Books I’ve enjoyed 010

Posted on March 3, 2024 by The Little Room of Rachell

1. The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page

A warm hug of a book about friendship and belonging, forgiveness and acceptance of oneself, faults and all, with twinkling Christmas lights and snow near the end too.
This is well written and nicely researched, with added historical figures for depth and interest. A little poetry thrown in to the mix and some lovely quotes from the characters. Perfect!

2. Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene

Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at what he supposes to be his mother’s funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood, his dahlias and the Major next door to travel her way, Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay.

Through Aunt Augusta, a veteran of Europe’s hotel bedrooms, Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society: mixing with hippies, war criminals, CIA men; smoking pot, breaking all the currency regulations and eventually coming alive after a dull suburban life. In Travels with my Aunt Graham Greene not only gives us intoxicating entertainment but also confronts us with some of the most perplexing of human dilemmas.’ From GoodReads

A riotous journey! I decided it was time to read this classic story, first published in 1969.

3. The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton

‘1705, Amsterdam. Thea Brandt is about to turn eighteen, and at the theatre in the heart of the city she has met the love of her life. At home, however, her family faces ruin. Desperate to change their fortunes, Thea’s aunt Nella is convinced that she must find Thea a wealthy husband, to get her away from the theatre and solidify her place in the society in which she truly belongs. As Thea and Nella clash over the demands of duty and the heart, past secrets begin to overwhelm their present.

And then there is the elusive miniaturist – when mysterious figurines begin to arrive on the family doorstep, it seems someone may have unexpected plans for Thea’s family. Will each woman be able to rescue her destiny from the whims of fortune?’ From GoodReads

The second in The Miniaturist series. I felt there is plenty of scope for another story by the end of The House of Fortune. I really enjoyed visiting eighteenth century Amsterdam.

4. The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

Jenny is sought out to come and work at the Mercury theatre in London’s West End by Mrs Dyer, the wife of the theatre’s proprietor. She is engaged as a member of the wardrobe room and as dresser to leading lady Lilith, whom she is also to spy upon. Mrs Dyer is suspicious and jealous of Lilith and her suspected attachment to her husband. Meanwhile, Lilith is obsessed with a watch that belonged to a tragic actor. It is said to be possessed by the spirit of Melpomene, the tragic Greek muse of theatre. The watch is said to bestow anything an actor desires, but comes with a gory history. Jenny has witnessed the upsetting event which occurred to its last owner…

Is Mrs Dyer as caring and supportive as she seems? Is Lilith the unpleasant diva she seems, or more human and fallible? What is happening to the people and fabric of the building at the Mercury?

This is a really good premise for a story; there is an array of interesting characters and an excellent setting (a Victorian theatre has to be one of the best, on par with a huge old ancestral home in the country.) The story is structured around the five plays that the company stage.

5. A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

‘When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police. Three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons – simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find peace? How long can secrets smolder before they explode into flame? Look what you started.’ From GoodReads

It’s not a jolly read, which is a great understatement, but kept me guessing and turning the pages.

6. Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase

‘The hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall. For the four Alton children, it’s the perfect summer escape where not much ever happens – until one stormy evening, something does.And their idyllic world is shattered. Decades later, Lorna is drawn to a beautiful yet crumbling old house she hazily remembers from childhood – feels a bond she does not understand. But a disturbing message left by one of the Alton children tells her that Black Rabbit Hall’s history is as dark and tangled as its woods. And much like her own past, it must be brought into the light…’ From GoodReads

I’m always drawn to English county house settings! I also recommend The Glass House by Eve Chase.

7. Into the Uncanny by Danny Robins

‘This book is the story of these ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary things and want to make sense of them. Each one is a brand-new case I have never shared before; modern day ghost stories that make my blood run cold as effectively as anything that Charles Dickens could rustle up. And they are all entirely true.It’s also a story of my own personal journey of discovery because l’ve realised something from hearing all these incredible stories that come my way. I’ve realised how much I want to believe. I’m asking you to join me, to keep an open mind and to prepare to have your very concept of reality challenged. Are you ready?’ From GoodReads

Excellent audiobook voiced by the author. Genuinely gripping! #TeamNotSure

There’s also the Uncanny podcast, The Witch Farm (haven’t listened to this one yet) and The Battersea Poltergeist podcasts by Danny, also three TV episodes of Uncanny which are on the BBC iPlayer.

8. Winter Animals by Ashani Lewis

Thirtysomething-year-old Elen find herself adrift, lonely and drinking excessively, after the departure of her husband, who leaves her virtually penniless and subsequently homeless. She meets four British teenagers in a bar one day and becomes attached to the group. They travel and squat in empty buildings during the ski season and spend the majority of their days hiking up mountains and skiing back down. This is all possible by the fact that all of the teenagers come from well-off families. They live in relative comfort and without undue anxiety despite the fact they may be discovered by the authority or owners of the properties.

Luka feels himself to be the leader of the group and endlessly spouts the beliefs and ideas of a long-dead philosopher. Due to their isolation and days skiing without seeing many people the group of five become cultish and cut-off from the outside world.

9. Night watching by Tracy Sierra

A women and her two small children are at home in their old house late at night, in a raging snowstorm, the children are asleep. The woman hears a sound, she’s on instant alert and realises that they are definitely not in the house alone. What should she do? Run? Hide? Can she alert anyone without giving their location in the large house away?

This is an on the edge of your seat psychological thriller which manages to sustain the tension of what is happening in the house, even while including flashbacks to allow us to discover more about the woman, her husband and his family.

10. The Story Collector by Iris Costello

The Story Collector tells the stories of three women: Katerina, a German living in the East End of London, running a bakery in 1915, Miriam, a nurse and researcher who is working in a prisoner of war camp in Germany in 1918 and grief stricken Edie who has left London to live in Cornwall, in the present day. There are links which connect the three women. A mysterious box is found with items which will help to reveal the mystery…

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There you go, a good selection of books to check out. Many of those I read as advance copies, months ago before publication. I’m glad that there’s been a buzz around several of them. It pleases me that I picked some goodies.

I’ve currently got a batch of 7 new advance books to read and review from NetGalley, before publication including: Kate Grenville, Harlan Coben and Sarah Perry’s forthcoming releases. Exciting.

Amongst others I’m still ploughing through The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling.) It’s an epic 960 pages, but like the rest of the Strike series is a total page turner. I’m also listening to it a bit on Spotify Premium, because the beauty is you don’t have to commit to the whole audiobook, like on Audible, you can dip in and out of lots of books within a 15 hour listening allowance for the month. I listened for an hour cosied sat up in bed yesterday morning, while crocheting more rounds of my last Coast Blanket granny square. That was a satisfyingly chilled start to Saturday, before I went out for the rest of the day.

Have you any good book recommendations? I enjoy reading about books you’ve enjoyed. It’s always nice when I’ve already read and enjoyed it too.

I wonder if I should start a Books I’ve Hated series?! That could provoke some interesting discussion!

Books I’ve enjoyed 002

Posted on May 27, 2022 by The Little Room of Rachell

Linda is on the face of it not a very interesting character; she is living the kind of life that millions of people live day by day. Going to work, plodding along, cooking uninspired dinners and pushing the hoover around the house. There is no real communication, or any sense of a spark of connection between Linda and Terry, her husband.

There is plenty of black humour and characters who are all too familiar in this book. From Linda’s mother to nose-in-everything neighbour Malcolm. What happens after the girls on the estate go missing and turn up one by one is very well plotted. I don’t want to say anything more about it all, as I’d hate to spoil it for other readers.

Fantastic!

Twisty turny, with a slow-building atmosphere of menace. I had so many questions and thoughts about what might happen when I was not reading, always a good sign of a compelling story.

This novel is deftly plotted, with leaps back and forth in time and to completely different settings. 1989 was interesting, the references took me straight back to my teens. Researching (or just remembering?) that period must have been fun.

The characterisation is solid; because despite a large cast I was never confused about who was who.

It also has to be said (because I bet I’m not the only one) that any book which is set within a large country house and grounds gets my vote too. Woodland, a pool and a view of the sea too? Tick, tick, tick!

My heart was beating so hard by the end. Loved it. This is a book I’ve already recommended to many friends. 5 *****

An engrossing read as we find out exactly what has driven Meredith to stay in her house for over three years, and what happened to cause her to become alienated from her family. Along the way she makes two new friends who have some issues of their own.

Meredith, Alone is in the same genre as Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and A Man Called Ove. All are linear stories following characters who have deeply personal issues to resolve, as they form new relationships along the way and change through the course of the story.

Meredith is a really sympathetic character, so proactive in her self-care and very likeable, while supportive of others. I imagine the dishes Meredith makes and the items she bakes will inspire. It certainly makes for a cosy read. The food, the cups of tea and the cat. Perfect.

There is one aspect of the story that could have been much darker, which could have changed the path of the story as it moved forward in the present time, but the author chose not to go there.

What a fabulous book! It’s warm hearted, honest and incredibly positive. You feel there is nothing the family won’t overcome, because there’s no such thing as giving up. There’s a problem, then there’s research, teamwork and problem solving. Breadsong is a very uplifting read. Yes, I found myself welling up at times, but then I was laughing out loud and I’m pretty sure there were a few shouted “Hurrays!” And, of course, there is bread. A lot of bread.

I’ve been making bread every week since 2014 when I read The Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan, a warm and cosy novel which really inspired me to make my own. After all I’d grown up eating homemade bread, I knew how much better it was than shop bought. My Mum would come home on a Friday night after working hard all week and make a batch of loaves. I’d wait the minimum amount of time allowed to cut a slice or two. I always spread the crust with butter and honey. For the last 4 years I’ve been baking sourdough, also inspired by some of the bakers Kitty mentions. (Happy 4th Birthday Marve the Marvellous starter!) So, I completely and utterly understand the appeal of dough and baking. It is therapeutic and apart from ending with something hugely tasty to eat, you feel a huge sense of achievement.

I can’t wait to try some of the recipes, in Breadsong. I didn’t realise that there would be so many! HURRAY!

Also I should go and visit the bakery sometime soon. Who can resist a visit after seeing all the beautiful photographs in the book? (And on their wonderful Instagram account.)

Part memoir, part cookbook, this is a very engaging read. I found the descriptions of Ed Ball’s years working in government very interesting. I also loved snippets about Ed’s family life both then and now. Ed always seems likeable on TV and radio appearances and comes across favourably in this well-written book.

I’ve saved some of the recipes to try: including the baked chocolate mousse, the custard (I’ve never actually made custard from scratch, so when it comes around to apple picking time I might make a crumble and serve it with homemade custard, instead of my usual extra thick double cream. My husband will be pleased) the soups and Cajun beans, which I plan to cook this week.

I noted how the finer details of recipes were sometimes lacking, for instance: how big a shoulder of pork for the bbq recipe? Around how many bananas might be required for the stated 425g? Smaller shops do not have scales to weigh produce and it is useful to know in advance. Do you remove the garlic from their skins and eat in the chicken soup, or discard when serving? When making the Yorkshire puddings the instructions state to divide the batter equally, but it does not say around how many portions the roast beef and puddings serves, so it would be rather a guessing game the first time. We tend to take specifics for granted when reading the cookbooks of experienced food writers. None of these are insurmountable problems, but some recipes could be tweaked a little.

Ed’s observations of the Sundays of his youth with the rituals and the patterns of roast lunch, football, the BBC serial and teatime were interesting as he states it was a true day of rest. I’m certain that his Mum didn’t get much rest! However I enjoyed the nostalgia of reading his recalling those quieter, far less commercial Sundays.

I quite often look up unfamiliar words when reading, my favourite in this book was policy wonk! I didn’t think it for a minute it would be in any dictionary. I thought it was probably political slang. Wrong!

I hope there are more books from Ed as I genuinely enjoyed reading his stories and would definitely read another of his books, if it was in a similar vein.

Heartwrenching, hopeful, a testament to love, family and loyalty. There is also humour, a lot of it bleak, but it lightens the reading of what is a devastating story.

Very best wishes to Abi, Jacob and their families.

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And there you go, there’s a booklist for your holiday reading, or for lounging about on sunny afternoons (or for cosy winter nights if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere.)

What about you, have you read any corkers lately?