What’s on your bookshelf: May

So it is time again for a review of the month’s reading, a post to contribute to the what’s on your bookshelf challenge is hosted by fellow bloggers  Deb, Sue, Donna and Jo. The idea is to share what you’re reading, what you’ve enjoyed lately share – why they resonated with you, how they made you feel, who are your favourite authors and what you recommend.

With having a library so close, this past month with the exception of one, all my books have come from over the road. It is so easy just to pop in, pick up a couple of books and take them back when done. There is a cafe and I can top up my bus card, so it is fast becoming a regular haunt. As a result, my featured image doesn’t feature my usual pile of read books…but anyway, let’s have a look at what I read.

First up, Ben Aaronovitch’s The October Man. I’m really not sure what to think of this book – well written, funny, great premise (man found dead  man with body impossibly covered in a fungal rot) but I really couldn’t get with the magic element. This is one of the Rivers of London series, and to be honest I don’t think I would bother with any of the others, though never say never! Has anyone else read any of these?

Next we have The Loch by Fran Dorricott, a mystery set somewhere in Scotland (obviously by its name!). This started well – twenty years ago, three young women disappeared, and the rumour is that their bodies lie deep beneath the loch. Three young women turn up to stay in a house by the loch that clearly has a history. Secrets begin to surface, and then one of the women disappears, What follows is the uncovering of what happened 20 years ago. This was OK, and a good story that you could imagine being quite a good TV series, and at least there wasn’t any ‘faux Scottish’ conversation.

It has been a while since I have read a book that the more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me. Lucy Atkins Magpie Lane though was one of those. A Scottish nanny takes a job with a newly appointed Oxford college master to look after his semi-mute daughter, who was struck dumb after the death of her mother. Her step-mother, is pregnant, and distracted by her own work and how to cope with the young girl. The daughter disappears and then the hunt is on… Well, first of all an unlikely story with ghastly characters, full of inaccuracies (for example, someone with Scottish Highers school exams getting into Oxford, the Danish wife’s name being so wrong, English policemen having jurisdiction in Scotland) and a completely improbable ending. One of the worst books I have ready in ages.

Luckily, things improved with the wonderful Korean Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee. This is a little gem of a book, about a department store which sells dreams. Each floor specializes in a specific type of dream,

For Penny, an enthusiastic new hire, working at Dallergut is the opportunity of a lifetime. As she uncovers the workings of this whimsical world, she bonds with a cast of unforgettable characters, including Dallergut, the flamboyant and wise owner.

I just loved this book, and highly recommend it. It is full of beautiful passages and has such a positive and joyful feel to it.

Chris Womersley’s Ordinary Gods and Monsters was a very different book but also a very good read. The brief synposis in The Guardian sums up the plot:

Opening in a nameless Melbourne suburb, we meet 17-year-old Nick, fresh from finishing school and hopelessly in love with his best friend and neighbour, Marion. When Marion’s father is killed in a hit-and-run while he’s out jogging, a series of mysteries are thrust at the two teens: mainly, who killed Mr Perry? And did an impromptu session with a ouija board genuinely give them their first clue?

I loved this book with its clearly portrayed characters, elements of menace and mystery, and intricate plot. Highly recommended, this will also be my book club book this month (theme: a book set in a place beginning with ‘M’ – it is set in Melbourne).

Another brilliant read was Pet by Kiwi author, Catherine Chidgey. Set in a Catholic primary school in a Wellington suburb in the 1980s, and a care home in Auckland 30 years later, this psychological thriller had me hooked from the first page. Twelve year old Justine and her friends are drawn to the charismatic new teacher, all eagerly wanting to be her ‘pet’. When items go missing – a Rubik’s cube, a favourite pen – suspicion falls on different pupils in the class. Meanwhile, Justine’s father, a widower, falls for the teacher. There is just so much in this book and I felt it could be read on different levels – a thriller, a commentary on society, how we can be manipulated, the conceit of someone who is ‘different’ (Justine has epilepsy and her mother has died of cancer). Highly recommended.

Sidenote: The label ‘kurapae’ means ‘treasure found by chance’ and is used to label highly in demand books that can only be borrowed for two weeks and not renewed.

Finally, the new editions of dish and Cuisine magazines are out, and there are quite a few things I want to try such as chicken meatballs with orzo. I also read What’s For Dinner by Jill Griffiths, an a book about modern agriculture and food production. Too often these books or writings are about the situation in the US, but this is an Australian book so giving a different perspective on the issues. Her own experiences woven in to the narrative add to an understanding of the changes to farming over the years,. I also learned that the name ‘canola’ was coined in Canada and is a contraction of ‘Canada’ and ‘oil, low acid’. How about that?

So that is my most recent reading – what have you read recently? Here are my ratings using the scheme we use in the book club I am part of, items related to the book out of 5.

• Ben Aaronovitch The October Man – 4 vineyards (with reservations – well written and funny stopped it being 3)
• Fran Dorricott The Loch – 3 lochs
• Lucy Atkins Magpie Lane – 2 Oxford dons (borderline 1)
• Miye Lee Dallergut Dream Department Store – 5 dreams
• Chris Womersley Goods and Monsters – 5 bicycles
• Catherine Chidgey Pet – 5 school teachers
• Jill Griffiths What’s for Dinner? – 4 apples

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com