It‘s been a long time since I read rather than watched a Rebus. Didn‘t disappoint. An ageing Rebus and other familiar characters weave an interesting and plausible story. Now to find out what happens next. Soon I hope.

Beautiful writing but I decided I‘m not that interested in the story of Julian the Apostate.

This author recommended by a friend. Read this in one sitting. A delightful, light ,very well written story. It‘s the last book in a trilogy. The first has been made into a movie due for release this year staring Jim Broadbent. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

A gentle story of a book shop, a ghost, the pandemic, love and much more. I loved it. Right book at right time. ❤️.
Thank you @MrsMalaprop . I read it because of your review . Bonus was the large print edition.😊.

It‘s happened. Turns out I read this book a year ago! At first it felt like a new read to me but as I went along it began to feel familiar. It wasn‘t until the end that I checked. 🤷🏻‍♀️. I would write the same review I wrote before. A page turner indeed. Please tell me there are others out there who forget books they have read. I know for book club I have to read close to the day we meet .

I just love the way this man‘s writing transports me to the Aussie countryside, never mind the plot!
Good story but a bit for my mind to keep track of. Luckily there is a family tree at the end. The relationships get a bit complicated. Clever story , wonderful writing.

Finished last night. Excellent . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I‘m loving this book. I‘m nearly finished. Much has struck a chord with me, but this particularly said “ isn‘t that the truth” .

This was probably between a pick and a so so. It didn‘t quite hit the mark for me . In places too raw for me right now, in others just missing something. I almost gave up but glad I finished. The end, the best bit for me.
I loved the physical presentation of the book. So rare here to get a hard back. Loved the look and the feel .
If you liked her first book you just might enjoy this one.

Late Xmas presents. Looking forward to reading them both but especially Richard E Grant. I heard him on the radio when he was promoting the book. Interesting ,unassuming , humble man. Oh and funny too.

There is a piece of paper in this book that tells me this book came into this house in 2006. Neither of us have read it until now. It has been sitting on my TBR shelf for some of those years. This week was the right time, the perfect time for me to read it. Magical thinking, I‘ve been doing a bit lately.
“Life changes fast.”
“Life changes in the instant “

So much grief in this book.
So much magical thinking.
Powerful.

One of my favourite cities. I loved this book. I knew some of the places she mentions. But best of all is her beautiful writing. Truly magical. The story was well crafted. Short chapters , memorable characters, and a surprising plot. There was not one thing I disliked about this book. She is fast becoming one of my favourite Aussie authors.

Happy New Year to all my lovely Litsy friends. I will recall the year soon with my memory jar. I notice it‘s not as full as last year. I‘ve read 81 books 1 more than last year. Only 26 were Aussie this year.
I‘m looking forward to lots of reading in 2023.
Love to you all for a happy and healthy year ahead.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Just found two more. I have a collection of MINALIMA illustrated books. Beautiful. Have been wanting to read the Wil Anderson book. So many books published just in time for Xmas. 🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄

Finally found them my Xmas presents. The giver ended up in hospital , explained to me where they were but it‘s taken me a while to find them! Hope you have had a lovely day. Needless to say mine has been very different.
So looking forward to reading this haul. I did get two others which I had read so gave to the little library at the hospital. 🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄

@CarolynM thank you so very much. This arrived today. I will write to tell you just how timely your card was.
Best wishes to you. Xx May you have a book filled Xmas.

I must say I enjoyed this one more than the others. Though I wish he had a character list in the front to remind me who everyone is. 😊. I think my favourite character is Alan . 🐶

I‘ve worked out how to have 2 books on the go . I read 1 fiction and 1 non fiction. One gets read in bed and the other elsewhere.
I wasn‘t sure about this book as I‘m not a historical fiction fan. However I loved this story. Maggie is such a great writer. I love her books. This was no exception. A great read.

Brave.

I loved the first book and this book did not disappoint. I have fallen in love with Arthur Less. I suspect a lot of Less is the author. Made me chuckle . Maybe not as good as the first book for me but worth a read if you enjoyed the first.

2nd in a series I thought I might like because they are set in a part of Scotland that I know well. This did not keep me wanting to read and the end reminded me of something else I‘ve either read or seen. I‘ve got the next one in the series on my TBR shelf. Might be my last one we shall see.

Recommended by a friend. Couldn‘t find it in our local bookshops so decided to request from the library. A long wait but so so worth it. It‘s been a slow year reading wise for me but I think this is the best book I‘ve read this year.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️and a half.

Book club tonight . It‘s my turn. I picked this book. First time I picked a book I hadn‘t read. Not a good idea . I‘m a little over the story . I think I enjoyed the book. So many characters though. Hard to keep track of at first. It was a little too long for me but it all came together in the end. Very quickly all ends tied. I was just sad for one characters ending. Discussion always interesting at book club. Just need to stay awake now. 😏.

Needed something light to get me reading again. Think this did the trick. Set in a part of Scotland that I love and I‘m very familiar with. St Andrews and surrounds. Also strong female Inspector as main character. First in a series I see so I‘ll be looking out for more.

I‘m in a bit of a reading slump so read this in an afternoon. I‘m not a Silvey fan but this was ok. About an 11 year old girl called Annie and her dog Runt. Would be a good read aloud. I‘m giving it to step granddaughter Annie who loves dogs. She is only 5 but her parents read to her, books that are quite advanced. Our Annie is not a girlie girl and neither is Annie in the book. I think real Annie will love fictional Annie.

Just finished in time for book club tomorrow. I enjoyed the mention of places I know well here in Perth. I worked out early where the story was going but not how it would be resolved.
The author was taught by my uncle . Author now well know doctor in his field in Perth. He has operated on my uncle, aunt and brother. Also helped set up a research foundation when my aunt and uncle died.
An ok read but think he should stick to medical books.

We read her more recent book for book club and I loved it so was happy to find this one in an op shop. I loved this too. She doesn‘t tie up endings but I sort of like that because I can make up my own. Always very happy.😊.
Having read two of her novels I hope her life hadn‘t been as traumatic as her characters. Strong women overcoming tremendous odds. Set in out back Australia and country Britain. A worthy winner.

My 10 cent book. Trying to read as many of his that I can find. This would be a good one to read with older kids. Lots to discuss. Facts about WW1 . Sad facts really. Unbelievable today.
I learnt the meaning of absolutist. A new word for my diminishing vocabulary. 😏.

Went shopping today. The biggest shop for a very long time, especially for books not from an op shop.
As if I haven‘t enough to read!! Kids books for a new baby arriving soon and for baby‘s big sister.

@MrsMalaprop when I‘ve read top book, would you like it? I‘m not keeping any of the books once I‘ve read them.
Now off to read my latest read and hope I don‘t fall asleep. My body loves Nana naps!!

This was a strange read because the book itself was giving off a not so nice smell and made me irritated .
I‘m guessing it is the print. Never happened to me before. Anyway it was a good read though I‘d have liked to read it faster but I had to keep having breaks. Love Vera.

Another book that was in a box leaving the house. Looked interesting and it was, very. See the fly at the top? Well there were small drawings of a fly on each page. Very real looking and often as my eyes moved along the lines reading I swear the fly moved! Very clever.

Read this because it was on its way out of house and I didn‘t know we had it. I loved his kids picture books done with his wife Janet. My favourites The Jolly Postman series and Peepo!
Memories of his childhood in prose and verse.
Long weekend here and after my morning walk and coffee with friends I‘m curled up reading .❤️❤️❤️.

The first one in the series. Better I thought than1989. Still bits didn‘t read like a Val McDermid book to me. I love the main character Allie. Strong woman journalist. In her 20s here, 1989 she‘s in her 30s. Hope she does 1990 when she‘ll be in her 40s and so on with 2009 and 2019. I expect she is basing Allie on herself. I was kept guessing to the end with this one.

This was lent to me by a friend. Not really my sort of read but interesting to get a look at life over a time from before WW1 to 1985. A Jewish grandmother talking to her granddaughter.

Heard the author on the radio. She is disabled and couldn‘t find an appropriate book so wrote this one with Sally Rippon. Cerebral palsy child,deaf mum, autistic child and dad,blind mum,achondroplasia dad and kid, intellectual disability mum, one arm dad, all feature in the book. Based on real people. We visit all their homes. Excellent.

When he died recently this was the only book of his I hadn‘t read. Dear dear. He must have been so depressed when he wrote this. Mind you some of it rang true for me. Sometimes I don‘t have a very good view of my life right now. Being much nearer the end like he was when he wrote this. Not a happy book .

Reading for book club. I finished it a few days ago and immediately starting reading it again. Looking forward to the discussion. Clever book that deals with issues , I think , of men and their power over time. She does not preach or actually spell it out. An excellent read. I‘ve never read a book twice in one go. Picking up more on second read.
Set in one of my favourite places, Scotland.

This was between a pick and a so so. It‘s been years since I‘ve read one of her books. This is very different to the early ones. Almost didn‘t seem like her writing. Enjoyed remembering events in Britain and the world from that year. I might give the other one in this series a go.1979. I lived that year too. 😊.

Delightful. I wish I could find more of her books. I just love the way she writes. This was an ex library book.
Perfect read right now for me after 2 bails!

Could not get into this. I‘m just not a historical fiction fan. Would love to give it to someone who would enjoy it. Love to hear if and when anyone reading this does read it. I heard her on the radio and loved her book Room. So thought I‘d give this a go. Just not my thing .

My last try at reading one of her books. Just can‘t seem to manage it.

A quick read. Perfect for a plane trip. Set in Scotland. Second in a series. Better I thought than the first one. Strong female character Shona Oliver. Detective , and Life boat volunteer. So a mixture of both. Life as a detective and what happens on life boat call outs. Mystery and murder. I worked out “ who dun it”. A simple easy read.

So beautifully written. This book kept me reading just by the way it is written. It deals with a lot of tragedy and things I could not imagine. I almost didn‘t finish it as I was not in a good space myself at the time. However I kept going as the words flowed along , and I‘m very glad I did. A book so very worthy of the prize.

A great Sunday read. A gentle well written story of a 40 something man. Perfect.

While looking for another book by her on the library shelf , I found this graphic novel. As a child she had an interest/fear of sharks. A fun read on a wet Saturday afternoon. My partner also read it as she won‘t go into the ocean because of her fear.

Not my normal read. Heard him on the radio. A BBC journalist who fell in love with America as a teenager. Has lived and worked there for much of his adult life. An easy, sometimes uncomfortable, informative, well researched and often lived experiences make this book well worth the read. 11/10. In 2020 his first American daughter entered the world. His final pages are written to her I feel. A great end to an amazing book.

A lovely warm afternoon in the sun reading this very enlightening graphic novel. War is such a waste and this book tells it all including the good that emerged and how lives became entwined. An easy read for all ages. Strong women role models. Tales that tug at your heart and others that make you smile. Well worth an afternoon read.

Very Scottish. A very light read , would be a plane read if I was travelling but did just perfectly for my 4 am awakening this past few days. Strong female character Shona Oliver. Nice tie up of ends.

For book club. For first time I watched the movie before reading the book. I really enjoyed both and glad I did it that way. The movie is interesting in that it‘s actors we all know when they were very young. The person who picked it did so because she kept seeing it on lists of books you “should” read. Written in 1932 , my edition published in 1977. It smells delicious.

Just love Posy Simonds.