The Far Country by Nevil Shute, for the 1952 Club

The Far Country was published in 1952 and provides a snapshot, albeit a depressing one, of post-war Britain, which made it a good choice for the 1952 Club, hosted this week by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Jack and Angela Dorman have finally paid off the mortgage on their small sheep station in Australia after years of drudgery, reared four children, have money in the bank, and even added electricity two years ago.

Ladies' Bane by Patricia Wentworth, for the #1952Club

It’s time for the 1952 Club, featuring books published that year and hosted this week by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings. The inimitable Miss Maud Silver, along with a young woman fighting for her sister’s happiness, are featured in my first selection, Ladies’ Bane.

Spell the Month in Books – April

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Jana at Reviews From the Stacks. Her theme for April is animals on the cover or in the title.

WWW Wednesday - 1952 Edition

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?

Currently Reading

Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates caught my eye when I was looking for a book for the forthcoming 1952 Club, hosted by Stuck-in-a-Book and Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Dominic Salt is the caretaker of Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica where he lives with his three children, Raff, Fen, and Orly. The island is mostly inhabited by seals but visiting researchers have created a vast seed bank – which would help the world replant if there were a natural disaster. Because the sea is rising, the island will soon be uninhabitable so the Salts, after many isolated years, will be forced to begin again somewhere on the mainland. If they really leave.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

It’s not every book that starts with a heroine planning to commit suicide and manages to make the situation quite humorous - albeit dark humor! When Phoebe arrives at a fancy Newport, RI inn, wearing a green silk dress and empty handed except for her cell phone, she finds herself surrounded by wedding guests, coming for six days of over-the-top events. 

Six Degrees of Separation - from Knife to The Witch of Blackbird Pond

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is Salman Rushdie’s memoir, Knife.

March 2025 Reading

My favorite books this month were The Lost Passenger, which is much more than a Titanic story, a reread of The Heart Speaks Many Ways, and Just for the Summer, a contemporary romance set in Minnesota. I appreciated Prophet Song, the 2023 Booker winner, and its depiction of an authoritarian state but it was hard to enjoy something so much like our daily life and worries.