Luna’s Book Log 2026

[lunababymoonchild]

1. Ann Cleeves, Blue Lightning (Shetland 4) - completed (paper)

2 Albert Camus, The Stranger - completed (e-book)

3 Kamel Daoud, The Meursault Investigation- completed (paper)

4 Ozzy Osbourne, Last Rites - completed (paper)

5 Moonstone, Laura Purcell - completed (paper)

6 The Flight of the Falcon, Daphne du Maurier - completed (paper).

7 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson - completed (e-book)

8 Empire of the Dawn, Jay Kristoff- completed (paper)

9 Batch from Scratch, Suzanne Mulholland - completed (paper)

[lunababymoonchild]

Last Rites, Ozzy Osbourne

 

Sent to me by a friend of mine, I then decided to read it. I'm glad that I did. 

 

This isn't a straightforward biography; it's more the reminiscences of a man who had a very long career and a much longer life than even he anticipated. It reads as if he is in the room with you and telling you his life story as it occurs to him. This isn't as off-putting as it sounds. I've always known that Ozzy was highly intelligent, and this shines through the prose. What surprised me is that he actually cared a lot more about what was going on around him than it appeared. I've never been a particular fan of his, but I did read the column he wrote for The Sunday Times, many years ago, and he was very witty with it. Which I believe is why he became something of a national treasure. He wasn't the all-bad, black-as-painted devil worshipper that those in the field of Heavy Metal (it was called Hard Rock when I first met it) are usually portrayed. He was a professional musician, as they all are, and had, frankly, an epic work ethic. Yes, he was debauched, and he admits that, but he worked hard, right up until two weeks before his death, even though he was so ill that he could not stand up, so to a certain extent, he deserved his debauchery. He was also very aware of his own inadequacies, which he wasn't afraid of stating but, as with his addictions, made no excuse for. 

 

There is a certain amount of profanity in the book, but I can't imagine why this would not be anticipated.

 

The last chapter reads very much like he knew he was dying and was saying goodbye.

 

I learned a great deal about a man I was already familiar with, and thoroughly enjoyed reading this. 

 

Recommended.

 

 

 

[lunababymoonchild]

Moonstone, Laura Purcell

 

I always enjoy Laura Purcell, so I was pleased to read this. I did anticipate most of the plot, as it's aimed at Young Adults, but not all of it, and therefore I knew fairly early on that it was a werewolf story. I was delighted by this, as I didn't expect it, and was keen to find out what happened next. The plot is very good, the characters are believable, and it's a very nice story which comes to a satisfying ending. 

 

Recommended

[Madeleine]

1 hour ago, lunababymoonchild said:

Last Rites, Ozzy Osbourne

 

Sent to me by a friend of mine, I then decided to read it. I'm glad that I did. 

 

This isn't a straightforward biography; it's more the reminiscences of a man who had a very long career and a much longer life than even he anticipated. It reads as if he is in the room with you and telling you his life story as it occurs to him. This isn't as off-putting as it sounds. I've always known that Ozzy was highly intelligent, and this shines through the prose. What surprised me is that he actually cared a lot more about what was going on around him than it appeared. I've never been a particular fan of his, but I did read the column he wrote for The Sunday Times, many years ago, and he was very witty with it. Which I believe is why he became something of a national treasure. He wasn't the all-bad, black-as-painted devil worshipper that those in the field of Heavy Metal (it was called Hard Rock when I first met it) are usually portrayed. He was a professional musician, as they all are, and had, frankly, an epic work ethic. Yes, he was debauched, and he admits that, but he worked hard, right up until two weeks before his death, even though he was so ill that he could not stand up, so to a certain extent, he deserved his debauchery. He was also very aware of his own inadequacies, which he wasn't afraid of stating but, as with his addictions, made no excuse for. 

 

I always find it refreshing when someone who has had lots of addictions, faults, whatever, talks about them freely and doesn't make any excuses.  Probably one of the reasons why Ozzy became a national treasure in later life.

 

 

 

 

 

[lunababymoonchild]

@Madeleine I think so too

[lunababymoonchild]

The Flight of the Falcon Daphne du Maurier

 

It’s very difficult to summarise this book, especially without giving away the plot. However, The Flight of the Falcon does play a large part in the story. It’s set in the fictional town of Ruffano, somewhere in Italy, around 20 years after the Second World War – people have telephones and drive cars, and the war is mentioned slightly.

 

The main character is a courier, what we would call a tour guide, and his life is bowling along as such until a crime takes place. Some of the tourists that he is escorting insist that he reports said crime to the police, and he does so, but goes on the run immediately afterward because he thinks that the police will find him guilty, as he had a brief but innocent contact with the victim (he believes, at first, that it was this contact that caused the crime). He goes back to his hometown of Ruffano, and the story unfolds from there. The more he finds out, the worse he thinks it will be for him. Until the very end, when all is explained.

 

I didn’t guess any of the story except the very last bit, and was gripped throughout.

 

Recommended

[lunababymoonchild]

Empire of the Dawn, Jay Kristoff

 

I sped through the first two parts of this trilogy, desperate to find out what happened next, knowing there was another book in the series. With this one, knowing it was the last, I disciplined myself to take a more leisurely pace and enjoyed it just as much. 

 

I guessed one of the ruses but no others, and was caught totally unawares right to the end.

 

What a great finish to a marvellous trilogy.

 

Highly recommended.

[lunababymoonchild]

Batch from Scratch, Suzanne Mulholland.

 

I was impressed with the first TV series and plan to watch the second series. This book is from the series and the author/presenter lays out very clearly how to batch cook and freeze for the week ahead or a whole month. 
 

The book is very well laid out and is easy to follow. It’s also full colour. The author includes recipes too. I’m vegetarian so some will need tweaking but there are plenty of easy vegetarian recipes to be had that I can use instead.

 

Suzanne Mulholland is known as The Batch Lady. She started doing this on her own and her friends kept asking her for tips and tricks and it blossomed from there. She has her own website and Amazon page where she sells the tools needed and her website offers video tutorials. This, to me is the easiest and quickest way to do this and all seems fairly simple.