Conquering Books, Discovering Favourites, Unveiling Expert Tips
How are you getting on with your reading challenge?
I have made a good start this January.
The Woman in the White Kimono was my book of the month
Testament was chosen as Alis Hawkins is one of my new favourite authors, this was her first book different to 'The Teifi Valley Coroner Series' and she just happens to share the same name as me
Kane and Abel has for a long time been one of my favourite books
Bleeding Heart was chosen as I loved the cover
How do you choose your next book, were you glad you moved from your usual read, did it conjure up a path for you?
Love Alis x
January
1 Domestic fiction – Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns
About Book: Inspired by true stories, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.
Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura’s prearranged marriage secures her family’s status in their traditional Japanese community. However, Naoko has fallen for an American sailor and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it’s learned Naoko carries the sailor’s child, she’s cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations.
America, present day. Tori Kovač, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation. Setting out to learn the truth, Tori’s journey leads her to a remote seaside village in Japan where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption.
2. One word in the title – Testament by Alis Hawkins
About Book: Salster, England, 1385
Master mason Simon of Kineton is building his magnum opus: a great college to rival any in England.But the Bishop of Salster, hostile to free education, is determined to sabotage Simon’s project.When rumours spread that the mason's son is cursed, the bishop sees an opportunity to undermine both Simon and the college.And everything Simon has worked so hard for could end up crumbling down around him…
4. Book you have borrowed – Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
About Book: Jeffrey Archer's thrilling historical fiction novel, Kane and Abel, is a global phenomenon that has captivated readers worldwide, spawning two sequels and dominating bestseller charts the world over.
Two strangers born worlds apart with one destiny that will define them both.
William Lowell Kane, the son of a Boston millionaire, and Abel Rosnovski, the son of a penniless Polish immigrant, are born on the same day on opposite sides of the world and brought together by fate and the quest of a dream.
Locked in a relentless struggle spanning sixty years and three generations, the two men battle for supremacy in pursuit of an empire, fuelled only by their hatred for the other and the knowledge it will end in triumph for one, and destruction of the other . . .
A Book you picked based on the front cover – Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
About Book: A propulsive new thriller set in London featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur. A murderer hides in plain sight - in the police.
DS Cassie Fitzherbert has a secret. When she was at school, she and her friends were responsible for the death of a fellow pupil. Decades later, Cassie is happily married and loves her job as a police officer.
Her husband persuades her to go to a school reunion and another ex-pupil, Garfield Rice, is found dead, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent MP and the investigation is high profile, it's headed by Cassie's new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur. Trouble is, Cassie can't shake the feeling that one of her old friends is behind it.
Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It's in Cassie's interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like the latter and she seems to be succeeding.
Until someone else is killed...
My next read is Ethics by Simon Blackburn, not my usual read but it was a loan from a friend, who thought I may find it interesting in this current climate!