X is for Xarissa (A-Z Challenge 2026) 28/4/26

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 X authors I've read are:

• Xarissa Diana

Hands up who thought I'd have to be creative with this letter?

Well not creative exactly but I did seek out an author beginning with the letter X when I was planning for this challenge as I didn't have one.

There are actually lots of authors starting with X, many of which are Chinese.  I went for Diana Xarissa who is American.  I chose Aunt Bessie Assumes, a very cozy crime story featuring, yes you've guessed it, Aunt Bessie and set on the Isle of Man.  Aunt Bessie stumbles across 2 dead bodies in short succession which is surprising given that the Isle of Man, which lies between Ireland and the UK, is only 221 square miles in area and has a population of just over 84,000.

In fact, Aunt Bessie features in her own A-Z series and she's also tackled cold cases.  If you thought that small island, famous for its TT race was a safe place to live, maybe think again lol.  

Turns out Diana has self published over 100 books! Unfortunately one was enough for me.

Do you have an author that you've read but would never read again?

A bit of Waffle - 27/4/26

Phew - I've scheduled all the remaining A-Z posts.  That's a relief.  It's been hard work keeping up with everything and, as usual, I haven't been great at visiting other bloggers that are taking part so I'm trying to do more of that now.

Even responding to comments has been tricky.  I hope none of my regular followers feel neglected.

I didn't do a photos post yesterday as I hadn't done a full week of photos but these are the photos that I did take last week:

A couple of things I bought for my Hubby's birthday - unfortunately the mug has already been broken.  Not sure what happened but he was pouring coffee into it and it just cracked around the bottom!  Very annoying.

This was a photo I took to remind me of when I parked in a restricted road on Tuesday.

The next book for the evening Book Group.

Progress on the jumper I'm knitting.

And at the weekend we had grandchildren Ella and Nathan sleeping over on Saturday night.

I didn't take a photo yesterday so not the best start to this week but I have taken some today.  Hopefully I'll continue over this week.

Hubby and I had an outing together today - we went to the nearby Larkswood and then for lunch in one of the many Highams Park cafes.

Tonight I'm on duty at the Foodbank for deliveries but it's looking like I will also have to do a collection as one of our drivers has now left to start training as a fire fighter.  Hopefully we'll recruit some more driver volunteers but until then I might be busier than usual!

Have a good week all.

W is for Waal - (A-Z Challenge 2026) 27/4/26

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 W authors I've read are:

• Waal Kit de
• Wake Jules
• Ward Sarah
• Ware Ruth
• Watson S J
• Weaver Tim
• Webb Debra
• Weiner Jennifer
• Weisberger Lauren
• Wetmore Elizabeth
• Wiggs Susan
• Wilde Oscar
• Williams Julia
• Wilson Jacqueline
• Wilson Mairi
• Winman Sarah
• Wood Simon
• Wood Val
• Woodman Cathy
• Worth Jennifer
• Wyndham John

 Well quite a few W authors.  The prize for most read author goes to Cathy Woodman with 6 books.  I read a whole series by her all relating to a veterinary practice in the English countryside.  The Goodreads blurb is "Cathy Woodman, a fresh new voice in women's fiction, has written a warm, breezy romantic comedy that makes for the perfect relaxing cozy read".  The books definitely fit that description and I must have been in the mood for that type of book at the time which was back in 2018.

Jacqueline Wilson makes the list as the two I've read by her (The Story of Tracy Beaker and Double Act) were on the BBC list.  As was Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray which also ticks a classic box. I didn't enjoy it though, only giving it 2 stars.

Funny how some books stay with you and others don't, even by the same author.  I have reasonably clear memories of The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham but I just had to look up The Chrysalids to see what it was about.  Both dystopian of course.  It probably helped that I've seen a film version of the Day of the Triffids.

I read all the books in Jennifer Worth's trilogy on which the excellent series "Call the Midwife" is based.  But of course there are my usual choice of thrillers on there as well.  Ruth Ware for one and Tim Weaver for another.  Weaver's The Missing Family was a 5 star read for me.  

Another piece of trivia for you.  I really enjoyed Kit de Waal's book My name is Leon.  Set in the 1980s it tells the story of 9 year old Leon who has a difficult start in life. The book follows Leon's struggle with being in foster care and losing his brother. I concluded my review of that by saying, "The ending is quite open ended.  It will be interesting to see if the author writes a sequel."  I just googled this and apparently the author has expressed plans to write a sequel based on when Leon is 43.  I also discovered the original book had been televised.  Another one to add to the watchlist!

Do you have a watchlist of books you've read that have either been made into a film or televised?

V is fr Vincenzi (A-Z Challenge 2026) 25/4/26

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 V authors I've read are:

• Vincenzi Penny

Well another short list!  And only 1 book by the author - The Dilemma which I read so long ago it doesn't even have a rating let alone a review on my Goodreads page.  I don't really remember anything about it either, even though it's over 800 pages long.

Perhaps I should have added another few authors to this list to have more to say.  I don't have any V authors in my pile of To be Read books.  Any recommendations?