On What Cathy Read Next last week
Monday – I shared my sign-up post for the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge 2025.
Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books Released in 2024 I Still Haven’t Read. I also published my review of The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Wednesday – As always WWW Wednesday is a weekly opportunity to share what I’ve just read, what I’m currently reading and what I plan to read next… and to take a peek at what others are reading.
Thursday – I published my review of The Endeavour of Elsie Mackay by Flora Johnston and shared My Top Five January 2025 Reads.
Friday – I published my review of The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler, translated by Katy Derbyshire.
New on my shelves
The CIA Book Club by Charlie English (eARC, William Collins via NetGalley)
The astonishing story of the ten million books that US intelligence smuggled across the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
From copies of Orwell to Agatha Christie, the Western effort was to undermine the censorship of the Soviet bloc, offer different visions of thought and culture to the people, and build relationships with real readers in the East.
Historian Charlie English follows the characters of the era, with Bucharest-born George Minden at the narrative’s heart. Tasked with masterminding the effort, Minden understood both sides of the he was opposed to the intellectual straightjacket created by the communist system, but he also resented the Americans’ patronising tone – the people weren’t fooled by what their puppet governments were saying, but they did need culture, diversity of thought, entertainment, art, reassurance and solidarity. This is how the perilous mission to bring books as beacons of hope played out, told in riveting detail.
What I’m currently reading
Look out for…
- Book Review: The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor
- Book Review: A Cold Wind From Moscow by Rory Clements
What Cathy Read Next... 