Hello! Happy Star Wars Day!! And let’s hope it’s a lovely month ahead for us all! Some settled weather would be nice! Rather nice thunderstorms overnight this week kept me awake!
On to books, and it’s been a productive week! Managed to finish 4 books, avoided Netgalley, but had a little bookish spending spree – whoops! Here’s my look back!
Hello and Happy Saturday!! I am now another year older so please bare with me!! My reflexes are slower and I want to go to bed even earlier than before lol!! Had a lovely birthday, spent bookshopping and eating cake!! The perfect combination!!
So my bookhaul is looking ‘healthy’ this week, and I’ve managed to read 2 books off my TBR pile so that pace needs to pick up! 1 newbie has been added to my Netgalley shelf too! Here’s my look back! Click on the book titles for more info!
Hello! Happy Saturday and HAPPY EASTER!! May the easter bunny bring you lots of chocolate!!
On the book front it’s been another good week of reading! Managed to finish 4 books this week, received 1 book in the post for review and was tempted by 1 book at Netgalley! So a nice balance… for a change!! Here’s my look back! click on the book title for more info on each book!
Hello! Happy Saturday!! The build up to Easter continues and spotted this lovely chick and bunnies on a nearby postbox this past week! I may have bought myself some mini eggs this past week too!!
And on the book front it’s been another good bookish week on the reading front with 3 more books finished, and then 0 added to my shelves!! Yep you read that right!! Here’s my look back!
Hello! Happy Saturday!! It’s feeling more springlike here, after a soggy start to the week, so I’m hoping the sunshine and warmth continues!!
And I’ve been in the reading mood this week, with 5 books finished, and only 1 newbie added to my netgalley shelf! Better control from me for a change!! Here’s my look back! click on the book title for more info on each book!
Hello and Happy March to you all! The days are getting longer, the flowers are waking up in the garden…. and there’s chocolate galore in all the shops! All is good!!
And all is good when there are books around! Just the 3 finished this week but they were all great reads so you can’t ask for more! And just 3 new additions to my TBR mountain as well – 2 from Netgalley and 1 for reviewing ahead of the Dylan Thomas Prize coming up this month! Here’s my look back!
Hello! Happy Saturday!! What a week it’s been…. of rain!! So blooming miserable out there!! But the signs of Spring keep on appearing so I’m keeping all crossed that the blue skies soon follow!
On to reading, and my speed of reading has slowed a little so just managed to finish 3 books this week! My speed of acquiring books though has spiralled out of control, thanks to 4 newbies courtesy of Netgalley, and a bumper bookpost delivered today of 8 books for reviewing….. my postie hates me! Another big book declutter may now be required! Here’s my look back! Click on the headings for book blurbs!
Following the BATC 2024 Showcase event from Monday night… I received this lovely parcel of goodies this morning!
And then from the lovely team at Penguin, came this little bundle of books to tie in with a new release from Gabriel Garcia Marquez…. now I’ve never read any of his work (shame on me!) but that’s about to change it seems!
Hello! Happy Saturday! We made it to February!! Felt like we’d never get here!! Let’s hope it’s a good one for us all!
On the book front my reading has slowed down a little, so only 3 books finished this week, but the pile of books to read has grown again! oops!! New additions to the Netgalley shelf, as well as a couple of books from lovely publishers to review! I need to my up my reading pace again! Here’s my look back!
A few Netgalley ‘invite to read’ emails came my way so I had to say yes to them…
GARDEN HEAVEN by VANESSA BERRIDGE
publication date – 9th May 2024
A beautiful tour of Britain’s greatest gardens, classic and modern. Inspiration and escapism for every gardener.
A unique tour of thirty of Britain’s most beautiful gardens, classic and modern. A great gift for gardeners on their days off or during the long winter nights – because gardening is as much about dreaming as doing.
Packed with photographs, many specially commissioned, and evocative and entertaining text telling the stories of the gardens and the people who created them.
The gardens range from legendary romantic gardens like Sissinghurst and Great Dixter to dramatic locations like Bodnant and Overbecks. There are intimate, historic walled gardens too, as well as gardens that point to the future, like Wildside, which works in harmony with nature. The book includes information on visiting all the gardens, and suggestions for the best times of year.
JUST ADD NATURE by REBECCA FRANK
publication date – 11th April 2024
Supported by the National Trust The latest medical and scientific research that shows connecting with nature is essential to our wellbeing Easy, small ways to feel the benefits, wherever you are
This inspirational and informative guide shows how we can all benefit from spending more time in nature. Drawing on the latest research, it shows you don’t need to live in the countryside or have access to an abundance of green space to make valuable connections with the natural world around you. Often it’s the simple pleasures – like eating seasonally, identifying wild flowers, listening to birdsong, being close to water or nurturing a houseplant – that bring the greatest reward.
Around the world, doctors have been experimenting with ‘prescribing’ nature to help patients’ wellbeing, and this book does just that. It can help you whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by the demands of modern life or just want to explore ways to slow down and truly appreciate the world around you.
THE FIRST-TIME FORAGER by ANDY HAMILTON
publication date – 11 April 2024
A friendly, honest guide for wary would-be foragers
Only plants that are easy to find, easy to identify and tasty
Clear photographic guides to the species
We all love the idea of foraging – as a way of being connected to nature and discovering new tastes. But in reality, most of us are very wary, and sometimes a bit underwhelmed when we do try. What’s needed is this totally honest, safety-first guide for softy first-time foragers. This book concentrates on 40 plants that are easy to identify and worth the effort – plants that are tasty and abundant in the wild or in gardens and parks. There are simple recipes to try as well. This isn’t an armchair guide for people dreaming of being Ray Mears or Bear Grylls. It’s for everyday people who lives in towns and suburbs as well as the countryside, and who want to get a little closer to nature and discover new tastes, without stress.
And then a couple arrived in the post for reviewing…
PROFILE K by HELEN S FIELDS
publication date – 25th April 2024
He’s going to kill you. He just doesn’t know it yet. There’s something wrong with me. For years I’ve hidden it. Suppressed it. Blended into society. But The Test awoke something within me. It was just a routine application designed to get to know me better – with results that would show me everything I was capable of. But it showed me that the wickedness is still inside me – and that I am capable of the worst possible things. And now that I know that, there’s no telling what I’ll do next…
THE OTHER PRINCESS by DENNY S.BRYCE
publication date – 29th February 2024
A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen. By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a ‘gift’. From these traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty’s court, friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.
Hello and Happy Saturday!! The last one of January! And what a stormy end to the month!! Hope February is a little calmer!
On the book front I’m still making good inroads on the TBR mountain! Managed to finish another 4 books this week, had 1 visit to Netgalley and also received some lovely books as part of my book subscription! here’s my look back!
SECRETS AT THE COTTAGE BY THE SEA by CAROLINE YOUNG
publication date – 6th March 2024
A moving and inspiring story about second chances and the healing power of love and friendship, set on the windswept island of Anglesey.
Arriving on the doorstep of her new cliffside cottage with its craggy, white-washed walls and chipped blue door, Jude Fitzgerald closes her eyes and listens to the cries of oystercatchers and the crash of waves in the cove below. As she steps over the threshold into the rundown old cottage, Jude feels like she’s come home. Ever since the death of her husband, Alex, she’s longed to return to the island of Anglesey, which they visited for their honeymoon only a few years before.
Resolved to hide away from the world, Jude spends her days walking the beaches alone, while at night she gazes at the stars lost in memories, until an unexpected gift from a kind neighbour offers her a lifeline. Slowly, she opens her heart to the island community, joining a class to learn the local language, going sea swimming with new friends, and rediscovering her long-forgotten love of art. Over time, Jude sees that while her old life has ended, a new one is just beginning.
But first she must let go of everything that ties her to the past – including family secrets that have passed from one generation to another and keep her from picking up the phone to her estranged mother. As events take a surprising but welcome turn, Jude learns that it’s possible to move on while keeping Alex in her heart, and that it’s never too late to follow your dreams…
And then my January books from the fabulousRENARD PRESS
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT by DYLAN THOMAS
The poetry of Dylan Thomas has long been heralded as amongst the greatest of the Modern period, and along with his play, Under Milk Wood, his books are amongst the best-loved works in the literary canon.
This new selection of his poetry contains all of his best-loved verse – including ‘I See the Boys of Summer’, ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’, ‘The Hand that Signed the Paper’ and, of course, ‘Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night’ – as well as some of his lesser-known lyrical pieces, and aims to show the great poet in a new light.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG DOG by DYLAN THOMAS
The poetry of Dylan Thomas has long been heralded as amongst the greatest of the Modern period, and along with his play, Under Milk Wood, his books are amongst the best-loved works in the literary canon.
First published in 1940, at the height of his fame, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog is a collection of short autobiographical stories that paint fascinating and humorous portraits of life in rural Wales, and pre-empt characters and traits that echo throughout his later work. Now rightly considered one of the most important volumes in his oeuvre, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog is the key to unlocking the great poet’s work.
Hello! Happy Saturday!! It’s turned chilly and we’ve even had a little bit of snowfall this week – it didn’t stick around for long! But now it feels like Winter!
So I’ve got my reading head on and it’s been another good week of finishing books with 5 more added to the ‘read’ pile! Still avoiding Netgalley too and my ‘no buy January’ is going well too so no bookshops have been bothered by my presence! Hope they don’t miss me too much!! Here’s my look back!