#4 Lyndsay's Library - A bookstore visit and some things I've enjoyed
Books, TV and films
Hello lovely reader
I usually share these Library posts separately from my regularly scheduled Friday posts, however this week I’ve decided to go rogue. Time seemed to run away from me and I didn’t have chance to write something new and this post was already lined up, so here we are!
One thing I would love to know this week is how often you visit a bookstore? I don’t often which for someone who loves reading books as much as I do sounds like a travesty. I invested in a Kindle a couple of years ago which I love and got a great deal of use out of whilst we were travelling Europe. But now I’m sat behind a laptop for over 8 hours a day, the thought of then staring at a Kindle isn’t terribly appealing. So I’ve been craving books. Real books. And a couple of Saturday’s ago I found myself with some time to kill so I ventured into a lovely little bookshop in one of my local towns.
I find there is something different when it comes to buying from an independent bookstore, that satisfied buzz of supporting the local community and small business owners. I tend to buy from Amazon (convenience) and Waterstones (the shop always has a magical ability to draw me in) so it was a pleasure to peruse the shelves of an independent bookstore, pulling down books which caught my attention. It just so happened to be the Saturday before Valentine’s Day so I was lucky enough to be browsing whilst eating free heart-shaped chocolates which was a real joy! I purchased two pre-loved books in the end, Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I can’t wait to get stuck into them, and to continue to shop for books in such a way.
I’ve read a couple of great books recently which I would highlyrecommend.
Homecoming by Kate Morton
Moving between two time periods, 1959 and 2018, Homecoming tells the story of a web of love and lies spanning generations, with a mystery to be solved at the heart of it.
Jess is a journalist living in London, struggling for inspiration for her next writing job, when she has to make a sudden trip to her homeland of Australia upon hearing that her beloved Grandmother has taken ill. What she doesn’t expect are the family secrets that unravel as she soon finds herself with her very own piece of investigative journalism, putting pieces of a puzzle together relating to an unresolved murder in the fifties which appears to be too close to home.
It made me think about the lengths we may go to in order to protect those we love or to protect ourselves but do we ever really stop to think about the possible consequences of those actions until it’s too late? It’s also a realisation that the truth will always come out in the end but that sometimes comfort can be found within it.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Now, this isn’t my usual go to choice of book but when I read the synopsis and thoughts of it over on
and her Overbooked Mama’s Substack I knew I just had to try it and I bought it from Amazon that very moment! I know, sorry. It’s a thriller-fantasy novel, with dark magic and horror thrown in for good measure. It get’s pretty dark so I’m sure it won’t be for everyone, I didn’t think it would be for me, but honestly I was hooked. I think it certainly pays off to step outside of your book-reading comfort zone every once in a while.Alex Stern is the protagonist, chosen by the University of Yale due to her ability to see ghosts to become a member of Lethe, whose sole objective is to monitor the magical workings of Yale’s secret societies. Of course, things get out of hand and you are then taken on a wildly exhilarating ride with Alex to work it all out. I certainly wasn’t expecting the ending and I’ve already started book number two in the series, Hell Bent, in search of answers. I read that Bardugo is wanting to bring out a number of books in the Alex Stern series and, right now, I’m here for it.
I, like much of the internet, watched, and sobbed, to the Netflix mini-series adaptation of One Day. I originally read the book by David Nicholls and I enjoyed the film with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. But this series just had something else. It had a slow burning spark, leaving my emotions in a wreck by the end. But what a beautiful story portrayed by two beautiful people. I would highly recommend it if you haven’t watched it already.
My husband and I watched the film Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, which I had high expectations for but for which it unfortunately didn’t end up meeting. It tells the true story of the Von Erich brothers who, in the 1980s, made history in the world of professional wrestling. I usually love a biopic, particularly a sports-related one, but I found it disengaging and slightly dull, which is a shame, especially considering that the story is quite traumatic.
I’m on the hunt for some film recommendations because everything I’ve watched lately doesn’t seem to hit the mark for me. If you’ve watched anything good, or read anything good for that matter, I would love to hear about it in the comments below!
Much love
Lyndsay xxx
I enjoyed killing time in the bookstore in Euston yesterday. The opening page of Bryony Gordon’s latest memoir tickled me x
I’m so glad you liked Ninth House! It definitely kept me reading and searching for answers. I started One Day yesterday! I didn’t realize it’s 14 episodes! It starts off in Edinburgh so I’m immediately invested.