Life and Things
I’m late getting this off! It’s been a rather nice time, having my family gone away. They’ll not move back til the 12th, so it’s just me, the cats, and the blessed quiet. It would, of course, start raining the day after they left… I dislike being rained on, and I usually take the bus places. Rain means hoping for a Lyft being near me.
Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week
His Royal Whiskers by Sam Gayton, 4*
The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor, 5*
Life in the Sloth Lane by Lucy Cooke, 5*
Favourite Read of the Week
The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor
‘The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home turns the clock back one hundred years to a time when two young girls from Cottingley, Yorkshire, convinced the world that they had done the impossible and photographed fairies in their garden. Now, in her newest novel, international bestseller Hazel Gaynor reimagines their story.
1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.
One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?’
Current Read
Become the Force by Daniel M Jones, 4*
‘For anyone who has watched and fallen in love with the Star Wars films and wanted to become a Jedi (just as Daniel M Jones did as a young boy). This is the first and only Jedi Bible.
Daniel M Jones founded the Church of Jediism in 2007 following the Jedi Census phenomenon of 2001; it now has over 500,000 members around the world. This is the book his fans have been waiting for. In it, Daniel outlines the Jedi perspective and provides practical tools for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how to use the Force in everyday life. A metaphor for the universal life energy that connects us all, the Force can be both light and dark, good and bad. Now, more than ever, it is our responsibility to overcome the Dark Side. This book does not aim to convert, but to inspire its readers to live a life of meaning and purpose according to the universal spiritual teachings of “the way of the Jedi”.
It includes:
• Daniel’s own fascinating spiritual journey and how overcoming personal struggles has awakened him to his purpose.
• A complete toolkit that will allow anyone to genuinely embrace “the way of the Jedi” and use Jedi teachings to empower mind, body, heart and spirit.
• A comprehensive explanation of Jediism as a spiritual movement (a universal desire for self-awareness, spiritual awakening, peace, love and harmony) rather than a religion.
Become the Force shows that the Jedi-minded among us might usher in a new spirituality and shift in global consciousness towards peace and harmony that is more powerful than any we can possibly imagine.’
Next Up (maybe)
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
The Infernal Battalion by Django Wexler
The Ballad of Huck and Miguel by Tim LeRoche
Catakism by Jeff Lazarus
Book Haul
See All the Stars by Kit Frick
‘We Were Liars meets 13 Reasons Why in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps readers away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened then to make Ellory so broken now.
It’s hard to find the truth beneath the lies you tell yourself.
Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system.
Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever.
Then: Lazy summer days. A party. A beautiful boy. Ellory met Matthias and fell into the beginning of a spectacular, bright love.
Now: Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away—no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, troubled by a mysterious note-writer who won’t let Ellory forget, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything and everyone she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere.
The path forward isn’t a straight line. And moving on will mean sorting the truth from the lies—the lies Ellory has been telling herself.’
Speaking with the Spirits of the Old Southwest by Dan Baldwin & Rhonda and Dwight Hull
‘The American Southwest is home to dozens of ghost towns with fascinating histories and active spirits. This book shares the captivating spirit communications conducted by Dan Baldwin and Dwight and Rhonda Hull, using pendulums and psychic abilities to make contact with ghosts and help them pass through to the other side.’
The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace
2016 Goodreads Choice Award-winning poet Amanda Lovelace returns in the witch doesn’t burn in this one — the bold second book in her “women are some kind of magic” series.
‘The witch: supernaturally powerful, inscrutably independent, and now—indestructible. These moving, relatable poems encourage resilience and embolden women to take control of their own stories. Enemies try to judge, oppress, and marginalize her, but the witch doesn’t burn in this one.‘
