It’s all the squirrel’s fault. The pair of ‘em, being all cute and everything.

Yes folks, it’s time for the 2018 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards!

This year I did pick the winner from the magnificent list offinalists. Go check ’em out.

Here she, or he, is … the winning SKWRL …

The Champion! … ‘Caught in the Act’ by Mary McGowan

… and mentioned honourably …

‘Splits’ by Geert Weggen

Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know, the fathers of Wilde, Yeats and Joyce is, as you would expect from Colm Tóibín, beautifully written— but whether it’s a book for you might depend on how interested you are in Wilde, Yeats and Joyce.

This is the blurb:

From Colm Tóibín, the formidable award-winning author of The Master and Brooklyn, an illuminating, intimate study of Irish culture, history, and literature told through the lives and work of three men—William Wilde, John Butler Yeats, and John Stanislaus Joyce—and the complicated, influential relationships they had with their complicated sons.

Colm Tóibín begins his incisive, revelatory Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know with a walk through the Dublin streets where he went to university—a wide-eyed boy from the country—and where three Irish literary giants also came of age. Oscar Wilde, writing about his relationship with his father, William Wilde, stated: “Whenever there is hatred between two people…

When an author of the stature of Colm Tóibín decides to rewrite an ancient myth, it must be because he feels he has something new to say about it, but I have to confess that I read quite a bit of this book thinking that it was a mere retelling.  Written in beautiful words, but held captive to a plot that could only be reworked in insignificant ways.  And worse – am I really writing this about Colm Tóibín? – I felt that the master of empathy had failed utterly to create a convincing portrait of Clytemnestra. It was only in the last third of the book when Tóibín began telling the story of Electra and Orestes, that I felt the author’s voice wrestling with the issue of vengeance versus justice, and what separates the two…

For those unacquainted with the story, here is the blurb:

Judged, despised, cursed by gods she…

I was completely riveted by this short novella, and read it in a single sitting.   But it’s come in for some heavy-duty criticism, and not just from the usual suspects i.e. very religious people, and people not interested in religion at all. Kevin from Canada was puzzled by its nomination for the Booker, Joe Pinkser at The Atlantic found it a slog.  But Mary Gordon at the NY Times, however, thought it a beautiful and daring work.

And so do I.

This uncompromising reimagining of the story of Mary the Mother of God reminded me of David Malouf’s reimagining of Homer’s Iliad in his novella Ransom. To quote from my own review:

What is most striking about the difference [between Homer’s Iliad and Malouf’s novel] is the way Malouf humanises the characters.  Homer delivers heroic ‘types’, and the reader is not really privy to their innermost thoughts and fears. But…

My Review:

My Big Greek Summer by Sue Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 I Love Greece stars to My Big Greek Summer! 🍋 🍋 🍋 🍋

Just when I needed cheering up most, Mandy jumps into a plane to a Greek island, and I was along for the adventure, which was the perfect enjoyable distraction and then some! I have traveled to Greece, and Sue Roberts captures the idyllic setting in a realistic and amusing fashion.

When Mandy finds out her husband has cheated on her, she leaves. Of course she meets a handsome man in Greece, but things are not always as they appear to be. Will Mandy ever heal her broken heart?

In true rom/com style, I smiled, I laughed, and I swooned, all over this escape of a read. Sue Roberts has written an incredibly enjoyable romp, and I hope she’ll take us back…

Today I’m featuring a quick and captivating read out next week from Bookouture!

My Thoughts:

The Perfect Friend by Barbara Copperthwaite

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 beguiling stars to The Perfect Friend! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Alex has lost it all. Her husband has moved out, and her children want nothing to do with her. All she has is her closest friend, Carrie, who she trusts implicitly. But should she?

Alex has anorexia, and she meets Carrie in a support group. Carrie has terminal cancer and likewise has no one to depend on other than Alex. It’s the perfect storm of circumstances to unite two needy best friends. Carrie also wholeheartedly trusts Alex, but should she?

If you like unreliable narrators, you’ve scored two here! The Perfect Friend is a quick, captivating read. At first I felt deeply for Alex and Carrie and their personal struggles, but then…

My Thoughts:

The Cottage on Sunshine Beach by Holly Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 sunshiny stars to The Cottage on Sunshine Beach! ☀️☀️☀️☀️

I was so excited to return to Sandcastle Bay for Melody’s story! Holly Martin has me all-in with this series!

Melody has a new cottage on Sunshine Beach in quaint, picturesque Sandcastle Bay. She lives close to her best friend, Tori, who was introduced during the first installment in the series. Melody’s life is pretty full and happy, but she finds herself missing having someone to share it with.

Enter Jamie. He and Melody work across the street from each other and are friends first, but their feelings begin to flourish. While it would not be fun to experience first-hand, the ongoing dating disasters of Melody and Jamie had me giggling at times. Through these trials, they have to decide if it’s worth it…