What’s on your bookshelf: August

Thistles and Kiwis

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. Posting a day early on Thursday evening NZ time as it suits my schedule a bit better.

A very mixed bag this month on my bookshelf – from the surprisingly excellent to the rather mundane. Starting with the three below, Mothers’ Instinct by Barbara Abel is a thriller involving two families who live next door to each other and whose lives take a dramatic turn. This started off quite well, but disappeared into a sea of unlikely events and things that didn’t add up. It may have lost something in translation, but by the end of the book I disliked all the characters and didn’t care what happened.

In contrast, David Park’s slim volume A Run in the Park, was an absolute delight. A small book full of ideas, it documents a group of people tackling the couch to 5km running programme, intertwining their lives and how they got there. A lovely read.

Another book translated from French I read was Jean Luc Bannalec’s The Missing Corpse. I thought this sounded fun, being set in Brittany, but there was a lot of ‘extra stuff’ (I now know all about oyster farming….) which made the book a bit tedious to read (we are, remember, talking about bus reading here). Pity as there is a whole series of them.

I picked up Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum in a book sale, and wasn’t quite sure it was really my thing. This would be a great summer read, lying in the sun with a fancy cocktail by your side. Having said that, it was also fine for bus reading in the winter, with murder, scandal, and rich people playing tennis.

Book of the month has to be Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. This is a really special book about friendship, relaionships…and computer games. It’s a coming of age book, about discovering who we are as adults, about the emergent gaming industry in the 2000s. I absolutely loved this book and it will be on my final book of the year list without any doubt.

f you want a bit of New Zealand cosy crime, then I can highly recommend The Bookshop Detectives Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward and Louise Ward. Set in Havelock North in Hawke’s Bay, this is a delightful book with plot twists galore and a lot of fun. The authors are real book shop owners in Hawke’s Bay too.

Finally in the food corner we have Rick Stein’s latest book Simple Suppers. The title is accurate, with lots of easy things to cook at home, but maybe not a lot of very original stuff? I can see me turning to this when stuck for ideas, and love the section on ‘meals for two’ I have made one thing so far which we really enjoyed and would do again (chicken, leek and cider gratin).

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.

  • Barbara Abel Mothers’ Instinct 3 neighbours
  • David Park A Run in the Park 5 runners
  • Jean-Luc Bannalec The Missing Corpse 3 oysters
  • Emma Rosenblum Bad Summer People 4 tennis raquets
  • Gabrielle Zevin Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 5 video games
  • Gareth Ward and Louise Ward The Bookshop Detectives Dead Girl Gone 5 bookshops
  • Rick Stein Simple Suppers 4 good meals

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

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

33 Comments

  2. I enjoyed Bad Summer People; thinking it was a fun enough summer read. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I listened to that as an audiobook and thought it was really well done.

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  4. Funny, but I just couldn’t get into Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I know I am out of step on this one. Maybe I should give it another try.

    The Bookshop Detectives sounds like so much fun. Not sure if it’s available around here, but I will look for it.

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  6. I’ve put the Bookshop Detectives on reservation with the library – it sounds up my street. I agree with your assessment of Simple Suppers. I got it for Christmas, and while I’ve made a couple of things from it, it’s not that original, but it is very comforting.

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  9. Hi Barbara, The Bookshop Detectives looks like one I would enjoy as I like cozy crime. My daughter recommended Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow quite some time ago but I haven’t yet read it. This month I have a science fiction on my list which is totally out of genre for me but I found I enjoyed it. It certainly made me think about where we are heading in the world. Thanks for joining us and sharing What’s Been On Your Bookshelf? lately. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. x

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    1. I was hesitant about Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow but really enjoyed it. I read a lot of scifi at one point in my life but not for a long time. I always enjoy the What’s Been On Your Bookshelf theme.Hope your weekend is going well.

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  11. Kind of enjoy ebooks these days because apparently i think its more convenient & interesting when i could highlight phrases i love & search for words i do not understand.

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  12. I love the rating system. I really want to get that Bookshop Detective one but may wait until it’s not so new and so expensive. lol. Or see if any of the libraries here in the US have it. It sounds so good. I’m a mystery fan, though, so that’s my jam, so to speak.

    I always forget to do this blog feature – missing it every month. Maybe if I put a reminder in my planner I will remember but then I’ll probably forget to look at my planner.

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  13. I didn’t realize that Rick Stein had branched out from travel. Sadly I couldn’t get that New Zealand book on my reader. Perhaps if I had all those cards like Donna!

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  15. Hi Barbara, I’m finally getting around to reading everyone’s WOYBS? posts!! I love your line ‘but by the end of the book I disliked all the characters and didn’t care what happened’. I get like that at times too 🙂

    I’ve noted a couple – The Bookshop Detectives, (we loved Hawke’s Bay) and really must read Tomorrow… so many thanks for your reviews. I always anticipate your rating system and smile at your words. Thanks for joining us.

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  16. Pingback: If we were having coffee…or even a cup of tea… – Thistles and Kiwis

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