T is for Taylor (A-Z Challenge 2026) 23/4/26

The A-Z home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read. More about the books I've read than the authors themselves.

I'm an avid reader. I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library. I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts. You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The T authors I've read are:

• Taylor C L
• Teague Paul J
• Tessaro Kathleen
• Thomas Jo
• Thompson James                                                                
• Tokarczuk Olga
• Tolkien J R R
• Toltz Steve
• Tomlin Jenny
• Toon Page
• Tope Rebecca
• Townsend Sue
• Tremain Rose
• Tremayne S K
• Trollope Joanna
• Truss Lynne
• Tsiolkas Christos
• Turley Jane
• Anne Tyler

Joanna Trollope is my most read T author with 6 books.  A change from my usual crime thrillers, Trollope writes about the trials and tribulations of domestic life.  And I think she's very good at it.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien tick the classics box.  I loved the Hobbit.  I've read it twice.  But Lord of the Rings took me a while to get through.  I do enjoy a bit of fantasy, now and again, and we had all the films on DVD so I had to get through the book.  I always prefer to read then watch. And once I'd finished the book I binge watched the films.

One crime story on there that I would probably never have read if the book hadn't been gifted to me was Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.  I didn't find this book an easy read - it took me quite a few days and it's not actually that long.  The blurb on the cover sums up the book quite well and it is about the mystery surrounding several deaths in a community in Poland with an ending I hadn't predicted.

Why 5 stars?  Because it is beautifully written.  It's clever.  It doesn't just tell the story. I wouldn't say I loved it but I can appreciate why the author is a Nobel prize winner.

There's also a 1 star book on this list, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.

At 485 pages this is quite a long book given it all relates to "The Slap" that takes place during an afternoon barbecue for friends and family.  (Not a spoiler - that's quoted in the blurb.)  What follows is the story of subsequent events as seen through the eyes of 8 of the people who witnessed the event.  Time moves forward as we are given insights into the lives of each of these 8 people.

Clearly Tsiolkas has a good understanding of people but I found the style of interspersing actual speech with the thoughts of the person annoying.  I had to check for quotation marks on many occasions to separate one from the other.  And the characters were horrible.  I nearly gave up after about  a third of the book but I really hate to DNF and this was a book earmarked for a challenge choice so I made it to the end, just.  I think it's fair to say that the idea of "the slap" being a catalyst for an interesting book did not deliver.

It also contains lots of swearing, sexual scenes and racism.

What makes you give a book 1 star?

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 22/4/26

Joyce provides the questions, we provide the answers and the link up is here.

1. April 22nd is Earth Day...what's the most 'out of this world' place on earth you've ever visited? Tell us something about it. 

I'm not sure I've been anywhere that I would list as out of this world.  I've been up mountains skiing and the Norwegian Fjords were pretty spectacular but that's about it.

2. A favourite quote, verse, or song lyric with the word earth in it? 

Well I had to do some googling for this but I quite like Michael Jackson's Earth song as appropriate for Earth Day.  But for something more cheerful I'd go for Heaven is a place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle.

3. What's the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion? 

Putting things back where they belong.  I hate things being out of place so that I can't find them.  I commented on Monday about my dustpan and brush being missing.  It's usually in the cupboard under the kitchen sink but it is missing.  It has to be somewhere but it's proving elusive.

4. What's your most commonly used kitchen utensil or tool? What's the last thing you made using that tool? 

Our air fryer gets used most days.  It was used for bacon this morning.

5. Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me a great book of 3000 questions, and I'm going to try to use one in our Hodgepodge every week. Here is today's - 

What is your greatest extravagance? 

Not sure it was my greatest extravagance but I can remember the first time I bought a brand new car that it was probably not the best move given how much a car goes down in value as soon as you drive it away from the dealer.

I also spent more to get my engagement ring repaired recently than the ring cost when new but I'd managed to lose a diamond from it and the setting needed repairing too.  That was worth every penny though.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our flights are booked.  We're heading to Vermont in June!

S is for Salinger (A-Z Challenge 2026) 22/4/26

The A-Z home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read. More about the books I've read than the authors themselves.

I'm an avid reader. I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library. I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts. You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The S authors I've read are:

• Salazar Noelle
• Salinger J D
• Samson Polly
• Sandy Claire
• Sansom C J
• Seeber Claire
• Sebold Alice
• Serle Rebecca
• Seton Anya
• Sewell Anna
• Shaffer Mary Ann
• Shemilt Jane
• Shortall Eithne
• Shriver Lionel
• Simms Gill
• Slaughter Karin
• Smith Dodie
• Sparks Nicholas
• Spyri Johanna
• Stanley Mary
• Stedman M L
• Danielle Steel
• Steeples Jill
• Steinbeck John
• Steiner Susie
• Stevenson Benjamin
• Stevenson Robert Louis
• Stockett Kathryn
• Stone Lisa
• Strout Elizabeth
• Summers Judith
• Swaby Rachel
• Swain Heidi
• Swan Karen

Unsurprisingly a crime writer - Karin Slaughter - is the most read S author on my list with 12 books read.  Many of these are very dark and grisly in places.  Not to everyone's taste.

There are a couple of children's classics on there, Black Beauty and Treasure Island but the only real adult classic is Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger which I only gave 2 stars to.

This was a book I felt I should read rather than wanted to read. It's a classic - it made the BBC Good Read list but it had never made its way to the top of my TBR pile. It fitted a prompt for the 52 book club challenge tin 2025 so I decided it was time. Well, it was hard going. I can't say it's a book I enjoyed or liked. I was impressed by the way it was written. Salinger definitely seems to have managed to get inside the head of a 16 year old boy, filled with grief, but I just wasn't drawn into the story. Thankfully it was quite short at 220 pages but it took me 11 days to get through it. Never a good sign.

Danielle Steel features on the list although only for 6 books.  I'm sure I've read more of hers but that must have been before I kept records of my reading.  Unfortunately the one I read most recently, Trial by Fire, I only gave 2 stars.  It needed a lot of editing.  It was very repetitive and felt formulaic for me.  Steel has written over 200 books but it feels to me that maybe she has reached her limit.

One of the 5 star books on this list is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peal Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.  A much lighter read which I loved.  I've watched the film twice.

Two other authors that stand out for me on this list are Elizabeth Strout and C J Sansom.

Strout just has a lovely way with prose.  Her books are quite different from my usual reads and although they're not thrilling or even full of events they were just good to read.

C J Sansom is the author of an historical series revolving around Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer in the times of Henry VIII who gets involved in mysteries.  Again not my typical read but I'm really enjoying the series.  I've read 5 of the 7.  Another set of tomes though.  The first in the series was over 400 pages and they've got longer.  The final instalment is over 800 pages!

Do you have a limit on a size of book that you will read?

R is for Rankin (A-Z Challenge 2026) 21/4/26

The A-Z home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read. More about the books I've read than the authors themselves.

I'm an avid reader. I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library. I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts. You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The R authors I've read are:

• Rankin Ian
• Rayner Sarah
• Redmond Pamela
• Reichs Kathy
• Reid Carmen
• Reid Kiley
• Reid Taylor Jenkins
• Reilly Martina
• Rekulak Jason
• Ribchester Lucy
• Riley Lucinda
• Rimington Stella
• Roberts Caroline
• Roberts Geraldina
• Roberts Nora
• Roberts Sheila
• Robinson Anne
• Robinson Peter
• Robotham Michael
• Robson Amanda
• Rooney Sally
• Rosen Jane L
• Ross LJ
• Rowling J K
• Rubin Gretchen

Well it's more of a close run thing for most read favourite "R" author with  L J Ross winning with 16 but Ian Ranking (13) Kathy Reichs (12) and Michael Robothom (11) all come close behind.

Interestingly these are all serial writers and writing about crime.  Actually that's not such an interesting fact when you know that's my favourite genre.  

L J Ross writes about DCI Ryan with stories set around the NE area of England.  Ian Rankin's books are set in Edinburgh and feature Inspector Rebus.  These are quite gritty and dark.  Kathy Reichs writes about Temperance Brennan a forensic anthropologist but all the stories involve crimes.  This was televised as "Bones" which I loved watching.

Michael Robotham writes about Joseph O'Loughlin who is a clinical psychologist.  He's also written other books of which I've read a couple.

There are another couple of series that I've read on this list:

Lucinda Riley's Seven Sisters which was a huge undertaking as the books are all long.  I found there to be a little bit too much repetition at times at the beginning of some books.  I know that was probably to enable each book to be read on it's own but it was annoying.

And of course who hasn't read Harry Potter?  Especially if you have children.  Ok maybe you haven't and yes not everyone is into magic and make believe.  I loved them all though, and the films.

I've also read The Casual Vacancy   well I thought I had.  An adult novel by J K Rowling.  I shall have to investigate that.  And although I haven't read the novels she's written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, I have watched most of the televised versions of these. (Strike)

No classics on this list and no real stand out books although I did give 5 stars to Amanda Robson's Guilt which was a good psychological thriller.

I'm also probably in the minority over Normal People by Sally Rooney.  I didn't really like this book.  I understand the hype and I think the basis of the book is sound but the execution didn't do it for me.  I particularly disliked the lack of punctuation around speech and thoughts.  Made it very confusing at times and I found myself re-reading paragraphs to work out who had said what, or if it was actually just a thought process.

I also was not impressed with the ending.  Is there a sequel planned?

Any thoughts?