Stories & Shout Outs #33

 

My Life This Week:

• I'm struggling to find blogging time again, now that I'm back at work. 
• A quick Stories & Shout Out post seemed the best solution for now.
• Our brief foray into Spring has departed once again, but I guess that's what happens in the springtime; it comes and goes.
• I've managed to get my phone screen time down to a daily average of 1hr & 27 mins. Yay me!
• Our relaxing week at the beach, 2 weeks ago, already feels like it happened in another lifetime.

What I Am Reading:

• Our Shadows by Gail Jones - I accidentally started this at lunch on Monday & now I'm hooked!
• The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty - utterly delightful middle grade adventure fantasy that is ticking all my boxes for humour, great protagonist and fantasy that feels real. 
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - my next book club read.
• Fracture by Andre Neuman - I don't know why I'm reading this one so slowly. I'm enjoying it every time I pick it up, yet I'm not prioritising it. I seem to be doing this a lot this year.
• I still have lots of non-fiction lying around the house waiting for me to be in the right mood to read it, including:
• The Golden Maze by Richard Fidler - a personal history of Prague - so far so good.
• A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuckman - just started. I have no idea why I started another non-fiction book when I have several partly read ones lying all around the house and especially one that is soooo long!
• Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nostrat (my kitchen read)
• The Cloud Spotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney - almost finished. 
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo - by my bed.
• Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald - another accidental lunch time read! Some of the essays are stronger than others, particularly loved Tekels Park, the story about her childhood home and the meadow that turned her into a naturalist.
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - one chapter at a time.

Read but not Reviewed:

• A Journal of a Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
• Landing With Wings by Trace Balla

New to the Pile:

• Intimations by Zadie Smith
• People of the River by Grace Karskens
• The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan
• Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke

Gratitude:

• To all the many wonderful blogger friends who took the time to offer constructive feedback about my blog during Personal Bloggiesta week. Thank you all so much for your generosity and support. I hope the tweeks have made it easier for you to navigate Brona's Books.

On My Radar:

• Dewey's 24 hr Readalong. October 24. More here.
• 1956 Club with Simon and Kaggsy. This October. Tomorrow! What to read?
• Harry the Dirty Dog
• The Fall
• Giovanni's Room
• My Family and Other Animals
• The 101 Dalmations
• The Silver Sword
• Dead Man's Folly
• Peyton Place
• Palace Walk
• Pygmalion
• The Key
• Long Day's Journey into Night
• The Awakening
• The Seeds of Time 
• Australian options:
• A Haunted Land
• The Honey Flow
• Beyond the Black Stump
• Shortlist for this year's Kirkus non-fiction prize.
• Dublin Literary Award shortlist.
• Always love the Giller Prize longlist - great Canadian writers to explore.
• Nobel Prize for Literature TBA 8th October.
• The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction will announce their shortlist on the 15th Oct.
• The Nib Literary Award shortlist recognises the value of research in fiction and non-fiction.

Underwhelmed: 

• I think I'm in a minority of one, but completely not excited by this year's Booker shortlist. 
• Had planned on reading The Shadow King at some point.
• Will probably also read Burnt Sugar.
• I miss the Commonwealth community. 
• Feels like this has just become another prize for British and American authors.

Contemplating:

• AusReadingMonth in November. Will I or won't I?