Onion Budgie

I have a couple. A Lovely View of Sea by Michael Carson is coming out at the end of this month. I've followed this author since his first novel, way back in 1988. I'm excited to see what this new work of his is all about. He has a light, whimsical sense of humour which I'm fond of. I'm also looking forward to Heartstopper Vol. 2 by Alice Oseman, which is an LGBTQ+ graphic novel due out in early July. Those are the only two I can think of right now! I imagine the rest of 2019 will also see me ploughing through a couple more Agatha Christies, because I find them such wonderful comfort reads.

Me too! What a fantastic series. (And I want a greatcoat like Anne's; I'd swish it like nobody's business, and probably take an eye out.)

And now we're into June! What's everyone reading this month? I'm halfway through The Charioteer by Mary Renault. I'm enjoying it, but the pacing has slowed to a crawl. I'm hoping the second half gets a move on! After I've finished this, I'm thinking about re-reading Wuthering Heights. I last read it in my late teens, and can remember NOTHING except that it was a bit of a slog.

"It was the first time he had ever heard the clock strike ten at night." The Charioteer by Mary Renault

I've played Secret Files: Tunguska *many* times on PC, and it's such a great game! I hope you enjoy it! (There are two sequels, and they are equally as fun, I'd recommend them.)

Yes, I'm loving it! I've not read anything by Renault before, so this is a nice surprise. The "Charioteer" is currently stuck in a World War II veterans' hospital, with a wonky knee. The characters are all very well drawn. I'm looking forward to whatever happens next... I hope your book picks up soon!

I've just started The Charioteer by Mary Renault. One chapter in, and it's wonderful so far.

Let us know how you enjoy it, if you do read it!

I've almost finished Skirt and the Fiddle by Tristan Egolf. I have NOT enjoyed it! The humour is so outlandishly, grimly farcical, that I lost patience with it about a third of the way in. Reading it in small chunks now because it's making my eyes roll out of their sockets. The two main characters are abhorrent. Don't know what I'm going to read next. Something GOOD.

The Man From Primrose Lane by James Renner is fantastically good. The time travel element doesn't kick in straightaway, but once it does...

One that comes immediately to mind is Hello Darling, Are You Working? by Rupert Everett, which I read earlier this year. It's not 100% autofiction, but it does have a LOT of events from and similarities with his own life. If I can think of any more, I'll add them! Edit: I thought of another one: The Temple by Stephen Spender.

As far as I can recall, the novel is only affected by mention of the broken figurine and the poem itself. It's a *great* novel otherwise. It does get a bit wearing when it seems that every other novel by AC has problematical racist elements to it... She's still one of my favourite writers, but...

"I was told nothing of the show beforehand." Skirt and the Fiddle by Tristan Egolf

It's May! ALREADY. We had some warm weather in April, but now it's back to chilly again -- at least here in the UK. What's everyone reading this month? I finished Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie a few days ago. I enjoyed it, but aieeee, there was a fair bit of racism in this one. That's the one thing that spoils AC for me. I've just started Skirt and the Fiddle by Tristan Egolf. Only a few pages in, so can't tell if I'm going to like it yet or not.

I finished The Hairdressers of St Tropez by Rupert Everett. It was (as predicted) absolutely bananas, wonderfully funny, but with a few unexpected and sad twists. Great stuff. I'll be diving into Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie for the Bank Holiday weekend (and beyond)!

Could it be the Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford?

Baked beans are delicious! They are usually made with haricot beans. I had some yesterday with a veggie burger-in-a-bun, chips, and steamed veg. I've just now had an amazing vegetable jambalaya, with brown rice, black beans, broccoli, tinned tomatoes, spices, and a heap of other veg all mixed in.

"On the beach at Pampelonne. The sea is milk white, and barely distinguishable from the early morning sky." The Hairdressers of St Tropez by Rupert Everett

Well, I've just finished The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, and ADORED it. It was bonkers, brain-twisting, engrossing, and so complex that I thought my brain might pop out of my cranium. My only minor quibble was with one aspect of the writing style. The author's similes were hackneyed and creaking -- creaking like an old door-hinge that needed oiling! I'll sell you that one, Turton! That'll be £2.50, please. Now I'm just about to start The Hairdressers of St Tropez by Rupert Everett, which I'm guessing will be another bonkers read, but in an entirely different way.

I'm just over 100 pages into it, and it's already tying my brain up into knots! It's BRILLIANT. It must have been an absolute doozy for the author to plot out. I haven't been so excited about a novel in a long while.

"I forget everything between footsteps." The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I've almost finished Hello Darling, Are You Working?. It's been fun! Very silly and overblown, which sometimes you just need in a book, you know? Next up is The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, which I'm so excited for. I've only heard good things about it. I also caved in and read the rest of the web-comic series of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I know, @Athena -- I did say I was going to wait for the paperback version of Volume 2 to come out in July, but..... I COULDN'T WAIT! I wanted to know what happened next! So now I'm all up to date, and it's DELICIOUS, and I'm still going to get the paperback, so all's good. (When it comes to books, I have little self-control.)

The Locke and Key series is one of my favourites! I hope you enjoy Vol. 2.

I'm halfway through Hello Darling, Are You Working by Rupert Everett, and am enjoying it. It has some funny one-liners, and the fact that it's surreptitiously autobiographical makes it even better. The author's bio paragraph at the back of the book says that "Any resemblance between his novel and his actual life is undoubtedly coincidental."

That's how it came across to me too, Karen. It rubbed me up the wrong way. I also found the plot too predictable. I still gave it a 3/5 on GoodReads, because *some* of it hit the mark -- but right now, I can't remember what it was! I'm puzzled as to why so many people rave about it.