Gayla -- I just asked ChatGPT to write a short poem in the style of Maya Angelou about you and your newsletter, to start off our new year. -- Cheers, Mike
The Dream Builders sounds awesome. Writing a great novel seems challenging enough on its own. It just makes it all the more impressive when someone pulls it off the first time around.
I finished Your Table is Ready and it kind of burst my bubble. I think it is to the "front of the house" what Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was to the "back of the house." I've never worked in a restaurant setting ever, so it was all so new and foreign to me. And definitely vulgar. I've got mixed feelings about it and I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not.
The greats I read this year more than make up for the mediocres and bads. I’m just going to hold on to those few experiences and tell myself: this is why I read.
It’s so hard to predict what will strike a chord - sometimes people tell me I’ll love something and I end up not even liking it. Which means sometimes I have to read things others didn’t like as much because maybe I’ll love it. The only way to know is to try.
AND THEN theres the dnf thing. I almost DNFd Donna Tartt’s The Secret History but I finished and oh my goodness, what a reading experience. I feel like I was in the hands of a master without even realizing it.
Thanks Kyle. It's all a crapshoot. I was choosing books that I should have enjoyed more than I did, maybe it was me and not the books. Oh well, it's water under the bridge. I'm looking forward to the books that are publishing in 2023, there are some really good ones that I can wait to read.
I absolutely MUST read The Mitford Affair. The lives of the Mitford sisters are fascinating. I'm a member of a book club at Heywood Hill book shop in London and during WWII, Nancy Mitford worked there as she wrote her first novel. Last year they sent us a collection of her 5 novels, which are fun to read even now. Thanks for the heads up!
The Mitford Affair jumped out at me, too. I loved In Pursuit of Love when I read it years ago and am planning to revisit it for my newsletter. Benedict’s novel sounds like the perfect companion read!
Have you read any of Benedict's other books or will this one be the first one? Let me know what you think of it when you read it. Thanks for being here.
The Mitford Affair would be my first one - and I didn’t know there were others! A new-to-me author with a long backlist is always such an exciting find. I’ll be sure to report back :)
Isn't it a shame that we can't just sit around and read all day long. lol I have the same problem as you. Maybe when I retire this year and I will be able to do more reading. It won't be all day long for sure, but I hope I can read more than I'm able to now working a full time job.
I saw you are looking to get to know India more and Indian authors. I am just reading The White Tiger, which is an engrossing read.
I separately have a question for you, would you be up for exchanging personal emails? I just switched over to substack and haven't figures out yet how to exchange personal messages!
Good to have you back, Gayla! I welcome all your suggestions, particularly The Mitfords as I’m fascinated with that family. I’m mixed about The Spare, but maybe... I’ve read--more accurately, listened to--a number of novels and true-life stories. The best of the latter was A
Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purcell, about Virginia Hall, an American spy during World War II.
I'm getting mixed feelings about The Spare also after all the buzz I've heard this last week about the book. Like I've heard someone say before, "no matter how flat the pancake is, it does have two sides." I'm sure the full and complete truth is somewhere between what the other royals say versus what Harry says and that is to be expected because we are human and each of us can perceive the same situation entirely different than someone else. Knowing this going in will allow me to enjoy it and not pick it apart, line by line.
Thanks for the audiobook recommendation of A Woman of No Importance. I have the book on my TBR but would you suggest listening to it instead of reading it? I know some books are best read and others best listened to.
So nice to find your newsletter in my inbox this morning. I’ve popped a few new books on my TBR including the new Kate Clayborn book. For some weird reason my library doesn’t stock her books, which is annoying as they are great for when you need something fun and light.
I’m sorry to hear your reading year wasn’t as good as you hoped. I had an unexpectedly good year due to my new policy of being super-picky and letting go of any ideas about what I ‘should’ be reading. I frequently abandon books that are not for me, keeping in mind that it’s more about bad timing than it is about the book.
Hurrah for your "unexpectedly good reading year", I'm excited for you. I hope it continues into 2023 for you. I'm going to try a few different things in 2023 to help me enjoy what I'm reading more; hopefully this will enhance my reading this year.
If you are an e-book reader let me know as I subscribe to a couple of different emails that list the daily e-book deals and Clayborn's books sometimes show up on them. I can give you those links if you are interested.
I'd love to know what e-book deals are available although sometimes the deals are restricted to the US and I'm in Australia. Still worth checking out though!
I've just been on holiday and took only hand luggage so I downloaded a couple of e-books from the library. It's the first time I've ever travelled without a physical book and it felt weird.
Also, there is a website https://www.ereaderiq.com that you can set author or book price drop watches that will notify you by email if a book is on sale. This could just be US based also, but it doesn't hurt to check it out.
I managed to 'read' a lot this past year by doing audiobooks while performing mundane chores (cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc.) I still enjoy actual books-in-hand and save those for my bedtime reads. Sometimes I only get a chapter done, but it enables me to do two books at once, something I couldn't do before. Anyway, love these recommendations...I have Spare lined up on Audible and there are others that are going on my list, so thank you!
I'm glad we have found each other also. The bookish community here on Substack is fantastic and I've met some really great creators and readers because of it.
I wish I didn't enjoy podcasts as much as I do or I'd probably listen to more books. My listening time usually goes toward podcasts and the rest of my available time I spend reading other newsletters, blog, magazine articles and books. It we could only add more hours to the day...
Thanks for the heads up on these. They look great!
I'm glad you found some that appeal to you.
Gayla -- I just asked ChatGPT to write a short poem in the style of Maya Angelou about you and your newsletter, to start off our new year. -- Cheers, Mike
As we anticipate 2023
Our hearts are full of cheer
For Gayla Gray's recommendations
Have brought us joy all year
We trust her guide for reading
For she always leads us right
To books that are so delightful
And filled with endless delight
So bring on 2023
And all the books it brings
We'll read them all with gusto
Thanks to Gayla and her wings
We are enthusiastic readers
Eager for each new find
Thanks to Gayla's guidance
Our love of books is intertwined
Awe, thanks. how nice of you. :)
Love to see your newsletter back in my inbox, Gayla. Here's hoping you have a better reading year in 2023!
Thanks Sarah, I appreciate it.
Welcome back!
Thanks Michael.
The Dream Builders sounds awesome. Writing a great novel seems challenging enough on its own. It just makes it all the more impressive when someone pulls it off the first time around.
🙌🙌
I get really excited when a writer's debut novel receives a lot of buzz. Hopefully it is good. Let me know what you think if/when you read it.
Welcome back! I had a nice reading year on 2022 and hopefully yours will be better on 2023 :)
🔥🔥
Thanks Luiza. I hope so too. It's started off good so far, so here's to 2023!
I picked up "Your Table is Ready" based on your suggestion and it's been really good if vulgar. I'll do a review in the coming months.
Vulgar is usually good 😊
I finished Your Table is Ready and it kind of burst my bubble. I think it is to the "front of the house" what Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential was to the "back of the house." I've never worked in a restaurant setting ever, so it was all so new and foreign to me. And definitely vulgar. I've got mixed feelings about it and I'm still trying to decide if I liked it or not.
The greats I read this year more than make up for the mediocres and bads. I’m just going to hold on to those few experiences and tell myself: this is why I read.
It’s so hard to predict what will strike a chord - sometimes people tell me I’ll love something and I end up not even liking it. Which means sometimes I have to read things others didn’t like as much because maybe I’ll love it. The only way to know is to try.
AND THEN theres the dnf thing. I almost DNFd Donna Tartt’s The Secret History but I finished and oh my goodness, what a reading experience. I feel like I was in the hands of a master without even realizing it.
I’m taking this year one book at a time.
Glad you’re back! On to the next book!
Thanks Kyle. It's all a crapshoot. I was choosing books that I should have enjoyed more than I did, maybe it was me and not the books. Oh well, it's water under the bridge. I'm looking forward to the books that are publishing in 2023, there are some really good ones that I can wait to read.
I absolutely MUST read The Mitford Affair. The lives of the Mitford sisters are fascinating. I'm a member of a book club at Heywood Hill book shop in London and during WWII, Nancy Mitford worked there as she wrote her first novel. Last year they sent us a collection of her 5 novels, which are fun to read even now. Thanks for the heads up!
❤️❤️🔥
How neat to be a member of this book club. You can almost say you knew her when. lol Let me know what you think when you read it.
The Mitford Affair jumped out at me, too. I loved In Pursuit of Love when I read it years ago and am planning to revisit it for my newsletter. Benedict’s novel sounds like the perfect companion read!
🔥🫰
Have you read any of Benedict's other books or will this one be the first one? Let me know what you think of it when you read it. Thanks for being here.
The Mitford Affair would be my first one - and I didn’t know there were others! A new-to-me author with a long backlist is always such an exciting find. I’ll be sure to report back :)
Picture in the Sand sounds incredible. Once I push through the 3,000 books I’m currently reading, I’ll get to it!! Happy New Year 🎈🎊
Isn't it a shame that we can't just sit around and read all day long. lol I have the same problem as you. Maybe when I retire this year and I will be able to do more reading. It won't be all day long for sure, but I hope I can read more than I'm able to now working a full time job.
Yes!!!
Great post as always!
I saw you are looking to get to know India more and Indian authors. I am just reading The White Tiger, which is an engrossing read.
I separately have a question for you, would you be up for exchanging personal emails? I just switched over to substack and haven't figures out yet how to exchange personal messages!
Ursina, I'll have to check out The White Tiger. Thanks for putting it on my radar.
You can reach me at sonovelicious@gmail.com
Good to have you back, Gayla! I welcome all your suggestions, particularly The Mitfords as I’m fascinated with that family. I’m mixed about The Spare, but maybe... I’ve read--more accurately, listened to--a number of novels and true-life stories. The best of the latter was A
Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purcell, about Virginia Hall, an American spy during World War II.
Thanks Ruth.
I'm getting mixed feelings about The Spare also after all the buzz I've heard this last week about the book. Like I've heard someone say before, "no matter how flat the pancake is, it does have two sides." I'm sure the full and complete truth is somewhere between what the other royals say versus what Harry says and that is to be expected because we are human and each of us can perceive the same situation entirely different than someone else. Knowing this going in will allow me to enjoy it and not pick it apart, line by line.
Thanks for the audiobook recommendation of A Woman of No Importance. I have the book on my TBR but would you suggest listening to it instead of reading it? I know some books are best read and others best listened to.
So nice to find your newsletter in my inbox this morning. I’ve popped a few new books on my TBR including the new Kate Clayborn book. For some weird reason my library doesn’t stock her books, which is annoying as they are great for when you need something fun and light.
I’m sorry to hear your reading year wasn’t as good as you hoped. I had an unexpectedly good year due to my new policy of being super-picky and letting go of any ideas about what I ‘should’ be reading. I frequently abandon books that are not for me, keeping in mind that it’s more about bad timing than it is about the book.
Hurrah for your "unexpectedly good reading year", I'm excited for you. I hope it continues into 2023 for you. I'm going to try a few different things in 2023 to help me enjoy what I'm reading more; hopefully this will enhance my reading this year.
If you are an e-book reader let me know as I subscribe to a couple of different emails that list the daily e-book deals and Clayborn's books sometimes show up on them. I can give you those links if you are interested.
I'd love to know what e-book deals are available although sometimes the deals are restricted to the US and I'm in Australia. Still worth checking out though!
I've just been on holiday and took only hand luggage so I downloaded a couple of e-books from the library. It's the first time I've ever travelled without a physical book and it felt weird.
Marg, I don't know if these deals work in Austrailia, but these are the ones I subscribe to. Hopefully one will work for you:
https://www.bookbub.com/welcome
https://www.bookgorilla.com/
https://modernmrsdarcy.com/great-ebook-deals/
Also, there is a website https://www.ereaderiq.com that you can set author or book price drop watches that will notify you by email if a book is on sale. This could just be US based also, but it doesn't hurt to check it out.
Thanks so much!
Greetings, Glad we found each other!
I managed to 'read' a lot this past year by doing audiobooks while performing mundane chores (cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc.) I still enjoy actual books-in-hand and save those for my bedtime reads. Sometimes I only get a chapter done, but it enables me to do two books at once, something I couldn't do before. Anyway, love these recommendations...I have Spare lined up on Audible and there are others that are going on my list, so thank you!
I'm glad we have found each other also. The bookish community here on Substack is fantastic and I've met some really great creators and readers because of it.
I wish I didn't enjoy podcasts as much as I do or I'd probably listen to more books. My listening time usually goes toward podcasts and the rest of my available time I spend reading other newsletters, blog, magazine articles and books. It we could only add more hours to the day...
Good grief, yes! I have more 'free' time than ever before and yet it's still not enough to read, listen, learn, and create as much as I want to!