Jenny (Socialpages) Joins the Challenge

Hi I'm Jenny. I live in Sydney, Australia. I enjoy running, swimming, knitting and obviously, reading. I'm retired and have plenty of time to indulge my hobbies.

This year I'm going to prioritise reading books from my book shelf first, then books for my book club and books that I have reserved in 2022 from my local library and I'm still waiting for.

Well it's not even the end of January and I've already purchased new books. I still want to read from my tbr shelf but I couldn't resist purchasing these new books. Two of them are for group reads on LT and the other two were books I'd been looking at for a long time.

January

1. Lily A Tale of Revenge by Rose Tremaine
2. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
3. Marple Twelve New Stories

Month Total: 3
Year Total: 3

February

1. South Riding by Winifred Holtby
2. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
3. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
4. Conference at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
5. Trespass by Rose Tremain
6. Stone Blind by Rose Tremain

Month Total: 6
Year Total: 9

March

1. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
2. Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
3. Silas Marner by George Eliot AUDIO
4. Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow
5. The Yield by Tara June Winch
6. The It Girl by Ruth Ware
7. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

Month Total: 7
Year Total: 16

April

1. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
2. House of Names by Colm Toibin
3. If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
4. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
5. Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey

Month Total: 5
Year Total: 21

May>b/>

1. Joan by Katherine J Chen
2. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
3. Passing by Nella Larssen
4. She and Her Cat by Naruki Nagakawa
5. Room No 10 Ake Edwardson
6. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
7. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

Month Total: 7
Year Total: 28

June

1. The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon
2. The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith by Thomas Kenneally
3. Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth
4. Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
5. The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley
6. Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
7. The Measure by Nikki Erlick
8. The Power of Possibility by Alex Andre

Month Total: 8
Year Total: 36

July

1. Before the Coffee Gets Cold Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
2. A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon AUDIO
3. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
4. Pamela by Samuel Richardson
5. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
7. American Dirt b Jeanine Cummins

Month Total: 7
Year Total: 43

August

1. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
2. One Step Too Far AUDIO by Lisa Gardner
3. Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
4. Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati
5. Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie
6. Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks
7. Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
8. Yellow face by Rebecca Kuang

Month Total: 8
Year Total: 51

September
1. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler
2. One Good Turn AUDIO by Kate Atkinson
3. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson AUDIO
4. Weyward by Emilia Hart
5. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon
6. The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami
7. Revenge by Yoko Ogawa

Month Total: 7
Year Total: 58

October

1. The Boy and The Dog by Seichu Hase
2. Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
3. River of Dreams by Anita Heiss
4. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
5. Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain
6. The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson
7. The Mill House Murders By Yukito Ayatsuji
8. Cousin Phillis by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. North Woods by Daniel Mason
10. Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge AUDIO
11. Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson

Month Total: 11
Year Total: 69

November

1. Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J Farmer
2. The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Lisa Lawson
3. When Will there be Good News? by Kate Atkinson AUDIO
4. Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena
5. Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley
6. If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
7. Morgan is My Name by Sophie Keetch
8. No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
9. The Appeal by Janice Hallett
10. The Children by Edith Wharton

Month Total: 10
Year Total: 79

December

1. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
2. Started Early Took the Dog by Kate Atkinson
3. Christmas Escape by Ann Perry
4. Ghosts in the Gloaming by Denzil Meyrick
5. Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
6. The Cove by Cynan Jones
7. Finishing School by Muriel Spark
8. Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena
9. The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths
10. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
11. Furies Stories of the wicked, wild and untamed

Month Total: 11
Year Total: 90

Lily A Tale of Revenge by Rose Tremain

I do love a good revenge tale. The Count of Monte Cristo comes to mind as the best example of this genre. In the case of Lily, she takes her revenge but does get any peace from her actions. Early on in the novel the reader learns that Lily is a murderer but we don't know who she killed or why. Lily can't forget what she has done and it haunts her. She expects to be discovered and hanged for her crime.

As a new born baby, Lily was left in a basket in bleak, snowy weather. She was found by a policeman who takes her to the Foundling Hospital where she is fostered by Nellie Buck and lives on a farm. For six years Lily is loved and nurtured as one of the Buck family. Then as the law of the time prescribed Lily must be returned to the Foundling Hospital where she is treated cruelly. Lily's best friend commits suicide and Lily is abused by one of the caretakers.

An easy read though not my favourite Rose Tremain book.
3 stars

Happy reading, Jenny and it is great to see you back again.

Welcome back, Jenny!

Happy reading in 2023, Jenny!

Thank you Paul, Anita (and Frank) and Jim. It feels great to be back for my 5th year in a row.

2023 has started well. My first book Lily was a good beginning and I followed it up with Trollope's The Way We Live Now. I'm engrossed in this book. It's a big book (over 750 pages) and a delight to read. I'm just over half way and it will take me another week or so to finish it.

I have twenty-eight unread books on my shelves which I would like to read this year. I'll need to read at least two of these books a month to have a chance of completing my goal. It won't be easy as some of these books are quite chunky. If I'm not enjoying a book I won't finish it. I've started the year with The Way We Live Now. It's so good I bought two more books by Anthony Trollope which are also on my TBR list.

I'm jumping on the "read 23 in 2023" trend so I'm giving myself permission to not read all of the books on my TBR2023 shelf!

My TBR books:-

1. Angela Carter's Book of Wayward Girls by Angela Carter
2. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
3. Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Room No 10 by Ake Edwardsson
5. When the Floods Came by Clare Morrall
6. A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah
7. The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Eriksson
8. I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki
9. Old Goriot by Honore Balzac
10.The Mulberry Tree by Elizabeth Bowen
11 Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
12 The Sound And the Fury by William Faulkner
13 Conference at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
14 A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
15 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
16 A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
17 Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
18 Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
19 Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope
20 He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope
21 Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
22 Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
23 Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
24 If We Were Villains by M L Rio
25 Passing by Nella Larsen
26 Quicksand by Nella Larsen
27 The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
28 Trespass by Rose Tremain

>8 socialpages: 27! Oh that my TBR was that small. Best of luck on your progress - I see quite a lot of good titles are on the list.

>9 ffortsa: I know 27 isn't really a lot of book compared to most people but it worries me. All these great books that I did want to read being ignored for newer, shinier books that I discover. It's hard to visit to the library and not leave with a handful of books!

>8 socialpages: 27 is a descent amount, I hope I can knock my physical TBR down to that size someday. Lots of interesting books on this list, I'm actually trying to read I Am A Cat right now. Good luck with your goal!

Marple Twelve New Stories

I thought this cover was brilliant. It's colourful and eye catching. I loved this book. Normally a short story collection will have one of two stories that are wonderful, a few that are so so and a few that are meh but I found ten of the twelve stories were wonderful. The different authors captured Agatha Christie's style and Miss Marple perfectly. A very easy, comfort read.

If you like Agatha Christie I think you will love this book.

4 stars

South Riding by Winifred Holtby

Unfortunately, my copy of the book has the tv tie in cover and not the glorious cover above. This is a Virago Modern Classic and is their January group read. I'm a bit behind the group (due to reading a Trollope tome) and probably won't finish by January 31.

I'd never heard of Winifred Holt so I was excited to read South Riding. There's a large number of characters but there's a list of who's who at the start which I appreciate.

UPDATE: I finished this rather long book and it was a great read. Holtby has written about the people who live in the area of South Riding. It's set after the first World War and the economy is depressed; people are struggling to find work and feed their families. The list of characters provided at the front of the book is five pages long! The characters are varied and I quickly became invested in their day to day lives. There are farmers, land owners, councillors, small business owners, teachers, spinsters, alcoholics, socialists. Holtby delves into mental health, marriages (both good and bad), feminism, poverty, relationships, ethics and morality.

4 stars

>13 socialpages: That is the cover I have, Jenny!

>8 socialpages: I will join you for Passing if it is one of your 23 this year.

Have a great weekend.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

I really liked this cover. It captures the essence of this book. I picked up this book as I enjoyed An American Marriage and thought I would try another of Jones' novels. The blurb was intriguing. "A man's deception. A family's complicity. And two teenage girls caught in the middle"

James Witherspoon has two families: a public one and a secret one. His two daughters meet and become friends. Chapters are narrated by each girl so we get to know both families. Inevitably disaster strikes and secrets are revealed. Fragile teenage egos are shaken.

4 stars

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

Set in a Mennonite colony in Bolivia Women Talking is based on a true story. For years several of the men had been drugging and raping the women of the community. The women would wake up sore and bleeding but were told that the devil was punishing them for their sins. Some become pregnant. One woman attacks one of the perpetrators with a scythe when she discovers her 3yr old daughter has been sexually abused. The police attend and the men are arrested and placed in jail. The other men leave to pay the jailed men's bail so they can return to the community.

The women have to decide whether they will do nothing, stay and fight or leave the colony. Their religion requires them to forgive the rapists so that they can all go to heaven. The Mennonite colony is a patriarchal society and the women are uneducated, illiterate and have zero knowledge of the world outside their community. The book covers the two days in which the men are away and the women debate to decide their future path.

3 1/2 stars
Very interesting concept. And scary because it's a true story that happened this century.

Conference at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

This has been on my book shelf for a few years. I had read and enjoyed Cold Comfort Farm so I was keen to try this sequel.

Our no-nonsense heroine Flora Poste (Robert Poste's child) is back at Cold Comfort Farm but all is not well. The Starkadders have sold the farm. Reuben is the only male cousin left, the others are off seeking their fortunes in South Africa. The remaining girl cousins are miserable.

The Farm is hosting the International Thinkers' Group Conference and Flora is there as an unpaid hostess. The delegates are artists, poets, intellectuals, sages and managerial productivity experts. Gibbons portrays these delegates as ridiculous, pretentious and talentless.

Nowhere near as good as Cold Comfort Farm, I can only give this novel 1 star. Don't bother reading it.

Trespass by Rose Tremain

I thought this book was wonderful; well written with interesting well-rounded but flawed characters. The plot involves siblings: one English brother and sister and a French brother and sister. The siblings have had traumatic childhoods which have haunted their adult lives. They are now in their 60s and the siblings intersect over a real estate deal with catastrophic results.

I'm going to give this book 4 stars. It's great to see older men and women as main characters. The ending was very satisfying too.

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

I can't read enough of books that bring ancients myths to life in a new and different way. Stone Blind is Medusa's story from her perspective. The roles of Jason and Medusa are reversed: Jason is the monster and Medusa the innocent victim. Jason is not a hero but a spoiled, ignorant boy who is not up to the task of killing Medusa without the help of Hermes, Athena and Zeus.

4 stars

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I would never have picked this book up based on the cover design (the American cover is even worse). To me the cover makes the book seem like it would be a frivolous, humerous, not-too-serious book, possibly a romance. Lessons in Chemistry is a romance and is at times funny but it is a serious look at the restrictions placed on women in the 1950s and 60s especially in academia and the workplace. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, is a chemist. She's smart, serious, single-minded and dedicated to her research on abiogenesis. Elizabeth loses the love of her life, Calvin, an award winning chemist whilst she is pregnant. She also loses her job and her research is appropriated by her boss.

Fate intervenes and Elizabeth lands a job hosting a tv cooking show. She turns cooking into a chemistry lesson. The show becomes widely popular. She encourages and empowers women not to limit themselves, to strive for what they want and not settle.

In the end, wrongs are righted and Elizabeth returns to work on abiogenesis as head chemist.

I loved this book. 4 1/2 stars

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

A slow start with lots of characters to remember eventually became a can't stop reading kind of book. Set in the 1920s, Nellie Coker and her family run five popular clubs in London but the police are intent on breaking up her monopoly and rival groups want to take over he businesses. There's also two girls from York, Florence and Freda, who have run away to the bright lights of London intent on a stage career. But the police are pulling murdered young girls out of the Thames and Chief Inspector Frobisher is investigating.

Gwendolyn Kelling has left her job at York Library and is in London to find Florence and Freda. She joins forces with Chief Inspector Frobisher. The plot threads intersect and the loose ends are mostly tied up. Gwendolyn Kelling is a wonderful character. Smart, resourceful and looking for more out of life.

4 stars

Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow

Long listed for the Women's Prize 2023 and well reviewed by book tubers I was looking forward to reading this novel and it didn't disappoint. Beautifully written. No surprise that Tara Stringfellow is a poet.
Memphis is the story of the North family. They are a family of strong, black women.
4 stars

Hi, stopping in to say you're doing some interesting reading here. No overlap so far for me but I'll keep poking in to see what's going on!

>23 ursula: Hi ursula thanks for stopping by. I love your idea of "book roulette". It's a great way to discover new authors and new favourite books. I'm a knitter/crocheter too!

BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE THIS YEAR

EASY STEPS TO QUALITY DECISION MAKING
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1J2GSPDB0C1J2GSPD

BEST WAYS TO RETAIN MEMORY
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1J3N3G8

DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE (KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1J2N4H3

GOODBYE DEPRESSION
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1JGKTTL

HANDLING IMPERFECTIONS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1J3J8FY

WHO AM I?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1JBC67S

WHAT CAREER FITS ME BEST?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1JBC67M

I RECOMMEND YOU GET SOME FOR YOURSELF

Great to see you back and posting and reading such a wonderful selection of books. I have many of those on the shelves and want to get to all of them eventually.

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

I bought this book for 50 cents from the library sale. What a bargain. This is a fantastic debut novel and I will definitely be looking out for her next book.

Set in Nigeria Yejilde marries the man she loves, Akin, but after several years of marriage they have no children. This is a cause of anguish and shame for them. Akin's family encourage him to take a second wife, Funmi. This is where the book takes a surprising plot turn. This is a novel about secrets, betrayal, Nigerian society pressure on childless couples and the pain of losing a child.

Highly recommended 4 1/2 stars.

>32 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Thanks I'm trying to be more consistent in keeping records of my reading.

The Children by Edith Wharton

I picked this book up in my local second-hand book store. I am a fan of Edith Wharton's writing but had not heard of this book before.

Martin Boyne is a bachelor in his 40s and is travelling on a cruise ship to meet up with the love of his life, Rose, who is now a widow and free to marry Martin. On the ship he meets The Wheaters - 7 children ranging from infant to 15 year old Judith. They seven children are a mix of siblings and step siblings involving three different sets of parents. The children want to stay together as a 'family' despite their parents continual cycle of marriage, divorce and re-marriage.

Martin is outraged at the plight of the children and the selfishness of the various parents who travel the world living out of hotels with scant regard for their offspring unless it's to use them as bargaining chips in their current divorce. Martin champions the children's wish to stay together and becomes infatuated with Judith, the eldest Wheater, to the detriment of his relationship with Rose. I was disconcerted by Martin's infatuation for teenage Judith which was inappropriate. Fortunately Wharton did not stray into Lolita territory.

A sad ending, as expected from a book by Edith Wharton, but an appropriate one. I think this is a book that will stay with me.

3 stars

Congratulations on reaching 75 in November, Jenny!

Congrats on hitting the goal!

Thinking about you during the festive season, Jenny

2023 was a great reading year for me. I had a lot of 4-5 star reads and was introduced to a host of new authors. The only downside was that whilst I reduced by TBR shelf by 8 books I purchased more than 8 books so my TBR shelf needs some love and attention in 2024.

My favourite books in 2023 include:
The Bandit Queens
Weyward
Small Things like These
North Woods
Lessons in Chemistry
Stay With Me
Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
Wandering Souls
Tidy Endings
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

With honourable mentions to:
American Dirt
Clytemnestra
Morgan is My Name
Treason by Rose Tremain