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STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL.
STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL. | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
29 posts | 19 read | 18 to read
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review
andrew61
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

4th booker shortlisted book + another excellent read. The narrator is a woman impacted by the death of her parents + after a short 1st visit moves to live in an Australian priory where she recounts life with the nuns but also her memories which are peppered with curious tales. Covid, an infestation of mice, the return of the bones of a murdered nun, + their escort a nun the narrator recalls from school add to the hypnotic fascination of the tale.

41 likes1 stack add
blurb
Suet624
STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL. | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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It was a very good month.

TheKidUpstairs Every book here that I've read was great! Did you have a favourite of the month? 1mo
sarahbarnes Great month! 📚 1mo
Suet624 @TheKidUpstairs I was trying to pick a favorite before I posted this and I couldn‘t come up with one. God of the Woods and Tom Lake may have had the least emotional impact but they were all good. (edited) 1mo
See All 7 Comments
Suet624 @sarahbarnes I‘m so glad not to be working so I can read. I think I‘m officially retired from a 9-5 job. Still have several work obligations but nothing like before. 1mo
sarahbarnes That‘s amazing - congrats! That‘s what I will do too - read and garden. 1mo
Suet624 @sarahbarnes and walk. 😊💕 1mo
LiteraryinPA Congratulations!! 1mo
34 likes7 comments
review
jlhammar
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

I so loved this quiet novel. A masterpiece of interiority.

#Booker2024 #NunLit

BarbaraBB Hear hear 🤍 1mo
JamieArc Looking forward to getting to it! 1mo
Graywacke Yay! It‘s still my favorite. ( @JamieArc Hope you enjoy it!) 1mo
See All 8 Comments
squirrelbrain I loved it too! ❤️ 1mo
Suet624 💕💕💕 1mo
Deblovestoread About half way and enjoying. 💜 1mo
Leniverse I want this one or James to win. 1mo
rmaclean4 Can't wait for it to come out in the US. 2d
80 likes1 stack add8 comments
review
Suet624
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

(A friend just sent me this photo of the Giants Causeway. I‘d say that‘s quite a stone yard!)

A woman leaves her way of living to join a small group of cloistered nuns. We join with her as the group deals with a plague of mice, the return of the bones of a prior member of the group, and the former classmate who returns with the bones. The classmate brings memories and annoyances. I was hooked. #bookerlonglist

BarbaraBB Glad you enjoyed it. Quite the stone yard indeed 😍 1mo
squirrelbrain I loved this one too, and perfect pic! 1mo
Suet624 @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain another book I‘d never have read if not on Litsy. 💕💕 1mo
49 likes3 comments
blurb
Deblovestoread
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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#weekendreads

Hope to finish The Flight Portfolio this weekend after falling behind. #SundayBuddyRead

Hope to finish Stone Yard before the 1st and will start the Klune tonight.

What are you reading?

@rachelsbrittain

rachelsbrittain Love the green color theme going throughout your books! 1mo
49 likes1 comment
review
Jas16
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

Glad that this ended up being my final read of the Booker shortlist. Nice to end on such a high note. A woman retreats to a convent after she decides her life is no longer working for her. Her lack of faith isn‘t a hindrance as she finds comfort in the simplicity and meditative repetition of her new life, Things happen in her community like an infestation of mice and a visit by an activist nun, but the plot is not the draw her inner thoughts are.

BarbaraBB Great review and a great one to end with indeed! 1mo
Suet624 Reading this one now and loving it. 1mo
sarahbarnes Hoping to get this one from the library soon! 1mo
Jas16 @Suet624 Really looking forward to your review. 1mo
Jas16 @sarahbarnes I had to order a copy from Blackwells from I am glad that I did. 1mo
49 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Caroline2
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

Who hasn‘t dreamed of walking out on their life and leaving all their responsibilities behind to go and join a nunnery….! I really enjoyed this quiet, thoughtful novel. But it does follow the current trend of stopping rather than ending. #nunlit

BarbaraBB Great review! 1mo
jlhammar I just got my copy! Hoping to get to it this weekend. 1mo
87 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Deblovestoread
STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL. | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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A fruitful trip to the post office. My Blackwell‘s order arrived. Yay for having reasonably priced access to books not yet published in the US. More #LitsolaceFallCardSwap arrivals, my #FallingForFallSwap box and not pictured but a #LitsyLove letter from @Blerdgal_Fenix that showered me in Mickey head glitter that made me laugh out loud.

@Avanders @Chrissyreadit @Meshell1313 @TheBookHippie

TheBookHippie Did my card arrive and also 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🙈🙈🙈I mailed your birthday card today 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️so sorry. 😩 2mo
Deblovestoread @TheBookHippie Yes it did. I‘m waiting til the 22nd to open them all. And thank you! 2mo
Avanders 👏🏼👏🏼🍁🍎🍂 2mo
Chrissyreadit 🧡💛🧡💛 2mo
Meshell1313 Woo! 🎉 surprise! Happy #FallingForFallSwap! 2mo
69 likes5 comments
review
Graywacke
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

My 5th and, so far, easily my favorite from the #booker #booker2024 #longlist

This is spare, “stripped to the bedrock”, as our narrator leaves her husband and life and joins a tiny isolated outback monastery as a non-believing nun. It‘s quiet and peaceful, then come the mice, and the past and the outside world in general. This builds up, everything standing out against the blank backdrop. It‘s peaceful, despite the mice. And cathartic.

Graywacke In my longer review i wrote that it‘s very different from the other longlist books i‘ve read. It has a depth and pace and complexity that stands out distinctly from the other four, and it offers more freedom to the reader in how to respond. 2mo
Lcsmcat Sounds lovely. Stacking. Because I need to buy more books. 🙄 2mo
See All 30 Comments
squirrelbrain Fabulous review! This is my second favourite from the list. 2mo
jlhammar Hope to get a copy soon! Sounds like one I‘m really going to like. 2mo
Suet624 I can NOT wait for the library‘s copy to get to me. I think this sounds like it could be the most delicious of all the books for me to read. It was my secret desire for years to do something like this. 2mo
Graywacke @Lcsmcat of course. Enjoy! 2mo
Graywacke @squirrelbrain thanks. Which is your #1? I‘m anxious to read Hold. 2mo
Graywacke @jlhammar 👍 i think you‘ll like it 2mo
Graywacke @Suet624 ooh. Then it was written for you. 🙂 2mo
BarbaraBB Fab review! It‘s one of my favorites too. 2mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB i remember you liked this one a lot. Thanks! 2mo
Aimeesue Great review! 2mo
squirrelbrain My favourite is The Safekeep. 2mo
Leniverse So far it's this one and James for me. But I have high hopes for The Safekeep and My Friends as well. 2mo
Graywacke @squirrelbrain that will be my next, unless Playground arrives early 2mo
Graywacke @Leniverse this and My Friends are my personal shortlist. i haven‘t gotten to The Safekeep or James yet 2mo
Graywacke @squirrelbrain @Leniverse I‘m involved in the Booker Prize Book Club on fb. Readers i trust have been thrashing The Safekeep. Hmm But they can‘t say why, which i appreciate. Because, spoilers 2mo
AnneCecilie Love your review. I loved this as well for the same reasons 2mo
Leniverse Interesting. I'm reading The Safekeep next, so we'll see! 2mo
kspenmoll This sounds like I need to see if my library has it! 2mo
Graywacke @AnneCecilie thanks. Fingers crossed for tomorrow ☺️ 2mo
Graywacke @Leniverse i finished The Safekeep yesterday. Don‘t tell @BarbaraBB … but, i didn‘t really like it that much. 😁 2mo
Graywacke @kspenmoll No US publication yet. I think you‘re American. So tough to find. And the price on amazon is boosted. I keep seeing try Blackwells. But i already have a copy. 2mo
Leniverse @Graywacke I liked The Safekeep, even though I don't understand how anyone could be surprised by the reveal. 🤪 I've chalked it up to differences in background, Brits are as clueless as the MC, Europeans know what's what. So now I have to ask. You're American, so were you surprised or did you see it coming from the start? 2mo
BarbaraBB Haha @Graywacke I read that 😂. And I agree with @Leniverse that the reveal is not really a reveal since it was clear to me from the first chapter and I am curious now too how you perceived it. (edited) 2mo
Graywacke @Leniverse My ✡️ radar - I knew the history of house immediately. But didn‘t identify Eve‘s ethnicity. Her height was cute hint. Of course, I knew about Isabella and Eve from reading reviews on all the graphic content. 2mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB I wish the book was less dependent on the reveal and more exploratory on how difficult it is to respond to. Eva‘s response is very simplistic and, well, I thought it was silly. Necessary for the resolution. But the book is more to my liking without that resolution. 2mo
BarbaraBB I see what you mean. And I agree on Eve‘s response. But I loved Isabelle, the sparse words she needed to express herself and the development of her relationship with Eve 2mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB Isabella was always entertaining and endearing 🙂 2mo
58 likes1 stack add30 comments
review
AnneCecilie
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

After visiting her parents grave, a woman makes the impulsive decision to stay at a monastery, and this turns into more than a few days. Escaping her life and failing marriage, she seeks the solitude and repetitiveness among the nuns. In the middle of this the monastery experience a mouse invasion, a person from her past comes back and a sister returns in a coffin.

This book will stay with me.

I‘m late in starting my #Booker reading

BarbaraBB Wonderful review. I enjoyed this one a lot too. 2mo
squirrelbrain Great review - this is among my favourites on the list. 2mo
JenP Im reading this now and also one of my favorites 2mo
See All 12 Comments
Graywacke Oh. Lovely to see. I‘m so glad you liked it. I just finished this morning. I‘m still in its spell. (edited) 2mo
Cathythoughts Great review! I‘d like to read it. Not sure I could read about that ‘ invasion‘ though. Phobias 😬🤣 2mo
AnneCecilie @BarbaraBB thank you. I understand why you said this was a good book to start with. 2mo
AnneCecilie @squirrelbrain thank you. I don‘t think I‘ve read enough books from the Longlist to have a ranking yet, this was my 3rd book. 2mo
AnneCecilie @JenP so glad you‘re enjoying it. This was my 3rd book from the Longlist so I don‘t feel like I‘ve read enough to have an opinion. 2mo
AnneCecilie @Graywacke It really does pull you into its atmosphere 2mo
AnneCecilie @Cathythoughts I‘m not a fan of mouse, but I don‘t have a phobia either. There‘s talk of mouse traps, the extent of them when it comes to burning, hearing them, I also think there‘s a couple of mentions of them crawling over people. Just to let you know the extent of the mentions. For me there was other parts in the novel that was more important and that will stay with me. 2mo
charl08 I liked this - hoping it gets shortlisted (altho I haven't read them all by any means!) 2mo
Leniverse Just finished this one too. (And coincidentally it's also my third from the longlist). It's lovely. Definitely won't complain if it gets shortlisted. 2mo
64 likes12 comments
blurb
Leniverse
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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I really enjoy this #Booker longlisted book about an Australian woman deciding to abandon everything to live amongst nuns. But even more than wondering why she's there, I've been wondering why does Richard Gittens keep hanging out with them as their self-appointed, unofficial handyman? 😆

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Graywacke
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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BarbaraBB One of my favorites 2mo
44 likes1 comment
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AnneCecilie
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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#BookReport

I continued with Dark Fire #ShardlakeBR and finished The Voyage Out #VirginiaBloomsberries

I‘ve almost finished A Life‘s Work

I‘m about halfway through Stone Yard Devotional and hope to finish today

review
BookishTrish
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Mehso-so

Charlotte Wood has a knack for creating novels from really unique situations. In this case, I don‘t think we were ever given enough information about the narrator to understand the dissolution of her marriage and move to the abbey. I felt slightly perplexed the whole time.

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AnneCecilie
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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#WeeklyForecast

I want to continue Dark Fire #ShardlakeBR and finish Rhe Voyage Out #VirginaBloomsberries

I‘ve just started A Life‘s Work and want to continue that

I want to get a start on my first read from the Booker Longlist with Stone Yard Devotional

BarbaraBB A good one to start with! 2mo
54 likes1 comment
review
Eva_B
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

This took me a while to get into but once I did I liked it. A slow paced but interesting story set in an abbey of an order of nuns in rural Australia. The book looks at the nature of faith and women who choose to leave society and devote their lives to god. Forgiveness and grief in the midst of a mice plague makes this a haunting read.

review
BarbaraBB
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

#Booker 7/13

Another winner for me. Nothing much happens in the narrator‘s life, who more or less accidentally ends up living & finding solace in a religious community hidden in the Australian outback, where she grew up. So nothing much happens in the book either. A mouse plague getting out of control, that‘s what mostly happens and it sounds horrible. Yet of course there are reflections on life before. On grief and death and choices made 🤍

squirrelbrain Yay - I‘m glad you liked it too! Great review and gorgeous photo! (edited) 2mo
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I was curious if I would after your high praise because we mostly love similar books but Charlotte Wood can be a hit or miss for me. So glad this was a hit ❤️ 2mo
AnneCecilie This is one of my next reads 2mo
See All 14 Comments
BarbaraBB @AnneCecilie I am interested to hear what you‘ll think! 2mo
JenP I think I may like this one. Just finished safekeep. Finally back home so I can speed up on the reading. Reading my friends noe 2mo
Graywacke I‘ve been anxious to read this one, although this mouse thing sounds awful. Glad you liked it! And your photo is terrific. 2mo
jlhammar Beautiful photo! The mouse plague scares me a bit, but looking forward to this one. 2mo
Ruthiella Stunning photo- perfect! 🤩 2mo
BarbaraBB @JenP I loved Safekeep. Did you? 2mo
JenP @BarbaraBB yes! 2mo
youneverarrived Gorgeous photo! I‘m looking forward to reading this. 2mo
Suet624 And now I must search for yet another book!! 2mo
BarbaraBB @Suet624 Afraid so. This is your kind of book 😀 2mo
BarbaraBB @youneverarrived Thanks! I hope you‘ll enjoy it too. 2mo
66 likes3 stack adds14 comments
review
mjtwo
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Mehso-so

14-5 Aug 24 (audiobook)
#Bookerlonglist24
A woman escapes her problems and those of the world by retreating to a convent.
Wood‘s writing is compelling but the protagonist frustrated me. Having such a low tolerance for organised religion did not help. I do not think ‘First do no harm‘ is enough.
I prefer Nick Cave‘s take - grief and loss are our fundamental fabric and bring incredible meaning to who we are.
Not the option to sequester ourselves.

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ImperfectCJ
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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I've managed to slow the influx of non-library books into the house, but I'm skilled at making exceptions. (Not pictured are the journals I also purchased. I'm pretty sure journals don't count.)

44 likes1 stack add
review
ClairesReads
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Mehso-so

Reader, I wanted to love it more than I did. Wood is an interesting author who is able to write compellingly obscure stories. However, the deeply reflective nature of this one didn‘t work with the lack of narrative drive for me. There are some really interesting ideas here, about eschewing capitalism and the modern world for isolated introspection, and the role of ritual in helping us cope with, and/or avoid global and personal issues.

BarbaraBB Great review. I‘ve been curious about this one 3mo
28 likes1 comment
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charl08
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD

Simone saw me at the tall glass-fronted 'library' in the sitting room, looked at the book in my hand and snorted. 'You know there are good books in those shelves, don't you?' I did know. Dorothy Lee, Edith Stein, Joan Chittister, Simone Weil, Ariel Burger. Arendt, Nussbaum, Hitchens, Robinson, Merton. But Simone had caught me engrossed in Stories of the Saints...

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charl08
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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.... at every step of my every attempt I have only worsened the destruction. Every email, meeting, press release, conference, protest. Every minuscule action after waking means slurping up resources, expelling waste, destroying habitat, causing ruptures of some other kind. Whereas staying still, suspended in time like these women, does the opposite. They are doing no harm.
On the other hand, 'evil flourishes...'

48 likes1 stack add
review
squirrelbrain
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

I loved this, and it may even make my top picks of the year.

I couldn‘t imagine that a book about a woman giving up life to live in a convent retreat would be very interesting and, really, not much happens but I still adored it and didn‘t want it to end.

This is the first book I‘ve read by this author and I definitely want to read more - luckily the friend that gave me this one also gave me another, although she didn‘t think it was as good.

Oryx Adding to my Waterstones basket... It fills up quickly 6mo
Tamra I can‘t wait to read it! 6mo
squirrelbrain @Oryx - you‘d better make sure it doesn‘t overflow…maybe you need to take some books out of it? 🤣🤣🤣 Or maybe just buy *all* of the books, then it will be empty again. 🤔 6mo
See All 9 Comments
Oryx @squirrelbrain I actually just saw a secondhand copy on eBay for a decent price, so have ordered already 😬 6mo
squirrelbrain How funny - was just about to post that there is a used copy on Amazon for £.74! @Oryx 6mo
LeeRHarry Glad you enjoyed it 😊I only have a couple left to read so I‘m eking them out slowly. 6mo
sarahbarnes I haven‘t read her, but this sounds very interesting. Stacking! 6mo
Cathythoughts Great review Helen. Stacked 👍🏻❤️ 6mo
batsy This does sound very intriguing! 6mo
72 likes5 stack adds9 comments
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squirrelbrain
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Just about to start this (it jumped to the top of my pile @Oryx so not next year like I thought!). 🤣

I always like to match my bookmarks to my books, and this one is particularly pleasing so had to post it - it makes me happy! 😜

Oryx 😁 6mo
LeahBergen That‘s a lovely match! I‘m a bookmark matcher, too. 😆 6mo
youneverarrived That is a great match! 💚 6mo
TrishB Has to be done 😁 6mo
Cathythoughts Lovely match 💚 6mo
67 likes5 comments
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squirrelbrain
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Two books given to me by a friend / neighbour. Stone Yard is brand new - she loved it but ‘never keeps books‘. Great for me! 😃

That inspired her to get the other book, which she found rather depressing and didn‘t enjoy as much, but it‘s a free book, so….

(We did just give them our barely-used travel crate for their new puppy so a fair exchange I think! ☺️)

Tamra Lucky you! I‘d really like to read Stone Yard. 6mo
jlhammar An author I‘ve been meaning to try. I really like that Stone Yard cover. 6mo
charl08 Stone Yard's on my list too - waiting for the library hold! 6mo
See All 9 Comments
squirrelbrain @Tamra @jlhammar @charl08 - it was first on my radar as a possible for the #womensprize and then I *nearly* nominated it for #camplitsy24. 6mo
LeeRHarry I‘m seeing Charlotte Wood at the Melbourne Writers Festival next month - I have really enjoyed her earlier books. Looking forward to Stoneyard Devotional. 6mo
BarbaraBB I read The Natural Way and have another of her books on my shelves 6mo
squirrelbrain These will be the first I‘ve read by this author @LeeRHarry - enjoy the Festival! 6mo
Oryx Stone Yard Devotional high on on my mental tbr list - looking forward to hearing what you think of it. 6mo
squirrelbrain I‘m hoping to get to it soon @Oryx …story of my life though so maybe next year sometime….! 🤪 6mo
74 likes9 comments
review
Jeg
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

Finished just this minute. When I started it I thought this is not as good as her others. However it‘s been amazing for me. I don‘t want to give anything away but I felt like the narrator could have been me. Her mother and her mother‘s experiences so like mine. Her thoughts and actions so like mine. I‘m blown away. Need to go nap and think for a bit.

Centique I remember i loved her book The Weekend and must read some more of her work 😍 9mo
15 likes1 comment
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MrsMalaprop
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Pickpick

Atmospheric, quiet and sparse. Charlotte Wood is a must-read Australian author for me. This is her latest offering and my husband grabbed this signed copy for me when he spotted it in our favourite indie bookstore. Not a lot happens plot-wise, but I enjoyed it very much. #ozfiction

LouiseWalters About a third of the way through and loving it! 10mo
36 likes1 comment
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MrsMalaprop
Stone Yard Devotional | CHARLOTTE. WOOD
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Loving my latest #ozfiction read.
#insight