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Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

This was recommended to me by a friend of friend and I just meant to put it on my long list of books to read but I was looking for a new audio book from BorrowBox and saw this was available so….

Well I have missed all the hype on the book, of which I understand there is a lot, and I can see why it’s a huge success.  It’s a beautiful story of goodness, heart warming, funny and a tear jerker.

My niggle? I would have preferred two sermons less.  The writer evokes moments so well, he didn’t need to give us the whole sermon to convey the feeling, but perhaps those sermons mean a lot to him, so who am I to judge?

I’m not going to give any spoilers about the book so come to it in total ignorance like me.

The audiobook was read by David Morse whose voice I have always enjoyed.  He tackled the large cast well, with only a couple of tiny slip-ups.

Highly recommend.

With thanks to BorrowBox again.  I would just say, again, I love BorrowBox (you can borrow audiobooks and ebooks via your library), but for me, the selection of audiobooks I’m interested in has almost run out so, local councils, government funding people, please, please, give the libraries more money so that the libraries can stay open, can buy books and initiatives like BorrowBox can get more titles. 

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Middlemarch by George Eliot

I realised recently that much as I loved the adaptation of this novel https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108858/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk (I think it may be when I first fell in love with Rufus Sewell), I had never actually read the novel and needing an audiobook to distract from other things, and it being available from BorrowBox, I got it.

Well it is long, at over 32 hours, but read beautifully by Maureen O’Brien. I enjoyed it tremendously. Being a period piece, written 1871/1872 some of the views and prejudices do jolt and the language used is jarring to say the least, (especially strange when listening so there is no chance for the eye to come upon a word and warn ones brain of what’s coming). But I don’t believe in editing out original language, trigger warnings should be sufficient. I didn’t notice any warning for this book but there are several instances of prejudice within the text.

Leaving that aside, I fell in love with the characters of Dorothea and Mary all over again.

So highly recommend but, I give the trigger warning here for language and views. I hope you can get over them and enjoy this 19th century classic novel.

Thanks again to BorrowBox.

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Begin Again : James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.

This is not just a close analysis of James Baldwin’s writings within his own lifetime but a very detailed, and sad, indictment of the state of the USA today, referencing both Reagan and Trump.  

For me, reading it on a wider scale, it echoes a lot of what I am feeling about the state of the world and the backward sliding of peoples attitudes towards hate and segration of different peoples, (not just blacks.  I write this review the day after the latest attack on Jews in North West London https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/man-arrested-golders-green-stabbing-rpqbl67cs?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20briefing%2C%20Thursday%2030th%20April%202026&utm_term=audience_DAILY_BRIEFING 

As someone who has meant to read Baldwin’s work for years, (yes, shamefully he is still on my ‘to read’ pile), I was interested in this book to ensure that Baldwin’s writings would still be relevant in the 21st century and what Glaude enforces, time and time again, in his book is that Baldwin remains as relevant today as he did when he was writing.

Glaude reads this audiobook himself and, his mellifluous voice makes listening, to what at times is a difficult listen, (particularly if like me you identify as a white liberal), that tiny bit easier.

I highly recommend both to those interested in literature, the civil rights movement and the state of the world today.

Thanks to BorrowBox again for a great listen.

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I read this many years ago but wanting an easy but distracting audio book from BorrowBox, the Patricia Routledge reading of this classic attracted me.

The book stood up well and I realised I remembered very little of it and much more did I recall the Lawrence Olivier film.

I’ve heard various things about the new film with Margot Robbie but can’t say I am particularly drawn to it. If you’ve never read the book, start with it first, and then go and see a/the movie.

Routledge’s reading was excellent and it reminded me what an excellent actress she was.

Recommended. Thank you again to BorrowBox and Barnet Libraries.

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House of Glass: The story and secrets of a twentieth-century Jewish family by Hadley Freeman

Cannot recommend this book highly enough. I listened to the audio recording, with Hadley Freeman reading the book herself. I don’t think her reading necessarily did the book any favours but oh my, what a writer she is.

Her grandmother and her siblings left Austro-Hungary during the pograms between the World Wars, when they were children and moved to France. Freeman traces the various siblings lives and the subsequent generations leading to herself.

As a history of a family it is poignant, as a history of Jews in Europe from the beginning of the 20th century until today (the book was published in March 2020) it is invaluable.

Whatever way you want to experience this book, in print, e-book or audio, it’ll be worth it. Highly recommend.

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My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

Book 1 of The Lady Janies - Narrated by Katherine Kellgren

I needed a light, diverting read, and this ticked all the boxes. This idea of rewriting Tudor history is amusing and Katherine Kellgren does a worthy job of trying to tackle all the different voices of the many characters (some better than others).

A sweet, funny read and I understand there are more in the series, so I may dip in again.

Thanks again to Bolinda/BorrowBox/Barnet Council for the read.

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Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

This is a gloriously funny and tragically sad book set in 400BCE Siracusa.

I don’t want to give too much away but the book is set after the Athenian defeat in Sicily and our two main protagonists, ex-potters, are huge Euripides fans.

Highly recommend.

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Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

This is a lovely way to learn about the Norse gods and their mythology (as opposed to the Greek and Roman mythology I've been a bit immersed in for a few years). This audiobook is read by the author himself.

I have to say Gaiman's voice is very pleasant to listen to and his obvious enthusiasm for the subject is contagious.

Back in 2017, I think it was, I read American Gods - https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/165357681981/american-gods-by-neil-gaiman-i-loved-this-book?source=share - and I enjoyed that equally then. Obviously I need to read more Neil Gaiman as when I do, I really enjoy them.

Highly recommend.

Another thank you to Barnet Libraries, BorrowBox and Bolinda for this audiobook.

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The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry

So this is a Raven and Fisher mystery and, as I was about to find out, the final Raven and Fisher book. I picked up this Victorian crime novel from NetGalley and didn’t know at the time it was part of a series but this became apparent very early in the story.

Set in Edinburgh during the mid 1800s Parry shows us Edinburgh in the midst of a them and us society, whether it’s the well-to-dos against the ne’er-do-wells or men against women, is another matter.

I would call this a cosy crime except there are some moments that aren’t that cosy.

I’m sure if you’ve read the other Raven and FIsher books, this makes for a good last one, (there is a tension between Raven and Fisher like that between Strike and Ellacott - hope that’s not too much of a spoiler), but coming in at the end didn’t quite do this for me.

I did have to finish it but can’t give it a highly recommend, just a recommend this time.

With thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the chance to read.

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Mythos by Stephen Fry

So, I’d had the book of this for a few years to read and one thing and another, it just kept not making it to the top of my reading pile. Then I wanted something non-fiction to listen to from BorrowBox and this was available.

What had I been waiting for???? This is terrific. Yes, I have a particular interest in the myths and Greek and Roman history but if you come to this a novice, you’ll enjoy it. Stephen Fry reads the book himself and although there are moments when I thought it was one funny voice too many, (only once or twice), generally he is a terrific narrator and I particularly found the Afterwords interesting.

Highly recommend and another thank you to Barnet Libraries and BorrowBox.

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The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

What an amazing book.  I got this on audio and literally couldn’t put it down.  Was meant to be doing a bunch of other stuff but instead just stopped and listened to it.

It is read by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mae Whitman as well as Tantoo Cardinal and Derek Jacobi for the last bit.  There is also a tiny bit at the end from Margaret Atwood telling you how and why she wrote the book.  Short and sweet.  If you watched the tv adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, Ann Dowd played the frightening Aunt Lydia and she reprises that role here with brilliance.  

I know there are some reviews for The Testaments where they wanted The Handmaid’s Tale 2.0 but this is better.  Atwood is so clever to have written a sequel like this.

Highly recommend.

Thanks again to BorrowBox, Bolinda Audio and Barnet Council.  

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A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

This is my sixth Tracy Chevalier book and my amazement at the research that she must do for each book is boundless. Chevalier manages to get her readers to become so immersed in another world and time, each one brought to life in sparkling detail by her beautiful prose.

Before this, and on tumblr there is The Glass Maker https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/754934251239161856/joe-bloggs-blogs-booksbooksfood-anything and New Boy https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/175512227566/new-boy-by-tracy-chevalier-although-i-love-tracy and before posting here, The Girl With a Pearl Earring, Falling Angels and The Last Runaway. These books, set in the glass makers world of Murano in Italy during the 1400s, a retelling of Othello set in a USA 1970s school, an exploration of Vermeer’s seventeenth century Netherlands and his painting, England between Queen Victoria’s death and Edward VII’s and the Underground Railway of slaves in the US in the 1800s respectively. And now, A Single Thread, set in England between the World Wars. This one is almost more like an Anne Tyler book in that Chevalier writes on a small scale here with intimate detail.

She is an author I cannot recommend highly enough. I am looking forward to the next one I might read.

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This audio book, read by Jennifer Ikeda was a bit of a departure for me from my normal fare, as it was highly recommended from a friend. Basically it’s Beauty & the Beast with sex.

I can see why it’s so popular and, I probably will read/listen to another one in the series, but I felt it was very repetitive and overlong. Unlike another recent ‘re-writing’, namely Twilight becoming Fifty Shades of Grey, here I didn’t feel the differences enough and the sexual tension doesn’t start until much further into the book. Maas is possibly a better writer than E.L. James, but the latter kept the books shorter, (I think?), and so were more effective in my opinion. But Maas is appealing hugely to the Dungeons and Dragons crowd I suspect, something I am totally ignorant of.

But what do I know, this is a huge bestseller, garnering five star reviews left right and centre. So if you like your sexual tension with faeries, beasts and others, this is for you!

Thanks again to Barnet Council and Borrow Box.

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My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

So this was a marathon listen at just over 48 hours but for me, as a fan, it was worth it.  One of the benefits of listening to this autobiography rather than reading it, was the Streisand reads it herself and, where she is talking about certain lyrics of musical moments, the song plays which really brings it to life.  

Not only a fan of Streisand’s work but I was fortunate to meet her many years ago when I was a child and I to properly know and love many of the people she mentions in the book through my parents, not least the Bergmans, Anthony Newley, Irvin Kershner, Jay Landers and, well it’s a long book so the list is long.

For me, listening to the stories about the Alan and Marilyn Bergman was particularly poignant, not least as at the time of listening/writing this post, Alan Bergman died just a couple of months ago.  Streisand’s description of Marilyn’s decline due to dementia and her death had me sobbing.

But how to review this book to someone who doesn’t have the personal connections, if you are a fan you will love it and if you’re not, and have thought Streisand to be too controlling, this will give you more fodder, even though she is explaining why she did something a certain way her critics will still use it to criticise her.

For me, it was a bit too long with quite a bit of repetition but all in all, highly recommended and fascinating.  What a woman, what a career, what a voice!

Thanks to Barnet Council/Borrow Box/Bolinda

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The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson

So interesting to read something set in Iceland, a country with a population of under 400,000 (don’t think I mistyped that and I’m missing a zero, yes, it’s under four hundred thousand).

Because of the small population, the majority of whom live in Reykjavik, the relationship to each other and especially to the police is very different from what we in the UK or USA can relate to.    

I haven’t read the first book in the series and perhaps that would address a couple of the issues I had but I think these are succinctly addressed by this review on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7865314747 

There were times when I found it difficult to follow the dates, but when I realised the day dates didn’t matter, only the years did, it became easier.  The book has four different time lines from the 1960s until 2012 which is when the main thrust of the book is taking place.  

OMG, what a cliff hanger ending.  You can’t do that to us Jónasson! Not fair!  Guess I’ll have to read the next Helgi Reykdal book.  I might even go back and read the first one, who knows?

Took a while to get into and then when I did, it was over.   Now really want to carry on with Helgi.

Recommend.   

Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the early read.  

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

A charming book. Not much I can say about this novel that hasn’t been said by many before me. My criticism? Maybe over-hyped? But that’s always one of my complaints.

I haven’t seen the tv adaptation so was not influenced one way or other from that. It is a nice, original story set in Commons, California in the 1950s and 1960s with flashbacks to childhood and reflections from one, truly unpleasant bishop in Iowa.

I think this is a book that will grow on me and the days and weeks pass after reading it. Even thinking about now to write this post, is making me smile.

Highly recommend.

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The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

So I was familiar with Jimmy Perez (Dougie Henshall) from the tv series, Shetland, but this was the first time reading a Jimmy Perez book and, indeed, my first Ann Cleeves, but it certainly won’t be my last!

It was a bit disconcerting at the beginning as it becomes apparent that the tv series must have diverged from the books at some stage as when Perez leaves Shetland in the tv series, his daughter is already a young adult, but here she is much younger.

It works, once you put Dougie Henshall out of your mind and immerse yourself in the book, it’s great. Set on the Orkney Isles, it is a small community so it’s hard for Perez not to be unfamiliar with the victims, (I’m not giving any spoilers here), and it is this being torn between the personal emotions and the professional detachment that is a driving force of the book. Perez now has a partner in his life, who is also his superior, and this is another source of the professional and the personal crossing over in his life.

Cleeves evokes the beauty and isolation of the Orkneys wonderfully.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the read.

Recommended.