Thanks for the tag @Eggs 😘
Mmm top 5 personal values…integrity, empathy, kindness, hardworking, honesty ❤️
What I most admire in others…someone who cares about the planet, enjoys life to the fullest and reads books ❤️❤️
Happy reading 😊
#WondrousWednesday

I just finished The Marriage Portrait. I thought it was great but could have benefited from some editing. I loved the first and the last 100 pages but thought the middle was slow. The story of Duchess Lucrezia is fascinating, all the more because it‘s based on real events. Maggie O‘Farrell is a marvellous writer!
I‘m also reading about The Balkans( fingers crossed my next OS trip) and PIP a wonderful local magazine about veggie gardening ❤️

I loved Lincoln in the Bardo but this book of short stories just didn‘t capture me. The writing is good but I found the stories a bit confusing.
I‘m going to read another writer I love now Maggie OFarrell ❤️
#fiction #literature #ilovereading ❤️

Perfect day..gardening, reading, coffee..sewing!!
I can‘t believe I haven‘t read anything by Alex Miller before..his writing is beautiful ❤️ An incident on a trip abroad changes everything..with a hint of the gothic.
With my Christmas voucher from my local independent bookshop I have The Marriage Portrait and Liberation Day next up ❤️📚
#literature #fiction #australianfiction

Lovely start to my reading year!
A book of friendship, love and dreams.
Oh and wonderful illustrations
Suitable for everyone of every age😊
Happy New Year xxx

Thanks for the tag @Eggs for #wondrouswednesday
Photo taken of me in my vegetable patch this week with Ollie and Reggie❤️ I love growing fresh produce!!
My New Year plans will be an early night then a beach walk with the pups. This photo was taken today at our local doggy beach with Archie in the lead 🐶
#wondrouswednesday

Hoping to squeeze in one last book for the year and I will have reached my challenge of 40 books 📚 I‘ve read some wonderful books this year..thanks to Litsy recommendations and the ABC Bookclub on Facebook. I‘m so grateful for books and bookish friendships 😊
#litsy #ABCbookclub #readinglove #fiction #ozfiction

I have finally had a chance to post about my beautiful Christmas swap gift from Julie @Jhullie . Thank you so much Julie. I‘m excited to receive The Silent Companions! The book decoration is adorable and already on my tree. I love the book marks and the book you made to hold the chocolates is amazing❤️ Such a thoughtful gift 💝
Thanks again to @thegirlwiththelibrarybag 😘 and Merry Christmas to everyone
#aussiesecretsanta

This years top 12 for me. All wonderful books❤️ Limberlost by Robbie Arnott took my top spot..but I loved the wonderful Irish writing of John Boyne, Audrey Magee and Claire Keegan. Also some wonderful Australian authors of crime and Steven Carroll‘s Eliot Quartet !
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and you get a book or two under the tree! 🎄🎅❤️
#top12books #favourites

I‘ve just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O‘Farrell. Another wonderful story with twists and turns. I did get confused at times as it‘s told from the perspective of Esme, her sister and her grand niece. Esme was put in an institution at the age of 16 and didn‘t leave till 60 years later. I won‘t say too much incase you read it!!
Next The Colony..and soon I‘ll post my top 10 for 2022😊
#fiction #greatreads #summerreading

#AussieSecretSanta
My gift is finally in the post🎁📮 Sorry I‘m late
I have also received my gift today… thank you so much to my SecretSanta😘
Thank you again to @thegirlwiththelibrarybag for organising
Merry Christmas to this wonderful group of readers
@MrsMalaprop @Rissreads @Jhullie @Lizpixie @LapReader @Teresereading @Flingogal @CarolynM

This last week has seen the sunflowers bloom in my garden as summer begins and the beach beckons!! I‘m reading Esme Lennox which I haven‘t found as engaging as Hamnet was, but I‘m only half way through. Hope your getting some reading done during this busy time!
#sunflowers #fiction #literature

5⭐️‘s from me for Limberlost by Robbie Arnott..such beautiful writing…really a simple story of living on an Apple Farm in Tasmania, surrounded by old growth forests and river estuaries. A coming of age story with gentle references to colonial dispossession and environmental degradation.
I‘m sitting by the roof top pool overlooking Brisbane to start my next book…back to work later in the week so I‘m making the most of the last days of holiday😊

Travel haul…so far..spending a week in Brisbane,Australia. Living on a farm I love my city visits❤️A week of culture including bookshops, galleries, some stage shows and The Brisbane Symphony Orchestra on Sunday..😊
#travelhaul #literature #brisbane

My indoor reading spot as the mozzies are starting to bite outside!
Another great mystery from Jane Harper… I enjoy going to the country towns she writes of and hearing the stories, each told from a different perspective.
I have also read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, another book of place.. the deep jungle of the Congo..and now onto the next book by Richard Osman. I‘ve loved his other books 👍🏼
#crime #mystery

I‘ve been so busy that I have been absent on Litsy but still reading lots🤗
I‘m reading Exiles the latest novel by Jane Harper which is great!!
I‘ve read -Here We Are ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love Graham Swift
Untimely Death ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A new author to me
The Evening of the Holiday⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shirley Hazzard
Give Unto Others ⭐️⭐️⭐️ my first Doona Leon novel!
I‘ve got a few weeks off work now so hoping to do lots of reading 🤞🏼Hope your all well and reading lots 😘

New book and new knitting project! Loving this book so far😊 I needed something a bit lighter after The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison. Wonderful writing but very sad!
#knittingproject #craftandbooks

Grand Days by Frank Moorhouse is wonderful. It‘s a chunkster but it kept my interest. Set in Geneva in the 1920‘s, telling the story of Edith Campbell Berry who starts her career at the League of Nations. Edith is wonderful ..naive yet sophisticated, loyal, brave and wise for her years. She‘s also playful and very modern!! Some of the issues she deals with women still deal with today!!

On to The Bluest Eye..
@CarolynM loved it❤️

Next on my list is Grand Days in honour of Frank Moorhouse who recently died. An Australian must read… some say a masterpiece…it‘s been one I should have read years ago! It‘s a chunkster @ 700 pages😊
#australianclassic #fiction #literature

Cool winter days = lots of reading ❤️
Dirt Town ( Dirt Creek in USA🤷‍♀️) is really good 👍🏼 A slow burn small town Murder mystery told from several view points. The writing is excellent and I didn‘t want to put it down!!!
Paper Palace also a good read.. relationships, family drama mistakes..also well written.. also hard to put down!
I‘m getting nothing else done🙃
#fiction #murdermystery #drama

This is a solid crime thriller. Four friends visiting a remote island and only 3 return. For me it was the setting that resonated….Iceland. A perfect place for a murder..isolated and beautiful. My last overseas holiday before Covid hit was to Iceland in 2019. Such a wonderful destination!! Oh how I miss travel😍
#iceland #crime #thriller

My second book in The Eliot Quartet. This is another poignant beautifully written novel. It is based on TS Eliot‘s poem Little Gidding. A War story telling of the Blitz in London, a love story, and like the poem a story of trying to move forward after tragic events. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it but after that…❤️❤️
#theeliotquartet #tseliot #australianliterature #london

I loved this book. Why…a retelling…a mix of of fact and fiction! The story of TS Eliot‘s wife Vivienne…some early history, an investigation by a wonderful policeman. Beautifully written. It‘s a joy to read. Consequently I have gone straight to another of his Eliot Quartet so I don‘t have a book hangover 😂😂
@CarolynM 👍🏼❤️
#australianfiction #Milesfracklinwinner #literature

@CarolynM and I are reading this book together. It‘s about the wife of TS Eliot. She was placed in a private asylum and this is Steven Carrols story…part fact, part fiction. I‘m 1/4 through and already loving it!
It‘s the 4th book in his Eliot Quartet.
Carolyn I also like that it has some early life stories and the police investigation as the story develops. The character of the detective❤️Lovely writing..occasional references to cricket also❤️✔️

First day of winter here and right on cue we have had a cold snap! It‘s 9 degrees C and predicted to be 5 overnight!! So the fire is on and the doggy and I have our seats in front with my book and knitting!
Just starting Goodnight, Vivienne, Goodnight and it‘s lovely writing @CarolynM 📖❄️🧶

Wow We Have Always Lived in the Castle is such a powerful short novel! An atmospheric Gothic thriller..with 2 young women left alone after all other members of the family are murdered..disliked by the community they live in..tragic, strange, and fascinating to read about the author who who suffered from agoraphobia and other physical and mental conditions..and died at 48!
And onto a book about the wife TS Eliot written by a great Aussie author!

A sunny reading spot this morning. I‘m starting this Shirley Jackson classic which has been on my reading pile for so long. Hope you are getting some reading time today🤞🏼🙂📖
#autumndayinaustralia

Wow I am so behind with reviews and catching up with what everyone is reading!! Hi to all my reading friends! In the past month I‘ve read 4 good books…all different..all well written..top marks for Good Squad and Absolution by Murder and the others not far behind. Hope your all enjoying a good book😘😘
#fiction #literature #reading

Book mail!!! Some of the books I bought on a recent trip to Melbourne have arrived. These from The Hill of Content❤️ Lots of reading pleasure ahead😊
#bookmail #melbourne #lovebooks

Wow I‘ve had a fabulous week in Melbourne! I‘ve visited all the book shops..Hill of Content, The Paperback Bookshop, The Basement and Dymocks😊 I‘ve been to the Opera, the Symphony, Hamlet, The Van Gogh Display, the museum to see Triceratops and the fabulous botanical gardens. I‘m exhausted but happy❤️ and a box of books is on its way home!!
#bookshops #travel #melbourne

The Islands is a beautiful book. A story of Finnish migrants travelling to live on remote Islands off the Western Australian coast. How brave they are to relocate, how hard it is to try to assimilate. This story is based on the authors family who were fisherman from Finland. 4 1/2 ⭐️❤️
The second book a portrait of our PM…who is he..what does he believe..what does he stand for…this book reinforces views I already held…hoping he‘ll be gone soon!!!

My last 2 books were The Herons Cry and The House in the Cerulean Sea..both 4 stars from me. Loved the quirkiness of the Cerulean Sea which is set in an orphanage for Magical Children and it‘s a heartwarming tale❤️.
Next book for me is The Islands which has had good reviews here. And also this is my reading spot on the verandah..if I can escape the mozzies!!
#crimefiction #australianfiction #fantasy #bookreview #weeklyreport

I‘ve been absent from social media for about a month with work commitments, a dose of the virus and fatigue…not like me at all!!
I‘ve read 2 books by John Boyne this month and for me both are 5⭐️. The Absolutist, set in WW1 tells a story of young men thrust into terrible situations..oh how I hate war!!! He‘s such a great writer and story teller.
Now for a change with one that has been on my TBR list for so long!
#irishliterature #fiction

I am a big fan of John Boyne‘s books. When I read them I am unable to think of anything else. The Hearts Invisible Furies is on my Top 10 list!
I‘ve just finished A Ladder to the Sky…it is such a dark novel, the main protagonist is horrid..but I wanted to keep reading..horror and dread one page…laughter the next ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I‘m on a roll..I‘m reading The Absolutist next😊
#irishwriters #literature #fiction

I have just finished Apeirogon and I think it will stay with me for a long time. Told using short snippets of information and related facts. Set in Israel, it touches on the relationship between Jewish and Palestinian residents. At times I had to reach for google to look up a location, or more information about a fascinating historical story. A story of love and hope, and making the most of a terrible situation💗
Next another story of love.💓✌🏼

Moments that I loved and some parts that I found a bit dull…but overall 3.5 🌟
What would you do differently if you could?
A library of opportunities to change.
#everydaylife #summerreads

This book ticks all the boxes for me!!
Based on some real historical events✅
Set in medieval England✅
Crime genre, murder mystery✅
The first in a series of books✅
A quick read and now I‘d like to read No 2!!
A great start to my reading year😊 Hope your off to a good start too 👍🏼
#crime #mystery #medievaltimes

Wishing everyone the best for 2022!
2021 for me meant getting used to wearing masks, shields and PPE in my job as an ICU nurse and spending my time at home doing the things I love like reading, sewing and gardening💚
I read some wonderful books and grew a lot of vegetables 🌶 🌽
Stay healthy and happy in 2022🌻✌🏼
#2022 #happynewyear

Thanks @Lizpixie this will be my #FirstBookOf2022 😊 Here‘s hoping for a good year ahead everyone with lots of reading and relaxing!! My last book looks like being Of Mice and Men unless I can fit a sneaky quick book in over the next few days! That brings my total for the year to 34 books…not sure what my 2022 challenges will be yet but I‘d love to read War and Peace!!
#1stBookOf2022 #readingchallenge #goodbye2021

Wow I got so spoilt by my #aussiesecretsanta @Lizpixie ❤️
Thank you Liz my gifts are wonderful.
I love the special edition of Pride and Prejudice, and I have not read the new Amor Towles..it‘s been on my list though!! Anna Downes is new to me but sounds great!
The book cover is brilliant! Perfect for taking a book to work on night duty👍🏼
So glad to be part of this swap @thegirlwiththelibrarybag
Merry Christmas everyone🎅❤️🌲📚

Thank you so much @CarolynM for my lovely Christmas card..so thoughtful ❤️🌲
My #aussiesecretsanta gifts are under the Christmas tree waiting for opening day. Thank you to my Secret Santa❤️🌲 😘
Once again I need to say how much I enjoy Litsy. Both my reading and following Litsy have been a little slow this year, but it‘s still one of my favourite things.
I hope you get a lovely book under the tree this year and here‘s to a great reading year!

My #top21in21 @CarolynM thanks for the tag😘
They are not in any particular order, but the top 2 lines were my favourites 📖📚
Kristin Lavransdater is actually 3 books..a real chunkster that took me months but worth the effort!!
I discovered Willa Cather 💕and still have another to read in her trilogy. I read 2 books by several authors..Pat Barker, Swift and Richard Osman. What a delight his books are😊 Crawdads and The Labyrinth were special !

I really enjoyed this mystery novel.. the first in a long series…so lots of reading pleasure ahead!!
The protagonist Amelia Peabody is marvellous…..spirited and self assured👏🏼👏🏼
#egypt #archeology #mysterynovel

I have had a run of fabulous books..by such brilliant authors as Willa Cather , Pat Barker and Graham Swift💕
I‘m thinking after 2 chapters that this will be a winner too. I love a book that grabs me right from the start!!
This is the first in a series of murder mystery books so lots of reading pleasure ahead😊
#murdermystery #fiction #egypt #wetdayreading

#aussiesecretsanta
My gift is in the post!!
I always forget to take a final photo at the post office 🤔
MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS
Looking forward to seeing everyone open their presents 🎁
@CarolynM @LeeRHarry @Lizpixie @Cathy_J @LapReader @Flingogal @Teresereading @MrsMalaprop @Jhullie
Thank you to @thegirlwiththelibrarybag for organising 😘
Hope everyone gets some reading time over Chrissy 🤞🏼😘

Thanks @Lizpixie for tagging me..late to the party as always!!

Dr Howard Archie had just come up from a game of pool with the Jewish clothier and two travelling men who happened to be staying overnight in Moonstone.

I love Willa Cather‘s writing ❤️
I would not have found her if not for @CarolynM !!!
I am reading The Prairie Trilogy at the moment and loving this glimpse at early days in America 🇺🇸

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

I have read some fabulous books but have had a slow reading year sadly. Most people have a bedside pile of books to read..mine is a whole bookshelf😬🤔 Lots of reading pleasure ahead!
My time has been spent at work in our ICU and spending time unwinding in my garden and vegetable patch. I have enjoyed sharing our farm-life on our Instagram cornbury_park which is the name of our property.
Hope you are making some time to read..I am planning to✅

My Friday night..with the house to myself for the first time in months😋 Some cosy crime, some history and some quilting..whilst I drink tea✅☕️🫖
#agathachristie #craft #quilting #history

Loved this book. Gentle yet meaningful! Lovely writing. Simple yet complex. Don‘t be confused..it‘s a gem. A deserved winner of this years Miles Franklin Award. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I want to build a labyrinth 💚
#australianliterature #milesfranklinwinner #labyrinth

Pat Barker is a wonderful writer. This year I have read The Silence of the Girls and now Regeneration. This book is based on true events…it‘s 1917..soldiers suffering from shell-shock are treated by psychiatrist Rivers in a hospital in Scotland. Two of the soldiers are writers Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. This is book 1 of a trilogy that I shall have to pursue!
Next on the list is The Labyrinth, which won the Miles Franklin literary award.