Blogmas Day One - The Books That I Read in November

 

It's here, December has rolled in with the wettest of nights.  

We had almost torrential rain bucketing down all night and only easing off with the early morning light of a dull December day.  But now we can relax into the twinkling lights that sparkle in all the shops and bop to the Christmas music they play in an effort to get us parted from our money.  But now there are no glares from the 'bah humbug' brigade as we are officially on the countdown to Christmas.

It's also perfect reading weather, so after I list the books that I read in November on here for posterity, I will be digging out all the Christmas themed books from my books shelves and getting myself ready to have a very booky December.

It wasn't such a good reading month again last month just three books completed and the beginning of a fourth ... I must do better!!

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

I started the month by reading the last quarter of this book.

It was a very good read, and while I thought I had solved the crime ... I hadn't.  There was a delicious twist at the end.  This would make a brilliant binge-worth tv series.

Donated

 ... just because I rarely keep fiction books for rereading, and obviously I know who did it and why.  😄

The Money Secret by Rob Parsons

This is a very unique book written in a very unusual way and it makes it an easy read.  

I enjoyed the quirky aspect of it and really sunk into it and it's message.  There was very little that I didn't already know, having paid of large debts myself in the past and lived with little to no money for a time.  But it reinforced an awful lot for me and made me happy that I had come through this stage of my life, and indeed come through it well and learnt a lot for myself.

If only I had had this book back then, perhaps my journey would have been shorter.

This book has been kept.

Floating Home by Adam Lind

This is one of the few books that I have purchased new this year, and I have to say it was worth every penny.

Adam has written the book of his life up to now, interspersing his story with segments called 'Humans of the Waterways'.  The stories of their lives from friends of his, both new and old, many of whom I have already watched on YouTube for a long time.  The whole book was a joy and at times very philosophical.  

There was one very simple sentence that changed my whole mindset.  Basically it's when you feel that something is too much for you to cope with, simply change that you have got to do it, to that you get to do it.  I have put it into action a few times since reading the book and it's really worked.

As an example, yesterday I might have said 'I have got to go and visit Mum today'.  To be truthful I was dreading the visit after the last one when she was virtually comatose, and we both came away so sad.  Instead I said to myself when I woke up...  'I get to visit Mum today'.  Because she is still with us, because we have a car to get us down the motorway, because while I have been too bad to drive Alan has cheerfully picked up the reins and is driving us.  Just changing one letter of one word turned my thinking around and made me feel gratitude, which completely turned the day around.  Happily when we got there she was awake and totally different, which obviously is just a completely happy coincidence, but it reinforced something very powerful in me.

So this book comes highly recommended.

Kept.

The McFlannels See It Through by Helen W Pryde

I started my final book of the month only a couple of days ago, but I keep putting it down.

It's written with the speech spelt out as a Scottish person would say it, and this messes with my brain!!  I've noticed this before with books, they have to be in 'proper English' for me to really enjoy them.  

It's not as though I can't figure it out, I've obviously been with a Scotsman for over twenty years so I can quite easily decipher most of it, and the story seems to be going in a good direction.  But my poor tired brain is taking a Christmas break from this one.

Kept - to try again in the New Year.

So there might not have been much reading going on last month, but what I read was mostly very good and with three books staying on the bookshelves I get to read them again at a future date.

Sue xx

I would like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are, some of them were bought from the Used section rather than at full price.  You do not need to spend a fortune to read good books. 💖

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops. 

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in October

 

The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson

I had really high hopes for this book, but sadly I just didn't get on that well with Anne's style of writing.  Purely a personal thing I think as it is basically a good story, she just kept losing my interest and that's not what you want when you need to lose yourself in a book.

Donated.

Real Fast Puddings by Nigel Slater

I was looking for a recipe in another book when I came across this one among my full set of 'Nigel Slaters'.  I had to have a good look through it as I needed it to justify it's place on the shelves, as these days I rarely eat puddings.  There was nothing in it that I would have made, or that I didn't already know how to make, so although it was nice reading Nigel's words I can let this one go.  I no longer seem to feel the urge to own everything that an author has published be it in fiction, non-fiction or cookery books.  

Wow ... what a change in me!!

Donated.

Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch (Sophie Hinchcliffe)

I didn't know I still had this book.  I think that I bought it from a carboot sale last year ... I remember it being 50p ... and it's been squished into the far edge of the bookshelf since then.  I sort of knew that it wouldn't be staying as it's not really my sort of thing, but it made for a nice quick read over a couple of hours, and there are lots of tips and ideas amongst the strange naming of all Mrs Hinch's cleaning implements.  

Donated.

The Paris Apartment by Lucey Foley

My final read of October is this, I still have about a quarter of it to read, so I don't know who did it or why ... I wouldn't spoil it for you anyway.  😁

I don't often read this type of crime, mystery, whodunit style book, but every now and then I find one, usually like this one on the Booths charity book table for a pound, and really sink my teeth into it.

It's proving to be the best read of the month.

I'm still reading it, but it will be donated once I finish.

Here's to a brand new month, with lovely cosy, dark evenings just made for book reading and drinking coffee.

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in September

 

Walking Home by Simon Armitage

I started the month of September by finishing this book.  It was a really good read and I did enjoy it, although I think it suffered a little because I seemed to lose my reading mojo halfway through it with everything that has been going on in our lives.

As you can see quite clearly from the cover he walks the Pennine Way, unusually he walks it in reverse heading for his home, and on each evening of his journey he 'sings for his supper' by reading from his poetry books and collecting donations.

I have Simon's next book on my shelves, which is called 'Walking Away'.  In this next one he is walking the South West Coast Path.  I actually first found out about Simon through one of my favourite books The Salt Path, as Moth was mistaken for him a few times on their walk.  It was a happy discovery.

This book has now been donated.

Preloved by Lauren Bravo

This book appealed to me as quite a lot of my working life was spent volunteering at and then managing charity shops.  It is written in a really unusual style, with mini chapters interspersing the main story to tell the background of various donated items.  It pays to remember the items that you are reading about as virtually all of them then tie back to the main story in one way or another.

A relaxing and enjoyable read, but it took me quite a while as we had so much going on ... and I spent far too long playing on my phone in my downtime.

This book has been donated.

My final quick read of the month was this vegan cookbook.

It was more of a very big magazine than a cookbook really, and as such I can find no link to share with you for it.  I think I actually got it free with something that I ordered a long time ago.  It had remained unread on my kitchen shelf for far too long.

While a lot of the recipes and most of the information was very good, I didn't feel the need to keep it as I have far too many vegan and plant-based cookbooks that I use regularly.  There are only so many cookbooks that I actually need.  

I never thought I would hear myself say those words, let alone commit them to print!!

This book has been donated.

I have been a bit dismayed at my lack of reading recently, so in a bid to stop myself wasting time on my phone and encourage me to pick up my latest book I have actually deleted my Instagram account.  Sorry to all of you who followed me on there.  It was fun to share things with you while it lasted but I think from now on I will share the things that used to appear solely on there with my blog instead.

Here's to rainy days, cups of hot coffee and reading the days away.  💖

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I try provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are actually bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than at full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from other people that have read them to get a more balanced view.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in August

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

I started the month one chapter into this book.  It had been recommended to me by a few people and I could see why.  It was a good read and I learnt a lot about hares that I had no idea about before.  What a special thing to be able to do, and what a wonderful thing it led to for her.

I absolutely loved this part of the final paragraph, it's possibly the best ending to a book I've read for a long time.  💖

This book has been donated.

The Leftovers Handbook by Suzy Bowler

My second book of the month was a re-read of old time blogging buddy Suzy's book.  I got it out to look something up and it stayed out while I finished the first book so I could go right through it again.  There are so many good ideas in it.

It also appears on Amazon with this cover, a later re-publishing.

This book has been kept.

Walking Home by Simon Armitage

I took this away on holiday with me, along with another from my bookshelves.  I don't know why but I didn't quite finish it and I haven't picked it up once since I've been back.  I have about a quarter of the book left to read.

But, it is a good book and a very good read.

Still reading.

It's now Autumn and time to get cosy and keep reading. 🍄

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in July

 

It's been a good month of reading, helped I suppose by the fact that the weather has been half really nice and half really rainy.  Reading on the patio once the sun has left the area where I have my chair, with a cup of coffee and the occasional biscuit on a plate is always good for my reading mojo.  When the weather turns wet I can retreat into the lodge and sit in the cool ... with more coffee even closer at hand.

Good Food for Bad Days by Jack Monroe

The first book that I read in July was this one.  Not one of Jack's finest offerings I'm afraid, I really do think that her earlier books were so much better.

This book has been donated.

The Place of Tides by James Rebanks

Alan bought me this book while we were on holiday in Thornthwaite, Cumbria earlier this Summer.  We were in Booths buying some bits for our evening meal and they had a wonderful book selection there with lots of local authors, and James is from Cumbria.  I rarely buy books, even new books at full price but Alan talked me into it ... you can imagine how easy that was.  😄

It is a wonderful book and a very special read, telling of his time spent on a remote Norwegian island with one of the last of the 'duck-ladies'.  Helping build the duck houses, looking after the ducks and then harvesting the eider-down ... the traditional non-cruel way.

Nigel's review sums it up perfectly in just a few words.

Kept.

Upside Down Cooking by Dominic Franks

I actually treated myself to this as a pre-order to get a bit of a discount.  I follow Dominic on Instagram now, I used to follow his blog way back in the day when we lived on our second smallholding and I had a HUGE collection of cookbooks.  We shared random recipes from random books each month.

This novel approach to cooking is so unusual that I just have to try it out ... there is a sheet of ready rolled pastry in my fridge just waiting for me to spring into action.

It will be ... 'So Good'.  

(If you know you know!!)

Kept.

Educated by Tara Westover

This is an outstanding book and one that I was recommended to read and I'm glad that I did.  It's brutal in places, with violence towards the writer graphically told, but overall the story is heart-warming as she comes to understand that her upbringing and lack of education can be changed.  She takes small steps forwards rather than great strides but ultimately makes a great and very educated life for herself.

After reading the book I did some research on Tara and her family, it was very interesting.

This book has been donated.

Lifting the Latch by Sheila Stewart

I just could not get into this book at all, which really disappointed me.  I gave it a good shot, but maybe because the last three books had been so good this one was a bit of a let down.  I gave up just a quarter of the way through.

This book has been donated.

Veg by Lucy Tweed

Another book that Alan bought for me, luckily it was half price at the garden centre because I didn't think very much of it.  Her humour just wasn't mine and the foods although tasty looking just were not that special and occasionally over-complicated.

This book has been donated.

I am already into my first book of August, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton and it is shaping up to be a very good read.  So, I'm hoping for lots of sunny days on the patio, finding shade under the umbrella with copious mugs of coffee, and lots of time for reading in the month ahead.

Happy reading.  📚

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in June

 

Free - by Katharine Hibbert

As usual just click on the links to Amazon to read more about these books, and to get other peoples views on what I read last month. 

The first book that I read in June was Free, I really enjoyed this although it wasn't quite the book that I was expecting.  It's more about being free, giving up everything, walking away from your life and being homeless.  Squatting in disused buildings and old houses, the legalities of doing this and how the people that do this as a way of life get by.

Even though it was not what I was expecting to read it was very interesting and touched on things that I knew absolutely nothing about, and those of you who know me through my years of blogging know that I love learning.  To my mind there is always something new to learn and the day we stop learning is the day we die.

This book has been donated.

The Woman Who Took a Chance by Fiona Gibson

A bit of light summer reading for some hot summer days.  This was a break into fiction for me, something that I do more and more in the lighter, hotter days of summer.  I enjoyed it and it's well written, with an ending that I didn't guess, which in a way made it all the more enjoyable.  If you guess the ending halfway through a book the actual ending is going to be a disappointing ... and I do like a nice surprise in a book.

This book has been donated.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

It had to be done!!

After going to see the film a couple of weeks ago, I just had to reread The Salt Path ... and on rereading, it still is one of my favourite books.  Parts of the film that I thought they hadn't got quite right, like how it began, were actually spot on, my memory was at fault.  The film follows the book very well, it skips things which in my opinion are slightly shall we say 'naughty' ... like pitching tent on the edge of a golf course ... for good reason, they obviously don't want copycat backpackers and walkers following suit.

I really enjoyed my reread of this book and it remains on my bookshelves.

Vegan Feasts by Rose Elliott

My next read was something completely different, a book of vegan recipes by Rose Elliott, the queen of vegetarian cookbooks.  It's a good book and has enough good recipes that I fancy trying to make it earn it's place on my cookbook shelves.

Kept.

Tin Can Cook by Jack Monroe

I finished the month with another recipe book off my small kitchen shelves.  I've not even looked at this book since I bought it and read through it in 2018, so it doesn't seem to be in my repertoire of most used cookbooks.  While there are some very good ideas in this book, they alone do not warrant me keeping it on my shelf.

This book has been donated.

That's it folks another month of reading, and I am already into this month's.  

The current hot weather makes sitting in the cool of the lodge, or out on the patio once the shade has reached the garden chairs, very appealing, so whenever possible I am just giving into it.  I have now started a new habit of choosing four books at the end of each month ready for reading the following month and placing them ready for action on the shelf above the radiator.  It is not compulsory that I actually read them, but it does make the decision process easier when I reach the end of one book to know that there is another already chosen for me.  📚

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in May

 

It's a nice new month, and although the weather outside the window seems to think we have rushed into Autumn, here inside the house it's pleasantly warm without any heating on.  The wind blowing a hoolie outside makes me glad to be sat at my desk with the kettle within reach, and for once I have found some biscuits in the cupboard so there are now biscuits in the gravy tin ... don't ask.  😄

Well if you really need to know ... I had just finished all the Bisto gravy granules, washed out the tin and then realised that I didn't have another tin small enough in size to keep my little packet of biscuits nice and crisp.

Bookworm by Lucy Mangan

It's been a really slow reading month this month and I managed just two books ... yep two!!

Alan bought me Lucy's latest book 'Bookish' a while ago when we were in Wales, and lots of you told me about this earlier one.  So I ordered it from Amazon from the second hand section, and it made sense to read this one first as it's about all her childhood reading as opposed to Bookish which is about her more up to date reading.

I loved it.  

As a child I read so many of the same books as Lucy so it was nice to reminisce about Milly, Molly, Mandy, Just William, the Narnia books et al.  I lost a bit of interest in her early teenage reading as I was never one for the horse riding stories or boarding school sagas, I guess living in inner city Manchester I just couldn't relate.  But I picked up again a bit later in the book and overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've kept this one.

Thea and Denise by Caroline Bond

At first I thought this was going to be a direct rip off of Thelma and Louise, and indeed for a while it seems to be heading in exactly the same way, but happily the story opens up and it's a really good read in it's own right and my plagiarism fears were quashed.

I took it with me to a few places where I was kept waiting, reading it at every opportunity and then finished it off in one huge binge read whilst accompanying Alan to the hospital.  (We were there for over 13 hours, so another book could, indeed should, have travelled with me!)   I always find that fiction books suit me well for waiting situations and this was a nice easy read. 

It would be great as a holiday read too.

And that believe it or not, was the total sum of my May reading.  😐

This has now been donated.

I admit I did not read enough books.

I will read more this month.

I have already chosen my next three reads.  😁

Sue xx

I would just like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are some of them were bought from the Used section rather than full price.  

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops.  

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚

The Books That I Read in April

 

I only read a couple of books during April, but those that I did read I really enjoyed.

 The Cottage Garden Diaries by Fiona J. Houston

 I bought this book back in 2016 and fell in love with it immediately.  I hadn't re-read it for a long time and with the previous book I read in March being so disappointing, I wanted to move onto something that I just knew I would love to read all over again, so I started the month with it. Click on the link to read more about it.

Her house and the little cottage in her garden are just outside Innerleithen in Scotland where my sister-in-law lives, so it was nice to be able to picture the places that Fiona talked about walking to and from, and the shops that she frequented when she walked into town.

I have kept this book. 

The Way Home by Mark Boyle

A book that I thought I had read before, but after reading through about a quarter of it I found a book mark, and it turned out that the rest was all fresh to me.  So something must have stopped me from finishing it the first time that I read it when it was new back in 2019.

I don't know what my notes were in aid of, it's usually shopping lists that I find in books ... which is really handy when I am in Sainsbury's, pondering on what I wrote on the list!!

The card was one off a blog reader a few years ago and is my current bookmark ... to try and stop me using shopping lists.  😄

Anyway it is a really good and thought provoking read, and has made me want to go back and read his first book again.

I have also kept this book.

30 Minute Suppers by Nigel Slater

My last book of the month was this tiny book by Nigel Slater.

It is a tiny little book that I purchased years ago and definitely not for the price it is currently being advertised on Amazon for.  There were few recipes that I would have made, so I had a read through, made a few notes and then donated it to the book table in Booths.

Donated.

Strangely, I wasn't in the mood for starting another book right at the end of the month, so I took some time to read through some of my old The Simple Things magazines, before donating them to the charity book table.

So although it doesn't at first glance appear to be a very 'booky' month, the two main books that I did read I really enjoyed.  It's good when you can really sink into a book and it gets you thinking about things isn't it.

Sue xx

I would like to point out, that although I provide links to Amazon for all the books that I read each month, not all my books are bought from Amazon.  If they are, some of them were bought from the Used section rather than at full price.  You do not need to spend a fortune to read good books. 💖

I share the links so that you can learn more about the books that I write about for yourself, or read reviews from others that have read them.  Of course most of the books I talk about would also be available from your local library, and if you are very lucky you might even find them in charity or thrift shops. 

There are so many ways to bring books into your home if you love reading. 📚