The Inheritance of Loss #

by Kiran Desai
2.75 ⭐️

emotional; informative; reflective; sad; slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Booker. I've had it in my TBR pile for ages, and then a friend said he'd read it and ejoyed it so much he'd started over again immediately. So I thought I'd read it as well. Meh. It explores colonialsm, especially attentive to identity in post-colonial experience … but without much of any real consequence or connection happening. Meh.

Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well (audiobook) #

by Tim Spector
with Leighton Pugh (Narrator)

4.75 ⭐️

adventurous; challenging; informative; inspiring; medium-paced

This book is the summary of Tim Spector's years of medical science research on food, nutrition and human health. It's brilliant, and it's really helped me (along with the Zoe programme ) make huge improvements in my diet and overall health. I recommend it highly.

The Nightingale (audiobook) #

by Kristin Hannah
with Polly Stone (Narrator)

1.5 ⭐️

emotional; slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I bought this as an audiobook to listen on the long journey to our summer holiday. It was a feat of endurance just to get through it. Maybe I'm just not the target audience — I understand there's a film being made.

The Bee Sting #

by Paul Murray
3.75 ⭐️

challenging; dark; emotional; funny; tense; medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This is a really good, fun read, full of twists. The Bee Sting follows simultaneous events in the lives of all four members of one family, two parents and two teenage children, and it's multi-perspective view of the same things portrays brilliantly how we understand and misunderstand each other. It's been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker. For me, it's a great read but doesn't quite challenge the boundaries of narrative or of the way we see the world.