Wow, what to say? The writing is exquisite, rich, dense & precise. Waugh's ability to conjure atmosphere, emotion, mood, even quality of light so deftly & without being flowery or stuffy is extraordinary. I loved the Oxford section, loved Anthony Blanche's rant at Charles about Sebastian, loved Brideshead itself. It does drag a little in places & I wish Sebastian's story had a more certain resolution. Continued in comments ⬇️⬇️⬇️

This was a premise about which I was initially slightly skeptical, but I eschewed my cynicism & read on. And I was pleasantly surprised not just by the fact that the premise worked really well, but also by how much I enjoyed this book! It really did totally grab me. Moving & surprisingly thought provoking with a cracking redemption arc for the bad guy & a really satisfying ending. And dogs. What more could you want really? 🐕🐶🐕

Starting this one today from my ever-expanding NetGalley list.

The gorgeousness of this cover raises this one from a So-So to a Pick - how very superficial of me!

Well researched & interesting, just not particularly charming - I found the writing a little dry & prosaic, the author's obvious passion for his subject not entirely coming through his writing. Plenty of earnest enthusiasm, but no hooks for the imagination. The point is, however, hedges are an important habitat for biodiversity.

Objectively, I understand this is well written. Subjectively, it wasn't really that great for me. I love the metaphorical Crow in theory, on the page the strings of words left me unmoved & I remained at a distance throughout. The disjointed nature of the piece decreased any developing depth or sense of engagement & it wasn't until the near end that a few well crafted sentences created a brief emotional connection. Didn't particularly enjoy it.

What a ridiculous, glorious, hilarious sentence!

Everything a quality non-fiction book should be - informative, accessible, absorbing, well researched and absolutely fascinating! The writing is highly engaging, never getting bogged down in dry details, and has warmth & humour. The subject matter is more complex & intriguing than I thought possible! Researching this must've been an absolute joy for the author & that joy most definitely comes across! Impeccably referenced, a fabulous read.

Starting this #NetGalley title today. Love a bit of nature writing 🐞🪻🌳🐦‍⬛

Starting this one today. Tissues on standby 😭

I have been thinking about one of my idols a lot recently - Michael Schumacher - how he's gone but not gone and how difficult it must be for his family. It's been 10 years now, and I still get so upset about what happened to him.

I've read a fair bit of apoc-fic recently & some of the tropes are starting to feel a little stale. And the premise of this one is also far from original - last person left alive, doing what needs to be done to survive. It's the relationship between Mother & Monster that kept me intrigued. The dual narrative didn't work well, Monster's POV being less engaging, the character being less developed. And some of the events were less than convincing.

What a delightful treat this is! Writing that has that easy-breezy lightness of touch that makes your eyes just gobble it up, characters that are hilarious, ludicrous, sometimes hideous, events so ridiculous but also poignant, insightful, devastatingly real - just an utter joy to read! The satire is deliciously arch, the mocking merciless but affectionate & it feels so fresh! Such a rich reading experience - the perfect blend of funny & sad.

I really dislike slating someone's hard work ... oh, who am I trying to kid ? I LOVE a good Panning!

This was incredibly dire. I hated it intensely and wish I'd not wasted my time. Definitely in my Top Ten of Worst Books Ever.

It's based on Buddhist principles, apparently. I wanted the actual Sphinx and a bit of Indiana Jones-esque action! I most definitely had the wrong book.

The author has certain words that are his obvious favourites 🙄

A lacklustre memoir. Didn't like the writing, found it annoyingly fanciful. Didn't believe some of the things the city-dweller author claims she didn't know about the countryside. No sense of place, just the author having lots of oh-so-profound epiphanies about Life. A bit boring.

A weird one, this. Premise is intriguing, but it didn't achieve its full potential. In fact, I'm not too sure what it was doing and why. Something profound is going down, that's for sure, it just seems to be passing me by! Writing is obviously that of an accomplished author, but I found it staid & stilted. The ending went off on a preachy religious tangent. Mildly engaging with moments of both "meh" and "eh?" and a touch of depressing dystopia.

Here's a rare thing - a Fredrik Backman I didn't absolutely adore. I enjoyed it, I just wasn't as enraptured as I usually am. It has FB's familiar ultra-readable flow, but I failed to fully connect with it emotionally. It was, for me, perhaps a little too whimsy-mimsy - the imaginary land device got a tad tedious/repetitive & all the personal connections were a bit contrived. And the MC is just out-there unrealistic/unconvincing. But still a Pick!

Starting this one tonight. Lovely cover 😍

With thanks to #NetGalley for this title.

Today's date. It's weird to read a book set in the future when that future is actually in the past!

Expected to not really like this one, ended up loving it! Yes, it is a bit weird (Shakespeare's appearance put me in mind of Lincoln in the Bardo - no bad thing!) and it features an incestuous relationship (handled in a way that doesn't give you The Ick) but it is just so well written & features (in the Greek myth section) 2 fantastic female characters that I was absolutely hooked. A must for fans of Greek retellings.

Well, I read this & might as well've not for all the good it did me - it neither enlightened nor entertained. Having now read several first person junkie novels, I have come to the conclusion that I really dislike the incoherent ramblings that supposedly convey the chaos of drug addiction. The descriptions of finding the next fix seem so unoriginal & tedious. There is also no plot.

My Christmas sales books - 2/2

I love a bit of Greek myth, me.

My Christmas sales books - 1/2

This is a chonk and a half! Will keep me busy for a while....

My Christmas books - 3/3

Another book about books/reading. I have filled 2 shelves of my Billy with this subject and I'm not stopping soon! 🤣

My Christmas books - 2/3

I am currently OBSESSED with books about books. It's like distilled reading!

My Christmas books - 1/3

This book brings together reading ❤️ AND stationery ❤️ thus ticking all my favourite boxes & I can't wait to start it!

This narrowly avoids an outright Pan. First part was disappointing, but I ploughed on, hopeless optimist that I am, thinking the excitement might just ramp up in the next chapter ... it didn't. Infuriatingly, it had the same tedious middle section as the last one! The characters got increasingly one dimensional & nowt much happens. The ending has a few moments of satisfying resolution, but overall, I wish I'd not bothered! Disappointing ☹️

Starting this one ... but I'm not really sure how well it's going to go. Haven't much enjoyed any of Haddon's other works & the reviews on this one are mixed. Have had a really depressing run of unsatisfying/disappointing/downright rubbish reads going on for several months now, so this one gets to 25% to turn things around ... or it's a big fat DNF from me!

Had high hopes for this one ... was a bit disappointed. Premise is juicy, characters are intriguing, writing is quality ... bit in the middle is (Black) deathly boring!!! I was nicely engaged then all this non-exciting stuff starts going on and it's all described in so much intricate and tedious detail that it ruins the flow of the book! Picks up a bit at the end but the damage was done! And it's only the first part ... can I endure book 2?!

Barely avoiding a disappointed Pan, this missed the mark for me. A few glorious turns of phrase cannot save this from being a sprawling mess. The plot is confused - heck, it's having a full-on identity crisis! The magical realism is clunky, the metaphors aren't as profound as they think they are & the characters are unlikeable (not in a good way!) Ending is depressing, very little resolution ... of anything really. Worst of all - it bored me!!!

Interesting rather than fascinating, I enjoyed this rather than adored it as I expected to.The author explores ancient Greek archaeological sites in search of the remnants of the gods - he looks for metaphorical & literal Hope (in light of the climate crisis). The writing is impressive, intelligent & at times downright hilarious. Peter's musings are thought-provoking rather than truly illuminating but it's a great blend of myth & current affairs.

Starting this one tonight - my first read of this author. It's wet and wild outside in the UK tonight, so I'm very happy to be tucked up in bed!

I can't claim to have enjoyed this. It's dull in places, a little pretentious maybe, the nonlinear narrative gets old very quickly, and the plot ... is there a plot?! But the twist in the last line knocked me sideways. It's simple & kinda obvious really, but I really did NOT see it coming. And I'm left questioning, not so much the text, but MYSELF! Why DID I believe a certain thing to be true? What does it say about me? I'm honestly disturbed!

Had this one on my shelf for a mere year and 3 months, and I'm about to read it already! Poor thing has barely had chance to acclimatise!

Anyway, Greece and Greek myths are major passions for me, so I think I'm going to enjoy this one.

Totally NOT in tune with the season, but never mind!

Bland & fluffy, this was a gentle & undemanding workout for my eyes & brain. Not exactly outstanding literature, but not entirely unpleasant either. Mildly entertaining rather than edifying. Middle of the road & more or less instantly forgettable. Overwhelmingly OK with a touch of meh. Not bad, not great. Interesting enough, but cheesy & predictable in places.

Not sure how many more ways I can say it - So-So.

Ooh, this long-time NetGalley lurker sounds really intriguing! It's next on my list - I'm going to start after work.

This is lovely. I love the writer's style, which echoes the ebb & flow of her thoughts & emotions. I love how she views her experiences of her bipolar illness & the death of her father through the lens of Japanese folklore. I love the language - poetic, tentative, wistful, melancholy - entirely conveying Jami's state of mind. I love how she engages with the concept of 'storytelling'. I love how she loves her family & their history. I just love it!

Disappointingly, it turns out this book, and the occult in general, is nowhere near as exciting - or even interesting! - as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I found the 'astral' part of this book vaguely ridiculous and the 'geographic' part (the main reason I requested it) was a little flat as well - due perhaps to the slightly lacklustre writing. I didn't get a sense of place from it at all. Maybe a little esoteric for the general reader.

Starting this one today. Pretty cover.

Great read, this one. The plot is going along really nicely - interesting stuff about a mental institution, 2 well-drawn MCs & a 'love to hate' almost psychopathic villain - when a change of POV causes an electrifying shift in perspective! My sympathies switched so quickly that I felt dizzy! And it becomes obvious who the real stone mothers are. Intriguing, sad, shocking, and cleverly written with a satisfying ending.

Slating this one feels kinda like kicking a puppy as it's just so earnestly twee, but I'm gonna do it anyway! The writing is so cringe (as "the young people" say) and the plot so cheesy that I did literally cringe most of the time I was reading this. The dialogue is borderline gibberish & some of the more, ahem, flowery similes were unintentionally hilarious. Confirmed yet again that I HATE (in block capitals, darn it!) romance.

?????

I really hated this. Firstly, because it fooled me into thinking it had an interesting storyline with, maybe, I don't know, a point. And secondly, because it inflicted upon me against my will the most senseless, unsatisfying and gruesomely gratuitous ending that left me feeling dirty and depressed.

So cross I didn't DNF.

This really hit home for me. I could totally relate to the author's situation/feelings re: the mother retiring to bed & just not bothering to parent. And the grandmother was an absolute horror as well! Generational trauma at its "finest"!!! But I loved all the bee stuff - interesting in itself but also a lovely metaphor for the author's growth & resilience, the order & cooperation juxtaposing nicely with the dysfunction of her human family.

Starting this one. My last read was so disappointing and I hated the ending so much that I really need something gentle and lovely to soothe my (book) rage!!!

A low Pick. Featuring an affair between 2 of the most vile characters I've read in a good while, and scenes of domestic abuse & animal cruelty that I felt were a little too hard-hitting for a book described as "smart and witty." It has an intriguing premise that runs out of steam in the last quarter, and, as much as I enjoyed the explanatory flashbacks, the main narrative doesn't have much resolution. Also, the vile mother needed her comeuppance!

A weak Pick as my feelings about it are thoroughly mixed. The MC is unlikeable and makes very poor decisions & it's not really obsessive love so much as delusional obsession. Half way through, I realised who this character is, a woman damaged by the death of her mother during childhood, and what she is doing, systematic "cry-for-help/recognition" self-destruction. I'm frustrated this aspect wasn't really explored & the end lacked true resolution.

The set-up of the plot is electrifying - so horribly plausible - but for me, a reader way older than the target demographic, the YA-ness of the writing defuses the power of the narrative. It's just too stylistically matter-of-fact. And teen romance just fails to move me on most days. However, the issues it addresses are significant & this book lays them out for discussion in a way genuine young adults will find disturbing but ultimately empowering

Starting this one today. Like this cover.

This weekend's read. And I'd much rather be reading it than traipsing round IKEA looking at wardrobes....

The relatively brief novel is very nicely written, kinda weird, and utterly not what I was expecting! And it's also kinda fabulous & has grown on me even since I finished it & I'm still thinking about it! It features the fictional poet Nicholas Crooke, who is hilarious and hideous, and has an ending that is full of fatalistic hope that I was slightly, and pleasantly stunned. Really didn't think I was going to like this & ended up loving it!

Starting this one this evening. That is if I manage to stay awake past 10p.m.

#rollonendofterm

I absolutely adored this book & can't think of a single reason why any self-respecting bibliophile wouldn't love it too. The reviews on the back say it all, really. It is just so elegantly written & absolutely jam-packed with fascinating stuff to do with books! My favourite section was that on 'comfort books' - the things the author had to say resonated deeply. It has a wry wit & simply vibrates with the joy & love of books. Highly recommended ❤️