Book no. 24: Spare, by Prince Harry. I enjoy autobiographies, and I thought this one was an interesting read.

Basically, no matter what you believe about him, we all saw him walking behind his mother's coffin at the age of 12. That has a profound effect on a child. So for that in any case, and for his service in the army, he has my respect and sympathy.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#PrinceHarry
#Spare
@bookstodon

Book no. 21: They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera.
The moving story of two 17-year-old boys who find out today is the day they will die, and what they do with that last day. Makes you think: what would you do if you had just one day left?

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#Reading
#AdamSilvera
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Book no. 20: Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell.
A well thought out and beautifully written reimagining of the short life (and death) of William Shakespeare's son. A very moving story.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#Hamnet
#Shakespeare
#Maggie O'Farrell
@bookstodon

Book no. 19: Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik.

A money lender's daughter who can turn silver into gold, claimed by the icy Staryk king to do just that. A duke's daughter who marries the tsar, but he turns out to have a terrible, fiery secret.

Ice and fire battle it out in this magical fairy tale, as the women must try to save the country from eternal winter. A good read.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#NaomiNovik
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Book no. 18: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

A group of friends, who seem to have a lot less in common than they once did, spend several days at a remote Scottish hunting lodge, and get snowed in. The perfect setting for a locked room mystery.

I liked The Guest List better, but this was still quite good, most of the characters being unlikeable enough to easily be suspects.

#2023reads
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#Lucy Foley
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Book no. 17: Brown Sauce, by Pauline Lagan.
Described as 'straddling the genres of comedy, literary fiction, erotica and romance,' which is about right. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to. I found myself warming to the main character, Davina, despite all her 'I used to be unattractive but now I have two men so I guess I'll have to choose but I don't want to'.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#PaulineLagan
@bookstodon

Book no. 16: Frankenstein in Baghdad, by Ahmed Saadawi. Translated from Arabic by Jonathan Wright.

In the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Hadi collects the body parts of bomb victims in order to give them a proper burial. He stitches the body parts together to create a body, but it disappears, and a wave of strange murders follows. Interesting commentary on post-war life in Iraq, and its struggles.

#2023reads
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#AhmedSaadawi
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#BookReview #OddBoyOut by
@gylesb1

Really entertaining and witty!

https://goodreads.com/review/show/4467307587…

#BookTwitter #BeatTheBacklog

Book no. 15: De laatste winter (The last winter), by Femke Roobol.

The story of a young woman (and her mother and sister) living through the hunger winter in Amsterdam in 1944-45, and her brother who has been deported to Neuengamme concentration camp. After the war she searches to find out what happened to him.

Both their stories are terrible of course, but I enjoyed the book.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#FemkeRoobol
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Book no. 14: The Shakespeare Secret, by J.L. Carrell.

Good fun, chasing Shakespearean clues on two continents, while trying to avoid both the police and a killer. Far-fetched but enjoyable!

#2023reads
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#Shakespeare
#JLCarrell
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Book no. 13: The Secret Lives of Cows, by Rosamund Young.

I quite enjoyed these anecdotes which show us some of the character traits our bovine friends can have. The bigger message being we need to treat them better, and intensive farming is not the way.

#2023reads
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#RosamundYoung
#cows
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Book no. 12: Yolk, by Mary H.K. Choi.
This book deals with a lot of tough subjects: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, cancer, racism, but is an ultimately uplifting story of two sisters, their rivalry and love.

#2023reads
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#Yolk
#MaryHKChoi
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Book no. 11: Zazie dans le métro, by Raymond Queneau.

Lively, cheeky, foul-mouthed Zazie stays with her uncle in Paris for two days. Bizarre events unfold, involving her uncle's friends as well as total strangers. And a parrot!

I love the way Queneau plays with the language, even though I'm sure I missed a lot, as French isn't my first language (or even my second). Very funny with serious undertones.

#2023reads
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#RaymondQueneau
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Book no.10: De ontdekking van de hemel (The Discovery of Heaven), by Harry Mulisch.

I don't know where to start to describe this 900-page tale. Two young men meet and their friendship sparks a sequence of events that is weird, enthralling, incredible.

There are meandering parts that feel like Mulisch is showing off how much he knows, but he certainly can spin a yarn, and I enjoyed the book. Must seek out the film with @stephenfry #2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
#Books
#Bookstodon
@bookstodon

@_forbookssake I love #beatthebacklog! I need to pick that up. I'm starting to think I should just individually gift wrap all my unread books and have my partner randomly "gift" one to me every week.

Book no. 9: Bruidsvlucht (Bride Flight), by Marieke van der Pol.

Three young Dutch women are among a larger group emigrating to New Zealand to join their husbands/fiancés who have gone ahead. On the flight to NZ they meet someone who will link them together for the rest of their lives. Set partly in 1953 and partly in the present day, looking back on the events.

Very good - I must look for the movie.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#Reading
#MariekeVanDerPol
@bookstodon

Book no. 8: The Stones Cry Out, by Hikaru Okuizumi. Translated by James Westerhoven.

"Even the smallest stone in a riverbed has the entire history of the universe inscribed upon it."

Haunting and sad, but a beautiful story.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#HikaruOkuizumi
@bookstodon

Book no. 7: Naomi's Room, by Jonathan Aycliffe. Very creepy!

#2023reads
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#JonathanAycliffe
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Book no. 6: The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden, by Jonas Jonasson. Translated by Rachel Wilson-Broyles.

Hilariously improbable sequence of events, involving a girl from Soweto, twins who are one person, a dangerous weapon and, indeed, the King of Sweden. Great fun!

#2023reads
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#Reading
#JonasJonasson
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Book no. 5: The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst.

Hollinghurst's writing is beautiful. This story spans six decades, revolving around events that are only alluded to, including the 'affair' in the title, but which have a profound effect on several of the characters. A poignant view of the changing attitudes towards homosexuality over the decades.
Recommended.

#2023reads
#BeatTheBacklog
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#Books
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#AlanHollinghurst
@bookstodon