weather Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘You Are Here’ by David Nicholls

Ahhh, so I know there’s a lot of fuss about Nicholls’ ‘One Day’ at the moment because of the Netflix series, but that’s not what brought me to this book. I absolutely loved Nicholls’ ‘Starter for Ten’ (great book, lovely film) and hoped for more of the same.

I can confirm that ‘You Are Here’ is also a great book. Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.

This book alternates chapters told by Marnie (long term single and lonely Londoner) and Michael (getting divorced, keen walker and countryside-lover). They’re brought together by a mutual friend on a loooooong walk across the Lake District and then – who knows? – maybe even over to the opposite coast. The epic journey starts with a group of unlikely walkers setting off from the west coast of the UK with accommodation booked along the way. The weather isn’t great, the walkers aren’t all very keen, and gradually the numbers dwindle – allowing new friendships to be built between unlikely characters.

Book Review: ‘How to Raise a Viking’ by Helen Russell

I enjoyed Russell’s ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ and so was pleased to be granted an eARC of ‘How to Raise a Viking’. I’m really intrigued about the Danish/Nordic/Scandi way of life and loved Russell’s chatty and self-deprecating wander through her experiences of (firstly) living Danishly and (now) raising Viking children.

Book Review: ‘The Retreat’ by Sarah Pearse

I liked Pearse’s first book – ‘The Sanatorium’ – because of the claustrophobic atmosphere and the edge-of-your-seat tension levels. I had high hopes for this book, ‘The Retreat’, as this marks the return of detective Elin Warner in a different but equally remote setting.