Reading roundup 25/03/20

Posted on 25/03/2020 by The Librain

Books are such a solace in so many situations, and they are even more of a comfort to me at the moment. The ability to lose oneself in a book is so valuable and I am lucky to have had that ability since childhood. Sometimes, my worries surface and prevent full concentration, probably one of the reasons why my reading is so slow these days, apart from the effects of the stroke. At other times I can feel my sense of self melt into the story. This is a truly wonderful experience.

Escape by Barbie Probert-Wright

Once again I chose an absorbing ebook this week: Escape: our journey home through war-torn Germany by Barbie Probert-Wright. This is the blurb:

Two sisters.
One extraordinary true story.

Germany, 1945. Trapped between advancing armies, stranded hundreds of miles from their mother, and with their father missing in action, sisters Barbie and Eva were confronted with an impossible choice.

Should they stay and face invasion or risk their lives to find their mother?

Together, they set out on a perilous three-hundred mile journey on foot across a country ravaged by war. Fuelled by courage and love, Eva and seven-year-old Barbie encounter incredible hardship, extraordinary bravery, and overwhelming generosity.

Against all odds, they both survived.
But neither sister came out of the journey unscathed . . .

This is the powerful true story of their escape.

The book is certainly worth reading and here is my review from Goodreads:

Escape: Our journey home through war-torn GermanyEscape: Our journey home through war-torn Germany by Barbie Probert-Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t usually read much non-fiction these days, but I am very glad that I found this book. The idea of seeing the end of WWII through the eyes of a German child intrigued me. The journey that the two sisters undertook was very interesting and really kept me absorbed. The highs and lows of the story made me feel quite emotional at times and the landscapes and unfolding events were well-drawn. There were certainly very harrowing parts of the tale too.

The book kept my attention until the last part. The immediate aftermath of the journey was interesting enough because I had heard the stories of my own parents, who were also young at that time. However, as the book turned to more recent events and further information about family members, I must admit that I skipped quite a few pages.

All in all, I feel that the author should have been persuaded to end the book much earlier, perhaps at the beginning of adulthood, and should not have continued too far into her later life. Still, the book is well-worth reading for the first part and I congratulate Barbie’s and her sister’s courage.

View all my reviews

OK, now I will return to my cup of tea and my current ebook, which I will write about next week. Until then…

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

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Update 23/03/20

Posted on 23/03/2020 by The Librain

The world feels very strange and upside down at the moment. As regular visitors to this blog will know, I haven’t been able to leave the house for some months, apart from a rare trip out with Lovely Husband. I had sort of got used to this way of life – it was quite, sometimes very, distressing, but I could cope with it thanks to ebooks, my iPad, friends, family and dozens of cups of tea. But, now that I cannot leave our house and garden at all, I feel claustrophobic and trapped!

Right, no more on that subject! Instead, why not have a soothing visit to some of the most gorgeous libraries and bookshops in the world…

The Caribou: Beautiful libraries and bookstores that all bibliophiles should visit

Real Gabinete Portuguese Library, Rio de Janeiro

Isn’t this absolutely gorgeous!

So, I will try to concentrate my thoughts on beauty for a while…

…and books!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 20/03/20

Posted on 20/03/2020 by The Librain

I managed to put on half a nice outfit this week. On most days, I cannot find the energy to get dressed properly because I am struggling to manage my mental health in the current situation. Even getting out of bed feels like a major achievement!

Oh, I said half an outfit! That means that I was able to dress my top half, but the bottom half stayed in pyjama trousers, socks and slippers. It just felt more comfortable that way. I was determined, however, to wear my newest Hermès scarf and I found my lovely cobalt blue cotton jumper and bright blue accessories, which looked great with it.

Outfit of the day 20/03/20 with Hermès’ Plumes en Fête scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Cobalt blue cotton cable jumper – Lands’ End.
  • Blue crystal and silver earrings – Sonrisa Boutique.
  • Blue enamel and gold Curb Chain bangle – Halcyon Days.
  • Silk scarf, 90 cm, in cobalt blue, turquoise, and green – Plumes en Fête – Hermès. Tied in an asymmetric wrap using a MaiTai mother-of-pearl scarf ring.

If I had been going out, I would probably have worn jeans, my navy suede ankle boots and my lovely bright blue Massaccesi Midi-Muse handbag. But, as I am now staying in the house for the foreseeable future, pyjama trousers were fine!

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with scarves and bangles

Midi Muse by Massaccesi with scarves and bangles

Anyway, here are some pictures of the handbag as a reminder.

Well, all I can say is that I hope that you and yours are all OK!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Reading roundup 18/03/20

Posted on 18/03/2020 by The Librain

Oh, what a fantastic book I read this week! I just took a chance on it when I saw it on our Library’s ebook system and am so pleased that it paid off.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (Old Man’s War #01), was such a great find. I was just wandering through the ebook catalogue, as you do, and was intrigued by the blurb:

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry’s service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens.

The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring their youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including a brain-implanted computer. But all too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry must fight for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds.

I was probably feeling like an “Old Fart” when I chose the book! Anyway, this is the response that I put on Goodreads:

Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! Maybe because I am getting old and very ill, the idea of living as a refreshed, fit and gorgeous younger version really appealed to me. I could definitely do with a new, fitter body. Mind you, the downside of having to use it to fight aliens does not appeal.

It’s hard to do this book justice with a review, because it would be a shame to give too much away. The first half of the book definitely deserves the full five points; the second half slightly fewer, perhaps. But the whole thing has now joined my list of favourites, mainly for the humour. In these difficult times for the whole of humanity, humour will help us to cope.

I gather from reading other reviews on here that there are other matters to discuss about the book – if you are au fait with the wider genre of Science Fiction then, perhaps, you know all about this. I don’t as I am a simple fan of SF but not very knowledgeable. All I can say is that I have immediately found the sequel on our Library’s ebook catalogue and will soon be reading it!

View all my reviews

Well, I might not read it straight away because I haven’t decided which book to tackle next! You can find out in next week’s Reading Roundup. In the present circumstances, thank goodness for ebooks!

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Update 16/03/20

Posted on 16/03/2020 by The Librain

Well, we really are in interesting times, aren’t we? I must admit that I would prefer boring, but interesting is what we have.

I don’t have a great deal to write about today. I suppose I could more than fill a post by rambling through my thoughts about Coronavirus, but that would be simply depressing and I try to keep my blog on the more frivolous side. Yes, I know that I do sometimes splurge my worries all over a post, but I really am trying to keep my fears under control.

A few days ago, we made the decision that I should now isolate myself at home. We have taken some advice (as I write, LH just had a quick phone call with the Dentist and they have also agreed) and have come to the conclusion that it would be too risky for me to go out of the house. I have such a long list of conditions, including more than one lung disease, that it would a be very foolish thing to do. LH and LS will come and go as usual, with sensible precautions, and I will remain in the house or garden. We are also being extra careful with our personal hygiene and interactions, such as hugging and kissing.

And I believe that this is about all that we can do until there is more advice available!

So, I am sending love and good wishes to all my family, friends and visitors and I hope that you and yours remain healthy and safe,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 13/03/20

Posted on 13/03/2020 by The Librain

I did manage to dress up a little bit on one day this week! OK, a cotton jumper plus jogging bottoms doesn’t shout “classy!”, but an Hermès scarf does. This week has been another struggle, with worries about Coronavirus and other matters, but I am trying to distract myself with reading and also by doing as much as I am able to support my “chaps”.

This is the outfit:

Outfit of the day with Hermès’ Musique des Dieux scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Navy cotton cable jumper – Lands’ End.
  • Navy cotton joggers – Cotton Traders.
  • Silver earrings – RR Designs on Etsy.
  • Silk scarf, 90cm, in lilac, purple, green, blue, black and white – Musique des Dieux – Hermès. Tied in an asymmetric wrap.

I hope that all my readers are safe and well.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Reading roundup 11/03/20

Posted on 11/03/2020 by The Librain

I said at the end of last week’s post that I was going to return to reading the fantastic Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown, which had been interrupted by my stroke in the Autumn. Somehow, that didn’t happen and that was because I was distracted by the book I am going to write about today…

The Familiars by Stacey Hall

…The Familiars by Stacey Hall! I was only going to check that I liked it before either renewing or returning it. Instead, I was completely gripped from the beginning and couldn’t stop reading. Anyway, this is the blurb:

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn¹t supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.

When she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife, Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong.

When Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the North-West, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye?

As the two women’s lives become inextricably bound together, the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood¹s stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake.

Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.

I commend this book to you and here is my Goodreads’ review:

The FamiliarsThe Familiars by Stacey Halls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a beautifully written book. I loved the way that the main character, Fleetwood, developed throughout the book, becoming more courageous as the tale unfolded and also becoming more aware of how less fortunate people lived in the surrounding area. I was quite surprised when I realised her age, I must admit. The combination of blossoming understanding, new friendship and impending motherhood enabled her to achieve so much in pursuit of the truth and the evidence for that truth. Her ability to ride so well was quite astonishing too!

There was also a real feeling of impending doom, which was also very well-written, with menace from one important male character and disappointment in another. I also enjoyed how we were told more information about the mother towards the end. The historical background and scene setting was superbly done.

This was a real departure from my usual genres and I am really glad that I found the book. It fully deserves many accolades.

View all my reviews

I actually award the book 4.999999999 stars!

Having finished this, I am not sure what I am going to read next. Unfortunately, I have been really ill over the last few days, both physically and mentally, and I am finding concentration very difficult. Proper reading is almost impossible. I hope that I can find some equilibrium very soon.

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Update 09/03/20

Posted on 09/03/2020 by The Librain

I am sorry, but I just cannot write a full post today. We are really struggling in our household with a number of issues and my body has reacted very badly. To put it truthfully and bluntly: I am a nervous wreck! I can’t sleep properly, I can’t stop shaking, my stomach feels as if it is full of butterflies and I can’t stop coughing. We are all in turmoil.

So, instead I will post a link to this lovely set of images. Thinking about it, I would love to have this done with a picture of my younger self as a Librarian (just not wielding a date stamp!).

Elderly People Look At Their Younger Reflections In This Beautiful Photo Series By Tom Hussey


Aren’t these photos lovely?

Let’s hope everything improves during the week. I will now try to concentrate on a book to take my mind away from worries. Reading Roundup on Wednesday as usual…

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Outfit of the day 06/03/20

Posted on 06/03/2020 by The Librain

It has been a lovely sunny day here, but we haven’t gone out. My health has been very poor this week and it has taken a lot of mental, as well as physical, strength to even get out of bed for a few hours. I did manage to put on a reasonable outfit today, which is something. More about that later in the post.

Lovely Husband and I have also been struggling with the aftermath of Elder Son’s trip away last week. He is always difficult to manage when he comes back home and he has made family life very hard on several occasions this week. He can be so loving and kind (and he is most of the time), but his behaviour can also be overwhelming to us, as his parents.

Well, he is now back at work and I hope that he comes home in a good mood!

I have been trying to help LH with more household tasks this week. Early to mid-afternoon is usually when I feel strongest, so I have managed to do a few things then. Just little things, but they do add up. This week, we have been looking upwards at our rather battered lamp shades, of all things! Some of them had got rather old and tatty, others simply needed new bulbs. I wish we could have filmed the two of us struggling to balance – me on a ladder, LH trying to hold me steady. It must have looked so funny!

Oh, for the days of our youth! At least we still both have our sense of humour.

Here is today’s outfit:

Outfit of the day with Hermès’ Cosmographia Universalis scarf

Today’s outfit:

  • Navy cotton cable jumper – Lands’ End.
  • Navy joggers – Cotton Traders.
  • Blue resin earrings.
  • Silk scarf, 90 cm, in bright pink, sky blue, white and navy – Cosmographia Universalis – Hermès. Tied in a half-bow knot using a MaiTai mother-of-pearl scarf ring.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Reading roundup 04/03/20

Posted on 04/03/2020 by The Librain

I have really enjoyed my reading this week. It does feel rather strange to write that I “only” read one book, because who is counting? Only me! I shouldn’t be policing myself like this.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

Anyway, I was lucky that the latest book by Ann Cleeves came up on our library’s ebook system. I reserved it some months ago and it became available to me last week: The Long Call. This is the first book in an entirely new series – Two Rivers – set in North Devon. I thoroughly enjoyed Cleeves’ Vera series and also her wonderful books set in Shetland. Such great TV has been made from her ideas. I wonder if we will see a new TV series set in North Devon in the future?

Here is the blurb:

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

This is my review on Goodreads:

The Long Call (Two Rivers, #1)The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really love Ann Cleeves’ writing. Her scene-setting is so clear that I have full-colour images in my mind as I read. Her characters are fully-rounded with all of their human quirks. Her stories are complex and satisfying. It’s no wonder that TV has picked up two of her series.

I have really enjoyed both the Vera and the Shetland books so I was very excited to begin this first book of a new series. As you would expect, there was quite a lot of time spent on the main characters, setting them up for several books. We need to understand their background and motivations. There are also some excellent descriptions of the landscape, the beaches, the sea and the small towns and villages of the area. Perhaps the future books will not have quite so much of that.

The actual plot was intriguing and I particularly liked the inclusion and description of women with Downs as an important part, rather than an add-on.

I am already looking forward to the next book in the series!

View all my reviews

If you are interested in this book, there are well-written reviews on Goodreads which go into far more detail than mine!

Dark Age by Pierce Brown

Now for some other news. Those of you who may follow me on Goodreads may have noticed that I have had a book sitting in my “Currently Reading” section for months. Since before my stroke, in fact. This is the book that I was reading at the time that the stroke hit in September 2019. I had been waiting until I could read print books again so that I could re-borrow it from the Library. Well, it has now been six months and I still cannot manage print books, so very sensibly I have actually bought it as an ebook! Whoo – yes, I have spent money on a book!

So, next week’s Reading Roundup post should include Pierce Brown’s Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5). I think I will have to go back to the beginning as I can’t remember much of the plot, so I may need more than a week to finish it as it is a very long book!

Until next week: Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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