LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I’ve had a decent week, not as much reading, but enough that I finished a book or two. I (as usual) left my Valentine’s Day preparations for my kiddo until the last minute, so I had a couple of late nights trying to finish some crochet and sewing stuff! I finished 3 out of 4 and the fourth close enough to gift, but in need of a tail added at some future date (it’s a crocheted dragon, so it has its body, head, limbs and ears, but no tail or wings yet… but it’s cuddleable, so that’s what counts!). My Dad has been visiting over the weekend, so that’s been a lovely opportunity for some quality family time, and it’s always a nice break to the routine. And I completed the Libro.fm’s reading challenge to complete at least ten hours listening to audiobooks between the 5th and 14th of February, and I’ve submitted my form, so hopefully that’ll earn me an audiobook credit for one that’s on my wishlist! Here’s what I read over the last week!

 

Just Shelved

 

    The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin 

I read The Nightingale last week, and it got me on a kick of reading WWII books. These two are the ones I turned to next, and both were good, though I think The Things We Cannot Say was probably the better of the two for me, as I liked the past/present alternating storylines and that the present storyline included a family with a neurodivergent child (on the autism spectrum), so mixed in with all the WWII storylines, there’s also some exploration of a challenge that’s closer to home as I have nephews who are on the spectrum as well. Both were good though, and very emotional and gripping.

 

Currently Reading

 

              Mindful Parenting for ADHD by Mark Bertin, MDBrit(ish) by Afua HirschThe Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland and Mike HolmesMatrescence by Lucy Jones 

 

     The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley 

I made some progress in Brit(ish), which is my current adult in print read. It ‘s a really good read which has a lot of sobering information about the history and present racism in Britain (and its former colonies) as well as some shared insight from Hirsch’s own experiences growing up mixed race in Wimbledon and experiences shared with her by some of her friends and acquaintances who grew up in different situations (foster care, underprivileged surroundings, immigrant families etc.) and how theirs differed from hers, but how each held its own pain and trauma. I also started Matrescence, but it was making me a little too emotional and I didn’t feel like I was in the right headspace for it, so I’ve decided to stop reading it from now. I might give it one more try next week before putting it aside to read at another time.

I had enjoyed The Things We Cannot Say, so I checked Libby to see if there were other books by the same author. I found The German Wife, and decided to give it a try. It didn’t really grab me and I wasn’t feeling like I wanted to go back to reading it, so I decided to DNF it – at least for now. Then my hold on The Paris Apartment came up, so I figured a nice thriller might hit the spot. I’m enjoying it so far, and I’m definitely intrigued!

 

Up Next

 

          Fire Exit by Morgan TaltyMaps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie MortimerOrdinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan 

 

               Black and British by David Olusoga
Conviction by Denise Mina
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Into the Uncut Grass by Trevor Noah 

I’m still considering all of these, though if I’m being honest, I suspect this WWII kick hasn’t quite burned itself out yet, so I might look for more books that will satisfy my current hyperfocus. It also depends on how much more I can take, because they’ve all made me cry so far!

 

That’s my week in books! Not as prolific as last week, but enjoyable. What about you guys? Do you have any good WWII books to recommend, particularly any that are not as well known and that I might not know about? Did you read any great books over the last week?

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A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. I also link up with The Sunday Salon post each week hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz (and sometimes include some of her content prompts).