MummySquirrel

I‘m very very behind on my #ReadingAsia2021 reading, so lots of them on my #BookSpin list this month. Plus I had a birthday, so I‘d love an excuse to read some of the gorgeous books I got 🦆🫖 🏠 😴! And maybe some #blameitonlitsy reads for good measure.

Sarah, I‘m going for #bookspin / #doublespin this month. Sitting bingo out this time. Thank you 😊💐 - I will be refreshing my feed from midday on the 2nd - it‘s still ridiculously exciting!

TheAromaofBooks

squirrelbrain That‘s a *lot* of Asia books, right there! 3y

rockpools @squirrelbrain It was a cunning plan to *force* me to make a list! Sadly my enthusiasm ran out before I got to the ‘difficult‘ countries like all-the-stans, bhutan, brunei… 3y

squirrelbrain I have a solution to your all-the-stans difficulty… would you like me to send it to you when #mummysquirrel has finished reading it? Many birds with one stone, as the saying goes….

Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

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rockpools @squirrelbrain That would be aMAYzing if you‘re not keeping it. But equally, if anyone else‘s need is greater, I‘ve got a couple to get through at the moment 😬xx 3y

squirrelbrain I need to stop keeping (nearly) every book that I read…so it will do me good! Now if you could just persuade me to start bailing too…. 3y

rockpools @squirrelbrain I‘ll post it back after 😁 (helpful as always!). Now you obviously need to read some utter trash to help with the bailing! I‘m on the slow side, so I guess my tolerance for ho-hum stuff has gone right down - about to bail on an audiobook cos every time I turn it on, I mutter about the fact it‘s got too many words in! 3y

squirrelbrain Nooooo - don‘t send it back! 🤣 Just slogged my way through a #readingasia2021 book and wished I‘d bailed. 🤷‍♀️ 3y

mhillis How we disappeared looks good! Good luck with the challenge! 3y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 3y

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squirrelbrain

The Golden Chersonese | Isabella L. Bird

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This is my Mum‘s favourite travel writer but I hadn‘t read any of her books until now - I loved it!

The author travels to #singapore and the Malay Peninsula in the late 1800s *by herself*! The book is made up of letters written to her sister at home, chronicling adventures in areas hardly explored and where there are only very few Europeans, all men.

She is witty and warm and holds some strong views, all of which make for an entertaining read

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

BarbaraBB You‘re on a roll again! 4y

Librarybelle Oh! Stacking! 4y

rockpools This sounds fantastic! 4y

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squirrelbrain I think you‘d both really like it @Librarybelle @rockpools - I‘d offer to pass the book on but it‘s my Mum‘s - don‘t think she‘d appreciate it! 🤣 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain Thanks Helen, but please don‘t upset #MummySquirrel. I actually have a choice of two library authorities I can borrow this from, so no excuses! 4y

squirrelbrain Definitely no excuses then Rachel! @rockpools There‘s much more Malaysia than Singapore in the book, so you could use it for that instead if you still need Malaysia. 4y

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rockpools

Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field | John Lewis-Stempel

Here goes - this might be a long one. But isn‘t it pretty?!

John Lewis-Stempel is ambivalent about foxes, having both hunted them on horseback and ‘sabbed‘ fox hunts. I have similar (but less extreme) feelings about this book!

This is a diary of fragments, a year in the life of a meadow on JLS‘s farm on the Welsh-English border, observing the plants, the wildlife, the livestock... I‘ve been reading this over a couple of months, and it‘s made me

rockpools want to be still, to write, to watch things grow. I‘ll miss reading it. There are so many fascinating tidbits in here - last night I fell down a badger funerals rabbit-hole. Which isn‘t a phrase I ever expected to write!

The flip side, and I think i‘m in a minority of me here, is that I don‘t much like his writing. At times it feels like he‘s demonstrating how very clever he is, as he incorporates poems and random obscure words (edited) 4y

rockpools (prestidigitator, anyone?) - it doesn‘t always flow naturally for me.

He did win me round with this book. I was moved by the demise of Margot 🐮💔, and I ended up enjoying spending time on his farm. I have another UK farmer, James Rebanks, lined up in the near future, and I‘m looking forward to seeing how that compares.
Thank you for sending this to me @Oryx I‘m glad I‘ve read it.

This is #SomethingAboutNature for #NonFiction2021 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa 4y

rockpools Also, bother. That really should have been a review post, but I‘m way too lazy to change it! It‘s a pick!! (edited) 4y

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squirrelbrain Great review. You‘ve made me want to read it but was it similar to Common Ground? You loved that one, me not so much...! (edited) 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain Ha! No, I would say this was totally different. For one thing it‘s not set on your doorstep! It‘s quite ‘straight‘ diary entries of what he‘s seen and related thoughts- much less of the flights of fancy and personal/emotional stuff (except 🐮 of course). And he‘s got a bit of a thing about nature writing being written for/by townies so he‘s out to prove that‘s nonsense. (I suspect he may be referring to CG-type books!) 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain I would send it, but I‘ve promised it to a friend who‘s about to start a year-long art project in a meadow. Unless you‘d like to read it first? (She makes me look like a speed reader, so it won‘t be coming back from her this side of Christmas!) 4y

squirrelbrain Oh no, thank you for the offer Rachel though - I might order a copy soon as it sounds like #mummysquirrel would like it too. It sounds quite different to CG. Wow, your friend‘s project sounds fascinating! 4y

Caroline2 Sounds good. Although the showing off, flowery language puts me off a bit. What a beautiful cover tho! 😍 4y

Centique Great review! I feel the need to read a book that mentions badger funerals 🤯 Stacked! 4y

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squirrelbrain

Asia | Allan Fowler

7 books read in January for #readingasia2021.

This month I‘ve been transported to:

🇰🇭 Cambodia
🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇮🇷 Iran
🇯🇵 Japan
🇲🇻 Maldives (not on the map - too tiny!)
🇲🇳 Mongolia
🇰🇷 South Korea

My clear favourite was The Housekeeper and The Professor, for Japan.

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

eraderneely Good reading! 4y

eraderneely I don‘t read quickly enough to join readingasia, but I would love a favorites list at the end of the year so I could dip into a few 4y

rockpools Fantastic going! Out of interest, what did you read for Indonesia? Any good? 4y

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BarbaraBB Such a good start! I am looking forward to continue, I am really enjoying this challenge! 4y

Cinfhen Awesome 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❣️❣️❣️ 4y

Cinfhen What did you read for Mongolia?? 4y

squirrelbrain Of course, a favourites list is a great idea @eraderneely ! 4y

squirrelbrain I read this one @rockpools - only reviewed a couple of days ago. V short but I wouldn‘t really recommend it....

Borneo, Celebes, Aru

squirrelbrain @Cinfhen - I read this one for Mongolia. I really liked it. I think it‘s going to be a ‘travelling‘ book if you want to put your name down! #mummysquirrel has just read it and when I get it back it‘s going to @Caroline2 first.

Hearing Birds Fly

(edited) 4y

Cinfhen That‘s so sweet/ I‘ll add my name to the list and we‘ll see what happens❣️I read a different book 2 years ago set in #Mongolia which was very good

Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race

Librarybelle Great progress! 4y

Soubhiville Wow! You‘re doing really well on this! 4y

Megabooks Fantastic! 👏🏻👏🏻 4y

Deblovestoread Well done! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 4y

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squirrelbrain

Hearing Birds Fly | Louisa Waugh

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A fascinating account of the author‘s year-long stay as an English teacher in one of the remotest villages of #mongolia, including a few months as a nomad.

Life there is incredibly tough and the author writes vividly of the privations but also of the friends that she makes and the positives that she can take away from her time there.

Available for #swapme once #mummysquirrel has read it too.

#readingasia2021

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

BarbaraBB Lovely review. Seems a good one as you expected 💚 4y

Crazeedi Sounds like a great read 4y

Suet624 Love books like this. 4y

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Librarybelle This sounds really good! 4y

rockpools Sounds great! 4y

Hooked_on_books Sounds fascinating! I‘ll have to keep this in mind for Mongolia. 4y

squirrelbrain Do let me know if you‘d like it for #readingasia2021 anyone... @BarbaraBB @rockpools @Hooked_on_books @Librarybelle 4y

Hooked_on_books That‘s so nice of you! My library has it, so I‘m all set, but thanks for the generous offer nonetheless. 🤗 4y

Caroline2 Oh sounds fascinating, I‘d be up for a swap. 👍 4y

squirrelbrain I‘ll send it to you @Caroline2 when my Mum has read it in a few weeks.... doesn‘t need to be a swap, I‘ll just send it. (Unless I take a fancy to something that you‘re reading! 😁) 4y

Caroline2 Thanks Helen! 😀 yeah, there‘s no rush and I‘ll see if i can find something you fancy. 👍 4y

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squirrelbrain

Gatecrashing Paradise: Misadventure in the Real Maldives | Tom Chesshyre

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This was my #bookspin for January and also book number 3 for #readingasia2021.

The author travelled primarily to the non-resort islands of the #maldives in 2013 looking at history, politics, religion and environment. I liked the writing style and learned a lot and, although there was nothing truly groundbreaking about this book, it was a pleasant, interesting read.

Interesting fact: the highest natural ‘hill‘ on the Maldives is 7ft 10 inches!

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB, TheAromaofBooks

squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB - this will come to you soon; #mummysquirrel would like to read it first! #swapme 4y

squirrelbrain The author found this book interesting....

The Maldive Islanders: A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom

squirrelbrain The author also mentions this book, an adventure thriller set on the Maldivian island of Gan

The Strode Venturer

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squirrelbrain Apparently this one also features the Maldives

Beach Babylon

BarbaraBB Of course! Let mummy Squirrel spend as much time with it as she wants 🤍 4y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y

Hooked_on_books I love the idea of looking past the tourist areas to see what a place truly is. My personal preference is to go places in the off season and stay at non traditional accommodation to try to get a different flavor of a place. Though resorts have their appeal as well! I don‘t think I have anything in my personal library for the Maldives, so I‘ll have to see if my library has this one. 4y

Hooked_on_books And now you have me thinking of a book I read kind of along these lines about the Galapagos. It obviously doesn‘t work for the Asia challenge, but I found it a really interesting read (plus I read it while visiting there, which added a nice layer to the experience).

Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galapagos Islands

Librarybelle Stacking this! 4y

squirrelbrain You never know Holly @Hooked_on_books - wait long enough and this one might make it‘s way to you... I can see it being a well-travelled book! The other book you mentioned sounds interesting too - I‘m going to stack it as both my Mum and I would like it I‘m sure. 4y

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squirrelbrain

I've Got Mail! | Robert Messinger

Two lovely Christmas surprises in the post today from my #birthdayfairy friends!

@robinb - thank you so much for the desk calendar - I love it! It‘s perfect as usually #mummysquirrel buys me a desk calendar for Christmas every year, but this year she hasn‘t been out to the shops and she doesn‘t use the internet, so I didn‘t get one. This has beautiful pictures and quotes on it too.

And @Crazeedi - thank you so much for your lovely card too! 😘

robinb You are so welcome #BirthdayFairy sister! 💕 So glad you like it! That company is one of my favorite “bookish” go-tos. 😊 4y

Crazeedi Isnt that the most beautiful calendar ever that @robinb gave? She's very special. So happy to be a #Birthdayfairu 🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️🧚‍♂️ 4y

Crazeedi @robinb what is the company?? 4y

Crazeedi And you are welcome 💗 4y

robinb Thank you for your sweet words @Crazeedi ! The company is Obvious State. If you‘d like to check them out, here‘s their website: https://obviousstate.com/ 4y

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squirrelbrain

The Gates of Damascus | Lieve Joris

Very exciting #bookmail received over the last two days - in preparation for #readingasia2021.

#mummysquirrel has a few travel anthology books so we went through those and picked out the extracts we liked the look of.... then looked online. The outcome is 4 pre-loved books for less than (ca total. These are all women travellers.

Happy to swap once we‘ve both read them! #swapme

Tagged book is for #syria - I‘ll tag the others below.

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain #jordan

Kingdom of the Film Stars: Journey Into Jordan

squirrelbrain #mongolia

Hearing Birds Fly

squirrelbrain #laos #vietnam #cambodia

Tiger Balm: Travels in Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia

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BarbaraBB So inspiring, thanks! I read the tagged one by the way, years ago, but I liked it a lot! 4y

Cinfhen Woohoo !!!! I‘ll be happy to swap when the time comes #swapMe ❤️ 4y

Librarybelle All of these look so good! 4y

Caroline2 Oh these all look fab! Looking forward to your reviews and always ups for a book swap. 😉 👍 4y

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Mitch

Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder: A Memoir | Julia Zarankin

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Between glimpses into her families exit from Russia and relocation to Canada she details her evolving passion with birds. Alongside piano lesson & ballet - she's out birding, learning the vocabulary, making friends, experiencing nature & contemplating the usefulness of multi pocketed gilets! It was lovely to share in her delight as she finds her groove, reminding me how happy I am when learning something new and doing it with commitment & passion.

Lindy, Clwojick, rsteve388

Mitch #nfn2020 4y

squirrelbrain Hmmm.. I wonder if #mummysquirrel might like this for Christmas? Is there a lot of personal angst in it (she won‘t like that) or is it more about nature? 4y

Mitch @squirrelbrain No angst at all - its very uplifting and sweet. Her family backstory is quite minimal - its more about how she gradually starts to love birds and love bing outside xx 4y

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Chrissyreadit I wonder if my bestie from childhood would like this for Christmas? She loves birds and angst- but maybe needs birds and calm.... 4y

squirrelbrain Thanks so much Mitch for the advice - sounds like it might be her type of thing. That made me laugh @Chrissyreadit - birds and angst vs. birds and calm! The second one sounds much better to me....😁 4y

Chrissyreadit @squirrelbrain her favorite book ever is Geek Love and I have yet to read it- her favorite movie is Harold and Maude. I‘m thinking the Tagged book and Effin birds mug and calendar. Sounds very balanced to me. 4y

Mitch @Chrissyreadit 🤣👏🏼🤣👏🏼🤣 4y

Lindy Lovely review. “Finding her groove” is a good way to describe the narrative arc. 4y

Mitch @Lindy Thank you for helping me find this one x 4y

Lindy @Mitch 😇 4y

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squirrelbrain

And the Mountains Echoed | Khaled Hosseini

Here‘s my ‘off-the-shelf‘ pile for #readingasia2021. There‘s not as many as it seems, as there are two for Sri Lanka and I‘ll only choose one. (And two for Japan too)

The top one is Reading Lolita in Tehran. I also have a few on Kindle, including Ocean Vuong, Kim IlYoung Born 1982 and The Girl with 7 Names.

#mummysquirrel also has 5 or 6 for me and my library has *the best* travel writing section that I‘ll visit once they re-open.

Caroline2, Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

Amiable I adored “A Suitable Boy” and “And the Mountains Echoed” —great reads! 4y

Caroline2 Wow!! That boy one is hugggeeeeeeee!! 😆 4y

Librarybelle That reminds me that I recently bought a copy of Reading Lolita in Tehran...love that stack! 4y

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squirrelbrain I‘m not sure if I‘ll read A Suitable Boy for this challenge @Amiable @Caroline2 - it‘s a bit of a chunkster! 4y

Hooked_on_books I think we may have our work cut out for us on Asia! But that‘s what makes it a good challenge. I‘m not quite done going through mine, but I have a lot more than I expected. I even found one for Bhutan! 🥳 4y

BarbaraBB Thanks for posting! I made a screenshot. Like @Amiable I loved A Suitable Boy! 4y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books To my surprise I have a book for Bhutan too, what‘s yours?

Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan

Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB That one looks interesting. The one I have looks like a similar idea, only I suspect it could be used for any of the Himalayan countries

White Mountain: A Cultural Adventure Through the Himalayas

Hooked_on_books And if either of you are looking for a Mongolia book, Helen and @BarbaraBB , I read this one this year and I really liked it. It follows lots of tangents but in a good way, with everything pulled together well.

The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth�s Ultimate Trophy

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Thanks! Suggestions like these are very welcome‘ 4y

squirrelbrain Great ideas @Hooked_on_books - thank you! 4y

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