This month’s prompt for Spell the Month in Books — hosted by Reviews from the Stacks —is Books that you found or currently see at the library.
I’ve been a member of a public library ever since I was about 10 years old. It sustained me through my childhood when my appetite for reading put a strain on my parents’ funds. In my teens it opened doors to authors from other countries. Now I use it increasingly to sample authors I’ve never read previously and am not sure whether I’ll like their style — if I find I don’t then I can just return the book without feeling guilty about wasting money on my own copy.
There’s another library I use even more frequently. That’s the one in my own home. It’s otherwise known as my TBR, an array of more than 200 books all individually selected by me but have yet to read.
So for Spell the Month in books this time, I’m going to choose titles taken from my personal library.
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One of the benefits of having a large TBR is that you can always find something to suit a reading mood. At the time I thought The Jump would fit a need for an entertaining, undemanding novel. Things turned out somewhat differently though for this is a tale of a mother in despair. Six months before the novel begins a Ellie Sharp’s teenage son jumped to his death from a river bridge. Every day since she has been tortured by thoughts that maybe she could have done something to stop him. Then an opportunity comes to save another child’s life. My review can be found here.
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Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
Fuller’s Costa-prize winning novel from 2021 is a tale of resilience involving twins whose lives are turned upside down when their mother dies. Everything they thought they knew turns out to be a lie, putting their futures at risk. This was a cracking start to this year’s 10 Books of Summer. Reviewing coming soon (ish)..
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The Next Big Thing by Anita Brookner
You’ll occasionally see Brookner’s 2002 novel described as her “funniest yet”. i didn’t detect a lot of humour in this story of a 73-year-old man contemplating what to do with his life now he has retired. He comes up with a multitude of ideas but none of them come to pass because he’s not a naturally decisive person. Rather a sad tale. My review can be found here.
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The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
What a joy it was to discover this book on the shelves. Looking back at my review I see that it was the perfect antidote to a gloomy winter’s day because it immediately transported me to the sunshine and charm of an Italian village. The place works its magic too on four women — all strangers to each other — who holiday at a medieval castello above the village. They arrived full of despondency with their lives but leave feeling revitalised and looking to the future.
.If you fancy having a go at Spell the Month, you’ll find all the info you need on the website of the host, Reviews From the Stacks. The July theme is “Set in a fantasy world or fictional place.“
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