Geraldine Rowe
@geraldinerowe.bsky.social
Cats, books, nature. What else is there? London, UK.
Not as good as the first two parts but still compelling enough to continue. On the Calculation on Volume III by Solvej Balle.
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Review by geraldinerowe - On the Calculation of Volume III
I very much enjoyed the first two instalments of this series, but I think this third one falte...
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November 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Not as good as the first two parts but still compelling enough to continue. On the Calculation on Volume III by Solvej Balle.
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Part of the Dark Tales series - novellas retelling tales from Scottish folklore and history. This is about a true crime committed in 1857 in the Outer Hebrides. Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Benbecula
A fascinating retelling of a true story from the mid nineteenth century. The author adds a len...
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November 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Part of the Dark Tales series - novellas retelling tales from Scottish folklore and history. This is about a true crime committed in 1857 in the Outer Hebrides. Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet.
app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/5b24...
app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/5b24...
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is £1.99 on Kobo and Kindle today. Well worth it. Lovely book. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is 99p. I didn't get on with it but many people rate it very highly.
November 17, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is £1.99 on Kobo and Kindle today. Well worth it. Lovely book. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is 99p. I didn't get on with it but many people rate it very highly.
I'm afraid this didn't live up to the hype for me. Katabasis by R F Kuang.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Katabasis
I enjoyed Babel and hoped for more of the same with Katabasis but sadly it didn't live up to m...
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November 16, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I'm afraid this didn't live up to the hype for me. Katabasis by R F Kuang.
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Some Kazuo Ishiguros going cheap on Kindle today (and a couple on Kobo).
November 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Some Kazuo Ishiguros going cheap on Kindle today (and a couple on Kobo).
Wowzers. A short book with a slow burn. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga.
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Review by geraldinerowe - If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English
This is an extraordinary little novel. Not so much about domestic violence as it first seems, ...
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November 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Wowzers. A short book with a slow burn. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga.
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I love a book that leaves me feeling a bit emotional. The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.
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Review by geraldinerowe - The Land in Winter
This book has left me feeling quite weepy. Although I found it slightly too long in places, I ...
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November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
I love a book that leaves me feeling a bit emotional. The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.
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People rave about this book but it didn't do it for me. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Kitchen
This is actually two short stories, but both are about grief and loss. There are some undoubte...
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November 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
People rave about this book but it didn't do it for me. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.
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My hibiscus has bees feeding on its flowers, my pelargoniums are not only in bloom but producing new buds, and my spring bulbs are popping up. It's also November.
November 2, 2025 at 2:54 PM
My hibiscus has bees feeding on its flowers, my pelargoniums are not only in bloom but producing new buds, and my spring bulbs are popping up. It's also November.
A Fantasia jack-o'-lantern this year.
November 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
A Fantasia jack-o'-lantern this year.
Absolutely gorgeous novella. I can see why people were upset it didn't make the Booker shortlist. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Seascraper
A gorgeously atmospheric book, not just in the way it describes the scenery, but also the life...
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October 28, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Absolutely gorgeous novella. I can see why people were upset it didn't make the Booker shortlist. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood.
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People seem to either love or hate this book. I was kind of in the middle. Helm, by Sarah Hall.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Helm
I struggled to engage with any of the stories at first, but about two thirds of the way throug...
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October 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM
People seem to either love or hate this book. I was kind of in the middle. Helm, by Sarah Hall.
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They said we might get some good autumn colour. This is by the entrance to Bromley Palace Park where I was delighted to be surrounded by huge flocks of long tailed tits and goldcrests. Lovely!
October 22, 2025 at 12:37 PM
They said we might get some good autumn colour. This is by the entrance to Bromley Palace Park where I was delighted to be surrounded by huge flocks of long tailed tits and goldcrests. Lovely!
I've been struggling with my concentration recently so took a while to get through this book, but I loved it nevertheless. Muckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Muckle Flugga
This book is set on Muckle Flugga, one of the Shetland islands. Although there is a lighthouse...
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October 20, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I've been struggling with my concentration recently so took a while to get through this book, but I loved it nevertheless. Muckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen.
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Interesting that this was on BBC News today as I took my two cats in for their yearly jabs. The receptionist was so shocked at my bill that she took considerable time to show me how I could bring it down.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Vets should be made to publish prices, competition watchdog says
Vet prices have risen at nearly twice the rate of inflation, the Competition and Markets Authority found.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Interesting that this was on BBC News today as I took my two cats in for their yearly jabs. The receptionist was so shocked at my bill that she took considerable time to show me how I could bring it down.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Some Booker longlisters are cheap on Kindle (but not Kobo) today:
- The Rest of Our Lives
- Love Forms
- Endling
Also Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which disgracefully I've never read.
- The Rest of Our Lives
- Love Forms
- Endling
Also Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which disgracefully I've never read.
October 14, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Some Booker longlisters are cheap on Kindle (but not Kobo) today:
- The Rest of Our Lives
- Love Forms
- Endling
Also Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which disgracefully I've never read.
- The Rest of Our Lives
- Love Forms
- Endling
Also Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which disgracefully I've never read.
I enjoyed this, but I don't know why blurbs are so often misleading. Greater Sins by Gabrielle Griffiths.
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Review by geraldinerowe - Greater Sins
This is billed as a literary whodunnit, but that's misleading. The body that's found in the bo...
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October 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I enjoyed this, but I don't know why blurbs are so often misleading. Greater Sins by Gabrielle Griffiths.
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I went on a bat walk in a local park this evening. We saw pipistrelles, and heard on our bat detectors (but didn't see) daubenton's bats. You can hear the bat detectors in the background.
October 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
I went on a bat walk in a local park this evening. We saw pipistrelles, and heard on our bat detectors (but didn't see) daubenton's bats. You can hear the bat detectors in the background.
Highly recommend this book. I loved it. The Original by Nell Stevens.
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Review by geraldinerowe - The Original
I loved this book. It's got a bit of everything. History, art, crime, LGBTQ+, mystery, thrille...
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October 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Highly recommend this book. I loved it. The Original by Nell Stevens.
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Great fun, but changes might be needed to keep future instalments fresh. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.
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Review by geraldinerowe - The Impossible Fortune
The fifth in the Thursday Murder Club series and this one is very much more of the same. We ha...
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September 28, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Great fun, but changes might be needed to keep future instalments fresh. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.
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Having complained about the state of a Church House Gardens I didn't have much of an excuse not to turn up to a volunteers day recently. In just three hours we cut back and uncovered the path behind the lake that had been completely lost to overgrown plants. More volunteers days to come.
September 24, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Having complained about the state of a Church House Gardens I didn't have much of an excuse not to turn up to a volunteers day recently. In just three hours we cut back and uncovered the path behind the lake that had been completely lost to overgrown plants. More volunteers days to come.
Sadly unimpressed by this. The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard.
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Review by geraldinerowe - The Ghost Cat
I'm not sure who this book is aimed at. Each chapter takes place at a different time in histor...
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September 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Sadly unimpressed by this. The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard.
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I think this shortlist might prove controversial. The popular favourite (Seascraper) isn't there, and some less well liked ones are. Personally I'm happy that Audition made it, although not everyone will agree.
Presenting the #BookerPrize2025 shortlist.
Find out more about the books and authors: thebookerprizes.com/bp2025
Find out more about the books and authors: thebookerprizes.com/bp2025
September 23, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I think this shortlist might prove controversial. The popular favourite (Seascraper) isn't there, and some less well liked ones are. Personally I'm happy that Audition made it, although not everyone will agree.
Very sweet, but flowery writing isn't for me. A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland.
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Review by geraldinerowe - A Room Above a Shop
This is a gentle, quiet story of two men in a relationship in 1980s Wales when such things wer...
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September 19, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Very sweet, but flowery writing isn't for me. A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland.
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It took me a while to get on with this book but I'm so glad I persevered. Just wow. We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown.
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Review by geraldinerowe - We Pretty Pieces of Flesh
This was a slow burn for me. The dialect wasn't too much of a problem, and I soon got complete...
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September 17, 2025 at 8:39 AM
It took me a while to get on with this book but I'm so glad I persevered. Just wow. We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown.
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