Top Ten Tuesday: 10 short reviews

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors (Share books from your to-read list that are written by authors you’ve never read before.)

I am going rogue today (again!) and sharing one to two sentence short reviews of books I have been meaning to review that I have read so far  this year but not yet done so!

The Goldsmith's Wife by Jean Plaidy - Read this for the Childhood Favourite theme at my F2F book club. It's been years since I read a Plaidy but it was still so good! And a really interesting story about Jane Shore, a woman who was the mistress of a king and yet ended her life in poverty. Read this for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (5/5 read)

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - This book is set in 1930s US and Canada, and tells the story of a young indigenous girl who disappears one day while her family is working as berry pickers. We hear of her life but also that of her brother who was the last person to see her. Incredibly moving. A 5 star read for me. Read this for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (5/5 read)

We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida - I don't really like cats. I am more of a dog person, but I don't mind reading about cats in books, particularly in Japanese books where there is often a twist in the tail (see what I did there?).  I read this one for the Goodreads Spring Challenge. (4/5 read)

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida - I think that you might not quite understand what is going on here unless you read the first book in the series. The third book comes out soon and I will be reading it! Both of these books count for the Books in Translation and Speccy Fic Challenge. The translator for both books was E (4/5 read)

Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett - I borrowed this book at least 10 years ago and so when my rerad on a theme book club had a book you borrowed from someone as the theme, it was finally time to read it. Set in Tasmania, it looks at a family whose mother has died and how that event has impacted the father and three sons. I really enjoyed this one and will more from this author, eventually. This is an Aussie author and the book counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. (4.5/5 read)

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - I have loved Kate Quinn's historical fiction novels. This one is a complete change in direction. It is set in the Boston Library where a young woman find the way to live inside books. It was good, but not as good as the historical fiction. Will be interested to see where Kate Quinn goes next. This book counts for the Speccy Fic Challenge, Bookish Books and New Release Challenges (4/5 read)

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan - This was another book club read. This time the theme was Mothers and Daughters. I haven't read Amy Tan for many, many years and I liked this one a lot. It counts for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss - I have met Australian author Anita Heiss a number of times and really like her. She is smart, opinionated, and passionate about her indigenous identity. These traits showed in the characters in this book but I didn't really connect with the story as well as I would have liked. This qualifies for the New Release challenge(3.5/5 read)

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - I feel like Ariel Lawhon is an author I should have read before now, but I haven't. I will read more from her now. I really liked that this book was based on the life of a midwife who lived in the 1800s, and tells the story of what happens in a small town when a body is found trapped under the ice in the frozen river. I read this for the Goodreads Spring Challenge and for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. Even though this is a short review, this book counts as a Big Book of Summer at 448 pages long. (4/5 read)

The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier - This is a book that I read for a recent book club retreat that I attended. This book was set on Kangaroo Island and features a newbie police officer who is pulled into a murder investigation at a luxurious house on the island. I liked it. It isn't my normal genre but that's one of the good things about book clubs right? This counts for the New Release Challenge and was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter.  (3.5/5 read)

Phew! I feel a bit caught up now! 

Have you read any of these books? 

This week...

I'm reading

This week I had finished several books and two of them were 5 star reads. That has to count as a good reading week right? The first one was Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, which is the second book in the Beartown trilogy! I did pick up the third book in the trilogy from the library as well, and it is a very big book! I am looking forward to reading it!

I then finished The Girl from Lake Maggiore by Siobhan Daiko. I actually started this book a few weeks ago but I put it aside. When I was trying to decide what to read after finishing my last book, I figured I should probably finish that one!

I also started reading The Resistance Knitting Club by Jenny O'Brien for a blog tour later this week. So far I am enjoying it a lot

When my read on a theme book club chose the theme of Childhood Favourite, I decided pretty quickly that I was going to read Jean Plaidy as I read every one of her books I could get through my school library when I was 12 or 14. I have a whole stack of her books which I got from someone, and there were two copies of The Goldsmith's Wife so I took that as a sign that I should read that book. It was only on Wednesday night that I realised that I only had two day to get it read before the meeting! I loved it though and gave it 5 stars. That could be related to the nostalgia of reading one of her books after so many years.

There was only a small group of us at book club for the first meeting of the year and these were the books that we talked about. The next theme is a Book Someone Lent You!

Best of

In January I read 14 books and had quite a few that were 4.5 star reads. The two that were 5 star reads for me were Us Against You by Fredrik Backman and The Goldsmith's Wife by Jean Plaidy, which are pictured at the top of the post.

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Here are all the places I travelled in my reading this month

Europe

UK - The Sweet Life Café, The Goldsmith's Wife 

Ireland - So Late in the Day 

Croatia - The Croatian Island Library

Norway - The Arctic Cruise 

France - The Boulangerie on the Corner

Sweden - Us Against You 

Italy - The Girl from Lake Maggiore 

US

New York - The Housemaid 

Australia

NT/SA - Everyone on this Train is a Suspect 

Asia

Japan - Dinner at the Night Library 

Japan/Korea/US - Flashlight

Korea - Soyangri Book Kitchen

I'm watching


Nothing in particular really

Life

On Saturday night we went to a new show that is on at the casino in the city. It was called Piper's Playhouse and is an interesting mix of Paris cabaret, magic, drag, burlesque and circus type acts. The acts were very, very good, and the night was a lot of fun. After the show, the venue turns into a piano bar and the crowd really got into it! I think even the pianist was a bit surprised by some of the things that the crowd did last night!

In the photo above, the show that you see is actually all made of white chocolate and was filled with fresh berries!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors I Read in 2025
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Mini Reviews: Two Novels Set in Japan
Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Wrapping Up January in Japan 2026
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: February links


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Summer 2025-2026 to-Read List

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List. Of course, I live in a land Down Under my to-read list is for summer!

Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil - This is the current Cook the Books selection and I am listening to this on audio.

The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn - This will be my first blog tour for next year

Flashlight by Helen Choi - Currently buddy reading this one with Bree from All the Things I Can Read. 

The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas - I started this a while ago but I had to take it back to the library before I finished it. 

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - This has been on my TBR list for a long time.

In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont - I really enjoyed Sophie Beaumont's previous Paris books so I am looking forward to this one. 

Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce - I loved the first book in the Emmy Lake series so I have high hopes for this one.

My Big Greek Island Ex-Scape by Sandy Barker - This book comes out early next year and it sounds like a lot of fun1

The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd - I saw these books on someone's blog last week! This is the only one I can get in Australia

Jean Plaidy - My read on a theme book club theme for January is a childhood favourite. I think I have decided to revisit my high school reading days when I obsessively read every Jean Plaidy book my library had! Big decision is which one! I am leaning towards The Goldsmith's Wife, mainly because I have two copies of that one!

Six Degrees of Separation: Sandwich to Agnes and the Hitman

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links. I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

This month's starting point is Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

I thought I would do things a little bit differently this month. Whereas normally this is an exercise in word and thought association. This time, I am going to make....a sandwich

When you are making a sandwich you need to start with bread. In this case, I am choosing a collection of short stories called Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory. I had completely forgotten about this book until I recently revisited the first few book reviews I ever wrote and this was one of them.

Next, I am going to add Butter by Asako Yuzuki

I then need to decide what protein. Will it be ham, or turkey or something else. Maybe chicken, using the book Mr Chicken Goes to Paris by Leigh Hobbs. I read this book many years ago to my nephews  when we were visiting the State Library and I have never forgotten it.

Next up tomatoes. I am choosing Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, although I probably wouldn't normally fry them!

The next filling was a little trickier. In the end I have chosen a book about Lettice Knollys, cousin and rival to Queen Elizabeth I. I first read about her in high school in a book called My Enemy, the Queen by Victoria Holt, which is a pseudonym of the prolific author Jean Plaidy.

The final link was even trickier. If I was making a chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich I would want to add mayonaisse, but there aren't many books where this fits. I am therefore choose a book that was co-written by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (Mayer/mayo is close right?) called Agnes and the Hitman.

So there you have it, my chicken, lettuce and tomato sandwich!

Next month, which will also be next year (!!!) the starting point is Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which is a new book to me.

Bag of books!

One of my work colleagues is an avid collector of Jean Plaidy books, and she stopped me in the corridor last week before I got sick to say that she had bought a box of old Jean Plaidy books. Some of them were duplicates of editions that she already had and she said that I could have those ones, so today at work I picked up a bag of JP books. The ones I got were:



The Revolt of Eaglets
The Goldsmith's Wife (x2)
Victoria in the Wings
The Queen's Favourites
The Road to Compiegne
St Thomas's Eve
The Third George
The Wandering Prince


Some of those are part way through a series, but I'm not complaining seeing as I got the books for free!