Fiona N
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fionamnt.bsky.social
Fiona N
@fionamnt.bsky.social
360 followers 530 following 120 posts
Translator (NL>EN) | Reader | BookCrosser | Baker | Scottish (and Dutch) | Loves language and history
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Book 29 in 2025: Expelled from Uganda, by Noreen Nasim.
The fictionalised story of the author's father and his family, Asian Ugandans who had to flee the country under Idi Amin's horrific rule. Very interesting to read more about this.

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Book cover for Expelled from Uganda, by Noreen Nasim. Green background with sea and leaves. Title and author in white. In the centre, the shape of the country of Uganda in orange.
September 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM
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Book 28 in 2025: The Falcons of Fire and Ice, by Karen Maitland.
The landscape in Iceland is really a character in itself, and it was interesting to read about the history and customs, and about falconry. And apart from that, it was also a great story.

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Book cover for The Falcons of Fire and Ice, by Karen Maitland. Stylised volcano erupting, with falcons flying.
September 1, 2025 at 3:53 PM
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Book 27 in 2025: Rambling Man: My Life on the Road, by Billy Connolly (audiobook).
Funny and philosophical, Billy recounts his travels around the world as a true "rambling man".
Always a pleasure to listen to him!
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Book cover for Rambling Man: My Life on the Road, by Billy Connolly. A road through a wooded area. Billy in his younger years walking towards us, a bag over his shoulder, and what is probably his banjo case in the other hand.
August 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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Book 26 in 2025: Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury.
A rather strange carnival comes to town, and sure enough some very creepy things start happening. You'll never look at a carousel or a mirror maze the same way again.
Creepily enjoyable!

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Book cover for Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. A boy riding on a purple carousel horse, and a man in a black suit and top hat. Both looking at the viewer.
August 21, 2025 at 12:04 PM
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Book 25 in 2025: The Women, by Kristin Hannah.
Powerful story of the women who served as army nurses in Vietnam, witnessing unimaginable horrors and returning home to zero recognition. And of the deep, unbreakable friendships forged there.
Very good.

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Book cover for The Women, by Kristin Hannah. Three women, silhouetted, stand on a platform looking out across the jungle. Three helicopters fly past silhouetted against the setting sun.
August 5, 2025 at 9:51 AM
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Book 24 in 2025: The Puzzle Wood, by Rosie Andrews.
1852, a remote house where the governess has died. Her sister poses as a new governess to join the household and try to find out what happened.
Atmospheric surroundings, strange goings-on. Very good!

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Book cover for The Puzzle Wood, by Rosie Andrews. Bright blue background. A gold circle with the title, surrounded by a wreath of bare branches in black and gold, on which two crows are perched.
August 1, 2025 at 6:08 PM
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Book 23 in 2025: Orbital, by Samantha Harvey.

From the constantly changing vistas and multiple sunrises and sunsets per 'day' to the minutiae of life in space, this was a wonderfully slow and thought-provoking read.

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Book cover for Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Black background with spherical shapes of various sizes and colours, one of which is Earth.
July 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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Book 22 in 2025: The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende. Translated by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson.
A beautiful story about the enduring power of love, against a rich backdrop of the very different histories of the characters.

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Book cover for The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende. A woman, smiling. We can only see her from the top of her nose down. The rim of a hat is visible behind her head. She's holding a white gardenia. On the right, a faint monochrome picture of a large house with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
July 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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Book 21 in 2025: The Watcher in the Shadows, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Translated by Lucia Graves.
Oddly enjoyable young adult gothic creepiness!

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Book cover for The Watcher in the Shadows, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Bright blue background with a doorknocker with an angel (head, shoulders and wings) on top.
July 12, 2025 at 6:28 PM
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Book 20 in 2025: The Extinction of Irena Rey, by Jennifer Croft.
As a translator, I loved a book by a translator, about translators, with a narrator who's one of them, whose words are translated by one of the others, including snide footnotes. Indescribable!
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Book cover for The Extinction of Irena Rey, by Jennifer Croft. Bright pink and green background. Inset, a painting of a forest with blue trees, and fungi growing below.
June 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
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Book 19 in 2025: Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies.
Schoolteacher in Canada looks back on his life, with colourful characters and fair amount of tragedy and drama, and a bit of adventure.
Quite enjoyed this.

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Book cover for Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies. White background except for a patch in the centre showing various characters from the book, in a kind of soft focus.
June 13, 2025 at 5:18 PM
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Book 18 in 2025: A God in Ruins, by Kate Atkinson.
One of those books I almost didn't want to finish, because I was enjoying it so much and didn't want to have to say goodbye to the characters (except Viola maybe!).
Beautifully written.
Loved it.

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Book cover for A God in Ruins, by Kate Atkinson. A dead hare (or is it a rabbit?) nailed to a wooden wall by its hind leg.
June 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
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Book 17 in 2025: The Evergreen in Red and White, by Steven Kay.
The story of Rabbi Howell, Sheffield United player, in the early days of professional football, faced with some difficult life choices. Well researched, with good backdrop of Victorian Sheffield.
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Book cover for The Evergreen in Red and White, by Steven Kay. A grainy, black-and-white photo of Rabbi Howell, facing the camera, arms folded. In the background, outlines of factory chimneys.
June 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Book 16 in 2025: Splinter, by Sebastian Fitzek. Translated by John Brown John.
Marc reads about an experiment that might help him forget his wife's death. But then he comes home to find his wife, who's very much alive, but doesn't recognise him.
What's happening to his mind?
Gripping story.
Book cover for Splinter, by Sebastian Fitzek. At the bottom, a single house in a pine forest. A light is on in one upstairs window. At the top of the cover, cracked glass or ice, and a fingerprint in blood.
May 25, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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Book 15 in 2025: Dust by Charles Pellegrino.
What happens to the world if all the insects die off suddenly. Pretty scary stuff. And as in the pandemic, a crisis brings out the very best and worst in people.
We really need to take better care of our planet!
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Book cover for Dust, by Charles Pellegrino. Two small human figures running or stumbling towards the viewer through yellow and black dust and smoke.
May 20, 2025 at 6:38 PM
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Book 14 in 2025: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin.
Loved the writing, the flawed characters, the video game industry setting (although I grew up on text adventures 😁).
Beautiful.
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Book cover for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. Hokusai's wave set against a rainbow coloured sky.
May 13, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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Book 13 in 2025: Elena Knows, by Claudia Piñeiro. Translated by Frances Riddle.
Not the Marple-esque crime novel the description might suggest. Instead it deals with some big issues, against the backdrop of a difficult mother-daughter relationship.
Very good.
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Book cover for Elena Knows, by Claudia Piñeiro. Bright yellow background. In red and blue, a stylised woman's head in profile and a chair.
May 4, 2025 at 12:09 PM
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Book no. 11 in 2025: Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox.
Engagingly written memoir. Insightful, funny, brutally honest, and very informative about Parkinson's disease.

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Book cover for Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox. Black and white close-up photo of Michael J. Fox, leaning his head on his arm and smiling at the camera.
May 2, 2025 at 7:40 PM
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Book no. 11 in 2025: Nothing, by Janne Teller. Translated from Danish by Martin Aitken.
Teenagers try to prove to a classmate that life has meaning, by piling up their most prized possessions. But then the sacrifices become more extreme... Disturbing, but good.
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Book cover for Nothing, by Janne Teller. White background. Top left in black, two feet wearing sneakers. Bottom right in red and black, a pile of objects
April 27, 2025 at 2:39 PM
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Book number 10 in 2025: Montana 1948, by Larry Watson.
Beautifully told through the eyes of 12-year-old David, a family scandal and its devastating effects on everyone around. Unsettling but very good, this will stay with me for a while.

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Book cover for Montana 1948, by Larry Watson. A large expanse of sky and prairie. Tyre tracks in the grass lead away from us. Away in the distance, the vehicle that made the tracks.
April 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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Book number 9 in 2025: After Silence, by Jessica Gregson.
Amidst the tragedy of the blockade of Leningrad, musicians come together to play Shostakovich's 7th Symphony. A beautiful tale of defiance, love, music, and above all, hope. Loved it!

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Book cover for After Silence, by Jessica Gregson. Black background, a working metronome fills the picture.
April 23, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Book 8 in 2025: After Story, by Larissa Behrendt.
A beautiful book, good alternating voices. Love, loss, grief, prejudice, family, and the stories that connect us. Loved it!
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Book cover for After Story, by Larissa Behrendt. Black background with lots of different stylised flowers in red, yellow, white and orange. Title and author in orange, white and red.
March 26, 2025 at 7:26 PM
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Book 7 in 2025: Under the North Star, by Väinö Linna. Translated by Richard Impola.
A classic of Finnish literature, story of a family in a rural village in Finland at the turn of the 20th century, against the backdrop of emerging socialism. Interesting history.
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Book cover for Under the North Star, by Väinö Linna. Dark blue night sky with lots of tiny stars and one very large shining star. Silhouetted trees at the bottom.
March 16, 2025 at 8:31 PM
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Book 6 in 2025: Still Life, by Louise Penny.
A woman, an artist, is found dead in the woods near a small village in Québec. No apparent motive.
Good cozy mystery, particularly on account of the well-drawn location and atmosphere, and a likeable detective.

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Book cover for Still Life, by Louise Penny. Small, silhouetted figures seen from above, walking on ice.
March 10, 2025 at 7:40 AM
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Book 5 in 2025: The Art of Murder, by José Carlos Somoza. Translated by Nick Caistor.
Paintings are no longer made on canvases, but on humans. Such an artwork is murdered and the killer's next target may be at an upcoming exhibition in Amsterdam.
Very original!
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Book cover for The Art of Murder, by José Carlos Somoza. A close up of a painted portrait of a woman. We only see from above her mouth to below her neck, with strands of long dark hair both sides.
February 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM