Thoroughly enjoyed this humorous look at the kings and queens of England up until the end of the Tudors. It‘s a solid bit of history - Mitchell has a degree in history as well as his career as a comedian (bright spark isn‘t he?). I learnt a lot and had plenty of laughs. I wished some parts were longer so i might start differentiating a few more Henrys and Edwards - but it‘s a long period to cover and he‘s done a great job.

I cant give you a photo of wild islands and massive shipwrecks but heres a yacht that ran aground locally for you! 😂
Like @Cathythoughts i saw that this is now a movie and thought i‘d read the book 💕 Amy returns to the Orkney islands as a recovering alcoholic. She explores nature while she contemplates her past life and possible future. Sometimes meditative writing can leave me cold but i just loved this.⬇️

A few of them have inscriptions - one from 1831 (but its in French and pretty faint).

My husband‘s parents just dropped off some family heirlooms for us to look after, including some antique miniature books. They‘re so sweet! (Some title pages to follow)

Book 3 in the Disco Space Opera series (which starts with You Sexy Thing)
A joy to be back with these characters. The last book was high octane but here we take a slow pace, the team needs to regroup and rebuild. This one is about relationships & back story & setting up for future books… could have been boring but it was delightful.
If you want Becky Chambers feels but more of a series, ongoing adventure style of book this could be for you.

Its not too early is it? I try and get a christmas history book from the library in Nov but theyre all booked out - so i grabbed this one early! Its a nice thorough little history - everything i wanted to know in 245 pages, without getting bored by too much detail. It was interesting to see how secular Christmas has been & how different periods have created a nostalgia for ancient traditions that are actually not old! ⬇️

We follow Artie, a gay writer in New York, with alternating chapters when he is 30 yrs old in 1992 and in 2022 when he is 60. In the first timeline Artie is starting a relationship and has a bunch of friends - in the second he is feeling very alone. There‘s a lot to love in this book - found family & wonderful insights & reflections - but i felt it was trying to fit in a lot of characters & didnt have the space to make them all feel fully formed⬇️

This was such a fun read. Thank you @Reggie for this great MG horror. Evelyn moves to Blight Harbour to live with her witchy aunt after the loss of her parents. She struggles with PTSD and panic attacks. This book sets her on a paranormal quest to best a nasty spirit but aided by some more helpful ghosts and witches. An alternative to Coraline this spooky season 🧙👻🎃 Pictured are my ginormous witchy cats!

I really enjoyed this - my first novel by Rachel Khong. She takes a three POV structure for a “three generations of an immigrant family” style story - but makes it intriguingly different from other such novels with a little sci fi twist. I did wish she had amplified that aspect more, but i was won over by how well Khong writes familial relationships. I enjoyed being in each of the POVs even when not a lot was happening.
Pic: spring at the library

I think a lot of people are going to dislike this book. I didnt entirely like it - BUT i keep thinking about it. It‘s an “idea” book, rather than driven by plot or character development. Three Chinese American girls meet in their early teens. Each one is very driven by a passion which will steer their lives - art, technology, activism. I think many readers will want to get into their heads & emotions but this is more about their achievements ⬇️

This book is super sweet - thank you @Reggie for your review which put this on my radar. Its 1950s New York - Mark is a journalist grieving the death of his partner, Eddie is a new trade to a famous baseball team who arent speaking to him because of a tirade he made to the press. Two unhappy and very different men living in an era where homosexuality is a dangerous secret. Lovingly drawn characters, a hug of a book, medium heat.

It‘s always a delight to be back in the Rivers of London world. This novella we jump over to the US to adventure with FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds who was a side character in an earlier book. Kimberley is quite new at the magical stuff and she has to figure it out without back up when she‘s snowed in at a small town in Wisconsin with a large malevolent problem. Lots of fun and i cant wait for the Spring novella to be released.

Sometimes you need a side trip to the sixteenth century to solve a few murders. Loved being back in this world with Matthew Shardlake. Just realised there is a buddy read of this happening right now so i wont breathe a word more about it! 😂 Enjoy guys

Photo: WW2 tunnels at Fort Stony Batter. NZ never got invaded but it was a possibility so we built some defences like this one.

How to say that you enjoyed a grief memoir? This is almost a memoir in essays or thought pieces. Sloane moves from a burglary, to a friend‘s death & into the pandemic in New York. It is as much a memoir about not moving on - the memories that don‘t leave, the conversations with the person that isnt there anymore, the illusions you have of turning back time & saving them. Very much the internal workings of Sloane‘s grieving and beautifully done.

Absolutely loved this weird twisty little novel! Thank you to @BarbaraBB for putting this on my radar a couple of years ago. I LOVE a novel where your brain is busy trying to figure out what is going on - and thats all i can say about this one without influencing the next person‘s reading experience. Except to say if surreal or fantastical isnt your thing, then this isnt your thing. @Reggie have you read this? I devoured it in one sitting.

This was published in 2002 when Fay Weldon was 70. And its like sitting down with an older lady who has lived quite a life and having her describe that life to you over tea and cake. Its written in an easy style but Fay never kept diaries so its not always detailed - although her childhood in NZ is very well remembered. Her mother was a solo mum in the 30s and Fay was a solo mum in the late 50‘s ⬇️

Thank you to @vivastory for recommending this book to me months ago. It was a perfect book for me to read while i was severely anxious about my sons recovery from surgery (there were post surgical complications some 2 weeks after surgery - on the mend again now!). This novella about a young returned soldier restoring a church mural in a small village tells of his own restoration through art, nature & human connection. Just a quiet joy of a book.

Just a light pick for this one. My brain has been fried lately - so i appreciated the light tone and some of the amusing asides as Anthony Horowitz inserts himself into the mystery as a kind of goofy Watson character. Some good red herrings and a bunch of unlikeable but well created characters. However there were a few things that brought me out of the story because they felt too far fetched.

I enjoyed this short classic for the sense of place and the way the writing beautifully captures the ambivalence of the teen protagonist. I can imagine the relaxed attitude to sex in here was extremely controversial at the time whereas now it doesnt seem shocking. Ground breaking at the time, now its an interestingly dark little read.

Home from hospital yesterday on Day 12 @Reggie We are so thrilled to have our son back home and already starting to behave like his usual dry humoured 14yo self! It will be a slow transition back to school as he had major surgery and csnt yet stand up straight or carry a bag.
Here is a photo from his hospital room. A great view right? This tower is lit up for different events and this month is its 27th birthday hence birthday colours.

Day 7 in my sons hospital room but he‘s improving and i finished a book!

I thought this was really powerful. Alternating chapters from four young women who live in the same low cost apartment building in Seoul. Each one is carrying wounds from their past and struggling to get by. Cha paints a misogynistic society with huge barriers to success for impoverished women without family support or social connections. A thought provoking read.

Day 5 of my son‘s hospital stay and he‘s still nil by mouth and on multiple IVs for fluids, antibiotics, proteins, lipids and electrolytes. Just incredible to think how much medical intervention has been necessary (post burst appendix for 3 days) and how fortunate we are to be getting such good care. And glad that we can get this in a ward and not ICU so that he can be in a more comfortable environment. Appreciate all the support from Littens!

So it turned out my 14yo sons gastro wasnt gastro. Despite two doctors telling us it definitely wasnt his appendix over the last 4 days, it was. Apparently he had few of the signs. But meantime it had ruptured and done further damage through a terrible infection. Hes in having quite a large surgery now as they need to explore around the whole area to fix any damage, not just a lapsroscopy. So glad we are in the right place now! ⬇️

Maybe i would have given this a so-so but in the middle of a gastrointestinal storm in my house (just the kids) this was the kind of light read i needed. It was great to be back with GUP, Maisie and Grant and I enjoyed their travels through Europe. The family situation and tension between the kids, their dad and their dad‘s fiancée felt a bit forced and unnatural - but i get that its difficult with sequels. Great humour & fun new characters.

This book is quite different to Essex Serpent. If you loved Essex Serpent‘s raw vitality & personalities conflicting - think of this as melancholy, solitary souls looking for life‘s purpose amongst small tragedies. Its nowhere near as epic and there‘s a ton of philosophising. And i loved it, but in an entirely different way. Perry‘s writing and characters just appeal to me, even when the storyline isnt always smooth. ⬇️

Thank you for putting this on my radar @Megabooks 💕
A thought provoking story of a young woman coming to realise her entrapment in christian patriarchy. Cait‘s father became increasingly controlling as she grew up and more committed to the concept of “stay at home daughters”. If youre interested in how misogyny can thrive within religion this is a fascinating personal account - from entrapment to realisation to dealing with PTSD after leaving.

I havent read enough non fiction this year so i picked this up. This is one of those “WTF” books where i was constantly reading bits to my husband - saying “listen to this, you won‘t believe it”. It turns out that when Dutertes said in the election campaign that he would kill a lot of people, it wasnt an exaggeration. The drug war he initiated created state sponsored killing squads, with no requirements for justice or legal process ⬇️

Went to Waiheke Island last week for a day trip and just as we pulled in to Palm Beach, three small orcas had come into the bay to swim and play! It might look like a shark fin here (its one small orca fin in front of a larger one) but they were rolling about and obviously playing and a young man was swimming amongst them for a short while. (And its winter!) A very cool and unexpected sighting.

A 5 star read for me. I do love a novel that follows a family over generations (i guess its a family saga but you spend most of the book w the middle generation). I have 3 sisters & a big family & while they‘re nothing like the Padvanos, i appreciated watching the dynamics over the years & patterns repeating. A warm hearted book with family drama, rifts and finding forgiveness along the way.

And i want to read 34. This NYT list is a good reminder of some of the books that have fallen off my radar!

For the first quarter of this book i thought it might be too twee for me - but then i warmed to the characters and devoured the rest of this heart warming story. It really is a light mystery with a touch of romance - and lots of illustrated cryptic puzzles to solve! (Although i didnt bother trying to solve many of them and it was still a good experience) Clayton is a foundling left on the steps of The Fellowship ⬇️

Hekla is a young woman in 1960s Iceland. She is named after a volcano, and like her namesake so much is going on under the calm surface. Hekla is a writer but it seems only men can be? Olafsdottir writes in an observational way - we hear what people say to Hekla, see what she sees and we notice the hypocrisy, but we are left to imagine what Hekla is thinking. I like this style of writing and the way it makes the reader try to figure out Hekla. ⬇️

I think i stacked this book thanks to a review by @Megabooks Meg, it was so good! Sarah Polley looks at six dangerous episodes of her life - from being on a film set as a child actor, to a difficult birth, to an accident causing severe concussion. In each episode she examines herself, her family, her memory - with intelligence, humility and grace. There is wonderful honesty and insight and i felt “seen” for my own vulnerable episodes. ⬇️

Happy Matariki!

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki
Celebrate the rising of Matariki

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars, that rises in midwinter and for many Māori, heralds the start of the new year.
The return of the cluster is commemorated by Te Rā Aro ki Matariki 2024, which happens on Friday, June 28, this year
It just became a national holiday for us Kiwis in 2022 so many of us are only now learning its significance.

I loved this book! Pin is an 11yo Sikh girl living in Singapore dealing with the difficulties of being a scholarship kid at a private school. But this story is predominantly about Pin trying to figure out her mother, a woman with secrets who is looked down upon by the local Sikh community & who expresses her feelings predominantly through the food she cooks. This is a great book for foodies! The writing is beautiful ⬇️

Spending time with the crotchety Vera Stanhope is always good fun, so i tore through this (number 4 in the series) in two days. There‘s always something a little far fetched in most good mysteries but as long as the characters are well done, I dont mind at all. This one starts when Vera stumbles upon a body in the steam room of her gym.
And i think this is my last autumn leaves photo - must officially be winter now!

Book 3 in the Salvagers trilogy - and its so filled with battles and near death escapes that ive been biting my nails and sweating hoping this ragtag crew (found family for sure) manage to destroy the bad guys and save the universe despite everything being against them!
Ok - sounds like every Space Movie ever but its beautifully done, the characters are quirky, cool and wonderful, & the mix of magic and tech gives it a special edge.

Thank you so much for the birthday present @CarolynM 💕 I am very excited about this book after loving Too Much Lip. (Possibly the most memorable book ive read in the past 5 years!) And i am a big, big fan of raspberry with chocolate! Thank you for a lovely surprise on a gray wintery day💕

I know im late to the party with this one but i finally got here. Ive rated it 5 stars because its completely unique, its masterfully done, and i feel like the last third took my head off! Its as if with Yellowface someone said to Kuang “write a 5 star contemporary novel about publishing that perfectly demonstrates appropriation” and on Babel “write a 5 star historical dark academia novel that demonstrates colonialism and capitalism” ⬇️

My reading theme for 2024 seems to be revisiting & finishing series - just where my reading whims have taken me. This is the 3rd book in French‘s Dublin Murder Squad. Each book takes on a new protagonist from the Dublin Squad - this time it‘s Frank Mackey - and boy does he have some emotional baggage! A body turns up and it upends a number of things in Frank‘s past. Great to get immersed into a dysfunctional family when its done so well ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When your favourite fantasy world gets a second trilogy go around - you cross your fingers & hope 🤞

And sometimes you get lucky! While this takes a little while to get going - we have to catch up w our old friends and see where they‘ve settled - the newer, younger characters are so fascinating and flawed. Once their stories start to impact on the original characters, it gets really interesting. A great return to a brilliantly imagined world.

I dont think ive ever seen my neighborhood so red and orange before!
This book hit me just right. You don‘t often see a male+female friendship shown as something deep and complex, and watch it play out over decades. Sam and Sadie are best friends as children and business partners as adults, designing video games. There is also a lot about gaming in here - not my jam IRL but i found it engaging and interesting. A book with a lot of heart. ⬇️

I enjoyed Fox‘s first biography so much i decided i would read the others this year. A lot of this is about his fight for stem cell research and getting involved in politics in the early 2000s. Less dramatic than his first bio, but Michael‘s philosophy on life, his humility and the way he approached confrontations with grace for the other side, makes this an inspirational read for me.

Thoroughly enjoyable Hercule Poirot mystery. I guessed part of the denouement but not all of it! It was an original set up which i really liked. My favourite is still The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. And here are some autumn leaves for you from the Sunday markets 🍃🍂🍁

Sometimes you just need a ragtag crew of war hardened space pirates to blast the crap out of a planet‘s worth of despots to make you feel better. 🙌
Book 2 in the Salvagers series. Kind of like a queer Firefly with a bit of magic alongside the futuristic tech. Lots of plot, lots of battles (mostly close combat) completely absorbing.

Well i just bailed on another book so i have nothing to tell you about!
Instead here is a walk i just took on the weekend. Most of the decent sized hills around Tamaki Makaurau Auckland are extinct/dormant volcanoes. They are culturally and spiritually very important to tangata whenua (Maori) and a few years ago most of them were given into iwi control. Still open to visit but respectfully - and no cars. ⬇️

#tuesdaytunes
You know when your music streaming service plays you music based on other stuff you like? I think thats how i only recently stumbled onto Troye Sivan‘s 2018 album Bloom, but in particular this song Seventeen Ive been playing and replaying.
“I went out looking for love when i was seventeen. Maybe a little too young but it was real to me” 💔 https://youtu.be/4pxdGNVqwnA?si=dl5a39kjaU-NxKkm

I needed an easy read & this fitted the bill perfectly. A fantasy that reads like a modern fairytale with found family & great side characters. Marra is the youngest princess of the Harbour Kingdom. Her oldest sister is promised to the Prince of a more powerful neighbour kingdom. When her sister dies Marra suspects something is terribly wrong. This is lighter and faster moving than it might sound. Sweet with some bone magic & a few ghosts.

A beautifully written book about a young woman who sublimates her own scientific ambitions in order to accompany her older “scientific genius” husband working in Los Alamos in the 1940s. There is some lovely nature writing in here as she continues to spend time watching birds in New Mexico. For all that this sounds like my kind of quiet thoughtful book, i struggled to connect with the protagonist and her timidity. Probably me and not the book!

Just finished watching the Netflix version of 3 Body Problem and thoroughly enjoyed it - although of course the books are better. As @vivastory said in his review they had to make changes for cost and marketing reasons. In my heart i always want the entire complexity on screen with no conjoining of characters - but thats never possible. I loved seeing the game in full glory, and the Ye Wenjie section was PERFECT. Love Benedict Wong too 🙌