#WWWWednesday – 29th November 2023

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!


Currently reading

A book from my TBR pile and my final NetGalley title for the #NetGalleyNovember reading challenge.

The Forgotten Letters of Esther DurrantThe Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn (Orion)

An abandoned woman…

1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther’s prison but soon becomes her refuge.

A forbidden love…

2017. When free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker is forced to take shelter on a far-flung island off the Cornish Coast during a research posting, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel is determined to find the intended recipient.

A dangerous secret…

Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years. 

Three women bound together by a heartbreaking secret. A love story that needs to be told.

the bindingThe Binding by Bridget Collins (ebook, The Borough Press via NetGalley)

Emmett Farmer is a binder’s apprentice. His job is to hand-craft beautiful books and, within each, to capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory.

If you have something you want to forget, or a secret to hide, he can bind it – and you will never have to remember the pain it caused.

In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and secrets – are meticulously stored and recorded.

Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of the volumes has his name on it.


Recently finished

Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei, trans. by Jeremy Tiang (Head of Zeus)

The Diver and the Lover by Jeremy Vine (Hodder & Stoughton)


What Cathy (will) Read Next

The Leftover WomanThe Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (Viper)

asmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China’s one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.

Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again…

#TopTenTuesday Books Set In Eurovision Countries #TuesdayBookBlog

Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books Set In x, i.e. a setting of our choice. My list consists of books I’ve read set in countries which take part in the Eurovision Song Contest. Random or what? Links from the titles will take you to my review.

  1. NorwayThe Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting
  2. PortugalCity of Spies by Mara Timon
  3. CyprusThe Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri
  4. SwitzerlandA Devil Comes to Town by Paulo Maurensig
  5. IsraelAdama by Lavie Tidhar
  6. SwedenEnd of Summer by Anders de la Motte
  7. AustriaSnow Country by Sebastian Faulks
  8. SpainThe Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 
  9. IrelandThe Well of Saint Nobody by Neil Jordan 
  10. EstoniaThe Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater