What’s On Your Bookshelf? – September 2024

It’s time for the monthly What’s On your Bookshelf? link up . I’m looking forward to you sharing what you’ve read at our monthly link up co-hosted with my friends Deb from Deb’s World, Donna from Retirement Reflections and Jo from And Anyways. Remember to check out what has been on their bookshelves as well.

My reviews cover books read and listened to over the last month.

What’s On Your Bookshelf? – September 2024

Discovering a New Author and Series

I have been challenged with our Book Club selection: John Irving’s, ‘The World According to Garp’ plus also reading Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton. Both books were on the darker side and I needed to find some lighter reading where I was reading for pure enjoyment and escapism.

I discovered a new-to-me author, Jessica Redland and after reading two books from her ‘Lake District’ series, you can see that I then devoured her ‘Hedgehog Hollow’ series. The Lake District series was delightful and I’m keen to try to revisit the area when we visit the U.K. next year.

What I enjoy about Jessica Redland’s books is that each is based on a character from the first book. However, the stories are based around some of the less prominent characters and their back stories. In Hedgehog Hollow, the main protagonist, Sam unexpectedly inherits a derelict house ‘Hedgehog Hollows’ set in the picturesque Yorkshire Wolds and vows to bring to life the Hedgehog rescue centre the previous owners wanted but were unable to achieve.

The stories are based around Sam but also the relationships she has with family, friends and those she meets through her rescue centre.

I highly recommend these books for a ‘feel good’ reading session. Perfect if you have been feeling a little ‘low’ and need an escape for a while.

I rated most of these books in the series 4+ stars

Stunners Classic Book Club

The World According to Garp – John Irving – 3 stars

We had a wonderful, lively and informative discussion in our last Book Club meeting. I’m not going to lie, this book was intense, challenging, confusing at times and the characters were very difficult to like. Parts of the book are very confronting and at times shocking – you certainly need to open your mind when reading it. That sounds pretty negative but I can certainly understand how The World According to Garp is mentioned on the many lists of books to read before you die. I can understand how it is regarded as a literary classic and I admire the author in being able to write this book on a part-time basis – just two hours a day. It is a weighty work of fiction.

Having pondered the book long after I finished it and following the book club discussion, I came to understand what the author was trying to convey.

Published in 1978, John Irving writes about feminism, sex, personal growth and societal change. Many of the issues have not progressed very far even today and in many later interviews, Irving suggested that he was very surprised that many of the issues he wrote about are still relevant today.

Goodreads summary:

This is the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields—a feminist leader ahead of her times. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; theirs is a world of sexual extremes—even of sexual assassinations. It is a novel rich with “lunacy and sorrow”; yet the dark, violent events of the story do not undermine a comedy both ribald and robust. In more than thirty languages, in more than forty countries—with more than ten million copies in print—this novel provides almost cheerful, even hilarious evidence of its famous last line: “In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.”

A lovely gesture of encouragement bringing a spark of joy

I always feel that I’m not ‘literary’ enough and second guess myself when reading the classics. The other book club members chastise me for feeling this way. I sent our resident book club English Literature guru, Donna my review and she sent me this certificate. Perhaps being my friend she is just a tad biased but it was lovely of her to go to the trouble of producing and sending this to me. That was certainly a spark of joy in my week. I can only wish this were true!

Well, these are the books that have been on my bookshelf during the month, What’s been on yours? I would love you to share with me your recommendations.

Dates for the Diary

The What’s On Your Bookshelf? Link Up dates for 2024 are listed below. Make a note in your diary as a reminder as we would love to have you join us.

The link for What’s On Your Bookshelf (WOYBS) is open on the third Friday of each month at 8 am (AEST) – that makes it sometime on the third Thursday of each month if you’re in the northern hemisphere…

• September 19/20,
• October 17/18,
• November 21/22
• December 19/20.

Happy reading and remember to pop over to read what books have been on my co-hosts shelves.

The next #WOYBS will be Thursday October 17/Friday October 18. I’m looking forward to seeing and reading What’s Been on your Bookshelf? during the month.

Women Living Well After 50

Living Life Your Way