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 and A Good Book and a Cup of Tea hosted at Boondock Ramblings.
This month the starting point is Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghey, which is a book I intend to read at some point...maybe!
For my first link I am choosing Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. I read this book many, many years ago, back in the 1990s at some point.
Another book I remember loving back then was The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Our current read on a theme book club theme is Mothers and Daughters, and would both of those books would have been good for that theme. I am, however, reading another book by Amy Tan, The Bonesetter's Daughter. This was one of the books that I read on the plane on the way home yesterday.
From here, there are a gazillion books that are have the title of The something's daughter and I was tempted to go down that route. Instead though I am choosing The Astral Library by Kate Quinn because it was a book that I read while we were in Turkiye.
A Turkish author I love is Elif Shafak. In anticipation of our trip, I had borrowed her book The Forty Rules of Love from the library but had to return it unread as I ran out of time. I will be reborrowing it soon though.
Another book that I was really looking for to reading but had to return unread was The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden. I will be reborrowing this one too!
Next month's starting point is a book by Austrian author Stefan Zweig – The Post-Office Girl.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.This week the theme is Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book (These words or phrases can be in the title, synopsis, marketing materials, reviews, author blurbs, etc. and immediately pique your interest or immediately make you say “NOPE”. Examples include: fae, forbidden romance, morally grey characters, unreliable narrator, found family, magical worlds, love triangle, marriage of convenience, dark academia, stranded, dragons, dual points of view, starting over, etc.)
I am focussing on just one word out of that theme - Buzz!
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - I was very late to the party having only read this book around 18 months ago. (my review)
Go Tell the Bees I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - I still haven't read this book which is the latest in the Outlander series. Maybe I will one day.
The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden - I have had this book out from the library a couple of times now. Next time I borrow it I really need to make sure that I actually read it!
All the Bees in the Hollow by Lauren Keegan - I have this second book here to read soon, and then I will go back to this one.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray - I heard Paul Murray speak about this book at Melbourne Writers Festival a couple of years ago.
The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia - I did have this on my shelves for a while. I can't remember if I kept it the last time I did a book purge.
Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang - Where there's bees there is often honey! I didn't love this book when I read it at the beginning of last year. (my review)
Lion's Honey by David Grosman - I read this a very long time ago now (my review)
Honey: Recipes From a Beekeeper's Kitchen by Amy Newsome - This was a Jamie Oliver Cook Book Club selection a whie ago
The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsen - A reminder that no everything that buzzes is a bee!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Book Covers Featuring Cool/Pretty/Unique/etc. Typography (Typography is the art of arranging letters so they look visually appealing and more interesting than, for example, the body text of this blog post you’re reading now.). I am going to broaden the theme a bit to pick books where there are more than one font on the cover or where I found them interesting in some way.
Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada - I like how they fit the title, author and translator all in the sky of the illustration by putting it on an angle (my review)
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson - I like the mix of fonts, and the way they did the word train (my review)
The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson- Three different fonts probably shouldn't work but it does (my review)
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman- This is a different font choice
Good Spirits by B K Borison - I like the font choice here
Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce - I really like how the cover looks like a typewriter (my review)
Escape to the Northern Lights by Carrie Walker - chose this purely because of the curly bit on the end of the word Escape (my review)
The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina - I like how they use all lower case on this cover (my review)
Hooked by Asako Yuzuki - This book isn't out yet, but I like how the title is vertical instead of horizontal
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden - Love the font and the colour on this one. (my review)
Sometimes you can look at a book cover and title and think yes, that sounds like my kind of book. If you are super lucky, you then read the first few pages and know that you are going to love it, and this was one of those books for me!
When Lolly was in her early teens she wrote down 5 goals for her life. They were:
Live in another country
Own my own restaurant somewhere amazing
Fall in love
Help my family be happy together 4 ever
Get my own horse
Now in her early thirties, Lolly finds the diary and she is somewhat disappointed with her life in comparison to her younger self's dreams.
Lolly feels like she lives a life driven by her obligations and duty. Ten years earlier, her mother had died leaving Lolly, her dad and her younger sister behind. Every day Lolly rises early, bakes lemon drop pies (even though she doesn't even like them herself) for the family diner where her dad dutifully cooks each day. The reality is that the restaurant is not really viable any more no matter how much her family and their regular customers wish it was. To make things worse, her younger sister seems to be moving in a different direction to the one that Lolly imagined for her when she gave up her own dreams to help her sister through college.
When she looks back, Lolly only sees failure. She did spend a few months in England and fell in love with the town of Brighton, but there's no way she can open a restaurant there now. Her family is as together as it can be given the tragic death of her mother and the pressures of running a failing business. As for falling love, Lolly lost the only man she ever loved when she had to choose between supporting her family or moving away to support his career. Rory and Lolly had been inseparable since they were teenagers but there is no chance for them to ever be together again but she can't see herself meeting anyone else.
The only thing on her list that she doesn't feel like she is missing out on is the horse!
One day her eccentric Aunt Gert gives her an extraordinary chance to see what her life would be like if things would be different. Aunt Gert has a hidden supply of Lemon Drops which, if you suck them and think of where you want to go, give you the ability to have just one day in another version of your own life. Lolly finds herself running a successful business, or married to the man of her dreams or having just one more day with her mother. What soon becomes clear is in every version of her life, there are things that are great, but there is a cost for the different turns that life has taken.
Through these various experiences and the things that are happening in real life, Lolly begins to realise that it is still possible for her to live her dreams. It just might look a little different than it did in her imagination all those years before.
I do enjoy books with this kind of magical realism, where everything looks normal with just that element of a magical twist. This is a really good example of a feel good read, with loads of delicious sounding food, and an inspiring message. And there is also a recipe for Lemon Drop Pie in the back of the book.
This was my first Rachel Linden book and I can't wait to read more. If her other books are as good as this one then she now has a new fan!
I am sharing this review with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story.
Rating 4.5/5
Weekly meals
Saturday - Nasi Goreng Sunday - Chicken Kebabs, baked potato and coleslaw Monday - Honey Pepper Chicken Tuesday - Out for dinner Wednesday - Pork Chops, mash, broccoli and gravy Thursday - Creamy sausage pasta Friday -
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List
This list is a mix of the review books I have coming up, books I ownf and the library books I currently have on my shelf.]
The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns - I always look forward to a new Rachael Johns book. I have booked in to go to a Books in Bars events in October which I am looking forward to.
Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin - If I think about the iconic cities to spend Christmas in New York would be right up there!
A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - I look forward to each new Pelican Crossing book. I do like seeing Christmas in Australia portrayed in books
Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin - This came out a couple of months ago but I haven't got to it yet. I am looking forward to reading it!
The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jeffries - We are going on holidays to Sri Lanka shortly so I thought I would find some historical fiction to read.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - It is RIPXX where we read all things spooky and mysterious. I have participated many times over the years but I didn't really have anything that fitted on my TBR shelf. I therefore borrowed this book from the library as it is the readalong book.
The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden - I recently read my first Rachel Linden book and I loved it, so I have borrowed this one from the library.
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister - The theme for my read on a theme book club this month is romance. Whilst I have many, many, many books I could choose for this theme, I am nominating this book.
The Life She Could Have Lived by Laura Pearson - I usually really enjoy Laura Pearson's books and I don't see why this will be any different!
The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks - This is another author that I recently read for the first time and really enjoyed, so I have borrowed this book from the library.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Literary/Bookish Candles I’d Make (Pick a book and assign it a fragrance or fragrance combo that would make a nice candle.) (Submitted by Heather @ The Frozen Library)
Originally, I wasn't 100% sure I would do the topic as written but then I remembered that there are plenty of foodie scents that would work in a candle. I have also been meaning to do a foodie books post so I am combining the two! Not all of these books are foodie as such but they do have food items in their title!
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden - I just recently read this and really enjoyed it! The main character, Lolly, makes a lot of Lemon Drop Pie in this book. Think lemon meringue pie with a small twist!
A Faraway Smell of Lemon by Rachel Joyce - This is a short story and the only thing I have read by Rachel Joyce. I do mean to read more as I love the sound of this book. Bonus is that it is set at Christmas and so we can combine the smell of lemon with the smells of Christmas.
A Crown of Bitter Orange by Laura Florand - I love Laura Florand's books so it is a real shame that she isn't publishing any more. They mostly are foodie or about perfumes and set in France. This is the third book in the La Vie en Roses series.
White Mulberry by Rosa Kwan Easton - I read this earlier this year before our trip to Japan and Korea and learnt so much about the history in the 20th century between these two countries. (my review)
Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Flake - You could use just about any book by in the Hannah Swensen series for this prompt
It was the Pie's Fault by Elizabeth Sa Fleur - This was a super fun romance that I read a while ago now which features fake dating, grumpy/sunshine tropes and delicious sounding cherry pies!
Chai Time at the Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran - This is a two for one book. Chai and Cinnamon could both be candle flavours right. It is also an excellent read!
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown - I mean if someone likes the smell of gunpowder this could be a two for one too! I started reading this ages ago but other things go in the way and I never finished it! One day I will.
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - My favourite in this trilogy was The Winter Rose but this was a great read too. And another two candle flavours title.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - If I am going to do tea then it is only fair that I do coffee too! This was such a fun read when I read it last year. The next book in the series is being released in English next month and I am looking forward to it! (my review)
I'm reading Well, it's finally happened. Last week was the week where the number of books I either read or started dropped dramatically. I don't see this week being any different as it is going to be very busy the whole week between work and social activities.
So what did I read last week?
I finished reading The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden which I absolutely loved, and I have already requested another of her books from the library. This book was very foodie with some magical realism which is a combination I love to read.
The other book I read was Jessica Redland's Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop. I mentioned in my review of Meet Me Under the Northern Lights by Maggie Baggot that Iceland is calling my name and this book just reinforced that. My review Bay Bookshop will be up later this week.
I did attend two author events last week. The first was a drive to the other side of the city to listen to author Christine Newell talk about her memoir Five Seasons in Seoul. It was a very interesting conversation and I can see myself reading this one despite the fact that I don't read a huge amount of non-fiction. It helps that my interest was piqued because we visited Seoul very briefly earlier this year
The other event I attended on Saturday night was a round table of romance authors. 5pm on a Saturday (yes, I wrote that to the tune of Piano Man) is an odd time to have an author event but it was a large crowd. The authors that were present were Steph Vizard, Jodi McAlister, Katharine Pollack and Michelle Kalus and Ali Berg who are two best friends who write together. It was such a fun conversation where they asked each other questions ranging from how do you know when an idea is viable to what's harder to write - a first kiss or a sex scene.
I'm watching
Not much other than football because it is the finals series here now. My team, the Adelaide Crows, finished on top of the AFL ladder at the end of the season but lost their first match. Luckily they have a second chance so they will be playing my husband's team this Friday night.
Life
My husband and his kids were all together in one place for the first time in about three years so on Monday I took the day off and we went up to a winery in the Yarra Valley for a nice lunch and then to the Chocolaterie. They were all here for their aunt's wedding. They all then went up to Queensland which is where two of them live. The middle daughter arrives back in Melbourne today to spend a few days with us and then she goes back to London where she currently lives.
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