pickGod, I love how she tells a story!
Without intending to, I ended up reading back-to-back pandemic books. The other was for library book group and had all the close-quartered sameness of that time. In contrast, ES delivers another of her quiet books and lets its rich and capacious interiority sing out.
pickKate is struggling with self-isolating in November 2020, she breaks and goes for a forbidden walk in the hills of the Peak District. Her 16 year old son Matthew is home alone when he realises she‘s gone and turns to their elderly and vulnerable neighbour Alice. The fourth character is mountain rescue volunteer Rob, helping search for Kate. A third in, I was racing through this desperate to know the outcome. And when it comes, it packs a punch.
Tagged was my first read this year. It's a difficult book, & unlike Blue's other full books, it's not all ages: it's a graphic novel w/ explicit on-page BDSM sex. Blue's author's note is extremely helpful in understanding the comic, which I think is underdeveloped & too fragmentary, but it also makes sense that it is. I wouldn't suggest it to straight people at all because it's very much written for a queer audience. #SundayFunDay @BookMarkTavern
pickThis was such a tense and melancholic read. Moss perfectly captures those first months of Covid and lockdown and all of that uncertainty. I‘m not sure I could have got through it had I read it closer to pandemic times. I really felt these characters thoughts and feelings.
It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us 🍂
…that there had been a last time—when they were little—that I had picked up the girls. This had often broken my heart, to realize that you never know the last time you pick up a child. Maybe you say “Oh, honey, you‘re getting too big to be picked up” or something like that. But then you never pick them up again 🥺
pickAn endearing book about how a bookstore brought people together during Covid in England, but it‘s quite sad at times. I loved the Book Pharmacy, what a fantastic idea!! Easy to read and beautifully written. I love my books and enjoyed reading about others who also love reading. I didn‘t realize this was a sequel and didn‘t feel like I missed anything in not reading the first book. Book #37 in 2024
The House on the Hill was in a tizzy.
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl
so-soOomph…I can see why this book has a low rating on Litsy! I was so tempted to increase the listening speed just to get through the book at times. It has a good premise - friends quarantining together, and said friends have lots of issues. Not very likable characters, and that did not bother me. But, the last part of the book was like reading something completely different and just randomly added.
Using this for #BBRC #Adult #RainOnMyParade
pickBook 2 ✔️ for #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub
(Prompt: Read a book about a virus)
Fascinating look at the scientific research that was being conducted on coronaviruses after the SARS and MERS outbreaks, which enabled scientists to quickly pivot to create a vaccine when COVID-19 spilled over into the human population. A bit technical so I‘m glad I had at least a semester of college-level biology.
