Started this for #readingafrica22, considered cooking an Egyptian lunch to go with it for #foodandlit2022 but copped out with pitta crisp and hummus !

This was the book I was just starting as I joined Litsy … then life got in the way, a job change, cancer and during one of the post treatment steroid cleaning frenzies I tidied it away! In a we might be moving cleaning gig this Christmas I found it and today I finally finished. Ultimately a story of regret this was an interesting take on post war Germany. I appreciated the reference to the Resistance but found it to be a bit too neat a tale

I have been wondering why I fell out of reading and how to get back to it. Tonight my husband is rewatching Band of Brothers and instead of playing on my phone, peeved about it I have poured a small Rioja, tempted the dog to my side and started a new book. Feel like me again.

This was beautiful and is my #12booksin2021 for December. It‘s got a wonderful lyrical feel, fable like but powerfully feminist story. Would@recommend for anyone looking for a weather book for booked22
@Andrew65 thank you for this challenge I realise I had a much better reading year than I thought!!

#12booksin2021 this is my November pick. A young adult novel based in Hindu myth it was rich in imagery and made me want to know more

#12booksin2021 this was my October read. Took 4 days away and got out of the country to Malta. It was so lovely to be somewhere else and reading about where I was staying felt like a sliver of normality

Picked a tough but important read to start my year. Powerful and eloquent writing doesn‘t soften an incredibly harrowing experience. A book to make you angry about how we treat victims and how the law responds to sexual assault

#12booksin2021 I adored this. The power in this feminist retelling is that it doesn‘t rewrite history so much as change the focus of what we think we already know and so reframes. V powerful and briefly had me looking up classics courses! (The dog knocked over a pint of water in my cover - not impressed!)

Despite being a middle grade book this might be up there for my read of the year and I would recommend for anyone #readjngafrica2022 rich in imagery and such a strong sense of place this story of city girl sent to her grandmothers remote village for the summer is one that will stay with me. Also the cover is everything. #12booksin2021

My July pick for #12booksin2021 this is written in a super interesting style and follows a young group during the Arab Spring in Cairo. It‘s not an easy one to describe but I loved it !

#12booksin2021 My June read was my first every buddy read and I ADORED this book. The characters were really well developed and the author tackled first love so well. My TV show of the year was probably It‘s A Sin and there was some similar themes here. A beautiful book that I can not recommend enough.

This is the book that started me back on a bit of a reading run in may. #12booksin2021 a touching story of war, illness and love.

#12booksin2021 this was an April read for me and the first book in a couple of months I fell into and consumed in one go

#12booksin2021 again not a February book as my reading fell away in the first half of the year. My default in a slump is to head to children‘s fiction and this was excellent. Futuristic / dystopian (?) this novel with a great neurodivergent MC explores what could happen as AI improves to a point you can create holographic selves. Powerful and much like her first book has stuck with me

#12booksin2021 I read so oddly this year I can‘t do a book a month but I can probably get to 12! This, which I read in April is probably my non fiction of the year. A thoughtful, empathetic exploration of what it means when a family member begins to transition. The author balances her love and respect for her spouse and her own sadness and journey as her life begins to change . Thanks for the tag @Andrew65

As ever the reminder to step outside your comfort zone, this latest form Karen White is a blend of cozy southern mystery and ghost story and captured my attention. Despite an obvious failing there is also a ton of heart in these books and I have loved each h and every one. Good end to the series. And another chance for me to post a Charleston photo !

Out of office on - last load of laundry in the machine so taking a sneaky break from Christmas prep

So embarrassed to see I managed 3 posts this year after my almost identical post to this at the end of 2020... I locked myself out of my account in August and only just made the time to fix it. I hope everyone is keeping well x

Crazy busy start to the year so sneaking a day off in this Monday. Nothing to do but curl up and read with my little buddy

Look I read another book! That‘s better than the last three months of last year!! I adore penguins and I love cross generational friendship stories so this whilst cosy and predictable is very much my comfort read wheelhouse. That the pup chilled out enough to be a book rest was an extra bonus !

It‘s taken having to read this for work to get me to finish this book and it really wasn‘t for me! Putting to one side currently criticisms of plagiarism this is more self help than feminist. There is a naivety in the writing and the messages are not the slightest but nuanced. Not for me but then I am not the target audience on this.

Slightly shame faced wave from back here in the barely reading anything seats. I hope everyone is doing well

Wow! What a powerful, lyrical YA mystery. A word of warning for this target age group it probably ought to be papered with trigger warnings!

Back on the reading wagon. This is a really interesting debut novel. It follows Mary, a 16 year@old living in a group home after having beeen convicted on manslaughter At just 9. It‘s well written and kind of heartbreaking. Glad I picked it up this morning

I have been I. Such a reading funk I decided to return to kidlit to help me out and this did the trick. A lovely style with a great young narrator I enjoyed a lot!

This is a wonderful honest little gem of a memoir. The author writes with openness and often a real humour about his mental breakdown and subsequent journey to better mental health. Some of it is is to read but incredibly insightful

This was compelling and horrifically sad. The story of a beat cop trying to find her sex worker addict sister as a murderer strikes was as much a tale of family as it was a mystery. The writing was great and whilst not exactly hopeful it did have a sense of redemption.

It‘s telling that the quotes at the beginning are from the Handmaids Tale and Lord of the Flies because you can see the influence of both in this one, throw in a bit of the Crucible and that‘s a fair summary! It‘s a powerful story and one that will stay with me for some time

Fascinating and oddly realistic dystopian novel that made me really think about consequences. If sugar was a class A drug where does that take us.... however for as much as the world building is fascinating this fell a little flat. A rare book that might have benefited from multiple narrators? Trafalgar Square plays large in this one and I love this photo from a few years ago

I don‘t like ghost stories but I do really enjoy this series. It‘s hard to explain why as Mellie the main character is tough to always like and she was particularly annoying in this one. I think in part it‘s the love of Charleston and the history that shines through.

Zero idea how I came to have this book but I was looking for something light on the kindle and there it was. I‘m sure this is a book for someone but not for me. An odd timeline with multiple narrators follows 4 adult sisters with serious communication issues. Never have I been more glad to be an only child!

My team at work gave me Waterstones vouchers for my birthday - my entirely #blameitonlitsy order just arrived

This is without speech punctuation which I usually dislike but this time I found it added a lot. This is a very ordinary story of 2 older people starting a relationship of sorts. Despite the apparent simplicity this is a really beautiful story that was almost whimsical. I loved it

Currently attending a great set of presentations on creativity and story telling. Available on the 5by15 Facebook page live now - really enjoying this poet talking about creative citizenship. Natalie Haynes, Benjamin moser, Neil gaiman, Laura Dockhill and Kate Mosse are up next .

Cant believe I waited so long to read this. Loved the writing, loved the story loved the characters. Adored how the little town of Shaker became a character. Fabulous read and my first off the imposing trolley of TBR for #joysofjune readathon

She‘s since I did a readathon of any sort so joining one @Andrew65 #joysofjune . My personal goal is going to be to only read from the pile of waiting to be read books and see if I can create some space on my trolley!

I adored this second book featuring Darren Matthews., Texas ranger. The case is complex with appropriate twists to be a great stand alone mystery / police procedural. However the author elevates this further with a tense racial and political backdrop. Darren is a flawed but captivating protagonist and I hope we see more of him. (Photo Texas ranger museum in 2016 - I guess three months before this book is set)

Bought after @Oryx pointed out the 99p kindle option at the weekend! I didn‘t see the Brigit Jones comparison. I thought Queenie had much more depth and was not at all superficial. Queenie is not always easy to like but I admired her journey a great deal. A pick

Sorry I have been a bit quiet lately all - we inadvertently adopted a house elf.... well a beagle pup and we are only very slowly finding our feet. Normal service might resume slowly!

This was my set in Hollywood for #booked2020. Listened to it v slowly on audio over the last 2 months, started on Thjs frosty morning in March. It‘s compelling and Fsrrow pulls together multiple strands in a well researched way. This is as much his story as the women he worries about but I find it no worse for that.

I read this on the recommendation of an Hr professional. Having worked in a team that spans the globe for a number of years there was not necessarily anything new here BUT I really liked the framework and the examples made it not feel like a dry academic study. Useful to give common language. Flip side reminded me it‘s a while before I am likely to see all my colleagues in India face to face :-(

So I inadvertently bought this whilst trying to send a copy to my niece! So I read it! It‘s slightly manically paces but enjoyable with enough in jokes for a confident reader to spot and enjoy. We may do a little virtual book club when she finishes her copy!

Slightly oddly structured I really liked thisnstory of Loveday and her challenges to find peace.

Discounting that this was an odd read as the weather turned warmer I enjoyed. It was not as ri h or full of depth as her previous books (which may be why it sat on shelf for forever!) but I enjoyed the themes and her exceptional sense of time and place. Possible one for a reread come Halloween season . Interested was this positioned as YA ?

#7booksin7days #7days7books ##day 6 here‘s another that stayed with me !

I‘ve been racing my way through this easy to read series of police procedural s aet theoughout thee beauty of NE England. I enjoyed this one a lot, interesting story and plot with the enjoyment of knowing most of the characters by now. I adore Newcastle and it was good to virtually visit !

#7days7books #7books7days day 5

#7books7days #7days7books day 4 - can‘t resist. This impacted me on all sorts of levels. I bought this volunteering at the in house shop at my local hospice (who looked after my Nan in her last day). First non fiction book that captivated me, a memory of growing up. Vexed I can‘t find this. Opt which I KNOW is in the house somewhere

#7days7books #7books7days

#7books7days #7days7books so hard not to write about why I‘ve picked these ! @RachelO