A long overdue return to #MagnusMills, one of my favourite authors. A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In is the fifth #book of his that I've read and it was lovely to be back in the arms of his spiky whimsy and quiet allegory.
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/29/a-cruel-bird-came-to-the-nest-and-looked-in/
#BookReview #jans2023readinglist #20BooksOfSummer #books

Last #BookReview update (for now)!
Almost a decade ago I started #reading the #Winterhill series of #SciFi books about amnesiac archaeologist Rebecca Winterhill. I bought all five books that were available, read two then took a long break. Turns out two more #books were published but are no longer available to buy. So I'll never know how the story ends.
It doesn't matter. Each installment is a fun read on its own. I read Book 3 for #20BooksOfSummer
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/23/winterhill-3-bad-company/
#jans2023readinglist

As well as #20BooksOfSummer, I also joined in with #ReadingTheMeow this year. I read three #books about #cats over the weeklong #ReadingChallenge. All had their merits but weren't without flaws.
Links to my reviews:
Cat Poems by the World's Greatest Poets https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/13/cat-poems-by-the-worlds-greatest-poets/
Writers and Their Cats https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/15/writers-and-their-cats/
On Cats: An Anthology https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/19/on-cats-an-anthology/
#BookReview #jans2023readinglist

My second read for #20BooksOfSummer was a slight cheat. #BartlebyTheScrivener is a #ShortStory rather than a novel, but it was on my e-reader, so here we are!
It turns out that I had read it before but hadn't updated it on #LibraryThing. As soon as I started reading I remembered the story. A #reread did no harm, though. It's such a good tale.
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/11/bartleby-the-scrivener-a-story-of-wall-street/
#books #BookReview #jans2023readinglist #HermanMelville

I've had #ShūichiYoshida's #Parade on my e-reader for ages. I'm doing the #20BooksOfSummer reading challenge again this year. I've picked 10 books on my e-reader to enjoy on my new commute.
I really enjoyed this novel, both as a snapshot of 20-something #Japanese life on the west side of #Tokyo in the early 2000s and as a stomach lurching mystery. I didn't see the end coming on this one. Real slice of life with a twist.
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/10/parade/
#books #BookReview #jans2023readinglist

Cold Fish Soup is funny, poignant, warm and witty.
I enjoyed spending time in the company of @adamjfarrer, learning about #Withernsea, thinking about who we are as people, shaped by the #landscapes we inhabit - internal as well as external.
Imagine a combination of Jon Ronson and Jan Morris writing about place and strangeness and you've got an idea of what this #memoir / #essay collection is like.
https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/06/04/cold-fish-soup/
#books #BookReview #ColdFishSoup #jans2023readinglist

In #THEM, #JonRonson follows a bunch of extremists and conspiracy theorists around to try to unmask the shadowy cabal that rules the world from a secret room and may or may not be made up of 12-foot extraterrestrial lizards.

It's funny, exhausting and reflective. 22 years on from its publication, though, the world seems more confusing than ever.

My second read for #dewithon23 #ReadingWales23 #ReadingWales

https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/03/18/them-adventures-with-extremists/

#jans2023readinglist #books #BookReview

First Read of the Year

The Forager's Calendar was one of my Xmas presents off Mr'icks and I loved it. Full of interesting facts about the things that grow in hedgerows, at the coast, in woodland, and indeed everywhere across the British mainland, that we can eat and those we really shouldn't.

If you're interested in wild food, this is the book for you.

https://thinkaboutreading.wordpress.com/2023/01/12/the-foragers-calendar-a-seasonal-guide-to-natures-wild-harvests/

#Jans2023ReadingList #JohnWright #TheForagersCalendar #books #BookReview

What I might read in 2023

I'm determined to make a dent in my #ToRead backlog (it's 167 books deep at the moment, but I'm sure there are #eBooks I've forgotten to add to #LibraryThing) so I've tagged 60 that I want to read this year. It's a mix of chunksters and slim reads, books I've had for ages and books I've acquired more recently.

We'll see how I do.

#Jans2023ReadingList #books