Reviews – Page 42 – What Cathy Read Next…

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 Top Ten Tuesday topic is The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf. My ‘close your eyes and pick a book’ exercise resulted in 5 books I’ve read and 5 books that are still in my TBR pile. You’ll either recoil in horror at or take comfort from how long some of the latter have been there. Links will take you to my full review if I’ve read the book or the description on Goodreads if I haven’t.

Song by Michelle Jana Chan (Read July 2018) – ‘A wonderful tale of survival, friendship, courage and triumph over adversity. It also has at its heart a tender and heart-warming love story.’
Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (Unread, acquired July 2022) – historical fiction
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Unread, acquired March 2019) – historical fiction
Songbirds by Christy Lefteri (Read July 2021) – ‘I really enjoyed the beautiful writing and the insight it gave into issues I had not thought about before.’
The Lost Shrine by Nicola Ford (Read May 2019) – ‘With apologies to those not familiar with UK TV series, think of it as the intriguing love child of Midsomer Murders and Time Team.’
The Saracen’s Mark by S. W. Perry (Read May 2020) – ‘With its well-crafted plot, lashings of period detail and colourful cast of characters, The Saracen’s Mark will appeal to fans of historical crime mysteries, such as C J Sansom’s Shardlake series.’
The Monk by Tim Sullivan (Read April 2023) – ‘A skilfully crafted and ingenious crime novel with a really engaging protagonist that will keep you turning the pages.’
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer (Unread, acquired October 2024) – historical fiction
The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex (Unread, acquired December 2020) – historical fiction
The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd (Unread, acquired December 2020) – historical fiction

What books did your random grabbing turn up?

On the blog last week

Monday – I published my review of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie, longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2024.

Tuesday – This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was a freebie on the theme of Halloween.

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. I also published my review of historical crime mystery A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang.

Thursday – I published my Q&A with Ross Gilfillan, author of historical novel In Leicester Fields.

Friday – I shared My Year in Nonfiction, the first weekly prompt for Nonfiction November.

Saturday – I participated in the #6Degrees of Separation meme forging a book chain from We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson to The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler.

New on my shelves

The Forgotten Daughter by Anirudh Joshi (author review copy)

In the rain-slick alleys of Kamathipura, truth is a luxury few can afford.

When Meher disappears, the city shrugs—but one man refuses to forget. Vishy, a solitary book seller with a past he won’t speak of, begins a quiet rebellion against apathy. As he searches for Meher, the shadows grow darker, and the cost of remembering becomes unbearable.

The Forgotten Daughter is a story of grit, grief, and the fragile hope that someone, somewhere, still cares.