The It’s Monday! What Are You Reading meme is hosted at BookDate
I’m also linking to The Sunday Post @ Caffeinated Reviewer
And the Sunday Salon @ ReaderBuzz
Life…
Been nowhere. Done nothing.
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What I’ve Read Since I last Posted…
Red Dirt Country by Fiona McDonald
The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning
Return to Stringybark Creek by Karly Lane
Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater
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New Posts…
Review: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon
Review: Red Dirt Country by Fiona McDonald
Review: The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning
2020 Nonfiction Reader Challenge: Monthly Spotlight #3
Six Degrees of Separation: Stasiland to A Beautiful Place To Die
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What I’m Reading This Week…
Please note: Goodreads is being problematic right now, so I wasn’t able to link the book covers as I usual do.
It all began when I met you, Lily.
Beautiful, dangerous, precious you.
At first Katherine dismisses her early-twenties intern as a millennial ‘snowflake’: entitled, moralistic, soft. Yet as Lily’s youth and beauty increasingly remind Katherine of everything she once had, she begins to develop a dark fascination with her new colleague.
But is Lily as perfect as she seems, or does she have a sinister hidden agenda? As Katherine is drawn into an obsessive power struggle with the intern, a disturbing picture emerges of two women hiding dark secrets – and who are desperate enough to do anything to come out on top…
With shocking twists at every turn, Precious You is a powerfully gripping story of obsession, revenge and deceit.
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You are her mother at this moment. The future is another time.’
In a remote corner of Tanzania, Essie Lawrence lives with her husband in an archaeologist’s camp. One morning a chance encounter with two strangers sees her making a rash promise. When she returns home to the research base, she has a baby in her arms. Essie is to care for the little girl until the coming of the rains. And then hand her back.
The organised world of Magadi Research Camp is turned upside down. As her heart opens up to new life, Essie is drawn into the ancient wisdom of the Hadza, the last hunter-gatherer tribe in East Africa. And she is led back to memories of her own mother and her first home on the island of Tasmania, at the far end of the world. But there is a price to pay. Essie’s marriage, her career – everything she’s worked for – is put at risk.
On the shores of the flamingo lake, personal stories are played out alongside the Lawrences’ quest to find the origins of the human species. Nightmares and dreams go hand in hand as past and present merge. What is real and what will turn to dust? And after a season of being a mother, will Essie be able to survive the hardest challenge of all? To love, and then let go …
An exquisite and heart-piercing story of one woman’s bond with a baby, The Beautiful Mother will resonate with every parent, crossing time, place and culture. It is an unforgettable exploration of what it really means to be a member of the human family, revealing the deep need we all have to find our own tribe
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Fried Green Tomatoes and “Steel Magnolias” meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.
Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they’re more likely to discuss the FBI’s recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.
But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club’s meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he’s a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she–and her book club–are the only people standing between the monster they’ve invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.
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Brimming with anticipation, humour, desire and strangeness these stories will quicken your senses and make your spine tingle.
In Thrill Me, thirty-one award-winning and emerging Australian storytellers write to thrill and move you. Look away if you want cheap thrills. Read on if you dare. These stories will leave an imprint on you. Some will be unshakeable.
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Summer has come to Atlantic City but the boardwalk is empty of tourists, the casino lights have dimmed, and two Jane Does are laid out in the marshland behind the Sunset Motel, just west of town. Only one person even knows they’re there.
Meanwhile, Clara, a young boardwalk psychic, struggles to attract clients for the tarot readings that pay her rent. When she begins to experience very real and disturbing visions, she suspects they could be related to the recent cases of women gone missing in town. When Clara meets Lily, an ex-Soho art gallery girl who is working at a desolate casino spa and reeling from a personal tragedy, she thinks Lily may be able to help her. But Lily has her own demons to face. If they can put the pieces together in time, they may save another lost girl—so long as their efforts don’t attract perilous attention first. Can they break the ill-fated cycle, or will they join the other victims?
Evocative, eerie, and compelling, Please See Us is a fast-paced psychological thriller that explores the intersection of womanhood, power, and violence
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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires sounds like such a fun read. I hope you enjoy it!
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Me too 😉
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“Been nowhere. Done nothing.” I imagine most of us could put the same status right now. I finally got my yoga mat out of the car (did I really think I’d be going back to my class at the Y any time soon??) and created a little yoga class of my own this morning. I feel very relaxed. I think I need to do this each day.
The Beautiful Mother sounds like a good read. I’m also interested in Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Can’t wait to hear what you think about these.
I’d love to find some good tv right now. We are watching lots of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and The Good Place.
Stay safe and healthy this week.
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I think I need to up my activity level, I’ve done nothing for weeks while I’ve been sick.
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The Grady Hendrix book is next but one on my reading pile. Looking forward to it as I’ve loved the two others of his that I’ve read. Great style, and horror with a sense of humour. (My review of Horrostor here: https://annabookbel.net/horrorstor-by-grady-hendrix-quirk-books-ikea-parody-orsk )
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A great review. I enjoyed Horrorstör too which is why I requested this one to read. https://bookdout.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/review-horrorstor-by-grady-hendrix/
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My Best Friend’s Exorcism was great fun too – great send up of High School.
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Looks like you are reading some great sounding books! I’m really curious about The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. I am so glad you enjoyed Code Name Hélène. I have that one on my TBR pile and am really looking forward to it.
I hope you have a good week. Stay safe and well.
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I hope you enjoy it too
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Been nowhere, done nothing is like the national motto right now.
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Think it’s closer to a global one 🙂
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Yep, I’ve been nowhere, done nothing too. I’m watching a lot of TV, but not reading as much as I’d like. I’ll have to work on that 🙂 Take care and stay safe!
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Been nowhere done nothing is pretty much what you have to do right now! Stay safe xoxo
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Your upcoming books always look so intriguing! Hope you and your family are keeping well.
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lol… I do like your comment on your life – I think many of us can relate. I hope the coming week is another peaceful, if boring one. And healthy, of course! Happy reading Shelleyrae.
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Laughed at your comment about what you’ve been up to. Me too, though I have been walking in our neighborhood a lot. Enjoy your books this week. Several have caught my eye. Take care!
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I want to read Code Name Helene and the Southern Book Club. Different, but they both sound good. Thanks for sharing, and take care of you and yours!
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Yep, I’m the same way but, there really isn’t anywhere to go. It’s a scary time! Stay safe.
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I’m glad you’re keeping busy. keep up great work!!!!!! Love any books with pyshic or psychology. There’s a great book by Tana French if you like either of those topics.
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Great summary – could apply to us. We get grocery delivery. I can’t focus on projects. I escape by reading.
I enjoyed Please See Us and I’m interested in The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. Enjoy!
Have a wonderful week! Be kind and take care of yourself.
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
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I’m really excited for The Southern Book Club’s. It looks so fun. Stay safe and happy reading!
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Been nowhere; done nothing seems to be the rule of the day these days, which is a good thing!
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I’ve just started ‘The Mirror and The Light’ by Hilary Mantel. I expect it will take me a while. 🙂
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Laughing at been nowhere and done nothing. Well you have read and reviewed some books which isn’t nothing!! Take care.
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Same here- been pretty much at home all the time except for careful trips to the store! Hope you’re not going too stir crazy! 🙂
Southern Book Club’s Guide sounds like fun!
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I do find books set in Africa fascinating. I think I have at least one Katherine Scholes book here to read at some point.
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I like the look of Precious You and Please See Us. Enjoy your week, and stay safe.
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Love the “Been nowhere. Doing nothing.” SO true. This is the start of our 4th week at home and our second of official lockdown. I’m technically on Spring Break this week. YAY! I can do??? The same things I do any day off. Yippee! Books have helped, but you can only read so much. Luckily, we’re supposed to have some good weather this week, so at lease sunshine will help. Stay safe!
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I can’t wait for the Grady Hendrix book! I had it on preorder from Amazon… then cancelled so I could order from a local bookstore that needs some love to keep going. So, it may be a while for me, but meanwhile, I hope you enjoy!
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Had to laugh out loud at your “Been nowhere. Done nothing.” line! Good thing we have good books to keep us going… looks like this week will be more of the same. Stay well!
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Nice looking books! Your life summary sounds a lot like mine. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
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The stress and anxiety do make it hard to relax and enjoy time off. I’ve been seeing the Grady Hendrix mentioned often today and wish I had requested it myself!
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You’re doing exactly what you should be doing! Bravo! Thrill Me sounds like fun! Enjoy your books and stay safe! 🙂
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“Been nowhere. Done nothing.” Haha, ditto! The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires sounds great, I’ll have to check it out. Have a great week!
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I also went nowhere and did nothing last week. I hope you like the vampire book. I love that title so much that I’m thinking about reading it.
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Looks like you’ve read a lot in the last week! So I wouldn’t say you’ve done nothing… 😉 That’s great progress. I wish I had read more. It’s been tough to find the energy for it lately.
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Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meets Dracula sounds like a really fun concept! I hope The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is a good one.
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Precious You looks like a good one. Enjoy your latest 🙂
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