tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63873300260002381632024-03-14T15:00:31.738+00:00Norfolk BookwormA place for a Norfolk based bookworm to record her feelings on some of the books she reads.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.comBlogger810125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-84318024432688944422024-03-14T15:00:00.005+00:002024-03-14T15:00:00.137+00:00Micro review 4 (2024) Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan (Andersen Press)I read this book back last summer and really enjoyed reading it. It is another book set in WW2 but this one had a different spin as while it was set in Paris during the Occupation it focuses on the resistance work undertaken by the Islamic community of the city and the help they provided to Jews trying to escape.This is a book for Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-59230041108061477292024-02-06T15:30:00.006+00:002024-02-06T15:30:00.136+00:00Time Flies again (micro reviews 1, 2, & 3 for 2024) How can it be February already?The adage about time speeding up as you get older is definitely true and while January did feel like it had about a 1000 days it also rushed past in a flash and I just haven't had time to blog. Its not that I've not been reading, January was quite a productive month book wise but many of the books are very advance copies that I can't talk about yet and toSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-55879500727933279742024-01-04T14:00:00.010+00:002024-01-04T14:00:00.148+00:00Why I loved those 20 books from 2023 - part two! Why that Top 20?Following on from my New Year's Day post of top 20 books for 2023 here's the reasoning behind my top fiction books.It was really hard to pick just 10 (as ever) and I do feel bad that The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley and the Cat + Gamer manga books by Wataru Nadatani (tr. Davisson), and Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin didn't make the cut as all were Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-66512107550940659282024-01-03T14:00:00.002+00:002024-01-03T14:00:00.184+00:00Why I loved those 20 books from 2023 - part one! Why that Top 20?It occurred to me yesterday that it was all well and good letting everyone know what my top reads were but perhaps I should say why I loved them...Non Fiction:One Hundred Saturdays - this was a completely new to me story about both WW2 and Rhodes (an island that is always going to be very special to me) and it has made me really want to go back and to explore this new Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-86866238114035289852024-01-01T18:30:00.002+00:002024-01-01T18:30:00.129+00:00Books of the Year 2023 edition My year in books.Well it has been an abysmal year for blogging but despite this when I look back at my reading journal I can see that I read *lots* of books and that there were some real crackers in there.Looking back through my journal I can also see the following stats...66% of the books I read were by women40 titles (14%) were books in translation37 titles(13.5%) fell under the Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-27189329213085749962023-11-24T12:32:00.011+00:002023-11-24T12:32:00.138+00:00Micro review 18 (Non Fiction November) Space: The Human Story by Tim Peake (Cornerstone)Regular readers, and people who know me IRL are aware that I am something of a space nerd, and that I love meeting astronauts and reading about them. Since Peake's flight into space he has written and spoken a lot about his experiences and I was slightly nervous that this was going to be another remix of what he's already said.I was Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-58095204819340074982023-11-21T16:00:00.012+00:002023-11-21T16:00:00.130+00:00Micro review 17 (Non Fiction November) The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie (Chatto & Windus)Earlier in the year I read (and enjoyed) the novels The Dictionary of Lost Words & The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams which were all about the creation of the first OED and book publishing at the Oxford University Press so I leapt at the chance to read more about the people behind the story.In idle moments (mostly Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-84055591308833685242023-11-02T11:15:00.002+00:002023-11-02T11:15:00.131+00:00And now for something completely different The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard (Allison & Busby)I was very lucky to be offered a chance to read this in advance of publication and it arrived at the perfect time. I'm reading (and enjoying) lots of non-fiction books right now but really struggling to find fiction that captivates me.The Runaway Heiress is so far away from my normal reading choice that I hoped (rightly) that it Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-87739281563911219852023-10-20T16:00:00.007+01:002023-10-20T16:00:00.145+01:00Micro Review 16 Finding Bear by Hannah Gold. Illustrated by Levi Pinfold (Harper Collins)I think that it was Kentishbookboy who first recommended Hannah Gold's books to me and while I'm not sure if he has grown out of them now I was very excited to see that April was back and off on another adventure with Bear in Svalbard.This time April manages to convince her dad to be part of the adventure from the Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-42980979987420186762023-10-05T14:30:00.002+01:002023-10-05T14:30:00.146+01:00Micro review 15 The Figurine by Victoria Hislop (Headline)I was very lucky to win an advance copy of this in a Twitter competition and it has to be said that I abandoned everything else and just got stuck straight in - I'd only been back from Greece a matter of weeks but I was already homesick for the people and place so this just ticked so many boxes!I really enjoyed Hislop's sweeping history of Greece Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-68833529443678891522023-09-18T10:52:00.002+01:002023-09-18T10:52:00.143+01:00Micro review 14 Underneath the Archers by Graham Harvey (Unbound)I think that regular readers of this blog, as well as those who know me on social media/in real life, will not be surprised to hear that my nerdiness stretches into all sorts of areas and that I am quite a fan of the radio soap opera The Archers.I remember it being on the radio in the afternoons when I was a child, and I am sure that I can Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-71863467624811900972023-09-16T09:56:00.002+01:002023-09-16T09:56:00.147+01:00Micro review 13 Fair Roasline by Natasha Solomons (Bonnier Books)Being someone who has studied Shakespeare's plays in quite some detail I wasn't entirely sure about a speculative fiction based on Romeo and Juliet but it has to be said that the tagline:Was the greatest ever love story a lie?As someone who has always found Romeo and Juliet to be a bit creepy rather than a romantic tale I was interested Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-40280878982647789022023-09-13T11:45:00.007+01:002023-09-13T11:45:00.134+01:00Distracted - or another apology for no blogging! A bit of a gap in blog posts again - and to be honest a bit of a gap in my reading during August, and some of this is because of the new member in the Norfolkbookworm house...Sadly we lost Mr Norfolkbookworm's aunt recently which was a bit of a shock to us all, but we are pleased that we've been able to rehome her much loved cat - Sooty.It has been a long time since we had a cat and we're Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-63491199835862195182023-08-04T14:00:00.002+01:002023-08-04T14:00:00.141+01:00Micro review 12 Disobedient by Elizabeth Freemantle (Michael Joseph)I've just been lucky enough to spend a long weekend in Venice, surrounded by wonderful architecture and art so when I was looking for a book to read on my journey home Disobedient seemed the obvious choice from my Kindle.This is a retelling of Artemesia Gentileschi's early years as she learns her craft and is caught up in the politicsSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880210.090477159387341 -69.0146198 90 71.6103802tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-27912510114296014122023-07-18T16:56:00.002+01:002023-07-18T16:56:00.135+01:00Kentish Book Boy returns - part six The Monkey Who Fell from the Future by Ross Welford (Harper Collins)SynopsisThe year is 2425. Centuries after a catastrophic meteor collision, nature has retaken the earth. In a small town in what was once Englnd, young Ocean Mooney and the monkey-owning Duke Smiff have just dug up a 400-year old table computer.Meanwhile, in the present day, Thomas Reeve and his genius cousin Kylie create Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-87052354763223325232023-07-15T11:00:00.009+01:002023-07-15T11:00:00.137+01:00Post holiday reading round up A fortnight doing nothing.Mr Norfolkbookworm and I have just spent two glorious weeks in Corfu. We did absolutely nothing except a few gentle walks, lie on the beach, swim in the sea and visit lovely restaurants. Oh and I did some reading...in fact I did a lot of reading as I got through 27 books in the fortnight!A quick list of books and thoughts follow!An Astronomer in Love - Antoine Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-36764759108941279702023-07-12T16:00:00.002+01:002023-07-12T16:00:00.134+01:00Kentish Book Boy returns - part five The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant (Faber and Faber)SynopsisTo Bea and Raffy, Ravenwood is home. To Noa, it is a welcome refuge. In its own way, the house rescued them, even with a fallen tree taking up most of the kitchen. But now they're about to lose it and there is nothing they can do...or is there?We all have choices.Bea can stow away across Europe on a train.Raffy can keep Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-52194978402970049002023-07-03T14:58:00.000+01:002023-07-03T14:58:00.147+01:00Micro Reviews - connected books (10 & 11) Changing the way we think about the Dutch experiences of World War TwoA few years ago I read and reviewed Bart van Es's book The Cut Out Girl which opened my eyes to another side of the Dutch experience in WW2, as I said then the prevailing feeling is that the Dutch had a good war, protected the Jews and stood up for the Nazis but this really isn't the case.Nina Siegal's The Diary Keepers (Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-2491250183847173562023-06-22T15:40:00.003+01:002023-06-22T15:40:34.119+01:00The difficult second novel - but not for readers! Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley (Transworld)Back in 2020 one of my friends was raving about a book called The Cat and The City and was insistent I had to stop everything and read it *now*. I was decidedly skeptical as Alison and I do not often share the same taste in books. I am glad that I listened to her as the book was excellent and I've been keeping my eyes out for the Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-8171772847650035502023-06-06T14:21:00.001+01:002023-06-06T14:21:00.135+01:00Too soon? (Micro reviews 8 & 9) Looking back on Covid around the world - sort of.It was inevitable that the Covid pandemic was going to spawn a lot of books, already you can see it filtering through into fiction and there have been a lot of memoirs from medical professionals published. In the past couple of months I've also noticed a few memoirs coming through from people in other countries talking about their experiencesSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-22664190871062441382023-05-27T08:25:00.004+01:002023-06-05T14:56:06.526+01:00Award Season (Micro Reviews 6 & 7) The International Booker Prize and the Dublin Literary AwardMay seems to be a big month for book awards, several prestigious ones have been announced, there's been shortlists galore and just this week Café Nero announced it was starting a new awards (hopefully to replace the much missed Costa award). However just this week two prizes were given out in awards I follow more closely - and to Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-90142697956964496302023-05-18T16:00:00.002+01:002023-05-18T16:00:00.139+01:00Micro Review 5 (2023) Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris (Duckworth Books)I was quite excited by the Women's Prize longlist this year as several books I'd read and loved were on it, sadly when it came to the shortlist none of these made the cut, and (contrary to every other reader I've met) the one I had read wasn't a hit with me at all.On reading the blurbs for the others I want to try some of them but it Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-32271407964093482852023-05-05T08:34:00.005+01:002023-05-05T08:34:00.155+01:00Quick reads don't mean easy reads Brilliant Books by Barrington StokeI've been quite open here on the blog, and in real life, about the struggles I had with reading a few years ago and how much I support initiatives such as the Quick Reads books for adults. Over the past year or so I've been reading more books aimed at children and young adults who also experience difficulties with reading - whether through dyslexia or Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-76437454812257560382023-04-26T11:43:00.002+01:002023-04-26T11:43:00.140+01:00Micro Review 4 (2023) Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin (Fourth Estate)
This book has been longlisted for the 2023 Women’s Prize and
while I don’t have time to read the whole longlist this one really leapt out at
me and I am so pleased that it did.
To my shame the Vietnam War is not something I know a lot
about, in fact I think I know more about the end of French rule in Indochina
than I do about the American Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387330026000238163.post-82406270155975250722023-04-22T11:27:00.007+01:002023-04-22T11:27:00.179+01:00Kentish Book Boy returns - part four SkyWake Invasion by Jamie Russell (Walker Books)Synopsis:
Casey
Henderson – aka CASEY_FLOW – is obsessed with online team shooter SkyWake,
which has taken the world by storm. The Ghost Reapers are a high-ranking team,
and when Casey’s in the zone, anything seems possible.
Then, at a
live SkyWake tournament, things start to get weird. The Red Eye alien
“cosplayers” seem to have real guns, Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04840181498781795054noreply@blogger.com0Norwich, UK52.6292567 1.297880224.319022863821154 -33.8583698 80.939490536178852 36.4541302