What I'm reading

 My personal challenge was to read 60 books this year, I've fallen behind a little the last two months, just haven't been in the mood to pick anything up, having said that I have read two physical books and listened to two audio books.  

 The two books I read were quite emotional reads and they deserved to be given time to be absorbed.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is beautifully written, one of those books that your reading and something suddenly makes you stop and think about what you just read.  If you've read A Man Called Ove I think you would also enjoy this book.

Blue Sisters - Coco Mellors - Three estranged sisters return to to their family home in New York a year after their fourth sister's death.  The chapters flip between the sisters so we get to know each of their stories. 

The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.

But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize the greatest secrets they've been keeping might not have been from each other, but from themselves.

 The Day I fell off my Island - Yvonne Bailey-Smith  This was my library book club choice for August.

I chose to listen to this on audible, turns out that was a good decision, the local dialect would have put me off reading otherwise.  All apart from two of us really enjoyed it, I thought it was ok, one member gave up after the third chapter, so nearly but not quite a full house, ha ha.

Narrated by Sara Powell who did an excellent job but even listening to the Jamaican accent it was still hard to decipher at times. 

The Day I Fell Off My Island tells the story of Erna Mullings, a teenage Jamaican girl uprooted from her island following the sudden death of her beloved grandmother. When Erna is sent to England to be reunited with her siblings, she dreads leaving behind her elderly grandfather, and the only life she has ever known. A new future unfolds, in a strange country and with a mother she barely knows. The next decade will be a complex journey of estrangement and arrival, new beginnings, and the uncovering of long-buried secrets.

The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club - Faith Hogan

This one was a bit of a wild card, I was looking for something easy to listen to while I was knocking about the house, It was surprisingly good, yes it was predictable but the characters were all just so lovely that I really didn't mind that.  Narrated by Flora Montgomery who's voice with it's soft Irish lilt was very easy on the ears.

 

** When Elizabeth's husband dies, leaving her with crippling debt, the only person she can turn to is her friend, Jo. Soon Jo has called in her daughter, Lucy, to help save Elizabeth from bankruptcy. Leaving her old life behind, Lucy is determined to make the most of her fresh start. As life slowly begins to return to normal, these three women, thrown together by circumstance, become fast friends. But then Jo's world is turned upside down when she receives some shocking news. In search of solace, Jo and Elizabeth find themselves enjoying midnight dips in the freezing Irish Sea. Here they can laugh, cry and wash away all their fears. As well as conjure a fundraising plan for the local hospice that will bring the whole community together.

 pNot a bad months reading in the end, perhaps I'll be able to catch up on my book number as the nights get longer, I do have a lot of titles on my tbr shelf to choose from.

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**The synopsis for each book was taken from Goodreads