Richard and Judy Book Club: Christmas

As you know I’m a HUGE fan of the Richard and Judy Book Club at WH Smith and they always seem to pick some of the best/popular books before they become popular.

I managed to get my hands on the Christmas collection and it features some very intriguing books. What I love most about Richard and Judy books is that they feature lots of added goodies at the back such as book club discussion questions and author Q&As. Their podcast often features author interviews too which, once you’ve read the book, is a great listen.

Here were the books featured in the Christmas collection:

Mum & Dad – Joanne Trollope

It’s been twenty-five years since Gus and Monica left England to start a new life in Spain, building a vineyard and wine business from the ground up. However, when Gus suffers a stroke and their idyllic Mediterranean life is thrown into upheaval, it’s left to their three grown-up children in London to step in…

Sebastian is busy running his company with his wife, Anna, who’s never quite seen eye-to-eye with her mother-in-law.

Katie, a successful solicitor in the City, is distracted by the problems with her long-term partner, Nic, and the secretive lives of their three daughters.

And Jake, ever the easy-going optimist, is determined to convince his new wife, Bella, that moving to Spain with their eighteen-month-old would be a good idea.

As the children descend on the vineyard, it becomes clear that each has their own idea of how best to handle their mum and dad, as well as the family business. But as long-simmering resentments rise to the surface and tensions reach breaking point, can the family ties prove strong enough to keep them together?

A Conspiracy of Bones – Kathy Reichs

It’s sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she’s anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.

An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions.

To win answers to the others, including the man’s identity, she must go rogue, working mostly outside the system. That’s because Tempe’s new boss holds a fierce grudge against her and is determined to keep her out of the case. Tempe bulls forward anyway, even as she begins questioning her instincts. But the clues she discovers are disturbing and confusing. Was the faceless man a spy? A trafficker? A target for assassination by the government? And why was he carrying the name of a child missing for almost a decade?

With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilising new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth.But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes…

Away With the Penguins – Hazel Prior

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she’s never seen without her ruby-red lipstick.

Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone.

She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (‘people who litter the countryside should be shot’), trying to locate her glasses (‘someone must have moved them’) or shouting
instructions to her assistant, Eileen (‘Eileen, door!’).

Veronica doesn’t have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she’s going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies.

Shadowplay – Joseph O’Connor

1878- The Lyceum Theatre, London. Three extraordinary people begin their life together, a life that will be full of drama, transformation, passionate and painful devotion to art and to one another. Henry Irving, the Chief, is the volcanic leading man and impresario; Ellen Terry is the most lauded and desired actress of her generation, outspoken and generous of heart; and ever following along behind them in the shadows is the unremarkable theatre manager, Bram Stoker.

Fresh from life in Dublin as a clerk, Bram may seem the least colourful of the trio but he is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the London streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration.

But the Chief is determined that nothing will get in the way of his manager’s devotion to the Lyceum and to himself. And both men are enchanted by the beauty and boldness of the elusive Ellen. This exceptional novel explores the complexities of love that stands dangerously outside social convention, the restlessness of creativity, and the experiences that led to Dracula, the most iconic supernatural tale of all time.

The Split – Sharon Bolton

Two years ago Felicity Lloyd desperately signed up for an extended research trip working on the remote island of South Georgia.

It was her only way to escape. And now he’s coming for her.

Freddie Lloyd has just got out of prison for murder and is on his way to where Felicity is hiding.

And this time, he won’t stop until he finds her. Because no matter how far you run, some secrets will always catch up with you…

Silver Sparrow – Tayari Jones

Set in a middle-class neighbourhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s families– the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode when secrets are revealed and illusions shattered. As Jones explores the backstories of her rich and flawed characters, she also reveals the joy, and the destruction, they brought to each other’s lives.

At the heart of it all are the two girls whose lives are at stake, and like the best writers, Jones portrays the fragility of her characers with raw authenticity as they seek love, demand attention, and try to imagine themselves as women.

Richard and Judy’s Book Club Christmas Collection 2020

REVIEW: Rodham

“Category one is they can’t stomach the idea of a female colleague and nothing you do will change their minds. Category three is those that are supportive. Category two is the odd one. They tolerate you, but it’s because they’ve decided you’re an honorary man.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

I decided to read this book because I saw a lot of people sing its praises earlier last year and it was recommended to me by Molly at Molly’s Book Club.

What Did I Think?

So before buying this book, I had no idea that it was about Hillary Clinton IF she had never married Bill (making her Hillary Rodham of course). It is a fantastic fictional twist on history and one that I wish may have happened.

From the start of the book, we follow Hillary in her law school years and in her early 20s where she meets and dates the infamous Bill Clinton. We see their relationship grow and begin to learn about Bill Clinton’s behaviour in his rise to political fame. Yet instead of marrying him and living a life of anxiety/worry, she decides to leave when she gets the opportunity and lead her own life.

We follow her throughout her campaigns to become the President of the United States and how her life changes due to her decision to leave her life with Bill behind. What I loved most about the book was Sittenfield’s commentary on women’s inequality, not just in politics but in all aspects of life; parenthood, teaching, media.

Hillary not only has to prove why she’s good enough to run the country, she also has to fight against the sexist beliefs instilled into generations of American voters. Not only does she have to behave more like a man so she can be heard by those around her, she also has to prove why she is a ‘good’ woman despite not being married or having children. The two consistently contradict each other throughout the book, with Hillary being referred to as ‘more like a man than a woman’ and having her relationship with Bill Clinton always discussed instead of her beliefs/policies. Even as a reader, you can feel the frustration and tiring effect it has on Hillary and her campaign. People don’t take her seriously because she’s either too manly or too womanly. She can’t do right from wrong.

No matter your political stance, Rodham is a story about one woman’s rise to political fame/success in a world that ‘isn’t meant for women.’ Yet Hillary’s determination and dedication to continue on the path to get what she wants is probably one of the most encouraging parts to the story, even if it’s fictional. Oh, and the chapters featuring Donald Trump will give you a great giggle too.

Rodham

Publisher: Doubleday
Published: 2020
No. Pages: 421
Genre: Fiction, Political
Trigger Warnings: Sexism, sexual harassment, sexual abuse
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

REVIEW: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives–or to find strength in a very long one.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

I bought this book towards the end of last year because I had seen loads of people raving about it on Twitter AND the book itself is beautiful. However, being a fantasy novel, it’s not my usual sort of thing but I had been told that it was an easy and enjoyable read so I decided it would be my first book of 2021.

What Did I Think?

Being over 500 pages, it took me longer than usual to read but like everyone had told me, it was an easy read.

If you don’t know what The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is about, then you’re in for a treat. The book follows a young woman named Adeline LaRue who, in 1714, unintentionally makes a deal with the devil in a desperate act to not marry the man her parents have found for her. The deal? That she will live forever but never be remembered. The moment someone turns away from her, she is instantly forgotten and can’t even write her own name.

So we follow Addie throughout her 300 years of living in a kind of Forest Gump-style story that places Addie in some of the most important events in history. Yet in 2014, everything begins to change when Addie meets a mysterious man in a bookshop who remembers her…

Although it took me ages to get through it, it felt a proper journey that I was on with Addie herself. I loved watching her live through decades of history and how she watched the world change before her. I also found it fascinating to see how she learned to worm her way out of sticky situations.

However, as much as I loved the story, towards the end I felt like the story ended up being something else; more of a love story that felt like it was kind of thrown in at the last minute. However, that didn’t take away from that fact that the ending completely broke my heart and left me sobbing like a baby in bed (which is safe to say shocked my boyfriend completely).

There has been some recent backlash regarding the book and V.E Schwab because the book did not feature any characters of colour. It is ridiculous to think that throughout the 300 years that Addie lived, she didn’t encounter any black history events or any black people for that matter, which is extremely disappointing. It would have been amazing if V.E Schwab had placed Addie in significant events in black history but the fact that it was simply overlooked by her, her editors, her publishers etc…it’s disheartening.

Although I enjoyed the story, it did drag and I thought it could have easily been half the size it was. Had she focused more on the love story from the start, I think I would have probably enjoyed the book more and it would have felt more authentic and not just included last minute.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 2020
No. Pages: 560
Genre: Fantasy
Trigger Warnings: Abusive relationship, Alcohol abuse, Assault (physical and sexual), Death, Depression, Drugs, Prostitution, Sexism, Suicide (attempted), War
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

REVIEW – Convenience Store Woman

“She’s far happier thinking her sister is normal, even if she has a lot of problems than she is having an abnormal sister for whom everything is fine.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

When I picked up this book, I was one book away from completing my Goodreads Reading Challenge to read 100 books in 2020. With only three days left to complete it, I opted for a short piece of fiction to tick off the 100th book. I have been waiting to read Convenience Store Woman since the summer and having read some other short Asian fiction this year, I wanted to see what all the hype was about with this one.

What Did I Think?

What did I think? Tricky question…I think I enjoyed it? It is definitely one of the most confusing books I’ve ever read but I seemed to like that nonetheless.

If you haven’t heard of this one, Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life.

Keiko only learns about social interaction through working at the Smile Mart, copying people’s mannerisms, speech and reactions in order to act like a ‘normal’ person. When we meet her, she has worked at the convenience store for over 18 years and is constantly questioned and pressured about why she has stayed there for so long or why she hasn’t found a partner and got married yet.

Although nothing much happens throughout the course of the book, the social commentary made by the author, Sayaka Murata, is incredible and consistently questions normality and social norms. The need to conform is also highlighted throughout her book, with constant reference to the coworkers and her ‘friends’ being exactly the same as each other; dressing, talking, doing the same as one another. Keiko, despite her unusual and robotic behaviour, is arguably the only character in the book who isn’t one dimensional.

I did enjoy the book but towards the end, I think the story was lost a little and I had to frequently question whether I was enjoying the book or not. I suppose that was intentional by the author?! I’m definitely glad it was the book to finish a weird and wonderful year.

“You eliminate the parts of your life that others find strange–maybe that’s what everyone means when they say they want to ‘cure” me.”

Convenience Store Woman

Publisher: Portobello Books
Published: 2018
No. Pages: 163
Genre: Short Fiction, Asian, Contemporary
Trigger Warnings: Poverty, social awkwardness, abusive relationships
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

REVIEW: All About Us

“I guess none of us turned out how we thought we would at nineteen. We all made mistakes and concessions and wrong turnings.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

My lovely friend, Lucy @ Drafted Dreams, sent me this book after reading it herself earlier in December. She really enjoyed it and loved how it is kind of like a play on the traditional A Christmas Carol’ story which we were reading with the ‘Let’s Get Classical’ Book Club.

What Did I Think?

I read this during a time where I was moving out of my parents’ home and into my first ever home with my boyfriend. So what should have been a quick and easy read, took me several days to finish. However, I found myself not wanting to put the book down and when I wasn’t reading it, the story was often floating around in my head.

If you don’t know All About Us follows a man named Ben who has been married to his wife Daphne for over 10 years but the magic/love is fading and whilst reminiscing and considering what his life would be like if he had gone for a different woman, he accidentally meets a mysterious time-travelling man/ghost who shows him glimpses of Ben’s past, future and present.

I loved how the author focused on the ‘what if’ question because let’s be honest we have all considered what our lives would look like now if we hadn’t chosen the paths we have. So it was really interesting to relive Ben’s earlier life and see how those events shaped who he was today, and even more interestingly, Ben reacting differently to past events having lived them once before.

I also loved the deeper exploration into grief and how it affects the human brain and relationships. Ben is clearly grieving when we meet him in the present day and has allowed his mental health to decline massively as a result, with his relationships with his wife and friends suffering too.

I really enjoyed the book and the pace and I would love to see it be made into a film. I especially thought the author’s focus on men’s mental health was refreshing because personally, I don’t think male mental health is talked about enough. The depiction of male friendship made me giggle because in my experience, men never really seem to talk about their real feelings with their mates and just brush things off before it gets too deep. So it was funny (and I guess important) to see this explored in the book too.

A real Christmassy treat!

All About Us

Publisher: HQ
Published: 2020
No. Pages: 400
Genre: Romance, holiday
Trigger Warnings: Cheating, death, family death, grief, depression, mental health, anxiety
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

My 2020 in Books

So 2020 finally ended and THANK GOD. However, I would have liked 2021 to begin a little better than being stuck in yet ANOTHER national lockdown here in the UK.

Being furloughed for 7 out of 12 months of the year really worked in my favour, reading more books than I ever have in a year I think.

Here’s a quick reading round-up of how my 2020 went…(courtesy of Goodreads)

5-Star Reads of 2020

Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Tales from The Café) – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Brontë

Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – Jenny Han

The Shadow Friend – Alex North

Frankissstein – Jeannette Winterson

I See You – Clare Mackintosh

Becoming – Michelle Obama

Once Upon A River – Diane Setterfield

Daisy Jones & The Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Queenie – Candice Carty-Williams

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo

The Whisper Man – Alex North

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

And there we have it, my 2020 reading round-up! Here’s to another wonderful year of reading.

ARC REVIEW: The Twelve Dates of Christmas

“A man is like an optional extra: you should only take one on when it’s beneficial to do so. It’s like refraining for the fourth plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you have to have it.”

Why Did I Read This?

I was accepted to read an ARC of this book by NetGalley and I was thrilled because I had seen this book being posted about all over bookstagram so I knew I’d picked a good one. I requested this because as I’ve said in previous blog posts, Christmas-themed books are something I’ve never really read, and I wanted to try that out this year.

What Did I Think?

Well first things first, let me say if you’re wanting a great romantic, cheese-filled story…then The Twelve Dates of Christmas is one for you.

Love Actually. The Holiday. Who doesn’t love a good rom-com around Christmas time? The Twelve Dates of Christmas follows a young woman named Kate who has moved back to her hometown of Blexford, England from London. Following a recent break-up with a guy she had been with for over five years, Kate’s friend decides to sign her up to a dating agency that promises to help singles find love before the holidays. With twenty-three days until Christmas and twelve dates with twelve different men to go on, we follow Kate in her mission to find Mr. Right.

I told you it was cheesy! What I loved about this book was I warmed to Kate almost instantly and that allowed me to just sit back and relax into the story, enjoying and getting the chance to go on each date with her and imagine how cute and Christmassy it must have been. Without spoiling it for you, each date is…unique…in its own way and I loved watching every date unfold.

One thing that’s great when your single is the sheer amount of different dating experiences you get to ‘enjoy’ but now I’m in a committed, loving relationship, I could not imagine anything worse than having to go back out into the dating scene and deal with all the crap that comes with it. Fun as it may be, none of it compares to going on a date night with your partner.

I also loved Kate’s friendships and her amusing family. I loved how even though Kate had moved away from Blexford for quite some years, she was able to rekindle her old friendships and make them better than they ever were.

Although the storyline is completely obvious from reading about 30% of the book, I loved that it panned out the way it did, and it had such a cute and heart-warming end. Just what you need at Christmas time. A truly up-lifting read that has significantly improved my opinion of Christmas-related novels.

The Twelve Dates of Christmas

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Published: 2020
# of Pages: 320
Genre: Comedy, Christmas
Trigger Warnings: Divorce, cheating, sex, stress, loneliness, death
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

2020 Releases I’ve STILL Not Read

I’ve nearly hit my Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge of 100 books…yes, 100 books! (Thank you pandemic) but there are still some fantastic 2020 releases that I still haven’t managed to tick off my TBR.

I thought I’d take you through them and see which ones I’m still yet to read!

The Guest List – Lucy Foley

Lucy Foley’s The Guest List along with her other novel, The Hunting Party has been on my TBR since it came out earlier this year. I am a huge fan of thrillers and can eat them up in a matter of days, but for some reason, other thrillers have taken precedent over this one, which I’m told is worth all the five-star reviews.

The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half, like all of Brit Bennett’s books, is simply beautiful and I cannot believe I STILL haven’t read this book yet. Her other book, The Mothers, was one I started and thoroughly enjoyed but due to a water bottle incident ended up completely ruined. I am determined to complete one of her books in the new year.

Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell

2020 winner of The Women’s Prize, Hamnet was a book I managed to find in a local charity shop for 50p and I was over the moon. Yet since purchasing, it has just been sitting (proudly) on my bookshelf as part of my Women’s Prize winner’s collection. I’ve heard mixed reviews and that period of history that Hamnet is based around isn’t usually my sort of history, but I’m determined nevertheless to tick it off my TBR list.

The Girl with The Louding Voice – Abi Daré

I got the hardback edition of this book earlier this year as part of my subscription to Books With A Conscience and have still not managed to read it. I saw hundreds of bookstagrammers raving about this book on my Instagram feed but haven’t yet found the time/been in the mood to delve into it. If I managed a summer holiday next year, I think this one will definitely be coming me with.

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Shockingly, I read very little horror this year in the run up to Halloween which is probably because around that time I had just lost my job and was being drawn to more uplifting, light, and easy reads to help take my stress away. However, Mexican Gothic has been one I have heard utterly fantastic things about and not only that, the book itself is truly beautiful too. One I will definitely HAVE to read next Halloween or even sooner if I’m feeling it.

Lakewood – Megan Giddings

Lakewood is a book that keeps appearing on my social media feeds and advertisements, so I guess this is the universe’s way of telling me I need to read this book. I first saw it mentioned on Eva at Eva’s Book Corner stories and since then haven’t managed to escape this feeling that I need to read this book. I hope I’m not disappointed when I finally get around to reading it…

Hood Feminism – Mikki Kendall

If you know me, then you know I love anything feminist/female empowerment-related, and Hood Feminism has been on my TBR list ever since it was released. I haven’t got around to actually purchasing the book yet as I couldn’t find a second-hand copy that was in decent condition and doesn’t cost a fortune. However, with any Christmas money that might hopefully be coming my way, I can FINALLY purchase this one and get cracking with it.

And there we have it…the 2020 releases I still haven’t read yet. All of these sit proudly on my tBR just waiting to be read, hopefully you’ll see my reviews of them featured on here in the not so distant future.

What books have you not had the chance to read yet?

REVIEW: The Christmas Killer

“The sky remained heavy and grey, and the air felt raw. James wondered if this was the calm before the storm.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

This was chosen as my local book club read and as someone who hasn’t really ever read any Christmassy books, I was excited to experience my first one.

What Did I Think?

However, this book was not for me and I eventually made the hard decision to DNF the book after about 100 pages. I was recently listening to a new podcast called Off the Shelf by Phoebe at Pause Books where she interviewed a friend and she had this great commitment to giving a book 100 pages to impress you and if it doesn’t and you’re not enjoying it, then to just DNF.

I’m a strong advocate for DNF-ing books that just aren’t doing it for you and sadly The Christmas Killer was that for me. But I cannot stress enough that although I really didn’t enjoy this book, that is my opinion, and you may find that you love it so please still give it a try if it’s one you’re considering reading.

The reason I chose to DNF the book was that it was just too incredibly cheesy for me and included a lot of one-dimensional and ‘simple’ characters that I just found difficult to imagine. One thing I disliked most about it was the relationship between our protagonist and his wife. I thought to myself that marriages are surely NOT this easy and plain-sailing, especially when there is a mass murderer on the loose. The wife just seemed to ‘keep herself busy’ and when she couldn’t, she would sit at home endlessly pining for her husband. I’m sorry but have we gone back to the 19^th Century?

There were other reasons why this book didn’t do it for me but instead of droning on about all the reasons I didn’t like it, I’ll stop here.

Not for me but I’ll definitely still try to read the other Christmas books I have planned for this month to see if they are any better.

The Christmas Killer

Published: 2020
Publisher: Avon
# of Pages: 400
Genre: Thriller
Trigger Warnings: Violence, blood, death, murder, stereotypes, abuse, knife crime
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells

REVIEW: The Switch

“That’s the way with old friends. You understand each other, even when there’s not enough words out there for everything that should be said.”

Why Did I Read This Book?

After finishing 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World, I was on the hunt for a light, easy read. The Switch has been on my TBR since finishing The Flatshare earlier this year. In a previous blog post (Authors I’ve Found in 2020 That I Now Love) I mentioned that Beth O’leary has easily become one of my favourite authors I’ve found this year, so of course I had to give her a second book a read.

What Did I Think?

The Switch was everything I hoped for and more. A heart-warming read that interestingly showed the importance and variance of happiness. What makes you happy, might not make another person happy and that’s OK.

The Switch follows our two protagonists and grandmother/granddaughter: Leena and Eileen Cotton. Both ladies are fed up with their lives and need something that can switch things up. Leena lives in London and has an incredibly busy and stressful life which has led to her developing unprovoked anxiety attacks and a two-month forced sabbatical. Eileen’s husband has run off with a yoga teacher and has left her lost in a world where she feels she no longer belongs.

The two decide to swap lives, with Eileen going to live in London with Leena’s young flatmates in a mission to get her love life back into action and Leena moves to a small town in the countryside and is thrown into festival planning with the local unruly pensioners.

The things I love about Beth O’Leary’s books is her comedy and ability to sum feelings and experiences up in a way that makes you question how you feel and how you react to certain events. For example, Leena is obviously punishing herself and hiding her grief after the loss of her sister to cancer by keeping herself unbelievably busy and distant.

“You were healing. You’re still healing. You’ll maybe always be healing. And that’s OK. It’ll just be part of what makes you you.”

Although I have never experienced grief myself, I could relate to the way Leena behaves when I try and escape my problems by keeping busy and aloof. There was certainly a lightbulb moment whilst reading this book where I could relate to how Leena was behaving and why.

I would definitely say though that I enjoyed Eileen’s story more because it was great to see her adapt to modern dating and the laughs she had along the way. Especially some of her horrific Tinder experiences…

The story reminded me of a non-Christmas version of The Holiday and similar to a book I read earlier this year called The Lido in the depiction of young/old relationships. It was certainly one I enjoyed and one I definitely needed to read.

The Switch

Published: 2020
Publisher:
# of Pages:
Genre: Comedy
Trigger Warnings: Cancer, death, work-related stress, anxiety, loneliness, divorce, family feuds
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Blackwells