Good morning everyone and happy Sunday. Here are some of the fantastic looking books I’ve added to my tbr pile this week:
❤️ Butter by Asako Yuzuki 🧡The Guernsey Girls by Mary Wood 💛 Murder On The Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict * 💚The Woman On The Ledge by Ruth Mancini 💙Sunny by Colin O’Sullivan 🩵Clairmont by Lesley McDowell 💜The Christmas Wish by Lesley Kelly* 🩷The Final Hours Of Muriel Hinchcliffe by Claire Parkin ❤️ Annie Bot by Sierra Greer 🧡Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne 💛One Of The Good Guys by Araminta Hall 💚The 12 Days Of Murder by Andreina Cordani* 💙The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict* 🩵 Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross *
The books marked with a star are ones I bought the rest were kindly sent to me by the tagged publishers. I’ve already started reading Divine Rivals and I’m really enjoying it so far.
I’m working today which I always love. I have a new display idea on my mind so I might see how practical it is in a quiet moment. I’m then hoping to come home to read for a little bit after I’ve helped the kids with their spellings and homework.
Good morning everyone and happy weekend! I was tagged to do the Barista Challenge by the lovely @mrs_hs_favourite_books. Frustratingly I couldn’t find some of the books so not all of my answers are in the picture sadly.
☕Expresso: Favourite Dark Book
I don’t tend to read too dark a book as I have a vivid imagination and tend to get nightmares. I once had nightmares for a week from watching just the advert for the film IT. I tend to prefer gothic thrillers or Dark Window. My favourite books are The Ghost Wood by C.J Cooke, The Last Girl To Die by Helen Field and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
☕Flat White: A Book With Good Spice
The Icebreaker series in some of the spiciest books I’ve read and I highly recommend them as they have a great storyline and characters in them too. The Lovelight Farm series is also good and I also loved Wanderlust by Elle Everhart too.
☕ Cappuccino: A Palette Cleanser
I love to reread My (Extra) Ordinary Life as I absolutely love Alice and the story is just brilliant. I also like to reread I May Be Wrong when I’m feeling down or anxious as it helps calm me down and gives me some more perspective on things.
☕ Pumpkin Spice Latte: A Comfort Hug
Hee hee I had to choose The Pumpkin Spice Cafe for this one. I so wish I could live or at least visit Dream Harbour as it sounds like such a great place to live. I’d love to go to the cafe, join the bookclub and attend all their wonderful sounding festivals!
☕ Frappe: Comfort Genre
Romance books or dual timeline historical fiction
☕Cafe Au Lait: A New To You Author
I’ve been hearing lots of great things about Rebecca Ross’s books and I finally took the plunge and ordered myself a copy. I’m only a few chapters into Divine Rivals but I already know I’m going to love her and I’m resisting the urge to buy everything she’s ever written!
I’ve tagged a few people on Instagram who might want to take part but, as always, no pressure.
Good evening everyone I was very excited to receive a copy of this intriguing looking book sent to my work. It sounds brilliant and I look forward to reading it soon.
Huge thanks to the publisher and Indie Thinking for sending me this book.
Out 29th February 2024.
Is this one on your radar?
Book Synopsis:
The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story.
There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine
Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back.
Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body, might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought?
Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, “The Konkatsu Killer”, Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.
About The Author:
Asako Yuzuki was born in Tokyo in 1981. She won the All Yomimono Award for New Writers for her story, ‘Forget Me, Not Blue’, which appeared in her debut, Shuuten No Anoko, published in 2010. She won the Yamamoto Shūgorō Award in 2015 for Nile Perch No Joshikai. She has been nominated multiple times for the Naoko Prize, and her novels have been adapted for television, radio and film.
A story of love tested to its limits by moral dilemmas, and the beauty and fragility of childhood friendships.
1964 ― Karachi, Pakistan. Rozeena will lose her home ― her parents’ safe haven since fleeing India and the terrors of Partition ― if her medical career doesn’t take off soon. But success may come with at a price. Meanwhile the interwoven lives of her childhood best friends ― Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair ― seem to be unraveling with each passing day. The once small and inconsequential differences between their families’ social standing now threaten to divide them. Then one fateful night someone ends up dead and the life they once took for granted shatters.
2019 ― Rozeena receives a call from a voice she never thought she’d hear again. What begins as an request to look after a friend’s teenaged granddaughter grows into an unconventional friendship ― one that unearths buried secrets and just might ruin everything Rozeena has worked so hard to protect.
Captivating and atmospheric, Under the Tamarind Tree shows us the high-stakes ripple effects of generational trauma, and the lengths people will go to safeguard the ones they love.
My Review:
Under The Tamarind Tree is a beautifully written, gripping read about a fascinating period of history.
Firstly I loved the setting of this book which the author helps bring to live with her really vivid descriptions. I felt like I was actually there in Pakistan following the four friends, seeing everything they did. I hadn’t read much about about Partition so found it fascinating to learn more about that period. It was very emotional though to read about the riots and see the daily struggles they caused people.
The story is told in two timelines one set in 1964 follows Rozee and her friends as the live through the difficult period of Partition. The other is set in 2019 and follows Rozee, now living in America, who gets a call from Haaris to ask if she’ll look after his teenage granddaughter for him. Unusually for me I actually enjoyed both storylines equally and enjoyed watching the two unfold. It was especially beautiful to see the friendship between Rozee and Zara, the granddaughter, develope as the two grow closer.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from her in the future. I was soon absorbed into the story and into the characters lives. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and it was very intriguing watching the two timelines grow closer untill all the secrets are revealed.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Nigar Alam spent her childhood in Turkey, Nigeria, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia and the United States before returning to Karachi. With an MBA and CPA, she has worked in both brand management and auditing. Currently, Alam teaches at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and lives with her family in Minnesota.
London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can’t speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.
Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman. While she works as Zina’s translator, her obsession with the case deepens, and so too does her bond with the accused murderer.
Zina can’t speak for herself. She can’t clear her own name. All she can do is wait for the world to decide…
IS SHE A VICTIM? OR IS SHE A KILLER?
A compelling historical crime novel set in the Greek diaspora of 1950s London – that’s inspired by a true story – The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is perfect for fans of Erin Kelly, Sara Collins, and Jessie Burton.
My Review:
The Unspeakable Acts Of Zina Pavlou is a gripping, powerful and thought provoking read that will stay with me. I finished this book a few weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it.
The book is told in two main timelines. One set in the present day follows Zina and her interpreter Eva after the murder and through the trial, the other flashes back to events before the murder. I thought the main character Zina was a very sympathetic character, despite all the derogatory language and public opinion used against her in the book. I felt very sorry for her as I thought she had had a hard life and that not all aspects of the case were considered before the trial. Eva was another great character who I enjoyed following throughout the book. I liked that she cared about Zina as I felt she needed someone on her side. It’s very poignant to see how helpless she is though and how much the case effect her.
This book lays bear a lot of prejudice that was around at the time of this trial. As one of the police men themselves noted maybe she’d have been given a different type of trial had she been prettier or from a better social class. It often made my blood boil to see how unfairly she was treated because of her background and made me wonder how differently her trial might have been if it took place today.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to everyone. I thought the book had great pace to it and there is an underlying feeling of unease throughout the story that ensured I kept reading. This story is based on a real case and I highly recommend not googling it until after you’ve read this book as the outcome is the same as the real life case. Despite this I kept hoping the ending of this book would be different and Zina would get the happy ending I think she deserved.
Huge thanks to Head Of Zeus for my copy of this book via my job at Rossiter books. If you’re looking for a slightly different but gripping true crime book then I highly recommend this book.
About The Author:
My parents travelled from Cyprus to England separately in the 1950s, met and – after knowing each other a few weeks – got married. It always struck me as a brave move to come here, especially for my mother who was a 26-year-old seamstress from a rural background, with no English. My parents’ story was a happy one; they married, had a much better life than they could have dreamt of in Cyprus, had my sister, then me and, though times were often hard, they never questioned that coming here had been the right thing to do.
But I’ve often wondered what would have happened if they’d fallen in with the wrong people, or taken a wrong turn? This is that story.
Myself, I’ve never quite felt completely British or Cypriot, but I’ve always felt a Londoner. I grew up in Camden, then Elephant & Castle, Finsbury Park, Tottenham and I now live in Ealing. So I’ve lived north, south and west. East London is like another country to me.
I grew up always knowing I was different. This was confirmed by everyone I met, from classmates to strangers and teachers. I had a funny name for a start, and I read too much. I had parents who hardly spoke any English and shoved koftes and halloumi into my packed lunches (1970s Elephant & Castle was still reeling from the wonders of instant hot chocolate). And then there was the red hair – an aberration that confounded everyone.
Today, I’m an award-winning editor and journalist and my writing has appeared in many publications, including the Guardian, the Observer, Marie Claire, Red and Stella. I’ve written on a wide range of topics including adoption, relationships, travel, self-development, the arts and women’s health. I’ve also edited national magazines and am now a freelance writer/editor.
Good morning everyone today on Two For Tuesday I’m featuring the two non fiction books I’m hoping to read this month.
I’ve actually started both of them and I’m really enjoying them so far. A Dirty Filthy Book follows Annie Besant who helped campaign for women’s rights and ended up in court after publishing the first book on contraception which the Victorian’s really didn’t approve of. You Don’t Need To Be Mad To Work Here follows Benji Waterhouse through his career and I am finding it fascinating to learn more about mental health.
You can find out more about these books below!
Are you planning on reading any non fiction books this November?
A Dirty Filthy Book by Michael Meyer
London, 1877. A petite young woman stands before an all-male jury, about to risk everything. She takes a breath, and opens her defence.
Annie Besant and her confidant Charles Bradlaugh are on trial for the sordid crime of publishing and selling a birth control pamphlet. Remarkably – forty-five years before the first woman will be admitted to the English bar – Annie is defending herself. Before Britain’s highest judge she declares it is a woman’s right to choose when, and if, to have children. At a time when women were legally and socially subservient to men, Annie’s defiant voice was a sensation. The riveting trial scandalised newspapers, captivated the British public and sparked a debate over morals, censorship and sex.
Drawing on unpublished archives, private papers and courtroom transcripts – and featuring an incredible cast including Queen Victoria, George Bernard Shaw and London itself – A Dirty, Filthy Book tells the gripping story of a forgotten pioneer who refused to accept the role the Establishment assigned to her. Instead, she chose to resist.
You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here by Dr Benji Waterhouse
Humane, hilarious, and heart-breaking, You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here is an enlightening and darkly comic window into the world of psychiatry.
A woman with bipolar flies from America in a wedding dress to marry Harry Styles. A lorry driver with schizophrenia believes he’s got a cure for coronavirus. A depressed psychiatrist hides his profession from his GP due to stigma.
Most of the characters in this book are his patients. Some of them are family. One of them is him.
Unlocking the doors to the psych ward, NHS psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a fly-on-the-padded-wall account of medicine’s most mysterious and controversial speciality.
Why would anyone in their right mind choose to be a psychiatrist? Are the solutions to people’s messy lives really within medical school textbooks? And how can vulnerable patients receive the care they need when psychiatry lacks staff, hospital beds and any actual cures? You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here explores these complicated questions from both sides of the doctor’s desk. This is the perfect read for fans of This Is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes and The Prison Doctor.
With an enemy in their midst, can they still protect their fighters in the skies?
Pearl has given up on her dreams of being a journalist after being denied a promotion because of her gender. Joining the WAAF as a radio telephone operator for Bomber Command, Pearl’s new job at RAF Fenthorpe serves two purposes – providing an income for her grandmother, and keeping a close eye on her younger sister, Thea, an instrument repairer at another Lincolnshire bomber station.
Pearl befriends Met WAAF Jenny as well as Australian pilot Greg, who she guides home safely during an emergency. Pearl’s journalism background doesn’t go to waste, however – a series of thefts from pilots rekindles her investigative fire and she is soon caught up in the mystery.
But when all signs point to the perpetrator being her sister, she finds herself up against the clock to prove her sister’s innocence…
A captivating and heartwarming WWII saga for fans of Daisy Styles and Johanna Bell.
My Review:
The Girls Of Bomber Command is a gripping, heartwarming read from a new author for me.
Firstly I love books set in World War Two, especially if it teaches me about a new part of the war that I didn’t know about yet. This book was no different and I loved learning more about the woman who worked in bomber command. It was fascinating to learn more about their role and to see how it helped the war effort.
The three main characters Jenny, Pearl and Thea were wondering creations who I enjoyed following throughout the book. I loved how close the three if them where and how supportive they were of each other. It made me wish that I knew them in real life as I think they’d have been great fun to hang out with.
I thought this book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. I loved the descriptions of the community at the base and how everyone looked after each other. I found it quite emotional at times following the characters through their everyday life and I could almost feel their trepidation as they waited for a member of their team to come back from their mission.
This was the first book I’ve read by thus author but I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. I really hope this isn’t the last we’ll see if Pearl, Jenny and Thea
uge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Vicki Beeby writes historical fiction about the friendships and loves of service women brought together by the Second World War.
Her first job was as a civil engineer on a sewage treatment project, so things could only improve from there. Since then, she has worked as a maths teacher and education consultant before turning freelance to give herself more time to write.
In her free time, when she can drag herself away from reading, she enjoys walking and travelling to far-off places by train. She lives in Shropshire in a house that doesn’t contain nearly enough bookshelves.
Jasmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China’s one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it all: a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.
Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again…
My Review:
The Leftover Woman is a powerful, emotional and thought provoking read that will stay with me.
The story is told from the point of view of two women. Jean who gave birth to a little girl but was told by her controlling husband that she’d died. She finds out she was adopted and follows her to the Us. And Rebecca who is a successful publisher living in New York. She has achieved everything she wants in life, apart from a child. The two women are very different from each other as they both come from different worlds both culturally and in terms of wealth. It was therefore so lovely to see this very different pair come together and bond over their shared loved for their child.
I thought this book had a steady pace to it and I soon found myself invested in the story. As a mum myself I really felt for the two women and the confusing situation they find themselves in. I couldn’t pick a favourite as I felt sorry for both of them and had to keep reading to find out what happens.There were a few twists that kept me guessing and I loved the way the author gradually increases the tension to make the book hard to put down and the reader even more invested in the story.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Jean Kwok is the international bestselling author of Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown, and Searching for Sylvie Lee, which was a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick and an instant New York Times bestseller. Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in schools across the world. She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award and the Sunday Times Short Story Award international shortlist. She immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She currently lives in the Netherlands.
Good morning everyone. As it’s Remembrance Day today I thought I’d share a black and red stack as they are the colours of poppies, the symbol of remembrance Day.
As someone from a huge army family (my dad, uncle and grandfather all served in the army) I always try to mark remembrance Day and the two minute silence though that’s difficult with three kids sometimes. My daughter is a brownie and will be marching in the remembrance Day parade tomorrow which is a proud mum moment for me.
Today my kids are going out to clubs so I’m looking forward to some quiet reading time. I’m currently reading two books Starling House by Alix E Harrow and You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here by Benjamin Myers which is a memoir of a psychiatrist’s life in the NHS which I’m really enjoying. We’re then going to my mum’s for food later which I always enjoy and then I’m working tomorrow!
Many of us are worried (or at least we should be) about the impacts of globalization, pollution, and biotechnology on our diets. Whether it’s monoculture crops, hormone-fed beef, or high-fructose corn syrup, industrially-produced foods have troubling consequences for us and the planet. But as culinary diversity diminishes, many people are looking to a surprising place to safeguard the future: into the past.
The Lost Supper explores an idea that is quickly spreading among restaurateurs, food producers, scientists, and gastronomes around the world: that the key to healthy and sustainable eating lies not in looking forward, but in looking back to the foods that have sustained us through our half-million-year existence as a species.
Acclaimed author Taras Grescoe introduces readers to the surprising and forgotten flavors whose revival is captivating food-lovers around the world: ancient sourdough bread last baked by Egyptian pharaohs; raw-milk farmhouse cheese from critically endangered British dairy cattle; ham from Spanish pata negra pigs that have been foraging on acorns on a secluded island since before the United States was a nation; and olive oil from wild olive trees uniquely capable of resisting quickly evolving pests and modern pathogens.
From Ancient Roman fish sauce to Aztec caviar to the long-thought-extinct silphium, The Lost Supper is a deep dive into the latest frontier of global gastronomy—the archaeology of taste. Through vivid writing, history, and first-hand culinary experience, Grescoe sets out a provocative case: in order to save these foods, he argues, we’ve got to eat them.
My Review:
The Lost Supper is a fascinating, timely book that I really enjoyed reading.
Firstly, after reading a similar book earlier this year I have become very interested in the art of foraging and alternative food sources. The idea that we don’t use a lot of the same food as our ancestors was interesting to learn about and I enjoyed learning more about the difference in our diet.
There are some very intriguing subjects covered in this book which I found fascinating to learn more about. It was great to learn the history of Wendlesdale cheese or to find out more about sustainable farming methods. The descriptions of the food were often very vivid which made me feel hungry as I read. Though this wasn’t always beneficial as the vivid description of the author eating bugs made me feel a bit queasy.
Overall I thought this was an interesting read that I’d definitely be recommending to people interested in the subject of alternative food sources. It’s definitely piqued my interest in exploring this concept and I look forward to trying out new things soon.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Taras Grescoe, a non-fiction specialist, writes essays, articles, and books. He has given dozens of keynote talks on the subject of urbanism, sustainable transportation, and building cities around walking, cycling, and transit.
(Contact information for interviews and appearances here:
He is the author of Sacré Blues, The End of Elsewhere, The Devil’s Picnic, Bottomfeeder, Straphanger, and most recently, Shanghai Grand.
Taras is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Guardian, and National Geographic Traveler. He has written features for Saveur, Gourmet, Afar, the Wall Street Journal, Salon, Wired, the Walrus, the Los Angeles Times, Details, the Independent, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Men’s Health, the Chicago Tribune Magazine, the International Herald Tribune, the Times of London, and Condé Nast Traveller. He has prowled nocturnally in the footsteps of Dalí and Buñuel in Toledo, Spain for National Geographic Traveler, eaten bugs at the Insectarium for The Independent, and substituted for the late William Safire in the New York Times Magazine. His travel essays have been published in several anthologies.
His journalism has been recognized with three Canadian National Magazine Awards, two Western Magazine Awards, and awards from the Northern Lights Foundation and the North American Association of Travel Journalists.
Sacré Blues was awarded the Best First Book Prize and the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction from the Quebec Writers’ Federation, and the Edna Staebler Prize for Creative Non-Fiction.
The End of Elsewhere, nominated for a Writers’ Trust Award in Canada, was published to critical acclaim in England by Serpent’s Tail. The New Yorker called it “A gloriously trivia-strewn history of tourism.”
Bottomfeeder won the 2008 Writers’ Trust Award for Non-Fiction, a national award given for the best non-fiction book in Canada. It was also awarded the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction by the Quebec Writers’ Federation, first prize for Literary Food Writing from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and was a finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.
Straphanger won the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction, and was one of five finalists for the Writers’ Trust Award in 2012, as well as being longlisted for the National B.C. Book Prize for Non-Fiction; it was one of five finalists for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
Taras has twice been invited to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival (where he learned to love brown sauce and vegetarian haggis), appeared at the St-Malo Étonnants Voyageurs festival, done the amazing Literary Journalism program at the Banff Centre (where he had his fellow scribes imbibing authentic absinthe from the Val de Travers), and has led workshops on writing non-fiction from the depths of Westmount to the heights of Haida Gwaii.
Following the publication of Straphanger, he has given dozens of keynote talks–from Portland, Oregon to Halifax, Nova Scotia–on the subject of sustainable transportation and the advantages of building cities around the needs of people (rather than automobiles).
Born in Toronto, raised in Calgary and Vancouver, and schooled in flânerie in Paris, he now lives on an island called Montreal, which can be found at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence Rivers.
Over The Rainbow Blog 