What’s On My Mind:
Finally feeling back on track healthwise, workwise and blogging-wise.
Planning a mini-break in Queensland for next month. I know lots of people have jumped back into international travel this year, but I’ve seen so many of my family & friends spending a week confined in a foreign hotel or hostel room sick with Covid-19, spoiling their time away. I’d rather wait and travel when the risk is much lower and the chances higher of being able to enjoy the entire holiday, Covid free. So, interstate is as adventurous as we get for now.
April has mostly been a month of classic books with Zola, Elizabeth von Armin and now Eliot leading the way. On the nights I’m too tired to concentrate properly on a classic, I pick up one of the three bio’s I have on the go.
What I’m Reading:
- The Solitary Summer | Elizabeth von Armin (my latest CC Spin book)
- Silas Marner | George Eliot
- Nothing Special | Nicole Flattery (my backpack book)
- Greek Lessons | Han Kang (my lunch time read at work)
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma | Bessel van der Kolk (my bathroom book)
- Womerah Lane: Lives and Landscapes | Tom Carment (my sitting under the skylight on the stairs book)
- All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the Art of Risking Everything | Clare Harman (suddenly felt in the mood for a literary bio)
- Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life | Claire Tomalin (when one Mansfield bio is not enough!)
- Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath | Heather Clark
Read But Not Reviewed (Yet):
- L’Assommoir | Émile Zola
- Thirst For Salt | Madelaine Lucas (April release A&U)
- Cursed Bread | Sophie Mackintosh (Women’s Prize longlist – Reading Wales)
- Elizabeth II & Charles II (two mini bio’s in the Penguin Monarchs series)
- The Bookbinder of Jericho | Pip Williams
Abandoned:
Not so much abandoned, but stalled. Or put on hold until I’m in the right mood.
I started Enter Ghost a couple of weeks ago and got to page 35 when I realised I wasn’t enoying it – at all. I adored The Parisian so much and had such high expectations for Hammad’s second book, but the modern day setting did not work for me, neither did the actress protagonist. I’m not sure books set in the theatre are my cup of tea.
But because of my love for The Parisian (which took me two goes to get into), I’m willing to give Enter Ghost a second chance at some point.
This Blogging Life:
I’ve been so busy trying to catch up on reviews this month, that I’ve had very little time for blog maintenance.
New to the Pile:
Mr Books:
- A new section where I keep track of some of Mr Books reading habits.
- At the moment he is enjoying going back in time to the very first John Grisham, A Time to Kill, after failing to get into Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. He almost never abandons a book, so it must have been pretty dire!
- In a fit of madness, we recently decided to rewatch all 8 seasons of Game of Thrones (we’ve just started season three). Mr Books is now considering a reread of the books.
Book Group Reads Coming Up:
- May – All the Broken Places | John Boyne
- June – The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding | Holly Ringland
Shout Outs:
- Today is the day we start the Silas Marner chapter-a-day-readalong with Nick @One Catholic Life.
- Ali @HeavenAli is hosting Daphne du Maurier Reading Week again from the 8th – 15th May.
Until next time, stay safe and happy reading!
| This post was written on the traditional land of the Wangal clan, one of the 29 clans of the Eora Nation within the Sydney basin. This Reading Life acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our first storytellers. |
bronasbooks.com 
Hmmm, I wonder if I have time to join in #DDMreadingweek…
Probably not.
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I have a short story collection – I should be able to squeeze in a couple 😇
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I’ve got some novels on the TBR but TBH I think I’ve come to the end of her best…
Happy to be proven wrong, of course, and maybe if someone else reviews the ones I’ve got, I’ll move them up the pile.
But right now I’d rather delve into my pile of Brookners!
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Ohhh I haven’t read a Brookner for years – I went through a phase & read several of them from the library. I wish I had kept notes back then to help me remember which ones 🤷🏼♀️
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Oh, The Fortnight in September is WONDERFUL ! I’m sure you will love it when you get around to it.
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I suspect it was your review (plus a customer at work) that convinced me to buy it in the first place 😊
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I hope you enjoy Silas Marner, I haven’t read it for a long time but loved it and I see A Fortnight in September on your new pile, another book I think about often. Sherriff writes families so well I think and that includes the women. Hope you enjoy it too.
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The Sherriff book is getting a lot of love – I think I will have to keep it near the top of my pile 🙂
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Happy to hear you are feeling better. Thank you for highlighting the Daphne du Maurier reading week. I am on a path to read all, or most, of her books, so a very suitable challenge for me.
I see you have William Boyd on your pile. He is always good, but I don’t think I have read this one. Looking forward to seeing what you think about it.
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Fire Rush is brilliant!
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