Hello friends and fellow bloggers,
I haven't been diligent about sharing the books I've been reading this year. I think some months I read 4-5 books and there were a few months where I read nothing due to illness. I've been trying to make up the reading time I lost and I keep track of the books I've read on Goodreads. I read quite a number of books in the month of August so I'm very close to my goal of 50 books for the year. Some years I read more and other years I read less but one of my blogging friends told me that she likes to keep track of the pages. That makes more sense given that some books are quite short and others can be quite long. I strive for about 20,000 pages per year. If I make that or close to it, I am satisfied. I only count the pages of books that I've completed not books that I've only partially read. To date, I've read 47 books and I'm just shy of 16, 000 pages. It will take more than 3 books to reach 20, 000 pages so I'll have to increase my reading goal a bit.
It turns out I'd read The Evening and the Morning several years ago. When I saw the book on the bookshelves I didn't remember that I'd already read it. It's over 900 pages long and as I re-read it I remembered different aspects of the book and enjoyed it once again. This novel is the prequel to the series Pillars of the Earth (which I also read several years ago and enjoyed immensely) and is set in 997 AD covering a period of the Middle Ages & Viking raids through to the year 1007. It features a love story between an unlikely pair and a strong female character despite the lack of power among women of those days.
From Cradle to Grave is a murder mystery by prolific writer Rhys Bowen. I've read a few of her books and enjoyed them. I wouldn't say this particular book is one of the better ones. I shelved A Summer Affair. I got 63 pages in and realized it really wasn't a book I wanted to continue reading. I shelved it!
The next two books are cookbooks and entertaining books. The Healthy EveryDay book is a cookbook organized into easy to make high protein dishes in every category (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks). I really liked the book because the recipes seem very doable but this is the kind of book you need to have out of the library for awhile to really use and enjoy it or you need to have it in your personal library. Alas, I'm in downsizing and decluttering mode so I'm not buying any more books. The author of Having People Over was featured on the Homeworthy You Tube channel which is how I learned she'd written a book about hosting parties. I promptly borrowed the book out and was suitably impressed with it. Everything you need to know about preparing for parties and get togethers is shared in a very accessible format and in a non-intimidating manner. Simple recipes and tips for making hosting easier are also provided if you need more help. It's another good reference book but I'm not adding anything new to my personal library at this time.
(Click on the images below to enlarge if you'd like to see the book covers)
The Last Garden in England is an interesting book of historical fiction using a special garden as a connecting point to tell the story of 5 different women over several generations.
A Girl Like Her is about a young woman with autism and a prickly personality. It's really about her finding a boyfriend and relationship in her new neighbour; someone who accepts her despite her prickly personality. It really wasn't my cup of tea. I would say it is more a coming of age book for young adults with lots of explicit language. Having said that, I did finish reading it.
Nobody's Girl is the sad life story of Virginia Giuffre who by now is a household name in North America and England. But just in case you don't know who she is, she is the young woman who was sex trafficked by the late Jeffrey Epstein. She's also the person responsible for successfully exposing the former Prince Andrew's active involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking activities ultimately leading to his ouster from the British Royal Family.
