Morning All! I hope you are having a good weekend and Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there. We’ll be celebrating by going to a local carnival – at least we will if the weather holds out (the sky is currently full of clouds in my part of the world). If not, who knows, maybe movies and popcorn? If I have chance, I’ll get some reading done, finishing Without You by Saskia Sarginson, which I’m really enjoying.
1984 – Suffolk, England. When 17-year-old Eva goes missing at sea, everyone presumes that she drowned. Her parents’ relationship is falling apart, undermined by guilt and grief. But her younger sister, Faith, refuses to consider a life without Eva; she’s determined to find her sister and bring her home alive. Close to the shore looms the shape of an island — out of bounds, mysterious, and dotted with windowless concrete huts. What nobody knows is that inside one of the huts Eva is being held captive. That she is fighting to survive — and return home…
I’m not sure what I’ll read after that. I’ve still got a pile of books from last week’s trip to the library and I’ve added a few more to the Kindle, including:
The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer
Carmel has always been different. Carmel’s mother, Beth, newly single, worries about her daughter’s strangeness, especially as she is trying to rebuild a life for the two of them on her own. When she takes eight year-old Carmel to a local children’s festival, her worst fear is realised: Carmel disappears. Unable to accept the possibility that her daughter might be gone for good, Beth embarks on a mission to find her. Meanwhile, Carmel begins an extraordinary and terrifying journey of her own, with a man who believes she is a saviour.
Silent Scream by Angela Marsons
Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood…
I’ve also downloaded a copy of Utopia by Thomas More which I am slightly dreading but keep telling myself it should be o.k. because it’s only 183 pages.
First published in 1516, Thomas More’s Utopia is one of the most important works of European humanism. Through the voice of the mysterious traveler Raphael Hythloday, More describes a pagan, communist city-state governed by reason. Addressing such issues as religious pluralism, women’s rights, state-sponsored education, colonialism, and justified warfare, Utopia seems remarkably contemporary nearly five centuries after it was written, and it remains a foundational text in philosophy and political theory.
This is for a short course I’m starting at the end of the month through Future Learn on Literature of the English Country. I love taking these courses, having taken two on Hamlet so far, and learn a lot. They do take a bit of commitment but it’s worth it. For this one, the course will be “tracing the history of country house literature from the sixteenth and seventeenth-century poetry and drama of Thomas More and Margaret Cavendish, through the polite satire and sociability of the eighteenth-century, the Gothic terror and intrigue of Ann Radcliffe and Charles Dickens, all the way through to the dawn of the twentieth century and the wit of Oscar Wilde.”
And that’s it for this week. What about you, what are you reading?
Emma
This week, I’m linking in with Kimberly at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and her Sunday Post. Head over to see what other bloggers have read, written about or just added to their shelves.
One Readers Thoughts 
Oh, I like all of the books you’ve shared this week but haven’t heard of any of them so off to check them out!
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Here’s hoping they are good. Both I’d seen in brief reviews in magazines so don’t know much myself.
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Like Deborah I have not heard of any of these books. I wonder, though, if More was tossed into the Tower for his contribution to literature.
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Oh I hope More isn’t that bad 😳
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What intriguing looking books! And they are all new to me, so I’ll be watching for your reviews.
Thanks for sharing…and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
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I hope they are. Good to have some page turners!
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Sometimes we have so many choices that it’s almost impossible to choose what to read next!
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I know! It’s my own fault because I am addicted to the library (which is at the end of my street so too easy to raid)
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You have some intense choices this week! Without You looks really good and like a serious page turner!
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It has been. Just about finished (may be a late night!)
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These books all sound interesting. I am especially intrigued by The Girl in the Red Coat.
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Me too, mainly because I’ve read good, if brief comments about it. Plus I like the cover!
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Some good books here, enjoy reading them!
Heather @ Random Redheaded Ramblings
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Thanks – I hope I do, even Thomas More!
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Right now, I’m bouncing between a couple of books. Stress does that to me. But I have a break coming up so I’m guessing I’ll finally be able to settle in once I get a chance to unwind a bit.
Terri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
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I’m not that good at that. Two books at once is about all I can manage and one tends to be an audiobook. Stress tends me to turn to the TV as a distraction. Hope your stress starts to decrease soon…not the best feeling to have. Emma
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Those courses you are taking sound really cool! Hope you enjoy your new one. I am really curious about Silent Scream, sounds good just by the title…lol. 🙂
Happy reading,
Stormi
Week in Review
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I can’t recommend Future Learn enough – it’s free for a start which is always a plus in my book and really easy to use. Am hoping this course is as good as the others. I agree with you on Silent Scream…it had me by the cover alone.
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I really enjoyed Saskia Sarginson’s The Other Me so you had me with the Without You. I loved Silent Scream, Angela Marsons certainly knows how to write a compelling story. Enjoy your course too 🙂
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Good to know about Silent Scream…I am looking forward to it. And really liked Without You…just drafting my review.
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I’m late doing the blog visiting rounds but better late than never lol. All your books are new to me but Without You sounds great … my type of read. Have a great week and happy reading 🙂
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I am never on time with my reading. Without You was really good. A good summer read, just what I need right now.
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These all sound pretty interesting. Definitely going to add Without You to my TBR. Thanks for posting!
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Some good ones in there I hope. Can definitely recommend Without You.
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I love FutureLearn! You get some really interesting courses and they’re really high quality, especially considering they’re free. I don’t bother buying the certificates though.
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No, I haven’t bought the certificates either. It’s just a good way to learn something new.
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