Helen

I like books and bookshop.org is asking me to buy books. I've got 3 spaces on my bookshelf.

Is there a book special to you that you want to share? I'd love to hear about it and why it's special to you.

Any genre, any language, anything at all. I just like discussing books.
#bookstodon

Jun 24 at 7:35amWeb
Show threadFrank2d ago

@miffyhelen I am reading this currently, and it is brilliant

https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/reckoning-9781925355413

Fascinating bio into herself and her family.

Reckoning by Magda Szubanski (Trade Paperback)

Heartbreaking, joyous and revelatory, Reckoning is the book where Magda Szubanski, one of Australia’s most beloved icons, tells her story.

Show threadTroggie2d ago
@miffyhelen A Psalm for the Wild Built (and its sequel A Prayer for the Crown Shy). Amazing, peaceful, beautiful book(s). One of those stories best to go in blind.
Show threadHelen2d ago
@Troggie That's an intriguing thing to hear about a book! Best to go in blind... I'm immediately hooked and that's gone straight into the basket.
Show threadTroggie2d ago
@miffyhelen yay!
Show threadChirayu  🛰️2d ago

@miffyhelen

Not the End of the World and Clearing the Air by Hannah Ritchie is very apropos considering the weather

Inspired Enterprise by Gwen Swanson is my new fav

Range and Inside the Box by David Epstein

Show threadDaniel Prindii2d ago
@miffyhelen I loved this book by Irene Sola. Read it in the Romanian translation. https://bookshop.org/p/books/when-i-sing-mountains-dance-a-novel-irene-sol/7b2fda79bdce10a4?ean=9781644450802&next=t
Show threadJaneishly2d ago
@miffyhelen Not sure it's special so much as startlingly funny in an utterly bonkers way. "The Price You Pay" by Aidan Truhen (a Nick Harkaway pseudonym). And the sequel, "Seven Demons", which has got to be the best heist story ever.
Show threadHelen2d ago
@janeishly bonkers is absolutely what we need right now! I've put it into my wishlist!
Show threadJaneishly2d ago
@miffyhelen It's so good I read it again straight away. Did the same with the second one too. I spent the entire time going 😮 at the audacity of the writing and the voice of the protagonist. I enjoy Nick Harkaway anyway, but it feels like here he's given in to all his worst impulses that never normally get to come out - and it's quite a ride.
Show threadJon Roach2d ago

@miffyhelen

this is amazing and I keep coming back to this series

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/rivers-of-london-ben-aaronovitch/461c4e607181d519?ean=9780575097582&next=t

Show threadRolloTreadway2d ago
@miffyhelen My first answer when anyone asks is always Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. You've probably read it already, but just in case you haven't, do.
Show threadHelen2d ago
@RolloTreadway It's one I've heard of but never read! I trust your recommendation so I've added it to my list. It's probably about time I got round to reading it!
Show threadDJDarren20h ago
@RolloTreadway On your recommendation I bought this on my Kobo this morning. So far it's beautiful. The descriptions of what the various factions in the squat wanted made me laugh. @miffyhelen
Show threaddoncish2d ago

@miffyhelen »The Fifth Sacred Thing« by Starhawk is a timeless and timely utopian story, providing solutions, hope and answers to many pressing topics in 2026. Highly recommended. It's special to me because of the hope part.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Sacred_Thing?wprov=sfla1

The Fifth Sacred Thing - Wikipedia

Show threadHelen2d ago
@doncish utopia and hope. It sounds like a relief ❤️
Show threaddoncish2d ago
@miffyhelen my thoughts exactly! It has its tough, cruel moments, but they serve a purpose instead of just trying to shock readers. And they are what makes it even more timely, in my opinion.
Show threadChirayu  🛰️2d ago

@miffyhelen and when it comes to books that are special to me

On the Shoulders of Giants by Hawking is my must-have on the desk

Around the World in 80 Days (and other Jules Verne books like Journey to the Centre of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea) hold a special place in my heart cause they were the ones that got me into reading in the first place. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer by Twain

Ian Fleming's novel might be in the wishlist btw. Happy Reading :)

Show threadHelen2d ago

@mountdiscovery Ian Fleming? Who's he? 😂 I really enjoy reading about (and watching) James Bond. Curious to see where the next film takes us...

I haven't heard of On the Shoulders of Giants but I've added it to my wishlist!

Show threadReuben 2d ago
@miffyhelen two of my favourite books are When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson and The Handsome Girl and Her Beautiful Boy by B. T. Gottfred
Show threadDr Alice Violett2d ago
@miffyhelen I always answer The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾, as it was my comfort re-read growing up, as well as being really funny and warm.
Show threadBez Lightyear2d ago
@alicemcalicepants @miffyhelen Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansen - beautifully bleak children's book about loneliness. Moominpappa at Sea is similarly dark.
Show threadArratoon2d ago
@alicemcalicepants @miffyhelen Try being called Adrian when that book and TV show was big 🙄
Show threadArratoon2d ago
@alicemcalicepants @miffyhelen But (at the risk of repeating myself) I once got a book signed by Tove Jansson in Helsinki, and when I told her my name, she asked: “Like Adrian Mole?” So at least she knew how to spell it.
Show threadDr Alice Violett2d ago
@arratoon @miffyhelen *nods in 'was in primary school when Living Next Door to Alice was popularised by Roy "Chubby" Brown'*
Show threadArratoon2d ago

@miffyhelen That’s quite a wide remit but I’ll narrow it down to three:

A House in Flanders by Michael Jenkins is lovely. https://foxedquarterly.com/shop/a-house-in-flanders-michael-jenkins-plain-foxed-edition/?srsltid=AfmBOoq7i0gyckWzepxs7ukUll7pdQr7JZnuShVCUao3Wimfn91F7QqS

I’ve also really liked Arundhati Roy’s memoir this year, Mother Mary Comes to Me

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/mother-mary-comes-to-me-arundhati-roy/23824c690ce7c6f2?ean=9781405978477&next=t

And They by Helle Helle is one of my favourite works of fiction I’ve read this year. I want to read everything by her now. https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/they-helle-helle/e62ab1345aa05f45?ean=9781836750031&next=t

Show threadwinter_acomite2d ago
@miffyhelen So many good books (some of which I even know). Let me add "Raising Hare" by Chloe Dalton - wonderful detailed loving nature descriptions :-)
Show threadbook_dragon2d ago

@miffyhelen A variety:

"Wind, Sand, and Stars" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry of "Little Prince" fame--a lyrical memoir about the aviator's service in the mail routes across the Sahara and Andes.

"The Golden Age" by John C. Wright (Vol. 1 of The Golden Age series)--astonishing fantasy about the future of human existence, and transcendence

"Devotions" by Mary Oliver--luminous poetry: "What will you do/With your one wild and transcendent life?"

"Deep Wheel Orcadia" by Harry Giles

#bookstodon

Show threadHelen2d ago
@JeanieBurrell I loved Wind, Sand, and Stars! I have a soft spot for Monsieur Antoine. I've added the others to my wishlist. ❤️
Show threadbook_dragon2d ago
@miffyhelen It's been too long since I've read him, perhaps I should...AIEEEEE! (buried in an avalanche of books I haven't read yet)
Show threadJason2d ago

@miffyhelen if you’d like your mind bent, then #TheLockedTomb trilogy [1] will fill those three slots perfectly.

Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth and Nona the Ninth.

[1]: three so far. the finale will probably come next year.

Show threadHelen2d ago
@jason mind bent? That sounds awesome! Added to list!