Strout‘s debut novel about a mother and a daughter, and their relationship. Amy is 16 and just starting life. Isabelle is a single parent, working as a secretary at the factory, trying to get by. It‘s the warmest summer in memory and things are about to change.

#BookReport

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I finished both The Mystery of the Ivory Charm and Aftermath

I read Amy and Isabelle

I DNFed Orbital, I just wasn‘t in the mood for it

I‘ve just started Monsters

I know I wrote that if you won the Booker, I would give you another chance. So of course you won, but I‘m just not in the mood to do it right now. So maybe we‘ll meet again sometime in the future?

The winner of this year‘s Booker Prize

Off course it was Orbital.
Guess I have to give it another chance

The winner of the Booker Prize 2024 is announced tomorrow.

I‘ve read 4 of the books; James, Stone Yard Devotional, Held and The Safekeep. It probably says it all that I don‘t remember Held. I would be happy if any of the other 3 wins.

Orbital is a potential DNF, if it wins I might give it another chance.

I have picked up Creation Lake at the library and will get to it in the next few weeks.

Which book do you hope will win?

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I‘ve just started Aftermath and the tagged book #NancyDrewBR

I started Orbital last night, but I‘m not really feeling it. The winner of the Booker Prize is announced on Tuesday, and if it wins I might pick it up again

Then I‘ll see what I‘m in the mood for

The 2nd book about the Swifts. First they learn that while in Paris, Felicity has accepted an offer to stay with the Martinets at their hotel. Secondly, Shenanigan learns about the French cousins and the families hate each other. Then, a family picture is stolen by a thief that only steals stolen art. So the Swifts decide to go to Paris to visit their family

I loved this one as well, and will read anything that Lincoln writes in this series

Tagging on of Blix‘ previous books since her latest isn‘t in the database

This book does what the title says, looking at animals that are worse parents than us. She looks at 25 different species. So we read about animals that will their eggs with an other species, animals what kill kids that aren‘t their own and much more.

This was a very interesting read

#BookReport

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I read Dyr som er verre foreldre enn deg (trans. Animals that are Worse Patents than You) and The Safekeep

I‘m almost done with The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues

I‘m reusing last week‘s picture since The Safekeep has been returned to the library, so I didn‘t get to Orbital, but hopefully later today

The Netherlands 1961, 3 siblings. The oldest Louis changes girlfriends all the time. Isabel living alone in the family home. The youngest Hendrik lives with a man

After meeting Louis latest girlfriend, Louis suddenly tales Isabel that Eva will be staying in the family home while he‘s away. Isabel doesn‘t approve of this plan

A book about the consequences of war, memory and the truth

This book pulled me in and wouldn‘t let go until I finished it

The 4th book about the Cazalets and the war is over. There‘s still food and clothing rations, so things takes time getting back to normal.

We follow more of the family in this installation and I enjoyed that.

The first half was my #BookSpin for October

A little later than usual, but here‘s my November‘s #BookSpinBingo board

My #BookSpin book is a book I was thinking about reading for #Canada #foodandlit. I guess I‘ll get to it now

My #DoubleSpin is this months read with #NancyDrewBR

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I want to start Dyr som er verre foreldre enn deg (trans. Animals that are Worse Parents than You)

I want to read The Safekeep and The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues

Maybe I can even get a start on Orbital

#BookReport

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I reread my autumnal graphic novels; Garlic & the Vampire, Garlic & the Witch and Pumkinheads

I‘m currently reading Casting Off

My #BookSpinBingo #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin list for November is ready.

I can‘t believe it‘s only two months left of the month

A mix of buddy reads, books for nonfiction November, books I own and library books

This was so a cover buy. It screams autumn 🍂

I had no idea that this was the first in the Dream Harbor series. Jeanie has moved from the city to get a new start, and has taken over her aunt‘s cafe. Weird things start to happen and Logan volunteers to help her find out what it is.

The author biography compares Dream Harbor to Stars Hollow, and I see that. Those Stars Hollow town meetings are legendary and I‘m sure these will be too.

I just love the way Pym describes characters and her writing.

At a book sale Leonora Eyre meets Humphrey and James Boyce, uncle and nephew. They get entangled in each others lives, while we also meets other people close to them.

Told from three different women‘s perspectives, all with some relation to Gilead. The book is set some time after “The Handmaid‘s Tale”.

As I was reading, I wondered if we would ever have had this novel if it hadn‘t been for the series. But this pulled me in and turning the pages, in a way that “The Handmaid‘s Tale” didn‘t.

As the blurb says: “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

Pumpkin patch best friends Deja and Josiah, are working their last day together. Josie has for 3 yrs been talking about the same girl at the patch. Deja has decided that on their last working day, it‘s time for Josie to finally talk to her. This leads them on an adventure through the patch.

I‘ve read this before, but I‘m not sure I‘ve reread it before. It won‘t be the last time I reread this.

I just love this

I first read these graphic novels last year, and they‘re just as cute, adorable and cozy on a second reading. And the color palette is so autumnal

Books about friendships, adventure, change and overcoming your fears

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

Next up is some graphic novels: Garlic & the Vampire, Garlic & the Witch. All are rereads, they‘re just so autumnal

Then I‘ll start on Casting Off

Maybe there‘ll be time for something

I don‘t remember what I thought the first time I saw letters. But maybe this is an accurate description if you haven‘t seen them before?

#BookReport

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I finished The Sweet Dove Died

I read We Solve Murders and The Messages in the Hollow Oak

I‘ve made good progress in The Testaments

Like everyone else I‘ve read this book now

Amy works as a bodyguard and is protecting the famous author Rosie who a Russian is trying to kill. While on the job, Amy finds out that someone is trying to kill her too. Amy turns to her FIL, who is one of few people she trusts, for help. Who‘s trying to kill Amy?

I loved these characters and am already looking forward to the next book in this series

This is written in Osman‘s hilarious way

Apparently Shakespeare and Company isn‘t the only English bookstore in Paris. The city had several, so we also had time to visit The Red Weelbarrow, located near the Luxembourg Park

These were my findings there

A new Pym, a book based on a true story during WWII about the establishment of children‘s libraries and a book about a character reading Proust

I‘ve spent 5 days in Paris and came back last Thursday.

A visit to Shakespeare and Company feels almost mandatory as a reader and book lover, but I also love that store.

These are the books I bought.

I also bought this new tote bag with the very fitting quote

What a woman!

Katti (1868-1945) was born into one of the richest families in Norway, even if her dad lost his money. In her youth she was praised for her beauty and her dancing cards were always full. She could have lived a comfortable life

Instead she was in her teens when she started noticing how the numerous pregnancies were effecting her mother‘s health. She wasn‘t much older when she started noticing how the unmarried maids would disappear

#WeeklyForecast

I want to continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR

I want to finish The Sweet Dove Died

I want to read both We Solve Murders and The Message in the Hollow Oak

Hopefully I‘ll get a start on The Testaments too. I‘m going to an event with Atwood on the 31st and want to have read this book that has been on the tbr for 5 yrs

I loved this first paragraph

The perfect autumnal read.

Witches, goblins and fairies.
Friendships. Traitors. Family Found.

What more could you wish for?

I will definitely read the next book in the series

I know most Littens don‘t understand Norwegian, so I‘ll translate: “The 20th April all Norwegian children are given the same rights when “the Castbergian children‘s laws” are passed in Parliament. Norway has gotten a law completely unlike any other country‘s. In the time that follow, it will draw attention internationally”.

So what did the law do?

It consists of six laws:
1. Children born inside and outside marriage is equal according to the law

#BookReport

I‘m just back after spending 5 days in Paris. There I only read 13p in The Sweet Dove Died

My reading picked up once I got back and I have done quite a lot of reading yesterday and so far today

I‘ve finished Hedgewitch

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR and Katti Anker Møller

I‘ve also read some more in The Sweet Dove Died

The first part of this sentence reminds me of the first sentence in Pride and Prejudice

An early #BookReport from me this Saturday

I finished the 10th Department Q crime book

I continued Sovereign #ShardlakeBR and Katti Anker Møller
And I‘m also reading Hedgewitch

The 10th and last book in the Department Q series. Through the previous books, we have gotten glimpses of the last case Carl had with his last team members. This book starts with Carl‘s arrest for happened back then on suspicion on corruption, murder, narcotics.

While Carl is in prison, his team is trying to find proof of his innocence and someone is trying to have him killed.

Will Carl survive and is he guilty?

The room was circular and Cassie realised that they must be in one of the turrets she‘d seen from the outside. There were two deep-set windows on opposite sides, one with a window seat which she saw immediately would be perfect for reading. […] and, best of all, there was a bookshelf stuffed with books.

Just announced

Ham Kang is the winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature in 2024

I‘ve not read any of her books, so no is probably a good time to start.

#WeeklyForecast

Continue Sovereign #ShardlakeBR and Katti Anker Møller

Finish the 10 th Department Q book. This was bigger than I expected, so I‘m not not sure what I‘ll pick up next, I have several options. I have several books due back to the library on the 11th, so if there‘s time, I might get to one of them.

A short novel that covers several generations in a family and up until the halfway point, we followed along the family lines. Then started the time jumps and I also had trouble placing the different people in the family.

If it hadn‘t been for the Booker prize and that my library had the book, I never would‘ve read it. So I don‘t think I was the right reader for this one.

#BookReport

I‘ve started Sovereign #ShardlakeBR and Katti Anker Møller

I read On the Calculation of Volume. 4 and Held

I‘ve just started the 10th book in the Department Q crime series

The last few days have been busy, but I finally have my #BookSpinBingo board ready

My #BookSpin is the 4th book in The Cazalet Chronicles and the first 3 have been amazing

My #DoubleSpin is one of the Sherlock Holmes stories I will be reading with #NoPlaceLikeHolmes this month

Here‘s to another great reading month

When it comes to statistics, this book doesn‘t bring anything new to the table. But CN Lester is telling their stories, and everyone story is different.

I think what I‘ll remember from this is the importance of her brother and revisiting one of her schools to give a speech. I‘ll also remember the doctor who wanted to ban horse riding because of the potential dangers, but at the same time society is against people changing their sex.

This is the 4th book in the series and Tara has been stuck in 18th November for years. She isn‘t the only one. Several people who is experiencing the same is living in a house in Bremen. They begin to discuss what has happened, what to call it, what is the real time - the ones doing the same thing every day or this group. And if they can find answers to these questions and understand what has happened will it be possible to start time again?

I love the blurb to this book: “Max didn‘t believe in an afterlife. Until he died.”

Max and Hannah are a couple, living together. Then Max stays in their apartment after his death reporting on everything that happens after that.

Hannah tells the story of the past along with several others from her past

This book left me thoughtful and melancholy. Thinking about the echoes

And I wonder how Wyld does it? She keeps getting better with every book

Originally Two Stories consisted of “Three Jews” by Leonard and “The Mark on the Wall” by Virginia.

Who knew that it was possible to get so many thoughts from looking at a mark on the wall? In the introduction to the story it said that this is when we first see the author Virginia is to become and I can see that.

This edition contains a story by Mark Haddon titled “St Brides Bay” which seems to mirror Virginia‘s writing style.

In this book Shardlake is looking into two cases. The first is a young girl who is accused of killing her nephew. In order to get Shardlake to help him, Cromwell gets a 2 week extension on this case, so Shardlake will investigate dark fire, how to make it and who has it. Shardlake also gets a new assistant, Barak. I also liked that we meet Guy again

I loved this reread and Sansom‘s descriptions of this era.

#ShardlakeBR

My #BookSpin, #DoubleSpin and #BokSpinBingo list is ready. A mix of buddy reads and seasonal reads.

Looking forward to the numbers on Wednesday

The picture is an art installation that‘s just come up in a public park close to where I live. It‘s “Nordic Pixel Forest” by Pipilotti Rist. The plan is to visit on Wednesday

This is also my tbr for both #31by31 and #Spookoween

Today is my birthday. What better way to spend it than visiting a bookstore?

In Norway stores are generally closed on Sundays, but there‘s some exceptions & one is a newly opened bookstore downtown, Prismatic Pages. They sell books in English, new & old

The stack on the left are the books I bought there

I view all the books I buy in September as birthday presents to myself, so the stack on the right & the comics are bought earlier this month