Portobello Book Blog

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you are having a lovely day. I do like a booktag challenge and I spotted this Easter one on ZeeZeeWithBooks blog. It was created by book vlogger Rosie the Reader. Each of the prompts are words you might associate with Easter.

RABBITS – A BOOK THAT YOU WISH WOULD MULTIPLY
(A BOOK YOU WISH HAD A SEQUEL)

I loved Maggie O’Farrell’s brilliant, latest novel, The Marriage Portrait. Although it’s pretty much a complete story, I’d love to know what happened next, or even what really happened at the end as it’s one of those endings which is a bit ambiguous!

EGG – A BOOK THAT SURPRISED YOU

The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee. This was chosen for my book group last year and somehow when I read the blurb, I didn’t expect to enjoy it but actually I loved it! Strangely, my friend who chose it didn’t like it in the end!

HUNT – A BOOK THAT WAS HARD FOR YOU TO GET YOUR HANDS ON

It needn’t have been hard to get my hands on really but I waited a long time to get Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I had reserved the audiobook version from my library through the Libby app and with over 100 people in the queue in front of me, it took rather a long time to come!

LAMBS – A CHILDREN’S BOOK THAT YOU STILL ENJOY

I still have and still enjoy all my Famous Five books. We read them to our daughters when they were little and they loved them too. Five on a Treasure Island is probably my favourite. I couldn’t imagine having your own island and being allowed to head off their on your own rowing boat! There are, of course, many problems with sexism and racism in Enid Blyton’s books but we used them as discussion points about how time and attitudes have, rightly, changed. If you can put those things aside, they are still really exciting adventure stories!

SPRING – A BOOK WITH A COVER THAT MAKES YOU THINK OF SPRING

The Vintage Shop of Second Chances by Libby Page makes me think of spring – it’s that gorgeous yellow cover of course! Spring is a time of renewal and new beginnings so the title also makes me think of spring as second chances can be new beginnings.

JESUS – A RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL BOOK THAT YOU LOVE

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. This is a retelling of the story of Biblical character Dinah. Dinah gets a few mentions in the book of Genesis. She is the daughter of Leah and Jacob after they’d had six sons. Joseph – of the coat of many colours fame – is her half brother.

RISING FROM THE DEAD – A BOOK BY A DECEASED AUTHOR

My favourite Jane Austen novel and probably my favourite classic novel, is Sense & Sensibility. I adore the story of quiet, calm Elinor and her sister, the spirited, romantic Marianne and how they both find true love. I wrote a post recently on the film adaptation which you can read here: From Page to Screen

BASKETS – A BOOK THAT IS IN YOUR AMAZON CART OR WISH LIST RIGHT NOW

Steeple Chasing by Peter Ross. This isn’t out till next month and I really like the sound of it. I loved his last book, Tomb With a View, which was about graveyards and was fascinating. This one is about churches of course and Peter Ross is telling interesting stories about churches big and small throughout the country.

CANDY – A BOOK THAT IS SWEET

For this one, I’m choosing one of Jo Thomas’s books. Her books always feature food, family and love and are a real treat! My Lemon Grove Summer was just wonderful and in my review I mentioned a lot about how all the food descriptions made me want to go to Italy again and enjoy all the lovely food! At the end of the book, there are lots of lemon based recipes for you to try out yourself.

AND THAT’S THE EASTER BOOK TAG. IF YOU HAVE A SPARE MINUTE TODAY WHEN YOU’RE NOT EASTING CHOCOLATE, PERHAPS YOU COULD GIVE IT A GO?
I WISH YOU AN EASTER FULL OF PEACE AND JOY.