WWW Wednesday - February 3, 2021

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Right now I am reading Secret Places by Janice Elliott (1981), set during World War II, in which teenage Patience Mackenzie befriends Laura Meister, a refugee from Germany, who joins her girls' day school in England.  There is also a movie with Jenny Agutter in the cast; here is the beginning.

I just finished Gemma by Noel Streatfield (1968); which I somehow never read before! I know that Lory at Entering the Enchanted Castle is going to feature books about the stage in March, so I will review this four-book series then.   Suffice it to say that Gemma contains all the elements dear to Streatfeild lovers’ hearts: a frugal family trying to get by, children with performing arts aspirations - and talent, and characters who come to life through the author’s skillful pen.

I am about to read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020).  In a retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; this mystery was a big bestseller in Britain.  I learned about it from Cath at Read-Warbler in November and her description made me put it on reserve right away.  I guess two months wasn’t really that long to wait for a popular book.  There are still 186 holds, partly influenced by an article about the author in The New York Times last week. 

Have you read any of these?   Or seen the movie of Secret Places?  I also just noticed that the Noel Streatfeild Estate has authorized a British actress/vlogger/author to write a modern version of Ballet Shoes.   Is nothing sacred?