#TopTenTuesday One Word Book Titles

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.

WalterScottPrizeThis week’s topic is a Top Ten Tuesday Rewind. In other words, pick a previous topic you missed or would like to do again. I’ve gone for one from March 2020 – One Word Book Titles – but I’ve given it a twist by choosing only books nominated for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Links from the titles will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

Ancestry by Simon Mawer (2023 longlist)
Fortune by Amanda Smyth (2022 shortlist)
Learwife by J.R. Thorp (2022 longlist)
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (2021 shortlist)
Hinton by Mark Blacklock (2021 longlist)
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah (2021 longlist)
Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (2020 shortlist)
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (2019 shortlist)
Little by Edward Carey (2019 longlist)
Tombland by C J Sansom (2019 longlist)


My Week in Books – 19th March 2023

MyWeekinBooksOn What Cathy Read Next last week

Monday – I published my review of historical mystery, No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby.

Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was Books On My Spring 2023 To-Read List.

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 shared my review of espionage thriller, The Spy Across the Water by James Naughtie as part of the blog tour. 

Friday – I published a feature on the books longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2023

Saturday – I shared my review of historical novel, A Complicated Matter by Anne Youngson.


New arrivals

God's Children Are Little Broken ThingsGod’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu (Wieldenfeld & Nicolson) Longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2023

In this stunning debut from one of Nigeria’s most promising young writers, the stakes of love meet a society in flux.

A man revisits the university campus where he lost his first love, aware now of what he couldn’t understand then. A daughter returns home to Lagos after the death of her father, forced to face her past – and future – relationship with his longtime partner. A young musician rises to fame at the risk of losing himself and the man who loves him.

Generations collide, families break and are remade, languages and cultures intertwine, and lovers find their ways to futures; from childhood through adulthood; on university campuses, city centres and neighbourhoods where church bells mingle with the morning call to prayer.

These nine stories of queer male intimacy brim with secrecy, ecstasy, loneliness and love in their depictions of what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria.

The MonkThe Monk by Tim Sullivan (ARC, Head of Zeus)

To find a murderer, you need a motive . . .

THE DETECTIVE
DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he’s used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality.

THE QUESTION
The body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic’s past, which makes investigating difficult. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don’t know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk?

THE PAST
Discovering who Brother Dominic once was only makes the picture more puzzling. He was a much-loved and respected friend, brother, son – he had no enemies. Or, at least, none that are obvious. But looking into his past reveals that he was a very wealthy man, that he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin after all…


On What Cathy Read Next this week

Currently reading

Planned posts

  • Book Review: The Romantic by William Boyd 
  • Book Review: Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry
  • Book Review: The Settlement by Jock Serong
  • Book Review: Birthright by Charles Lambert