“…we were unmistakable in a land where there are no strangers!” #1925Club

I had a notable failure for our most recent reading week, earlier in the year (the #1952Club - oh look, the last two numerals are the reverse of this month's club!) The book in question was "Mirror to Russia" by Marie Noele Kelly, which I found to be a real struggle with the author's bias spoiling my reading of it.

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/10/25/we-were-unmistakable-in-a-land-where-there-are-no-strangers-1925club/

Rounding up the #1952Club – and some thoughts on where we go next!

Whew! Well, what a week that was! I thought that 1952 was going to be a bumper year to read from, as there are so many choices, and it's been wonderful to see so many people taking part. The range of reading has been fascinating, and I've loved reading all of your posts. I've had a good week of reading myself, with all but one of my choices turning out to be brilliant.

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/04/28/rounding-up-the-1952club-and-some-thoughts-on-where-we-go-next/

“…they all sat there in another world…” #1952Club #PaulBowles #LetItComeDown

My final read for the #1952Club is not a title I was particularly thinking of picking up for our Year Week, but somehow I ended up being drawn to it. I had, as usual, made a big list of possibilities and this was on it, but I had regarded "Go" as the Big Read of the week and was thinking of something a little lighter to round off 1952.

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/04/27/they-all-sat-there-in-another-world-1952club-paulbowles-letitcomedown/

A rare reading failure for the #1952Club… 😬😳

When I was casting about for possible titles to read during our #1952Club week, I did wonder about the Russians... This being Soviet times, I guessed there might be limited obvious options to choose from, and the one book which kept coming up was "Stalingrad" by Vasily Grossman. Now, I thought I owned this, but I don't (that needs to be rectified...) - and it's also a chunkster so I wasn't sure whether I would get through it…

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/04/26/a-rare-reading-failure-for-the-1952club-%f0%9f%98%ac%f0%9f%98%b3/

New on Neglected Books, for the #1952Club: Which Grain Will Grow, H. H. Lynde's novel about a small western city and its people, is careful, respectful, painstaking — but also justly criticized as an "intellectual bomb shelter," too insulated from its political context.

https://neglectedbooks.com/?p=10668

Maigret crosses the channel – for the #1952Club! :D

Time for more vintage crime on the Ramblings for the #1952Club, and today it's one of Simenon's marvellous Maigret novels. There were two titles published featuring the great sleuth in the year in question, and one of them is a title I know I've read - "Maigret and the Gangsters" (which I mentioned on my post last week which covered previous reads).

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/04/25/maigret-crosses-the-channel-for-the-1952club-d/

A guest post takes on a bestselling author for the #1952Club!

(Today on the Ramblings it's time for Mr. Kaggsy's usual guest post! This time he takes on a bestselling author from the middle of the 20th century - I'm not sure how much he's still read, and Mr. K. may have some ideas why that could be... 😉) "Campbell’s Kingdom" by Hammond Innes (no spoilers) (Ralph) Hammond Innes wrote many novels, his first being in 1937.

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2025/04/24/a-guest-post-takes-on-a-bestselling-author-for-the-1952club/