Each diary entry includes a list of the day's orders, from the 28th January:
"The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, Cuore cavo by Viola di Grado, Edward Hopper by Mark Strand, The Family Carnovsky by Israel Joshua Singer; The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, I migliori anni della nostra vita by Ernesto Ferrero."
After publishing 84 Charing Cross Rd, Hanff finally got to visit London, meet many of her pen pals in person, and geek out about being in the same places Shakespeare and other beloved writers had been.
This brought back fond memories of my week in London. So much history, everywhere! Written in diary format, this takes you right there, into her silliest encounters and deepest awe.
#BookSpinBingo
I asked if he could point me toward Bloomsbury, I wanted to walk home. He said: “Go on up to O-Burn Street and follow the bus.“
Looked for O-Burn Street, looked for Auburn Street and finally stumbled on the street he meant: High Holborn. And that's what they mean by a cockney accent.
so-so3.5 ✨ I‘ve been meaning to read this diary for a long time. I learned a lot of things I didn‘t know in this time period. I like how the author of this historical fiction based this story on her mother‘s family as they navigated the Great Depression, and what could have happened to the characters during Christmas time.
Learning something else new. In 1932 and it appears even earlier they had metal dishes with a heat source underneath. I also learned it‘s called a chafing dish. Maybe I should have known this, but I didn‘t know it had a name. 🤯
Hmmm 🤔 So… here‘s what I‘m thinking. We just heard that the banks closed down, one dad kills himself at his kids birthday party, another dad left his family when he lost his job, and then the teenager takes the kids to a movie where the male lead has to choose between an adulteress and a prostitute… umm… escaping the reality of the crazy in the Great Depression?
I wasn't particularly fond of any of the books I finished in September, so this work, finished on Oct 5th, will do. An easy read, obviously in diary format so can be read in bits and pieces, but it does slowly build on itself as you learn more about the neighbors (and the author's feelings about them) until the last 20% is finally laugh-out-loud funny, if you like understated humor.
#12booksof2025
pickAs I tried to finish the tagged, my final read of 2025, I fell asleep with my head on my book. My husband asked, “Did you drool?” (I did… but not on my “pillow”). This anecdote is a placeholder for the whole year. I‘ve been exhausted. In 2026, I want to rest more. I want to focus on sleep, on getting that Good Sleep, so I can be more awake.
Reading goals: read about sleep.
Doing goals: sleep, dream, wake.
👇🏻
pickAs the year draws to a close, I felt that for my final book, I wanted a book to leave 2025 with a smile on my face and a chuckle or two. Sue Townsend guarantees those feelings with the greatest comic character since bertie worsted. In this Adrian's diaries for 1997/1998 coincide with the first year of the new Labour government with brilliant satire but also the comedy of his home and love life. Happy reading in 2026, everyone.
