Six Degrees of Separation – from Ghost Cities to Fortune’s Folly

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 Ghost Cities by Siang Lu, a satirical novel that begins with a Chinese-Australian character being fired from his job at the Chinese consulate in Sydney because he misrepresented his language skills and only speaks English.

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.

February 2025 Reading

Although February is a short month, there were some outstanding reads, especially The King’s Messenger, Slow Bomb at Dimperley, and The Spy Coast - links to those reviews are below.

Historical Fiction

Slow Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans (2024). A soldier returning to his ancestral home after WWII finds new responsibilities and little in the way of practical help from his family as he copes with death duties and ennui in this amusing story. My review.

Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson

When our fellow humans annoy us with their squabbles and predictability, don’t we all fantasize about memorializing them in fiction – to their detriment?* 

Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer by Molly Clavering #DeanStreetDecember24

As the introduction by Elizabeth Crawford to this new edition points out, after serving as a Wren in WWII, Molly Clavering settled in Moffat, in Dumfries and Galloway, in the Scottish Borders. She was already acquainted with another writer, D.E. Stevenson, who had moved to Moffat with her husband James after the bombing of Glasgow in the early 1940s. This is the story of two writer friends during one full summer, inspired by the real life friendship of Molly and Dorothy.

The #1970Club – some books I have enjoyed as recommendations for next week

On Monday, October 14th, Karen and Simon will launch the #1970Club, a week-long celebration of books first published in 1970. It is very entertaining to see what everyone comes up with and when I started to consider what to read, I saw that I had already reviewed some of the best books published that year. Some of these might appeal to anyone still looking for the right book to read this weekend!

My January 2024 Reading

My favorites this month were The Violin Conspiracy; Harbour Street; Turning Pages, a publishing memoir; and a reread of Charlotte Fairlie.  Now that I am taking public transportation to work after several pandemic years of driving, my audiobook usage has declined but I can read actual books as I sit on the bus and subway.  It has been downright freezing waiting for them to arrive, however!

Charlotte Fairlie by D.E. Stevenson

Charlotte is the relatively new headmistress at St. Elizabeth’s, a well-regarded girls’ boarding school she attended before Oxford - she wore a dowdy hat at her interview so her male interviewers wouldn’t think she was too young. She takes pride in her work and in knowing the girls but she is lonely because befriending the staff would create jealousy. New girl Tessa MacRynne breaks through Charlotte's reserve when her parents get divorced and she tries to run away back to Scotland.  Charlotte identifies with Tessa, having gone through a

My October 2023 Reads

October was a busy month with a business trip to Tulsa (no direct flights, so lots of reading time), some reading for the 1962 Club, and hosting my book group’s discussion of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (not everyone finished it). My favorites this month were Just Another Missing Person, The Serpent Pool, Witch of the Glens, and two from D.E. Stevenson, along with several rereads.  Three reads this month were audiobooks.

Fletchers End by D.E. Stevenson #1962Club

Title: Fletchers End
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Publication: Ace Books, paperback, originally published in 1962
Genre: Fiction
Setting: 20th century Britain

my copy is a bit garish!

I read Fletchers End for the 1962 Club, which Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting this week.

Bel Lamington by D.E. Stevenson

Title: Bel Lamington
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Publication: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, hardcover, 1961
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Great Britain

Description: After Bel’s aunt dies, she is on her own and leaves Sussex for a tiny flat in London and a secretarial job at an import/export firm. She finds the work interesting but is lonely and the other office staff resent that her industry is recognized when she is promoted to work for a young partner, Ellis Brownlee.

My May 2023 Reads

The biggest treat this month was the new Jane Casey book about Maeve Kerrigan, The Close, straight from London as my sisters and I could not wait for its US publication. I also really enjoyed The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, the third Thursday Murder Club book, and Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham. June will be a slower reading month due to three short trips and Middlemarch. Hmm, I guess it is no coincidence that all four books have British settings; I am nothing if not consistent.

The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson

Title: The Four Graces
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Publication: Collins, hardcover, 1947
Genre: Fiction
Setting: WWII Britain

Description: Mr. Grace is the vicar in Chevil Green, near Wandlebury, and the Four Graces are his lovely daughters: Elizabeth, Sal, Tilly, and Addie. Liz works on Archie Cobbe’s (last seen in The Two Mrs. Abbotts) farm and Addie is in the WAAF, based in London, while the middle sisters housekeep for their father and manage parish affairs.

Spell the Month in Books – May

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month.  I chose three fairly recent reads this month:

My January 2023 Reads

Not as much variety in my reading last month as usual.  My favorite book was The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, second in a mystery series set in an upscale retirement community in Britain.

YA Historical Fiction

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (2016). Three young people, thrown together by fate in East Prussia at the end of WWII, are among the thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek to reach the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that is evacuating civilians from the Russian army.

Smouldering Fire by D.E. Stevenson

Title: Smouldering Fire
Author: D.E. Stevenson
Publication: Furrowed Middlebrow/Dean Street Press, paperback, originally published 1935
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Scotland

Description: The life of a Scottish Laird is not as idyllic as it used to be, even in D.E. Stevenson land. Iain MacAslan loves Ardfalloch so much that, in order to pay the bills, he forces himself to lease it to a rich businessman for the hunting season.

My December 2022 Reads

This month was noteworthy for finishing a group read of Susan Cooper, joining Liz Dexter's Dean Street December, and reading the new Lacey Flint mystery by Sharon Bolton, which caused me to go back to the beginning of the series, plus listen to her recent standalone, The Split.

Favorite Reads of 2022

Here are my favorite books from the past year:

Best Nonfiction Read of the Year: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson (2015) (audio read by talented Scott Brick). I was mesmerized listening to the audio of the Lusitania’s last and tragic voyage in 1915. Larson weaves together stories about the passengers and crew, bringing them all to life.

A Final Post for Dean Street December

This month, Liz of Adventures in Reading, Running and Working from Home has been hosting Dean Street December. As I have not finished my current book, I thought I would highlight some of my reading from Dean Street Press:

Susan Settles Down by Molly Clavering

Title: Susan Settles Down
Author: Molly Clavering
Publication: Furrowed Middlebrow, Dean Street Press, 2021 (originally published 1936)
Genre: Fiction

Setting: Susan Parsons and her brother – who has been invalided out of the Navy – move to the Scottish countryside when Oliver inherits a small farm, Easter Hartrigg (surely a peculiar name for a farm?).