It’s officially the summer holidays! As a mom I look forward
to the summer as much as my girls do! I love spending time with my girls and I
won’t miss the school run!
This summer is different for two reasons 1. The girls are
now big enough that when I go to the park I can bring a book with me while they
play! 2. We are in America visiting my family and friends for 5 out of the 6
weeks! We will be out and about visiting and seeing things, but there will also
be a lot of down time, which I am really looking forward too!
In that down time I plan to catch up on some books I have
been meaning to read! Here are those books:
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson (e-book)
synopsis: What if you had the chance to live your life
again and again, until you finally got it right? During a snowstorm in
England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell
the tale.
What if there were second chances? And third chances?
In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually
be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even
want to? Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives
through the turbulent events of the last century again and again.
- I am a big fan of Kate Atkinson; if you want to read her you
must definitely read Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Case History (plus the 3 books
that follow them!) There are so many twists and she’s one of the few authors that I actually don’t guess the ending before the end! I am really looking
forward to the twists in Life After Life!!
The Story Teller by Jodi Picoult (e-book)
synopsis: For seventy years, Josef Weber has been hiding in
plain sight. He is a pillar of his local community. He is also a murderer. When Josef decides to confess, it is to Sage Singer, a young
woman who trusts him as her friend. What she hears shatters everything she
thought she knew and believed.
As Sage uncovers the truth from the darkest horrors of war,
she must follow a twisting trail between terror and mercy, betrayal and
forgiveness, love - and revenge.
- Jodi Picoult has written a lot of books and I have read
several of them. They all have a basic moral conundrum and/or a philosophical
argument. I find it interesting how she handles all the different situations
and this book isn’t any different. I am sure I will be thinking about it for
weeks once I’ve finished reading it!
Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo by
Matthew Amster-Burton (e-book)
synopsis: Everyone knows how to live the good life in Paris,
Provence, or Tuscany. Now, Matthew Amster-Burton makes you fall in love with
Tokyo. Experience this exciting and misunderstood city through the eyes of
three Americans vacationing in a tiny Tokyo apartment. Follow 8-year-old Iris
on a solo errand to the world's greatest supermarket, picnic on the bullet
train, and eat a staggering array of great, inexpensive foods, from eel to
udon.
- I have had a copy of Matthew’s first book Hungry Monkey for years
now and I hadn't realized that he wrote a second! When I did realize I added it
to my Kindle App for my summer reading list! I have always wanted to visit in
Japan and I look forward to reading all about Matthew & Iris’s foodie
journey through Tokyo!
Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts by Mary Gibson (e-book)
synopsis: They call them custard tarts - the girls who work
at the Pearce Duff custard and jelly factory. But now the custard tarts are up
in arms, striking for better conditions. Among them is Nellie Clark, trying to
hold her family together after the death of her mother. She has the most
desperate struggle to make ends meet, often going hungry to feed her little
brothers.
Two men vie for Nellie's love. One is flamboyant, confident
and a chancer. The other is steady, truthful and loyal. But the choice is not
as easy as it might seem.
Looming over them all - over Bermondsey, over the factory,
over the custard tarts and their lives and loves - is the shadow of the First
World War. And that will change everything and everyone.
- This was a sort of random addition to my reading list. The
title caught my eye; food and love always make for a good story! I also enjoy
novels set in the past, so I can’t wait to get into this book!
Ice Creams at Carringtons by Alexandra Brown (e-book)
synopsis: The third book in the delightful series set in
Carrington’s Department Store.
Georgie Hart and Carrington’s Department Store have got the
world at their feet. Since a reality TV series put them both on the map, life
has been amazing! Carrington’s profits are in the pink, Georgie has carved
herself a place in the nation’s heart and even better, her romance with Tom,
the store’s boss, has finally blossomed after a shaky start.
Now summertime has come to Mulberry-on-Sea and Georgie is in
great demand. The town is holding a big summer festival and she and her mates
from Carrington’s are planning on making sure that Mulberry puts on the show of
its life!
But Georgie is about to get the offer of a lifetime – one
that is just too good to turn down and something that will test her loyalties
to their limits… Will Georgie be able to pull off it off once again, or has her
luck finally run out?
- As it says above this is the third book set in Carrington’s
Department Store and I have read and wrote about both books here on the blog
(links in the notes). I have had a hard time holding off on reading this since
I downloaded it! I just wanted to save it for the summer; I won’t be surprised
if this is the first one I read. I just need to know what happens next!
I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk (e-book)
synopsis: Angela is in the city of love – but romance is
taking a nose-dive…
When Angela Clark’s boyfriend Alex suggests a trip to Paris
at the same time as hip fashion mag Belle asks her to write a piece, she jumps
at the chance.
But even as she’s falling for the joie de vivre of Paris,
someone’s conspiring to sabotage her big break. And when she spots Alex having
a tête-à-tête with his ex in a local bar, Angela’s dreams of Parisian passion
all start crashing down around her. With London and her old life only a train journey away,
Angela can’t decide if should stay and face the music or run away home…
- For the last three years I have participated in World Book
Night and this year I had an email from Amazon saying that to celebrate they
were giving away a handful of titles free to download. Out of the handful of
titles this is the one I decided on. I have never read anything by Lindsey
Kelk, so I am always up for finding a new author I enjoy!
My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss (paperback)
synopsis: Chocolate and Zucchini. 101 Cookbooks. The
Julie/Julia Project. In the early
days of food blogs, these were the pioneers whose warmth and recipes turned
their creators’ kitchens into beloved web destinations. Luisa Weiss was working
in New York when she decided to cook her way through her massive recipe
collection. The Wednesday Chef,
the cooking blog she launched to document her adventures, charmed readers
around the world. But Luisa never stopped longing to return to her childhood
home in Berlin. A food memoir with recipes, My
Berlin Kitchen deliciously
chronicles how she finally took the plunge and went across the ocean in search
of happiness—only to find love waiting where she least expected it.
- I met Lusia at Food
Blogger Connect back in June and it’s where I picked up my copy of her book and
she signed it for me! It’s the only paperback I have packed. I am looking
forward to read of her adventures of moving around the world. I also hope to
try out some of the recipes at the end of the chapters!
That concludes my summer
reading list! What are you reading this summer? Are there any books I should
have added to this list? Please leave a comment below!
notes: I purchased all of these books; for more information
please see my contact/policy page. All of the synopses were taken from the back
covers or Amazon, pictures of the covers were also taken from Amazon.
Review of Hungry Monkey can be found here.
Recipes inspired by Alexandra
Brown’s Carrington’s series can be found here and here.
Food Blogger Connect post can be found here.
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