Highly recommended these two

 A few years ago I belonged to a Book Club at one of the local libraries, I used to really enjoy it but sadly the number dwindled and it finally folded.  The same library also ran monthly groups on Wednesdays and Thursdays, they were very popular and there were waiting lists to join both.  As a result of lockdowns over the last two years many people chose not to go back once things were open again, which meant that I finally got to join the Thursday group.  The group is still quite small, about six at the moment, but that's ok.  Last Thursday was our date to meet and discuss January's book.  

Catherine Isaac is a new author to me and someone I will look out for again.

1990. Harriet is a journalist. Her job takes her to dangerous places, where she asks questions and tries to make a difference. But when she is sent to Romania, to the state orphanages the world is only just learning about, she is forced to rethink her most important rule.

2018. Ellie is a gardener. Her garden is her sanctuary, her pride and joy. But, though she spends long days outdoors, she hasn’t set foot beyond her gate for far too long. Now someone enters her life who could finally be the reason she needs to overcome her fears.

From post-revolution Romania to the idyllic English countryside, The World at My Feet is the story of two women, two worlds, and a journey of self-discovery that spans a lifetime. 

My audio book for February was one I came across via a new podcast I've been watching, Penelope's Chinwag.  Pene's podcast was recommended on another one I subscribe to, so I thought I'd pop over and take a look, and I'm so glad I did, she has a lovely way about her and she shows her amazing patchwork, knitting and sewing as well as some chats with her 96 year old mum.  I love listening to those chats, it makes me wish I'd done something similar with my mum.  Her podcast is well worth checking out if you haven't already.

In one episode she mentioned that her aunty in Ireland had written a book, when she said that it was on audible I went in search and downloaded it.

Open Hearted by Anne Ingle is a very candid memoir, narrated by Ann herself.  I found it absolutely fascinating listening to her and can highly recommend.   I've checked on Amazon where it's also available in hardback and on Kindle too.

At 20 Londoner Ann Ingle fell madly in love with an Irish fellow she met on holiday in Cornwall. At the church to arrange their shotgun wedding she discovered that he hadn't even told her his real name.

Sixty-odd years later Ann looks back on that first glorious fall and in a series of essays considers what she has learned from the life that followed - bringing eight children into the world, their father's years of mental illness and tragic death at 40, being a cash-strapped single mother in 1980s Dublin, coming into her own in her middle years - going to college, working and writing, and continuing to evolve and learn into her ninth decade, even as she accepts the realities of being 'old'.

These two books bring my reading total to 10 so far this year, you can find the link to my Goodreads page in the right hand side bar if you're interested in what else I've been reading.

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