeFsRw/s1600/IMG_20200524_182128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBJ4xAeN-vQq6CJ56JHhTu9sWMqpTRJ-YtZIX_O6nnOnFicz3cfDBZ0uV-VLrB9d2tMj3m2BcmiGjW8ZHbjM8do6xfENC6X-wjRcC05uf3iEehl-VoqieaLamXUiFdvGSgCzADzeFsRw/s320/IMG_20200524_182128.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's the second half of April's reading which is a little bit belated especially as it's nearly June!<br />
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You can read part one over <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/05/aprils-reading-post-part-1.html">here</a> where I wrapped up the first four books I read during April.<br />
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Let's start with a short story collection, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/salt-slow/julia-armfield/9781529012590"><b>Salt Slow</b></a> which has the most beautiful cover I've seen on a book for a long time. Short stories are just what is required at these times especially on the days when my concentration can only last a few moments before wandering off. The stories within Salt Slow delve into shifting bodies, transformation, creepy creatures. Things are not what they seem especially in the story, The Great Awake, where sleep is a separate form that follows a person around like a shadow. People are unable to sleep. These forms linger, following their 'owners' around. These powerful and sometimes unnerving stories push their characters to turn away, turn back or transform. I'm looking forward to reading Julia Armfield's next book!<br />
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Because my head was still full of 'what the fuck are we going to do now that we're in lockdown' mode, I was also grateful for Samantha Irby's latest essay collection, <b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/wow-no-thank-you/samantha-irby/9780571359264">Wow, No Thank You</a> </b>not only for it's bright green front cover with a bunny but because I could pick it up read an essay and then save the next essay for later. Confronting life as she heads towards 40, from going out to a restaurant and clubbing to living in Rural America. Honest and hilarious, Irby shares the reality of writing on a television show (Shrill - which is great), to pooping in public. Nothing is off limits in this collection, and I was laughing in no time. This book is the tonic we need right now! Although, I'm upset that I've read all of Samantha Irby's essay collections.<br />
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And keeping up with the laughter, <b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/confessions-of-a-forty-something-f-k-up/alexandra-potter/9781529022780">Confessions Of A Forty Something F##k Up</a>, </b>is Bridget Jones meets the characters from Anna Hope's <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/09/augusts-reading.html">Expectation</a>. This book was supplied to me via NetGalley and the date has been pushed back to 2021 while I was reading it! Nell's life is a mess - she has split up from her boyfriend, their bookshop come cafe has gone bankrupt, and she's having to leave America to come back to London where all of her friends have settled down, got married and have kids. Life is not going how she would want. Moving into a house share in Richmond, she finds a job writing obituaries. While writing up an obituary, she meets Cricket, a widower in her eighties, she strikes up a friendship as they help each other to heal from their past, cope with the loss of the lives they have planned and find new adventures. Their friendship between generations reminded of Beth O'Leary's <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-review-switch.html">The Switch</a> with the way the characters come to together and realise that nobody is ever alone and that we're all in this together. Nell starts to realise her life isn't as fucked up as she thought as she slowly learns that everyone feels the same about their own lives. This is a great book about evolving friendships and being determined to create a life that might not be what you expected but will be great none the less.<br />
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And last but not least is Elinor Lipman's <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/good-riddance/elinor-lipman/9781785631689"><b>Good Riddance</b></a>, an entertaining comedy set in New York apartment block. Daphne decides she needs to throw out anything in her tiny apartment and those of those items is her mother's yearbook for a class she taught back in '68 with notes about each person but some of these annotations are very favourable. Daphne's neighbour, Geneva finds the book and wants to use it to make a documentary and delve into the comments in the margins. Regret creeps through Daphne and she wants it back to protect her mother's reputation. Fighting to reclaim the yearbook sends Daphne delving into her family's secrets and the inner lives of her neighbours. This screwball comedy with lashings of romance reminded me of Nora Ephron, and I immediately went and read Lipman's other novel, On Turpentine Lane (which I will be talking about in my May wrap up). I'm hoping Eye Books are going to get the UK rights to her back catalogue.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-75781002598290710292020-05-11T16:03:00.003+01:002021-10-13T19:03:44.975+01:00April's Reading Post - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-aXLQGiEPtmQiGVTQghvZxyU2txTgQWthM3CZxgwlR1tKeTQC-MQSNekqBd4Kc-BNweb7KvbQ9kn3TJS-XkvlLguKgm6D9PfzalrLOS11pbx9tvAtNzL-OUFbocoSIlyf4bGaBFZCcI/s1600/IMG_20200511_155955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-aXLQGiEPtmQiGVTQghvZxyU2txTgQWthM3CZxgwlR1tKeTQC-MQSNekqBd4Kc-BNweb7KvbQ9kn3TJS-XkvlLguKgm6D9PfzalrLOS11pbx9tvAtNzL-OUFbocoSIlyf4bGaBFZCcI/s320/IMG_20200511_155955.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Was April really April or was it just a huge continuation of March - who knows!<br />
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Lockdown was in place during April and still is now we're in May so I've got lots of reading done. Eight books! Eight of them! So I'm going to split this into two parts as I'm sure no one really wants to read a very long blog post (actually who reads blogs nowadays anyway).<br />
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If you're looking for a book to put you off going back to the shops once they open then I've got a book for you. I remember reading about <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/horrorstor/sam-stall/9781594745263"><b>HorrorStor</b></a> a few years back but only picked up a copy last year whilst in the Lake District. This is a haunted house story set in a shop not too dissimilar to IKEA where something isn't quite right once the customers go home. Strange noises, disturbing smells, staff who want to call forth any spirits with a seance - you know this is going to be a disaster but you just don't know how twisted its going to become once the manager, a man who likes to stick to the company's regulations thinks it's time to take action. This is creepy, funny, gory and a tiny bit scary. There are creatures hiding in the walls, wardrobes used as coffins and seemingly nice furniture becoming torture tools. The format of this novel is also great with the way its laid out to look like an IKEA catalogue.<br />
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So now that I've put you off going to IKEA ever again now let me make nostalgic for benches. Stay with me on this one! <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-park-bench/chaboute/9780571332304"><b>The Park Bench</b></a>, a graphic novel by Chaboute is another one of those books that has been sitting around on my shelves for a while. I think I might have been saving it for a rainy day but being stuck inside during a pandemic seemed like the best time to read books that I've been leaving to simmer on the shelf. I think not being freely outside because of keeping each other safe from the pandemic meant this book had more impact then it would have been before. This graphic novel shows us how a bench can bring people together, a place to rest, a place for conflict, a community. The illustrations, expressing more than words could were simple yet effective.<br />
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Work book club went virtual and we read <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/this-is-going-to-hurt/adam-kay/9781509858637"><b>This is going to Hurt</b>,</a> the bestseller non-fiction about the diary of a junior doctor working for the NHS (National Health Service). I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy reading this what with the current situation but I found I couldn't put the book down. This honest book along with hilarious antidotes delves into long, hard working weeks (97 hour working week - ouch), plenty of bodily fluids and battles against the parking meter. Adam Kay shows the brutal reality of being a junior doctor and it's impact on mental health, relationships and the way you view other people. This is a great book about the pressure the NHS is under and this was written before Covid-19.<br />
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A book run of escapism and characters with big personalities and complicated lives then <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/city-of-girls/elizabeth-gilbert/9781526625694"><b>City of Girls</b></a> is the book for you during these unprecedented times. Where best to come of age then 1940s Manhattan just before America enters WWII where Vivian has escaped her parents and their suburban life to live with her aunt in a run down theatre where she creates costumes for the show girls and then goes out partying until dawn. Full of fantastic 40s details with glamour, excess, sex and glitz on every page as they prepare to put on the greatest show that the theatre has ever seen. Elizabeth Gilbert pushes at expectations that society put on how young women should behave in the 1940s as she pushes open the boundaries of becoming a woman free from these expectations with her own money and in control of her future. This was an enjoyable read and I found myself full immersed with the details of the decade. Best not play a drink game each time a character knocks back a book or you'll end up clearing out the alcohol section of your local supermarket (look what happened to the toilet paper aisle at the beginning of this pandemic)! I really enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert's previous book, <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2015/11/reading-roundup-september-october.html">Big Magic</a> and I'm glad I've finally tried some of her fiction.<br />
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Part two is coming later this week!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">City of Girls was kindly sent to me (electronically) via Netgalley.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-22150066894807718262020-04-19T16:26:00.001+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.791+01:00Reading in the time of Corona (March's reading)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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March felt like a month with two parts. At the start Covid-19 was just making some noise on the sidelines but we were all chain-washing our hands, seeing dribs and drabs of people wearing masks, trying not to touch the poles or railings on the train when going into London. Now, the death toll is frightening, we're only allowed out once a day for either popping to the shops or a walk, working from home, staying safe inside.<br />
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In March, I managed to read six books and my reading tastes have definitely evolved. I don't want to pick up any books with a dystopia theme (which is the type of book I would normally read and enjoy) and reading about people being in crowds and restaurants seems nostalgic. I found that there were a couple of books I didn't enjoy as much as I would normally but I also read a couple of great books which I've left until the end as I'm a tease.<br />
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So lets start with the books I read during the first part of March.<br />
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/uncanny-valley/anna-wiener/9780008296858"><b>Uncanny Valley</b></a>, a memoir from Anna Wiener on how she left behind the beginnings of a career in publishing to go and work in Silicon Valley. This was a birthday present from February and wanted to read it as soon as I could because a.) the cover is full of colour and fantastic and b.) I had read an interesting book review when the book first came out. Anna shows that beyond the shininess of Silicon Valley is a culture where you're expected to be a workaholic, you're expected to do all of the team building exercises, you can be made redundant if a start up doesn't make enough money, the technology industry suffers from elitism and sexism. An addiction to social media, the internet and work start to take over. The bubble is about to burst but this coming of age memoir captures the power and allure of working in Silicon Valley.<br />
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Another book with a fantastic cover is <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/you-people/nikita-lalwani/9780241409534"><b>You People</b></a>. This is an important, necessary novel and at times reminded me of <i><a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/11/girl-woman-other.html">Girl, Woman, Other</a> </i>as it gives a voice to people are don't always have voices within novels or in real life. Following the lives of illegal immigrants as they battle to stay living and work at a restaurant in London. This pacy novel delves into what people do to find their place in society as they search for a sense of belonging. Raids from immigration officers, crowded accommodation, the loneliness of not being with family. Nikita pulls away the layers of British life to show what is really happening. At the centre of their lives is Tuli, the owner of the restaurant, fighting for his staff's rights. This character reminded me of a modern day Robin Hood who goes out of his way to protect the people in his life. This is a poignant novel which takes a stand against Brexit.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/crudo/olivia-laing/9781509892846">Crudo</a> </b>seems to be the opposite of <i>You People</i> with the way it deals with Brexit. <i>You People </i>looked at the way it will impact on immigrants while Crudo looks at the impact on people who are quite privileged. I'm afraid wasn't a novel that I enjoyed and I really thought I was going to like it as I enjoyed Olivia Laing's non-fiction book, <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2017/09/july-augusts-reading.html">The Lonely City</a>.<br />
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So moving into the second half of the month, and I really wanted either funny or comforting reads.<br />
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-faraway-nearby/rebecca-solnit/9781847085122"><b>The Faraway Nearby </b></a>didn't fit my new criteria for a book but I was meant to be reading this for an event that didn't happen. Rebecca Solnit's book of essays centralised around the boxes of ripening apricots from her mother's garden. Solnit looks at the way we tell stories to bring more meaning to the world we live in, weaving these stories into her own life as she deals with her mother's illness, her trip to Iceland and her own cancer diagnosis.<br />
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-switch/beth-oleary/9781787474994"><b>The Switch </b></a>was just the book I needed, and I really enjoyed it's warmth. This is a hug in a book. Beth O'Leary's debut novel, <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/07/junes-reading.html?q=The+Flat+share">The Flat Share</a> was a great read and her second novel is just as good. Leena and her grandmother, Eileen, need a change a BIG change to their lives. They decide to switch - Leena will move to Yorkshire and take over her grandmother's neighbourhood watch duties, and Eileen will move to London to have an adventure. They have 2 months to escape the stress of their old lives, and find themselves a new way of living. This is definitely a book we need at the moment! You can read my review <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-review-switch.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/adults/emma-jane-unsworth/9780008334598">Adults</a>,</b> Emma Jane Unsworth's second novel is the novel for now. Witty and fearless, Jenny who has recently split up from her perfect-instagrammable boyfriend is addicted to social media and can't get enough likes to satisfy her lust. This satire follows Jenny as she navigates shifting friendships, work and love as she builds a new life and audience after a break up, and taking control of your life. I really loved Jenny as she's a determined character and so very funny. Really enjoyed this book!<br />
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So that's March's reading and I'm sure the number of books for April is going to be higher than normal. Speak soon!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You People and The Switch was an ebook arc from Netgalley.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-24871799642217450062020-03-29T19:25:00.000+01:002021-10-13T19:03:43.821+01:00Book Review: The Switch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-switch/beth-oleary/9781529408515"><b>The Switch</b></a><br />
<b>By Beth O'Leary</b><br />
<b>Published by Quercus</b><br />
<b>Available in hardback, ebook and audio</b><br />
<b>Paperback is forthcoming</b><br />
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The Switch is the book we all need right at this moment.<br />
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Leena and her grandmother, Eileen, need a change a BIG change.<br />
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Both are grieving the death of Carla, Leena's sister, both are finding it hard to live in their current lives - Eileen's husband has run off with the dance teacher and Eileen struggles to keep up with her corporate job in London. Both need to escape.<br />
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They decide to switch - Leena will move to Yorkshire and take over her grandmother's neighbourhood watch duties, and Eileen will move to London to have an adventure. They have 2 months to escape the stress of their old lives, and find themselves a new way of living.<br />
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Eileen, 79, jumps straight into online dating in London, finding herself an actor who wants a torrid affair as well as sorting out the complicated life's of Leena's flatmates. While Leena gets herself caught up in neighbourhood watch, organising the May day fair and between doing both of those she crashes a mini bus, loses a puppy and finds herself a crush. Their old lives become a distant memory as they find happiness.<br />
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Both will question their relationships with each other, and with others. Both will open their heart to the community and the friendships you can find. Not only is this a touching novel dealing with grief, and difficult family relationships but is also a comfort with romance, naughty puppies, different generations coming together to better their community.<br />
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The Switch is just as addictive, sweet and comforting as Beth's debut novel, <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/07/junes-reading.html?q=The+Flat+share">The Flat Share</a>. If you're looking for an uplifting and comforting novel to keep you company, and to ease your mind from the endless bad news then this is the book for you. You can order The Switch from your favourite <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-switch/beth-oleary/9781529408515">bookshop</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I was sent an ebook version from Netgalley.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-76312252574288152802020-03-22T12:09:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:45.022+01:00Books to read when you need to escape from the world<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLxiHGOFKC-DR3yreRzwOdTvA_bvrA_rtvXxHZFDB7WhoSU3KgGdEz_ror9JeBzGLyXcJO64T2mJA2xBnpuwS-F2HQMrciIYGK2XaNMNzumaDeWUA3ODX2foayMvmxk6R0PdGW-liUT8/s1600/20200322_115134.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLxiHGOFKC-DR3yreRzwOdTvA_bvrA_rtvXxHZFDB7WhoSU3KgGdEz_ror9JeBzGLyXcJO64T2mJA2xBnpuwS-F2HQMrciIYGK2XaNMNzumaDeWUA3ODX2foayMvmxk6R0PdGW-liUT8/s320/20200322_115134.jpg" /></a><br />
The world is crazy at the moment, and the best thing we can do if we’re not key workers is to stay home, and only go out for supplies or for local walks and runs.<br /><br />I’m hoping that this list might inspire a handful of people to do some reading with the time normally spent in the gym, or shopping or socialising. These are books that have kept me glued to my seat when reading them so I think they will be good for people staying inside or when you need a break from working at home.<br /><br />Your local bookshop might be closed but they might still be taking orders over the phone or via their local website. If you’re based in the UK then using <a href="https://www.hive.co.uk/">Hive</a> will ensure you’re still supporting local independent bookstores near you.<br /><br /><b>Fiction </b><br />Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout<br />Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams<br />Adults - Emma Jane Unsworth<br />How Do You Like Me Now? - Holly Bourne<br />All My Friends Are Superheros - Andrew Kaufman<br />Small Island - Andrea Levy<br />We Were Liars - E. Lockhart<br />Starter for Ten - David Nicholls<br />The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger<br />Flatshare - Beth O’Leary<br />Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson<br />Dear Mrs Bird - A.J. Pearce<br />Dear Committee Members - Julie Schumacher<br />Normal People - Sally Rooney<br />Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan<br />The Man Who Didn’t Call - Rosie Walsh<br />Hotel World - Ali Smith<br />Roar - Celia Ahern<br />Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams<br />The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair - Joel Dicker<br />You - Caroline Kepnes<br /><br /><b>Non-fiction</b><br />Love, Nina - Nina Stibbe<br />Till The Cows Come Home - Sara Cox<br />I Feel Bad About My Neck - Nora Ephron<br />We Are Never Meeting In Real Life - Samantha Irby<br />Toast - Nigel Slater<br />Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert<br /><br />I also have this listed saved as a document so do message me if you want to have your own copy.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-21888357974566075152020-03-04T06:58:00.000+00:002021-10-13T19:03:43.780+01:00February's Reading update Welcome to March!<br />
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February was a busy busy month - not only was it my birthday (hooray) but I've been to see a musical, was the last person on the planet to see Little Women at the cinema, keeping up that gym habit, working to pay the bills, writing the beginning of something - not sure if its a story at the moment or something longer but since writing the opening I've stopped in my tracks. And I've had this horrid sinus pain in my ears and under my eyes - I've tried resting but I can't sit still for very long as my brain is always thinking of things to do...<br />
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There are a few other things brewing in the pot at the moment but I will be talking about those in a later post. Sorry, it's not writing related - my novel still hasn't been snapped up.<br />
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Anyway, some how I managed to read eight books - that's right 8 books - I've double checked my sums and apparently that's right.<br />
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Lets talk about <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/weather/jenny-offill/9781783784769">Weather</a>. Not the fact that there has been a storm each weekend of February but Jenny Offill's latest novel, Weather. Trump, climate change anxiety, intense family dramas are all packing into this short novel. Told in fragments, playing with the traditional novel form, leaving the reader to piece together the fragmented thoughts of Lizzie's life as we delve into her family dramas and paranoia of the turmoil in America. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm definitely planning on read this again in the future. You can read my review <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-review-weather.html">here</a>.<br />
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Now we've done the British thing of talking about the weather first then lets talk about my confession. It's a big one, are you ready? Okay, well, I've not read any Jessie Burton novels before so I took a gamble with <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-confession/jessie-burton/9781509886142">The Confession</a> and really enjoyed it. This tells the story of a young woman, Rose who has reached a cross roads in her life - she is stuck. The only thing that matters is learning more about her estranged mother who walked out only months after Rose was born. Set now in the UK and in the 1980s in LA, this is a book about secrets and lies and what we do to protect our families. Delving into the push and pull of motherhood, and the things we do to uncover our past.<br />
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Another book that spans across the pond, and also delves into Europe is Jeanette Winterson's <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/frankissstein/jeanette-winterson/9781784709952">Frankissstein</a>. I loved this but then I am a Jeanette Winterston fan. I love the way she weaves different story threads together in her novels, and I really feel like this is a return to form. Spliced together are two main threads - we follow Mary Shelley as the idea of Frankenstein starts to develop in her mind, in the present day we follow a trans man as he delves into the world of AI, and a facility housing dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead... but waiting to return to life, waiting for technology to catch up<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "source sans pro" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: 0.48px;">. </span>Is escaping our bodies the path to truth and happiness? Humans are on the verge of no longer being the smartest being on the planet. This is a bold, funny and important read. Loved it!<br />
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Talking about body parts leads us naturally onto Samantha Irby's essay collection, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/meaty/samantha-irby/9780571349838">Meaty</a>. That's the only connection - sorry if you were expecting something more. Samantha delves into the real truth of chronic illnesses, dealing with crap that life throws at you, preparing for having sex with someone new, working out if dying alone would really be that terror. These essays are raw and honest, and will have you laughing out loud in public places. I loved this collection, and I'm really looking forward to the next one.<br />
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And another book that had me laughing was <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-bus-on-thursday/shirley-barrett/9780708898802">The Bus on Thursday</a>. Eleanor's life is not going the way she has hoped - her boyfriend has left her, and she leaves her teaching job after finding out she has breast cancer and needs to move back in with her mother. Around her, her friends are getting married, having babies and all she has now is one breast and a fake one with no nipple. She needs a new start, and a teaching job in the mountains in a tiny village school along with a living in a cabin sounds ideal. Yet, the previous teacher just disappeared and no one knows why. This is a sinister tale of a small Australian town where people are not what they seem, and Eleanor's paranoia is starting to take over her life. Creepy priests, nosy neighbours, lingering stares from the town folk. Outsiders are definitely not welcomed. Think <i>Twin Peak</i>s mixed with Samantha from <i>Sex and the City</i>. I loved the voice of Eleanor, and the story - it's dark humour, and twisted story. Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Found this in the library but I would quite like to have my own copy.<br />
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When I heard that Candice Carty-Williams had a new book out I was over the moon. <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2019/12/books-of-year-2019.html">Queenie</a> was one of my books of 2019 and even though <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/notting-hill-carnival-quick-reads/candice-carty-williams/9781409196181">Notting Hill Carnival: A West Side Story </a>is really short I was still happy. This isn't just some old girl meets boy story - this is a girl meets boy who is in a rival gang story in London. This is about family and gang loyalty, forgiveness and love. This is a great short book, and I read it very quickly. This is part of the quick reads books supported by The Reading Agency to bring books to more adults who might not normally read. This is such a great cause, and they have definitely picked a winner with this book.<br />
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/what-it-means-when-a-man-falls-from-the-sky/lesley-nneka-arimah/9781472239631">What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky</a> by Lesley Nneka Arimah is an award winning short story collectoin which a.) has a great title, b.) great cover, and c.) great stories. Stories of a woman using forbidden magic to create a baby, a grief worker who discovers how to remove emotional pain, coming of age for girls who want to break the rules, the generational divide in African families and the push and pull of traditional values and customs. I've been wanting to read this since it was published but only purchased a copy last year. Should have read this sooner.<br />
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And the last book on the list is <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/quiet-girl-in-a-noisy-world/debbie-tung/9781449486068">Quiet Girl in a Noisy World </a>by Debbie Tung. This is a graphic novel about a character called Debbie and her way of coping with being an introvert in a world where being an extrovert is the only choice. This is a realistic view into being an introvert and reminded me of <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/quiet/susan-cain/9780141029191">Quiet</a> by Susan Cain. This illustrations were great and I've already been dipping in and out of this book since first reading it. I got her other book, Book Lover for a Christmas present and I've been saving it for a while but I think March feels like a good time to read it!<br />
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So in conclusion, I had a great reading month! There was nothing that I felt neutral about - I'm hoping this run of great books continues into March.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-45671455429506264132020-02-16T15:40:00.001+00:002021-10-13T19:03:44.344+01:00January's Reading<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_r1zl6JAT-hSDPUcMsU3YNCJnUmY4UBUwiNa9fpMle7HxBHZIrErUvDfjhcAmxGvLo4HVgkMZIvY_qrGMRCWNcw6GU_hAHJoU-Xr6VmHX8RKU1RaLo2bcKMnQgOhpY2ckCH6YTqNWj4/s1600/IMG_20200216_153854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_r1zl6JAT-hSDPUcMsU3YNCJnUmY4UBUwiNa9fpMle7HxBHZIrErUvDfjhcAmxGvLo4HVgkMZIvY_qrGMRCWNcw6GU_hAHJoU-Xr6VmHX8RKU1RaLo2bcKMnQgOhpY2ckCH6YTqNWj4/s320/IMG_20200216_153854.jpg" width="320" /></a>It was good I don't have a new year's resolution to write about my past month's reading within one week of the month ending or I would be failing at that...<br />
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Anyway, we are gathered here today, mid-February, on a wet and windy afternoon (or it might even be the evening by the time I finish) to talk about the books I managed to read in January. As usual my reading is wide ranging including a novel about killer spiders, a woman who meets her soul mate but is ghosted, and a hot California wedding. Obviously that's not all in the same novel...<br />
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With only one non-fiction book, I think we should start there because it was a good, important book that should be a on a list somewhere for women about to leave school. <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/women-and-power/mary-beard/9781788160612">Women & Power </a>is a collection of two essays from Mary Beard telling the history of women's power and what we can do to adjust the balance as well as her experiences of sexism both professionally and personally. This short but important book about the history of power between the sexes.<br />
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<a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/trigger-warning-short-fictions-and-disturbances/neil-gaiman/9781472217721">Trigger Warning</a>, a short story collection from Neil Gaiman has been on my reading pile for a very long time. Not only do I have a hardback version but also a paperback version as well. I've been dipping in and out of this collection for the past year but decided that January was a good time to finish reading some of the books that have bookmarks sticking out halfway through. Mystical, mythical, creepy these stories wander into the dark parts of your imagination. Not a fan of all of the stories but did love the <i>Doctor Who</i> story and a story carrying on from where <i>American Gods</i> finished.<br />
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Disturbances of the mind continue with <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/skitter/ezekiel-boone/9781473215214">Skitter</a> by Ezekiel Boone, where killer spiders are hatching out across the world, and nobody knows how to stop them. This isn't the type of book that I would read but that's why I love going to a book club. Told through a variety of characters across the globe and their reactions and actions to killer spiders. This is fast pace, and I didn't have any nightmares about the spiders instead I had a nightmare about a plane crash mentioned in one chapter!<br />
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For some light relief, I read <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/cassandra-at-the-wedding/dorothy-baker/9781911547297">Cassandra at the Wedding</a> by Dorothy Baker. Set in the heat of California in the 1960s, Cassandra is heading home to celebrate her twin sister's wedding but she isn't the type of person who is excited by this prospect. She needs to make her sister see sense, and will stop at nothing to make sure her sister pays attention. Really glad I read this, fully of sibling love and jealousy, sexuality, relationships, secrets and lies. I also love this front cover!<br />
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Family secrets and lies continues in <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-man-who-didnt-call/rosie-walsh/9781509828302">The Man Who Didn't Call</a> by Rosie Walsh. I purchased this originally as a present but then I started to read the beginning and I couldn't put it down so the person got a different present instead! Sarah meets a man, and it's love at first sight, spending 7 perfect days with him but after he leaves for a holiday he never gets in touch. This is a thrilling read as Sarah at first thinks she's being ghosted but slowly we realised there's more to this story. Loved the pace of the story, and I was racing through it to see what happened.<br />
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The feel good novel for January goes to <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/gravity-is-the-thing/jaclyn-moriarty/9781760875671">Gravity is the Thing</a> by Jaclyn Moriarty. 20 years ago, Abigail's brother, Robert went missing just before her 16th birthday and was never seen again. Looking high and low, he has completely disappeared, leaving a black hole in the family. That same year, Abigail started to receive extracts from a self-help book promising to make her life soar. Now, the person sending her the book has invited her to a retreat to learn more. Abigail's life is about to unravel as the power of hope, friendship and community burst their way into her grief and sadness. This was an usual, joyful and uplifting read. If you know someone who needs a glimmer of hope in their life then give them this book.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gravity is the thing was sent to be via Netgalley.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-612606440630784189.post-10550959577738302172020-02-10T20:44:00.001+00:002021-10-13T19:03:43.605+01:00Book Review: Weather <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianEZ6MnlIe785WrM-6SN7Ugx51io_35R6n1FulE0C90aEUdYkHQDHtHU_JJ71JdTAWaIum9xrgJqBVYMZVdRfTPfjF1Ci5jzH4lHE5YFxF1wOpxOmhLjV1RyUC1K5N6DBoLzMGUGvL-k/s1600/9781783784769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianEZ6MnlIe785WrM-6SN7Ugx51io_35R6n1FulE0C90aEUdYkHQDHtHU_JJ71JdTAWaIum9xrgJqBVYMZVdRfTPfjF1Ci5jzH4lHE5YFxF1wOpxOmhLjV1RyUC1K5N6DBoLzMGUGvL-k/s320/9781783784769.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/weather/jenny-offill/9781783784769"><b>Weather</b></a><br />
<b>by Jenny Offill</b><br />
<b>Published by Granta Books</b><br />
<b>Available in ebook & Hardback</b><br />
<b>Paperback is forthcoming</b><br />
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A storm is rallying in Jenny Offill's latest novel, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/weather/jenny-offill/9781783784769">Weather</a>. Trump, climate change, intense family dramas are all packing into this short novel.<br />
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I loved <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2015/04/reading-round-up-march.html?q=Jenny+Offill">Dept. of Speculation</a> back in 2015 so much so that I can remember when I was reading it when I gulped it up in one sitting and it was even one of my <a href="https://writerslittlehelper.blogspot.com/2016/01/best-reads-for-2015.html?q=Jenny+Offill">books of the year</a>. So when I heard a new novel was coming out I was really happy and also nervous because what if it wasn't as good. Well, spoiler alert to the rest of this review - it was bloody brilliant.<br />
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Following the style of <i>Dept. of Speculation</i>, <i>Weather</i> is told in short sharp snippets, playing with the traditional novel form, leaving the reader to piece together the fragmented thoughts of Lizzie's life as we delve into her family dramas and paranoia of the turmoil in America. The push and pull of denial of the way society is changing, the secrets and lies we tell ourselves and to our families to stay in a comfort state. This book is bursting at the seams with great prose and themes.<br />
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The galloping pace pulls the reader into currents of political and environmental tornadoing through this book as Offill delves into American's current political environment. Darkly funny, she weaves in this sense of dread of the way society is progressing alongside Lizzie's stormy life.<br />
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Not only is she a librarian but also an accidental therapist to her addict brother, helping strangers, answering dilemmas for strangers. At times, I got the sense she was using this as a way of not having to deal with the tension in her own home. Her husband and her son fade into the background at times as she takes on the responsibility of keeping her brother on the right track, and helping out strangers from the library.<br />
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I loved the dry, funny style of writing and the gaps in the narrative, leaving the reader to fill the gaps. Not only is this a book about family life, and the push and pull of loyalties but is also political, giving a window into society as it is right now.<br />
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I know that it's only February but I feel like this is going to end up on my books of the year for 2020. <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/weather/jenny-offill/9781783784769">Weather</a> is available from your favourite bookshop so go and buy it or borrow it from the library!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ebook of Weather.</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07194655242710567279noreply@blogger.com0