I guess it's time to do a reading report and also share that the wildflowers are blooming profusely in our area, plus we've gotten some rain - yay! In fact, it's raining outside right now and I can hear the birds singing. Think they are very happy. It's a bit cool - this will likely be our last cool spell until the fall. However, you never know. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring and some good reading.
I can't believe the first quarter of 2025 is completed, but I will report that I hit my mark in the reading numbers. My goal for this year is 100+ books and I have read 25 books through March 31st. Hopefully, that amount will continue or even edge up a bit. We shall see. So, what have I read since I last shared? Some good ones.
I have caught up on two mystery series. I told you guys that I was reading
A Ruse of Shadows by
Sherry Thomas and I completed that one and enjoyed it very much. It's the 8th in the Lady Sherlock series. As a reminder, this is a set of books where Sherlock Holmes is Charlotte Holmes and Watson is Mrs. Watson. The author has told readers that she is working on the 9th book and I'll look forward to that one. I had also shared that Sherry will have a standalone book entitled
The Librarians that will be published in late September.
The next book I picked up was the 4th book in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series. It's entitled The Mistress Of Bhatia House and it was really good. This is a historical mystery series, set in 1920's India. Perveen Mistry is Bombay's only female solicitor. She's Oxford educated and is based on a real person. I've enjoyed all the books and recommend them for the historical content and also the crime solving. The first book is The Widows Of Malabar Hill.
I then moved on to
The Women by
Kristin Hannah. It will be the discussion book for April in the 'afternoon book group' that I try to attend most months. I became very absorbed in the first part of this one. Honestly, I had heard lots of things from other bloggers and friends about this story and the way it was told. Mixed reviews, though it's won a bunch of awards from various sites and has extremely high ratings. I had several friends tell me that they will be curious about what I would think when I finished it. Well, I liked parts and I became frustrated with other parts. The historical element was very good, but it was also very sad. I kept trying to think where I was during the years mentioned and to recall any specific memories. The second part of the book was tougher for me. Not that there weren't some good things, but again, frustration with the main character and other elements. I will say that I have visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. more than once and found it very heartbreaking and poignant. As to the discussion of this one, I think it will be very interesting. We'll see what others felt. Sometimes the books that invoke strong feelings (good and bad) will have the best discussions.
The last book I read for March was
A Stranger In The Family by
Jane Casey. This is also a crime novel series book, number 11. I've enjoyed this whole series featuring DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent. I had shared
here that the 12th book,
The Secret Room, will be published later this month. Naturally, that meant I needed to get #11 read and so I did. It had been a bit since I read one of these and I had to remember how we left our protagonists. The story was interesting and involved a crime from the past and then a murder/suicide in the present. I suspect that though this book has high reviews there are a few readers who are a bit frustrated with the interaction of our two leads. I had said in talking about #12 to come that they had a very complicated relationship. They do indeed. I'm hoping that the next book will see some moving forward in that regard. The crime solving gets good marks from me. The first book in the series is
The Burning. Another series that I can recommend.
I have finished one book for April, but I think I'll wait until my next update to tell about that one. This post has gotten a bit long. Take care everyone and enjoy spring! Oh, and also tell me if you've read any of these books and what you thought - I always love to get those comments.
I can't believe we are already in April. The first quarter went by so fast. Jane Casey is an author I've been wanting to read and I have A Ruse of Shadows on my TBR. My reading has been a bit on the slow side the last few weeks and I'm hoping to get back on track.
ReplyDeleteYou've had a lot going on, Katherine. I suspect your numbers will improve in upcoming days. Hope you like any of these books or authors that you decide to try. Have a good week!
DeleteIt does sound like you have had some good reading. I am looking forward to reading The Women by Hannah, mainly because of the setting in Vietnam and the time. I have a hard time remembering how all of that affected me. I think it would help to read something like The Women.
ReplyDeleteI also think it would be a good book to discuss in a book club.
Tracy, I'll be interested in what you think if you read The Women. Yes, there are lots of cultural things, music and other areas, that do bring back memories of that '60's-'70's time period. I had to literally think of what year they were referencing and where I lived, what age I was, etc. I agree a good book to discuss.
DeleteI loved the Sherry Thomas book. So glad to hear she's working on another book for that series!
ReplyDeleteMary
Mary, I was very happy about that as well. I do like that series.
DeleteI love the sound of the birds in the morning. Our trees out front are more green than pink/purple now. My roses aren't doing so well this spring, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteThere's a part of me that would like to hit 100 or more books this year, and at this rate, it seems possible, but I am trying not to let myself go there in terms of mindset lest it begin to feel like an obligation. Congratulations on catching up on two series! My focus on book club books these days has kind of derailed me from my plan to do the same. It's not a lost cause though. :-) I do hope to read The Women one day. I hope your book club discussion goes well!
I hope you have a good week and month of April! Happy reading, Kay!
Wendy, it's a lot of fun that you are focusing on book clubs lately. Seems like you are doing well with them. I think at different times of our lives, reading quantities changes and ebbs and flows. I just know that I never want to not be reading. If you get to read The Women, I'd be curious what you think. I think the discussion will be interesting for sure. Sorry about your roses - hope they improve. And wishing you a good April too!
DeleteThis must be such a beautiful time of the year in your area with all the wildflowers! Our daughter and her husband are staying at our place in CT this month while they look for a house and she's been sending photos of the early spring blooms. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the tree in the front yard is still flowering when we get back .
ReplyDeleteI keep changing my mind about The Women... it's been on and off my tbr list so many times! It's off at the moment, mostly because there are too many other books I REALLY want to read. Happy April!
It is a beautiful time of year for sure. My favorite season. How fun that your daughter is keeping you updated on the flowers! Ah, The Women - I'd say if you get to read it, fine - if not, probably also fine. Ha! Happy April right back at you!
DeleteI'm so happy for spring weather and some sunshine and blue skies. We got rain and snow last week! And I liked the first half of The Women a lot more than the second half, though so many sad things happened. Still, I thought it was a good book. And yay for reaching your first quarter reading goal of 25 books. That's awesome! :D
ReplyDeleteLark, the Texas Panhandle got snow in the last few days. Not unknown at all. Seems like Texas always gets another cool spell usually just before Easter. I suspect this will be the last one. Thanks for telling me what you thought about The Women. It was quite sad in many parts. Your experience seems mostly like mine. Happy April!
DeleteI read The Women for my book club. I will just say that I have, after reading two books by Hannah, not been taken with her as an author. The coincidences and the back-from-the-dead events and unexpected pregnancies feel more suited to a soap opera than a novel.
ReplyDeleteDeb, thanks for telling me about your experience with The Women. I will admit that I thought some of those things were a bit (or more than a bit) overused. I had read books by Hannah many years ago, but they were not historical. More of family/women/drama type books. Liked those. We'll see what our book group says.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear this could be your last cool spell until Fall. And I know the heat can get brutal in Texas. I've not heard of the Perveen Mistry series so will look those up as I like the sound of it. Beautiful cover too. I hear about The Women in all kinds of places but have not made up my mind whether or not to read it. Happy spring, Kay!
ReplyDeleteCath, I'm not upset that the cool will be leaving us. Having lived in this area most of my life I know that we always get the heat. Now, life is different when you don't have air conditioning. When I was a kid, A/C was much more rare. Even our schools didn't have it. OK, I encourage you to try the Perveen Mistry books. Think you might like them. Maybe try The Women, but maybe not. Happy April to you!
DeleteI haven't read The Women yet but it's on my TBR. It's interesting how you tried to tie the book to memories from your own life.
ReplyDeleteAs the author talked about the time and year and also mentioned music and events I did find myself thinking - where did we live, what grade was I in, what do I remember? Haven't done that in a while. Will be interested if you read it and what you think, Angela. :-)
DeleteI'm glad you got some rain, and that the wildflowers are blooming. I hope your allergies aren't too terrible, though. I've read 23 books so far this year, and there have been some great reads in there. I plan to do a quarterly collage of my favorites once I get my act together. Two road trips with another in a week has put me behind in my blogging activities. I have three reviews to write! I haven't fallen behind like this in many years. But the trips have been fun, so I'm not complaining. I bet you have a good discussion about The Women. I feel like you share my views on the novel. I think in the hands of someone like Barbara Kingsolver or Ann Patchett, the story might have felt more substantial. At least the second half, which was my least favorite. I was inspired to buy a copy of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. It's 663 pages, so I may wait and read it this summer. It will most likely take me a month, if not longer, to read!
ReplyDeleteGood luck reading Matterhorn. Took a look and not sure I'm interested in that one at this time. Yes, I think that the discussion should be interesting - hope it is anyway. No, my allergies aren't bad. Winter and late fall are the bad times for me. Others though - spring is bad for them.
DeleteI liked The Women. Both parts. It was last year when I listened to it but I really liked it. I was a teen during that time and was aware of the war on the fringes of my life but was a bit too young to understand the impact. So I was glad to read more about it and also about the medical personnel and what life was like for them.
ReplyDeleteGayle, I can see you liking The Women a lot. If nothing else, the medical aspect. And, yes, the time period and memories of a sort during that time. The music mentioned was probably more things that I remembered honestly. As I said, this book seems to be a 'love it' or 'maybe didn't love it so much' kind of book. Ha!
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