The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I am thoroughly enjoying this weather. You can’t beat reading a book in the sunshine.
What I am Currently Reading
Over the last few days I have really been pushing with this book. I am really enjoying this book which makes a nice change as book 5 nearly finished me off from continuing with this series.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I finished this on Monday and I absolutely loved it. I found it really interesting and rather sad at times.
What I Think I will Read Next
I’m currently emptying out a room which has been used as a box room and I’m finding a lot of books I had forgotten I own which means my TBR has gotten even longer. The room will eventually be turned into the library so watch this space as I will keep you all updated.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
Sadly, my reading is still not great and I am beginning to think that maybe I should lower my goals for this year. I think there is just too much chaos going on currently with the building work on the house and it is putting me off my reading.
What I am Currently Reading
I’ve taken a break from the Alison Weir because I felt like an easier read. I’m thoroughly enjoying Yellowface so far. Lord of Chaos is still plodding along, I’m currently averaging 10 pages a night.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I finally managed to bring myself to read the last Discworld book. This has sat on my book trolley since the day it was released and I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it but last week I decided the time was right.
What I Think I will Read Next
I really want to get a good amount of reading done this summer and I’m hoping some of these books will be the ones that I read.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
The chilling discovery of a downed World War II plane with a body inside leads Ruth and DCI Nelson to uncover a wealthy family’s secrets in the seventh Ruth Galloway mystery.
Norfolk is suffering from record summer heat when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery—a downed World War II plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realises that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.
Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking on the outskirts of Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?
Laced with dry humour and anchored by perennial fan favourite Ruth, The Ghost Fields will delight fans new and old.
Review
I recently had Covid and felt pretty rough and so I needed a comfort read. Elly Griffiths’ books are always my comfort reads. I truly believe that the Dr Ruth Galloway books just keep getting better and better and just when I think they can’t get any better they do.
I love catching up with my favourite characters in these books and seeing what they are up to. Each book in the series shows a progression in their lives and I just love watching them grow especially Kate. Cathbad as ever is my all time favourite character although I was disappointed that Thing his dog didn’t feature more in this book. Cathbad is such a magical soul and cares for everyone and all things. The world would definitely be a better place if we had more people like Cathbad. Nelson was his usual self in this book which I was pleased about but it still annoys me that he insists on calling Kate, Katie.
There were a few surprises for me in this book especially around certain relationships but I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was only fair in a certain case. The other surprise was found on a pig farm but I will say no more.
The historical research in this book was impeccable as per usual and it was really interesting to read about the RAF in WW2 and the different airbases in Norfolk. So much history is left in these abandoned airfields which are called Ghost Fields.
As usual the scene setting and imagery that Griffiths uses is just sublime and I always pester my best friend who lives in Norfolk about all the places that are mentioned in the story (I want to visit them all). I also thoroughly loved the dramatic weather that featured in this book and it really added to the intensity of the story, although the giant duck boat was an amusing surprise and definitely unexpected. Another 5 Dragon rating for a book from the Dr Ruth Galloway series.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly’s husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece’s head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
Apologies for not posting much recently. I decided I needed a little break from blogging and it has done me the world of good. It has also meant that I have managed some more reading as well.
My chosen book to feature today is one that I purchased back in 2018 and I have still not read it! I think it is high time I read it but first I need to find it!
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly, the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger…
“We always look forward. We never look back.”
That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklyn, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered. An enormous, ornate hand made of an exceptionally rare metal, which predates all human civilisation on the continent.
“But this thing … it’s different. It challenges us. It rewrites history.”
An object whose origins and purpose are perhaps the greatest mystery humanity has ever faced. Solving the secret of where it came from – and how many more parts may be out there – could change life as we know it.
“It dares us to question what we know about ourselves.”
But what if we were meant to find it? And what happens when this vast, global puzzle is complete…?
The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I had a lovely morning teaching primary school students about woodwind instruments, between teaching I have managed some reading as well.
What I am Currently Reading
I’m still plodding along with these books. I keep taking a break at the weekends to read a more light hearted book which is probably slowing my progress.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
Thoroughly enjoyed this and it was the perfect comfort read whilst I had covid. Review will follow shortly.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I have no idea what I will read next but it might be one of these books.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Things change; we have to recognise that; the world will not stay still. What we must hope is that the new is better and stronger than the old. Anno Domini 1546. In a manor house in England a young woman feels the walls are closing round her, while her dying husband is obsessed by his vision of a chapel where prayers will be said for his immortal soul. As the days go by and the chapel takes shape, the outside world starts to intrude. And as the old ways are replaced by the new, the people of the village sense a dangerous freedom. The Book of Days is a beautifully written novel of lives lived in troubled times and the solace to be found in nature and the turning seasons.
Review
This is my first book by Francesca Kay and I will be honest I really didn’t gel with the book for the first half and almost gave up several times. I loved the imagery used in the book and the detailed descriptions of the scenery and different seasons but I found the book lacked direction and spent a lot of time meandering around and not really going anywhere.
Alice is a character who is basically lost which seems strange because her world is so small and isolated. She is desperate for children but she is married to a much older man who is dying and she is trapped on her husband’s estate with no possibility of adventure. When Alice escapes the sick room of her husband she explores the grounds and also spends a lot of time seeing all the improvements taking place on the chapel. The chapel is her husband’s obsession and his plan is to one day be laid to rest in a grand tomb and have prayers said everyday for his soul. It is clear Alice’s husband is worried about his immortal soul but we don’t know why. However, the outside world is about to encroach on Alice’s small and sheltered world and it is not going to go well and her husband’s plan for his immortal soul might not be going according to his wishes. The way people worship and use their churches is about to change and the change will not be gentle.
There were so many times in this book that I wanted to shake Alice. She is such a gentle soul but her step daughter Agnes is clearly trouble and clearly in need of a firm hand which nobody seems willing to give and to me Alice should have been that firm hand and also put her foot down to how Agnes treated her. Alice just wants to be friends with everyone and nice to everyone and sometimes that just means you get walked over and this happens to poor Alice.
The thing that saved this book for me was the detail and imagery because the characters and lack of direction really put me off at times. I also didn’t enjoy the latin snippets in the book because I found they detracted from the flow of the text and didn’t really add anything. I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Francesca Kay’s first novel, An Equal Stillness, won the Orange Award for New Writers in 2009. She lives in Oxford with her family.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week so far. My chosen book to feature off my Goodreads TBR today is one that has sat on my Goodreads TBR for a very long time. I added The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society way back in 2019.
To give them hope she must tell their story.
It’s 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer’s block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever.
Took a break from these over the weekend to read a comfort read but I’m now back to reading them. I’m finding Queens of the Age of Chivalry so interesting as I am learning so much I didn’t know before about this period of history.
As we are now half way through the year I thought it was time for a check in on my Bookish Goals for 2024.
What were my goals…
Read 50 books
Read 24 books that I own in 2024 (official list will be published soon)
Finish the Shardlake series by C. J Sansom
Read at least one chapter from The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan a day. I started The Shadow Rising yesterday and have read just over 2 chapters so far.
Keep going with my Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club challenges.
Keep up to date with my book reviews.
Read 50 books
I really lowered my target for this year because I planned on reading some very big books. However, this target is not going very well because so far I have only managed to read 19 books of that target. I’m really hoping to catch up during the summer holidays but I am worried I might have fallen too far behind.
24 Books in 2024
Technically I should have read half of the list by now but yet again I am behind! Here are the books I have read off the list so far.
The Midnight Folk by John Masefield
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women by Emma Southon
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Finish the Shardlake series
Well this isn’t going to plan because I haven’t picked up a Shardlake book all year! Hopefully I will manage to read the next book in the series but I doubt I will finish it this year.
Wheel of Time
My original plan for this challenge was one Wheel of Time chapter a day but I have slightly adapted it. Basically I am now reading the Wheel of Time books at night. This means sometimes I manage a few pages and sometimes I manage several chapters. I’m making steady progress with the books which I’m happy about.
Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club Challenges
These challenges are sadly not progressing at the moment. I really hope to get moving on them soon though and have several books lined up for my summer reading.
Book Reviews
So far I am up to date on my book reviews which is big progress because every year I am usually way behind.
Overall, my challenges are not going well but I am really hoping I will manage to pull them back soon.
I hope everyone has made better progress with their challenges than I have so far this year.
Lady Book Dragon 