Tag: memes

#TopTenTuesday My Most Recent 5* Reads

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Top Ten Tuesday

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 My Ten Most Recent 5* Reads and I have some brilliant books to share with you. Links from the titles will take you to my full review.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith – young Francie Nolan’s journey through the first years of a century of profound change 
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – another hugely impressive historical crime novel whose intricate plot with its twists and turns kept me glued to the book until the final page 
The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin – one of those books that offers something for just about every reader: domestic drama, such as the family tensions caused by caring responsibilities; scenes of wartime adventure and romance; and a search for a long lost love
The Consequences of Fear (Maisie Dobbs #16) by Jacqueline Winspear – set in World War 2 London, the latest outing for the intrepid and resourceful private investigator (and sometime secret agent), Maisie Dobbs
Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry by Margaret Kennedy – for anyone interested in women’s writing or the experiences of those on the ‘Home Front’ during the Second World War, a gem waiting to be discovered
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton – a hugely impressive debut set in the New York City music scene, full of inventiveness and fizzing with energy
Together by Luke Adam Hawker – a beautifully produced book of illustrations accompanied by poignant words that  would make a wonderful gift
Lost Property by Helen Paris – a novel and, in Dot Watson, a heroine you most certainly don’t want to leave behind on a train or bus
Skelton’s Guide to Suitcase Murders (Arthur Skelton #2) by David Stafford – a delightful addition to this historical crime series that combines period detail, an ingenious mystery and amiable humour
The Heretic’s Mark (The Jackdaw Mysteries #4) by S. W. Perry – another gripping, atmospheric and dramatic historical page-turner set in Elizabethan London 

#6Degrees 6 Degrees of Separation: From Beezus and Ramona to The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

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It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation!

Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

Kate says: Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. Join in by posting your own six degrees chain on your blog and adding the link in the comments section of each month’s post.   You can also check out links to posts on Twitter using the hashtag #6Degrees.

This month’s starting book is Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary.

I haven’t read the book (and hadn’t even heard of it before this) but I gather from the blurb that it features nine-year-old Beezus Quimby who has her hands full with her little sister, Ramona. Another character who has her hands full with her sister is Korede, the narrator of My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

My Sister, The Serial Killer was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Also on the shortlist that year was Circe by Madeline Miller. The book is a retelling of the legend in which Circe is banished by the god Zeus to a deserted island.

Another book which involves the exile of an individual to a remote island is An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris. In this case, the exile is Alfred Dreyfus, a young Jewish officer, convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.

An Officer and a Spy was the winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction in 2014. The most recent winner of the prize was The Narrow Land by Christine Dwyer Hickey which features the artist Edward Hopper and his wife, Josephine.

Edward Hopper has a walk-on part in Artist, Soldier, Lover, Muse by Arthur D. Hittner which transports the reader to the art world of New York in the 1930s.

Staying in New York but fast forwarding forty years, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton is set in the New York City’s lively music scene.

My chain this month has comprised sisterhood, exile and the creative muse. Where did your chain take you?