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?

Friday's Fave Five - 24/4/26

Friday's Fave Five is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  Each week she reminds us to look back and find the things we were grateful for during the week.  It's good to be grateful.  Why not join us?

1)  Well firstly I am grateful for my Hubby.  He had a birthday last Saturday and we celebrated by attending a fund raising evening organised by a friend of his doing what he loves best - singing and playing his guitar.  He was one of several acts that performed at a nearby church and although I don't usually go to watch him play I couldn't miss out on his birthday.  We'll have been married for 42 years in June.  Definitely a keeper.

2)  The quiz night I mentioned last week raised £3967 for the Foodbank which is amazing!  

3)  Spring weather.  It's been sunny all week and although not that hot yet I was still able to get all my washing done and a lot of it dry on the line outside. (I still tumble dry things like underwear and t shirts to cut down on the ironing.) 

4)  Postal votes.  We have elections for councillors next month but our postal votes came yesterday.  I'm grateful not to have to get to the polling station on the day.  Usually it's fine but one less hassle to deal with.

5)  A good meet up for the evening book club on Wednesday.  There were only 5 of us but we had a good discussion about the book and lots of other things too.  We all agreed that we didn't like the book:

Hopefully the next one will be better:

And the jumper is nearly done.  I just need to do a few more rows and then the decorative bottom.  Oh and all the tedious sewing in of ends and seams to do.  Don't hold your breath for a picture of me modelling it!

Have a good weekend all.

U is for Union (A-Z Challenge 2026) 24/4/26

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 U authors I've read are:

• Union Gabrielle

When I was preparing to do this challenge I realised I didn't have an author for the letter U so I did some googling and came up with:

We're going to need more wine by Gabrielle Union.  The title sounded interesting so I ordered it from the library.

It probably didn't help that I didn't really know who Gabrielle Union was when I started this book.  I'm not really better informed now - she's obviously very well know in the USA and appeared in a lot of shows, none of which I have watched.  But she does tick the author's name starts with a U so I accomplished that at least.

It wasn't a difficult read - although there is a lot of swearing and sexual detail in the book.  (Just saying for anyone who would be put off by that.)  But I couldn't really say it was an enjoyable read.  It did raise my awareness of how difficult everyday situations can be for Black Americans though.

Are you familiar with Gabrielle Union?  Watched any of her shows?

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?