pick#NetgalleyGroup
Thank you to #Netgalley and #Canongate publishers for access to an arc for review.
Within just 100 pages, McMillan paints a very rich and honest account of a family growing up around the miner's strike, in Thatcher's Britain. Alongside a developing relationship with Ryan, Simon floats between jobs, trying to leave his mark on the world as a drag queen.
Cont. ⬇
pickAn ex-insurance claim investigator seeks justice in a post-apocalyptic society ruled by the Clan, whose behaviour and personalities are patterned after the Norse gods.
I enjoyed it and I would probably have done so even more if I'd known more about Norse mythology because I suspect there were some parallels I was missing.
Happy International Translation Day #InternationalTraslationDayReading
Fabulous start to the day - a new Ambrose Parry! Absolutely loved the first two in this series. With thanks to #Canongate for this book.
I've spent most of the week either watching the weather channel or preparing for Hurricane Barry.
This week has not been my most active #BFCr2
I read 4 books this week, for a total of 9/11.
I hit my water goal on 4 days.
I got in 3 days of exercise and 2 for meditation.
Hopefully next week will be calmer and I can get in more exercise and meditation.
Also hopefully the electricity and wifi will hold 🍀
#bookfitnesschallenge @wanderinglynn
pickBe warned this isn‘t fiction like the rest of the canongate myths series (my fave recent series?? Love it so much!) as I assumed it would be. It‘s a beautifully written theological look at Samson and Delilah, teasing out so much meaning and power from the smallest sections of the original story and language and how it‘s been interpreted by Jewish scholars. I know so little about Judaism but this was fascinating!
pick4/5⭐️
I enjoyed this historical mystery set in 1840s Edinburgh. The story revolves around Will Raven, an assistant to a prominent male midwife, who along with a brilliant housemaid, sets out to solve some gruesome deaths of pregnant lower class women. My only complaint here is the length. At 400+ pages it was simply too long and could have been wrapped up much sooner. Good character development, interesting anesthesia history from that time and 🔽
The characters are portrayed so well for such a short book. I found it full of hope, love, loss and in an empowering way, grief. McMillan also lands a political punch at the rise in poverty, the loss of community and camaraderie between the miners. The passages describing the men coming out of their houses early every morning, setting off to the mine in a communal walk were especially profound and moving.
What an extraordinary debut. 9mo