October Reading

Total books read this month:14    That’s the most in a month in 2020.

New to me authors:

Elizabeth Acevedo
Fatima Farheen Mirza
Jan Moran
Annie Lyons
Katie Fforde

Top Book for October

Loved 99% of the books this month. I think though because of the twist in this one I am giving it my favourite. If you like romantic suspense and haven’t tried this series, consider it.

Looking forward to being published in November

Main Reading Goals for October were well intended but not that successful!

• read four books at least from my actual shelf. – achieved two.
• read two books on my Kindle – none
• read one book at least outside my wheelhouse – one Poet X.
• reread one book – no.

So Main Reading Goals for November.

• read three books from my actual TBR shelf
• read one lurking book from my Kindle TBR
• keep up with the library reserves that land my way
• read some of the annotated Pride and Prejudice
• reread a book !

Incoming Books for October

Purchased

Library Books

From NetGalley or Edelweiss

Audio Books

Linking up with Nicole from Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

Welcome November. Casting off fast! Last week turned into a good reading week as I got through another audiobook, due more to quilting than walking but I’ll take it! As well busy pottering in the garden, love going out every morning to see if seeds are up or if plants are still alive!!

We had a sisters morning tea (six of us, one had to travel a couple of hours so nice catch up) on Friday at one of my sister’s homes.   Oh her garden was just gorgeous. Can you hear the envy in my voice!! Came home and resolved to do more in mine!

Fingers crossed for this week!!!!

What I read last week:

What I am reading now:

Just starting both these

And listening to #4 in Tradd Street series.

Up next:

 

Last Week’s Posts

Flying the Nest.  Rachael Johns

Books I Bought in November

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Books I Bought in October

I haven’t bought five books in a month for a very long time, I’ve been relying on the library, NetGalley and my own shelf for my reading. But this month the buying bug hit me.

I am not telling you much about the books so if you want to know more the book covers will take you to Goodreads.

As you know I have been a little bit on a quest about Jane Austen and especially Pride and Prejudice, and I bought this edition because I believe it will give me better insight into the background of that particular time in England.

Every so often I see what Sheree has been reading on Goodreads, before she stopped blogging (The Eclectic Reader).  There were lots of books we liked in common and I noticed she’d given 5 stars to Secrets and Seashells of Rainbow Bay. Plus what a cute cover and something about a castle in Northumberland!

I saw this reviewed in a local women’s magazine and I decided to buy it and give it a go. It is some kind of medical drama, written by a haemotologist, and a New Zealander. I guess I thought I’d support a local author. She has written other books but this is the first one I’ve come across.

I heard a review of this one on the radio and it was described as a charming light read and well I am always one for that kind of read. It’s set in Australia, Scotland, Ireland and England. About love, lies, hope and sorrow and families. So…! Why not!

This was the only Kindle book out of the five I bought. It’s one of my top favourite romantic suspense series and this one was hit right out of the park and fulfilled all my hopes for the way this series might go. Well of course I read it – straight away. It’s that kind of series. Addictive. Well, soppy book cover, but I believe the book following is going to have a different look.

The next book about the characters comes out in April 2020. I have pre-ordered it!

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Flying the Nest. Rachael Johns

Published: Harlequin Australia
Date: October 29th 2020
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Flying the Nest by Rachael Johns is a thoroughly good read. It just goes down so smoothly, I found myself flying through it!

It’s told from Ashling’s point of view. Her husband hits her with a a very tough call. He wants them to try nest parenting! What! she thinks. Oh and as well they should separate as he wants to experience relationships with other women. Now all this is not what Ashling had forseen But she’s catapulted into it.

At first she is so totally blindsided she stutters around. But the thought of visiting a seaside place and doing up an old shack soon snare her.

There are difficulties and challenges. The children – ten year old Payton and teen Saxon resent the new arrangement and of course their parents separation affects them deeply.

The book has a distinctive but subtle Australian flavour. I loved Ragged Point and the little island. The people at Ragged Point were a wonderful community and Dan added a whole extra interest. My favourite was the possum. In my country they are a huge pest, but at Ragged Point the needs of one rambunctious possum are taken into account.

The book explores a marriage gone stale, the impact of separation on children, the way a person can let their needs go by the way, how loss can affect a person it different ways. It has thoughtful points to make as well as being a wonderfully good read.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

Hope you are all keeping a head above water. This week I got some reading done and a bit of viewing – some on the TV – I am enjoying a British show The Trouble with Maggie Cole. I also watched half of the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice (to be continued) via DVD, the first of the new David Letterman on Netflix and the movie The Two Popes. All good viewing.

I can see the I will use Netflix a lot more now that yesterday I sorted myself with a Google Chromecast. Two of my sisters and brother and spouses gathered for a fish ‘n chips tea (evening meal, not sure what you call tea!!) Saturday at my brother’s place and so I saw their Chromecast set up and that’s all the incentive I needed. I had been thinking about it for awhile.

What I read last week:

I also finished listening to

What I am reading now:

A long time book on my TBR. I saw her new book on NetGalley but wasn’t going to request it when I don’t know if I like her as an author, so off the shelf it comes – I picked it up at a Book Fair about four years ago.

I am listening to

Up next:

Last Week’s Posts

The Way Back Home.  Emilie Richards

Book to Screen

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Book to Screen

I am not a huge viewer, I mostly read, but I do see the occasional movie and TV series. I love some adaptations of some books, Anne of Green Gables comes to mind – all versions of viewing  I would happily sit down and watch every so often. Here are five books I’ve read with their screen version thoughts.

I have read all the Outlander books and will read another if or when it publishes. I have the first two DVD’s of the screen version and its on TV too at the moment. And…  so far I  haven’t been able to be a fan of the screen version. I know of many who love it on screen, I know Diana Gabaldon is closely linked to the screen version, but I just prefer the book world.

I am in process of reading Pride and Prejudice but have previously viewed a couple of on screen versions. I have really enjoyed both and would watch again. I think a screen version done really well can lead me to a book and in this case that’s how it worked.

Virgin River series is another set of books I’ve enjoyed and followed through as they were written. I’ve watched most of Season 1 of the onscreen version but fell by the wayside. I know Season 2 is due out soon. I may give it a go, just to see.

This is a middle grade book I read to my class when I was teaching and we all loved it. Well I gave it five stars anyway! So when I heard there was a movie out for it I wanted to see it. But I never got to the movie theatre for it. However one day it was on TV and I was there for sure. I thought it was done well, held to the spirit and theme of the book and I’d watch it again and re-read the book – I did leave my copy behind in the classroom when I left but can always get another!

Lastly one book I read a while back that I don’t remember that well, set around WW2 and  in letter form. I didn’t fall for it as much as many other readers have, but when the movie was on TV I thought I’ll give this a go. I haven’t yet viewed it but have it recorded.  I am anticipating that it will be good and will help me visualise how this all worked out and I suspect and hope it may lead me to re read the book.

So how about you. Is there a screen version that has led you to a book or a book that has led you to the screen version?

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The Way Back Home

Published: 1st October 2020

Source: The author.

The Way Back Home is the second in the trilogy by Emilie Richards – Homecoming. In the first book we met Krista looking for her sister Rosie, a runaway. Krista felt really ashamed that in the moment Rosie needed her she let her down.

Now in The Way Back Home we meet the lovely Anna Fitzgerald, a staff member at First Day, a place that takes in runaways and offers them the chance of taking a new start in life, and even if they don’t take up that offer, a roof and a bed in the meantime. The runaways are tough, yet Anna is tough herself. Having been on the streets for a number of years, she knows the tricks of the trade. Not much gets past her. She has a wonderful four year old – Ryan and they live in a very small apartment.

And so of course we come to Rosie’s story. I don’t think it takes much deduction for the reader to work out who Anna was in her past. We learned in book one why Anna left home and now we learn of her heartbreaking years on the street. We see her partially back together but not fully healed.

As the story progresses there are a number of twists and turns. Anna is going to find the going challenging, the invitation to take more steps right there. Of course there is a love interest. This is a romance, with taste of women’s fiction and some suspense.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and look forward to the final in the trilogy. In this book I met characters I loved and cheered for and a story I wanted to keep on reading. While this is a republication of a book written back some time ago, I think readers will find it stands up well to 2020 reading.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels or anything in those genres – join them.

Well our elections are over, culminating on Saturday night where I sat glued to the TV and my iPad until I was bug eyed. However pretty early on it was obvious from early on our Labour government was returned with a large majority and won’t  need another party to make a coalition to govern with. But it is expected that Jacinda Ardern our prime minister will include the Greens (environmental sort of party) in some form of it.

What I read last week:

What I am reading now:

This seems to be a follow up to The Printed Letter Bookshop, set in the same street with a few old and some new characters.

Still listening to Seabreeze Inn.

Up next:

 Last Week’s Posts

Return to Virgin River.  Robyn Carr

Australian Authors I Favour

 

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Australian Authors I Favour

There are some Australian authors who have become authors I like to pick up anything that is published that they write. I recognise USA readers may not be able to access these books, but because Australia is my country’s nearest neighbour they are sold here.

The authors I choose of course are because of my particular reading bent, but there are many, many more very gifted Australian authors.

I have just finished this book by Fiona Palmer.  I first came across her when I read her novel Brothers and Sisters. In Tiny White Lies she writes a very compassionate story of two families facing a number of issues. It engaged me, its well written and well worth reading. I am still thinking of her two women characters. 

Rachael Johns is another Australian author I’ve been reading in recent years. She often writes rural romance although she writes very good women’s fiction as well and Flying the Nest is her most recent. My review will be published soon, but in a nutshell what happens when your husband suggests you nest parent!

Fiona Lowe might be my top Australian author even though I’ve so far only read a couple of her books.  I’ve chosen Home Fires to place here as it impacted me in a way that I still remember the story. I guess in this day we here so much about towns being swept through by fire and this book brought it totally home to me. Apart from that it has plenty of drama and mystery.

Natasha Lester tends to write historical novels and those that I have read have been well worth it.  She pens absorbing tales that enlighten the reader about the particular time period. I prefer contemporary novels but I will pick up an historical written by Natasha Lester.

Anne Gracie writes romance and I have enjoyed some of them. Her Chance sister quartet of books is a set I have particularly enjoyed. A lot of fun and strong female characters. I have one of her books sitting waiting for me to read on my bookshelf Marry in Scandal.

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Return to Virgin River. Robyn Carr

Published: Harlequin: Mira
Date: 13th October 2020
Source: Little Bird Publicity via NetGalley

Return to Virgin River – I thought we were finished with books in this series and it was with a little bit of  trepidation that I picked up this one to read. Of course I always will want to return to Virgin River. I’ve loved the previous 18 in the series – but could #19 do justice to the series? Well it’s a big YES from this reader.

I loved how Robyn Carr brings Kaylee, newly grieving the loss of her mother to spend some time in Virgin River, and to add to that Kaylee is a writer, struggling to finish a book that is really due in very soon. Very soon she is wrapped up by the arms of this small community, and especially welcomed by an artist/dog trainer when she finds herself without a place to stay.

It’s set in the three months leading up to Christmas, and Virgin River does those months really well. If there is going to be only one Christmas book that you read this year, make it this one. It made me sad as some of the characters struggled with loss, but it warmed my heart with the kindness and outreach of so many.

Many of the Virgin River characters make little cameo entrances, especially of course Jack and Mel. It was great to see them all and still all looking out for each other and those who are new as well.

There are animals involved. Be warned – your heart will be captured by them.

A very satisfying, heart warming and wise read. I know it’s part of a series, but it would read fine as a standalone.

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.