Litsy

In a Fishbone Church | Catherine Chidgey

Hi @CarolynM so delighted with this fantastic #AuldLangSpine list! The 3 on the right side will be my starting point:
-Seascraper already own
-the 2 Chidgey novels were high on my list after reading Pet and I‘ve been eyeing Axeman for some time

The 4 listed with stars above I‘ve read and loved. (Human Failings) almost made my list.

The 5 along the bottom will be the “next up” to read into the year as I have easiest access to those.

monalyisha

Chelsea.Poole #auldlangspine2026 6d

Chelsea.Poole You‘ve done it again @monalyisha Several of the books on Carolyn‘s list are new to me and I love that! And we share an author between the two of us. Looking forward to making my way through the list in 2026. What a treat! Thank you again! 6d

LapReader What a list @CarolynM 6d

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CBee The Sitter is on Megan‘s list too - which means I must read it! @TheKidUpstairs @CarolynM (edited) 6d

TheKidUpstairs Great list, @CarolynM 🎉 6d

monalyisha Oh, good! I want to know more about all of your picks; your reviews will be something to look forward to. 💓 6d

ncsufoxes Tom Lake on audio is read by Meryl Streep & it‘s so lovely 6d

CarolynM Glad you like it 😊 Apart from Axeman‘s, which was my favourite book this year, the list is in the order I read them, not how much I like them. If you can‘t get hold of the Australian titles (Geraldine, which I loved, will probably be the hardest to find) I‘d be very happy to send them to you. Let me know. Ordinary Human Failings was from Megan‘s list last year. @TheKidUpstairs @CBee 5d

CarolynM By the way, I see I had a typo in my list☹️ The Proof of my Innocence is by Jonathan Coe. 5d

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Mattsbookaday

The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey

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The Axeman‘s Carnival, by Catherine Chidgey (2022)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: A magpie raised by the wife of a competitive log cutter rises to viral fame that masks darkness in the household.

Review: This is wild but still a soft recommendation. It tackles possibly too many issues in one story. ⬇️

Mattsbookaday While it juggled these themes well enough, I do wish she‘d pared things down to better focus the story. One minor point that‘s been bugging me is that the novel is very poorly named, since the carnival doesn‘t feel hugely relevant.

Bookish Pair: For another book told from the perspective of an animal, The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein (2008) 1w

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Oryx

The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey

Fantastic. But man, i was so tense reading this, almost unbearable.

squirrelbrain This will be one of my favourites this year. You‘re right though - so tense. You knew ‘it‘ was going to happen - it was just a case of ‘when‘. 2w

BarbaraBB So true. Great and very tense read. 2w

Cathythoughts I have this one. All this talk of tension really makes me want to read it now 👍🏻❤️ 2w

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Kshakal

Winter Time | Laurence Fearnley

Indeed it is!!!

Bklover Oh yesssss! 3w

ShelleyBooksie I have to use the fireplace channel on my TV- hehe 3w

AnnCrystal 👏🏼😉💝💝💝. 3w

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Ruthiella Ahh! 🔥 🛋️📚🐈‍⬛ 3w

dabbe ♥️🍁🧡 3w

lil1inblue 😍 😍 😍 3w

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CarolynM

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone | Gareth Ward and Louise Ward

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Fun cozy mystery set in a small town in New Zealand with lots of literary as well as NZ references. I‘m sure I missed as many as I got! #NZfiction

Teresereading Sounds interesting , I‘ve put a hold on at the library 📚 16+ weeks 1mo

LeahBergen This sounds fun! 1mo

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CarolynM

In a Fishbone Church | Catherine Chidgey

Very late #BookReport for October. All good reads, In a Fishbone Church the standout.

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CarolynM

In a Fishbone Church | Catherine Chidgey

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I think Catherine Chidgey is my new favourite author. This is so different from The Axeman‘s Carnival, but just as good - such vivid characters! Multiple POVs of three generations of a New Zealand family living through the second half of the 20th century, capturing the changes in outlook and opportunities over the years. #NZfiction

sarahbarnes Excited to get to this one! 1mo

Tamra I have this one TBR, glad to know you enjoyed it. Striking cover! 1mo

LeeRHarry I still haven‘t read her - should remedy that asap! 😊 1mo

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BarbaraBB I have loved all I read by her and will definitely stack this one too! 1mo

squirrelbrain Ooh, sounds great - stacking! 1mo

Rissreadswithcats I haven‘t read her yet. I have on my shelf.

Pet

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Jas16

The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey

Sue! This is such a lovely surprise. I have so been wanting to read this and your package arrived just when I needed a boost. I appreciate it so much.

Suet624

Suet624 I‘m so happy. You‘ve done the same for me so many times. 💕 2mo

BarbaraBB It‘s a fabulous read! 2mo

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CarolynM

In a Fishbone Church | Catherine Chidgey

Might have picked up a couple of books on my travels 😆 #NZFiction

Suet624 Another Chidgey book to read!! 2mo

squirrelbrain Ooh a Chidgey! 2mo

sarahbarnes Adding to the excitement about the Chidgey! 2mo

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BarbaraBB And me too! I hadn‘t heard of this one! 2mo

LeahBergen Nice! 👏 2mo

Centique Are you back home Carolyn? There are some crazy winds today and the major airports have closed in the South Island! I think you probably flew home already though 🤞🤞 2mo

CarolynM @Centique No, still here, flying home tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully all good re weather 🤞 The only real problem we‘ve had is we were supposed to have lunch at Cloudy Bay today but the power outage and strong winds put paid to that☹️ We absolutely have to come back now! 2mo

Centique @CarolynM oh bother! Best of luck for the trip home. I had a friend who was supposed to fly up to stay with me today but her flight was cancelled. Hope the weather behaves tomorrow! 🤞🤞🤞And next time I will come down and drink wine with you at Cloudy Bay! 2mo

CarolynM @Centique I‘ll hold you to that! 😘 2mo

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Suet624

The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey

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Second book in a row I could not put down. A baby magpie falls from a tree and Marnie rescues it, much to the annoyance of her husband. Tama becomes a household pet and a viral sensation. Tama is ostracized by her magpie family but adored by Marnie and barely tolerated by hubby. This is a surprisingly tense story and, as the author always manages to do, it was a reading-race-to-the-end for me. A very complete & enjoyable read. TW:DV. #offtheshelf

BarbaraBB Such a good read. I just reviewed Remote Sympathy 💔 2mo

Suet624 @BarbaraBB my review is a bit choppy and unenlightening but it‘s early in the morning. 😂😂 2mo

sarahbarnes Good to know you liked this one. I‘ve been impressed by everything I‘ve read by her. 2mo

squirrelbrain I adored this and it worked really well on audio I think. Although I had miaow (amongst other things!) running round in my head for days! 2mo

Suet624 @squirrelbrain I can only imagine! 2mo

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