Cecilturtle and her Big Fat Books

Hello again, dear BFBers!

This year I decided not to set any specific goals but rather just to enjoy the ride! I've noticed I get caught up in numbers and don't always read what I want to... which seems silly! Nonetheless, I find it comforting to know that I'm not the only one holding heavy tomes, so here I am!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2024.

I am the same; the numbers have been getting in the way of the reading sometimes.
Good luck and happy reading in 2024!

Hi Cecile my dear, nice to see you here again. Happy New Year dear lady.

Happy New Year Cecile and good luck with reading !

johnsimpson bryanoz Thanks so much, Gentlemen! Always a pleasure to be in good company!

Hi Cecile! Good to see to here too. I'm a bit confused about your RL-name. Cécil or Cecile?

>6 connie53: Thanks, Connie! It's Cécile :)

Aha, Good to know. I will change it in my ROOTers excel-sheet. ;-))

>8 connie53: that's so sweet; I'm honoured to be on the spreadsheet

1. Maximum City Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta

It will have taken me 6 months, bit by bit, but I did it and was highly rewarded for it. This is a great book to learn more about Bombay (even though it's dated 2004) and India more globally.

2. The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice

Two BFBs in a week! It'll be a while before I'm back :)
I enjoyed this historical novel about Creole society in New Orleans right after the Louisiana Purchase. It was about 100 pages too long for my taste, however.

3. A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George

George loves detail and it helps her construct a careful and emotionally rich novel. I definitely would have liked fewer scenes with tea and tiny moments, realizing that this creates contrast to support the dramatic effect at the end.

4. Dossier 64 par Jussi Adler-Olsen

I'm not usually a big fan of terrifying stories but because this one is based on historical facts, it particularly held my attention. Thankfully there were bouts of humour throughout which helped lighten the mood.

5. A Tree Grows in Booklyn by Betty Smith

This is a lovely coming of age story. The story has 493 pages but I'm adding the postscript which describes the genesis of the novel and interesting biography on Smith (total of 517 pages).

6. Germinal by Émile Zola

It was a tough but rewarding read and I'm glad I stuck through it. The social ideas, characters from all walks of life and vivid scene made it all a compelling and memorable read.

7. Dictionnaire amoureux d'Albert Camus by Mohammed Aïssaoui

A wonderful homage to Camus and his work. This dictionary is 505 pages counting annexes.

8. La mort entre autres by Philip Kerr

A thrilling espionage novel set in post-WWII Germany, exploring the many complicated fall-outs of the war with the impending Cold War.

9. Lord Peter by Dorothy Sayers

This is a collection of all Peter Wimsey stories, including an introduction and an essay on Sayers's writing. The total comes to 501 pages, close but it counts!

10. La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas

Super pleased to have attained 10 BFBs this year and to have finished this masterpiece! I'm glad this group encourages me to read great literature that I might otherwise sidestep only due to its heft.