Six Books Saturday #5: Favorite Books of 2023

#SixBooksSaturday is my personal monthly bookish meme, inspired by Six Words Saturday, which I've stumbled upon @ Travel with Intent. It's basically to list six books of random category, which I'd decided on the spot. Anything is possible according to my whim. I post Six Books Saturday on last Saturday of each month. If you're interested, you are, of course, welcomed to join me. There's no rule, really. You can post six anything about books.

As this would be the last Six Books Saturday of the year, it will be the perfect post to share my favorite reads of 2023. The candidates are 15 of 75 books I've read this year which I've given five stars. From those 15, I picked these:

SIX MOST FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023

6. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

My review of the book

5. Away with the Penguins by Hazel Prior

My review of the book

4. The Ladies Paradise by Émile Zola (a re-read)

My review of the book

3. Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott

My review of the book

2. The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain

My review of the book

1. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

My review of the book

Have you read any of them? Which one is your favorite?

This would be my last post of the year. I have read one more book, intended for #DeanStreetDecember, but I hadn't enough time and energy to write the review. So, I would include a short one for my Holiday Reads post early next year. Meanwhile, I'm wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year of 2024!

Next Six Books Saturday: 27th January 2024.

#MurderEveryMonday: Christmas Covers

Murder Every Monday was created by Kate @ Crossexamining Crime and @ArmchairSleuth. Put simply, the plan is for readers to take a photo of a crime fiction book (novel or short story collection) which meets a given week’s theme criteria and to then share it online, using the hashtag #MurderEveryMonday.

This week's theme is:

Cover which has Christmas imagery on

'Tis the season, let's have fun with a lot of gorgeous Christmassy covers! (though I have read only four of them, but, who cares?) 

Have your read any of them? Which cover(s) do you like most?

If you want to participate, here's the list of the weekly theme.

Some Christmas Short Readings #ALiteraryChristmas

To compliment the end of Advent and the approaching of Christmas Eve, I have read three short stories and one memoir with Christmas theme:

🎄Christmas Magic 1959: Short Memoir by Kathryn Meyer Griffith 🎄

Kathryn Meyer Griffith is a prolific author with more than thirty five novels, mostly in the romantic or suspense genre. In this short memoir, she recounted her one most memorable childhood Christmas she'd ever spent with her parents and siblings, at her grandparents house, in 1959. I can mostly relate to Griffith's sentiment, as Christmase is also something I cherished most of my childhood, as Griffirh put it, "a childhood that strongly shaped me as an individual, and some of my fondest recollections". This memoir is short, but packed with the spirit of Christmas - a perfect vehicle to reminisce on our own childhood Christmases.

🎄 Crime at Lark Cottage: Short Story by John Bingham 🎄
Narrator: Gordon Griffin

The weather was foul on that Christmas Eve. John Bradley stopped his troubled car outside Lark Cottage, planning to call the garage from there. A frightened woman and her eager little daughter were resided. They heard a click down the gate, signaling that someone is arriving. The woman insisted Bradley to stay, and he complied. But who was the visitor? And why was the woman so horrified? Would a crime be committed? Or could it be averted with Bradley's presence? - A very short but gripping crime story with unusual plot and unexpected twist.

🎄 The Lights Before Christmas: Short Story by J.R. Albert 🎄

This short story was told from the perspective of a string of Christmas lights that adorned one particular house in Maple Street. Each light has it's own voice and character, with Karl as its natural leader with his cheerful passion to shine as bright as he could. It's a sweet story of the truly meaning of Christmas.

🎄 The Man with the Sack: Short Story by Margery Allingham 🎄

This short story was told from the perspective of a string of Christmas lights that adorned one particular house in Maple Street. Each light has it's own voice and character, with Karl as its natural leader with his cheerful passion to shine as bright as he could. It's a sweet story of the truly meaning of Christmas.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose (2017) by Stephanie Laurens #ALiteraryChristmas

🎄 It's December 1810, and the widowed Lady Osbaldestone is back to her dower property, Hartington Manor, intended to settle for good in the village of Little Moseley in Hampshire. This Christmas, three of her grandchildren - Jamie, George, and Lottie are staying with her, sent by their mother during their father's recuperating. Lady Osbaldestone has never dealt with little children (they're around 7-9 y.o.) before, and is wondering what would amuse them during the holiday.

🎄 A problem is soon presented itself. The village's geese which had been fattened for the villagers' Christmas dinner had vanished - the whole flock of them - as if into thin air. Unless they were to be found before Christmas, the whole village's Christmas would be ruined! And that's how Therese (the first name of Lady Osbaldestone) sees a perfect way to distract the children from doing mischief out of bore: solving the mystery of the missing geese!

🎄 That is not the only project Therese set task upon herself. Matchmaking is a perfect job for a keen eye of human being like her. A young Lord came home from the war, wounded. It left an ugly scar on one side of his face, but even uglier in his heart, that he becomes a recluse.

🎄 On the other hand, a young woman must run the estate by herself and manage her spoilt Oxfordian brother, after his father's death. These two had been attracted to each other when they were first met under Therese's eyes, and now she prepared a subtle but effective campaign to draw them together, then leave the rest to cupid's. Her three young charges are excited with their two projects, and follow their grandmother's instructions thoroughly, while sometimes bring out their own brilliant ideas into action (these are solely from Lord James aka Jamie - an intelligent lad!)

🎄 Needless to say, this is a delightful charming book very suitable for the season, for it emphasizes love, family, friends, kindness, acceptance, and courage. It's packed with little mysteries, humorous but witty banters, and adventurous actions. The skating incident on the frozen lake, especially, surprisingly brought me to the edge of my seat - quite suspenseful! The plot on vanishing geese is also smartly written. Well done, Stephanie Laurens! And now I can't wait to read the rest of the Christmas series!

Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄1/2

The Fair Miss Fortune (1930/2011) by D.E. Stevenson #DeanStreetDecember

👗 Jane Fortune is a new comer at a small picturesque English village. She stays at Dingleford Cottage, formerly owned by Mrs. Prestcott. As the title hinted, she is a fair girl with sweet nature, who intended to open a tea shop.

👗 Enters Captain Charles Weatherby, a smashing gentleman with good upbringing and lovely personality, who's immediately smitten to Jane, a sentiment that she reciprocates. Charles isn't the only man attracted to Jane, Harold Prestcott is another admirer. Harold is what we call "his mother's son". Mrs Prestcott is a selfish woman who dominate her son to be quite her slave.

👗 Unknown to anyone, Jane has a twin sister, Joan. While they are physically identical, Joan is quite different in personality to Jane. Joan is bolder, carefree, and often mischievous. She ran away from a bullying ruthless suitor from London, and take refuge at Dingleford Cottage. And for that reason, the sisters agree to keep Joan's presence a secret. And this forms the foundation of hilarious incidents and misidentification that made this novel another, softer, version of Wodehouse's stories.

👗 When Harold first came to Dingleford Cottage, it was Joan that he met, but he thought she's Jane. Joan seemed to equally like this sweet and simple young man. You can imagine, then, how astonished Charles, Harold, and others when they met Joan, whom they thought was Jane. Some awkward and comical meetings and misunderstandings are sure to take place! Not mentioning how Stevenson deliberately naming her heroine "Fortune". If you imagine there would surely be someone mentioning Miss Fortune, and the other misinterpreting it as "misfortune", well, you're not wrong. It sounds foolish, but to me those make this novel charming and delicious to read! Just the kind I need during the craziest time of year - December.

👗 The funniest scene is when a colonel is picking up Jane to be his guest at a dance party. Jane caught a cold the day before, and can't go to the dance. Joan, who loves dancing, insisted on replacing her place. When the colonel arrived - through kitchen door - he incidentally saw Jane, clad in pajamas, going down stairs. The two were astonished, the colonel was especially annoyed in finding Jane wasn't ready yet and thought he must wait at least twenty five minutes more. Imagine how astonished he was when not five minutes later Joan entered the kitchen, beautifully attired in gorgeous dress, make up, and all - and didn't understand the colonel's astonishment. (If you don't think it's that funny, it's because I'm not good at describing it😆)

👗 All in all, it's a satisfying read for me. This is just my second D.E. Stevenson, and though it's in different league from Vittoria Cottage, I still love it. I love them both equally. Interesting fact: D.E. Stevenson wrote this in 1930s but the book was only published posthumously in 2011, and Dean Street published it in 2022.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

I read this book for:

Dean Street December

Hosted by Liz @ Adventures in reading, running and working from home

A Bramble House Christmas (2015) by C.J. Carmichael #ALiteraryChristmas

🎄 Willa Fairchild, accompanied by her son Scout, arrived for Christmas holiday at Bramble House B&B in Marietta, Montana, followed by Finn Knightly at the same time. Willa's intention is to have a Christmas holiday, which, somehow, is important for Scout. Finn, however, are following Willa there for, as yet, an obscured purpose.

🎄 That's how this novella starts, with a snowy village, a cozy inn with lovely people, enshrouded with thin mysteries. Only gradually that the mysteries are unfolding. We came to know that Finn, a children book's illustrator, wants to know why his deceased father had left fifty thousand pounds to the nurse (Willa) who treated him during final illness. The reason behind Willa's over-protectiveness towards Scout soon becomes clear too.

🎄 Then there's also the mystery around the sapphire ring Finn's father had gifted Willa. The Brambles family - owner of the B&B - recognize the ring as an heirloom. Are there more than one ring, then? And how did Finn's father own the ring in the first place?

🎄 Amidst all these mysteries, one thing is sure. Finn and Willa are attracted to each other. Willa eventually opens up about her fuss over Scout all the time. But Finn still hasn't confessed that he is the son of her ex-patient, and that Finn isn't his real name. How would Willa react about his true purpose of getting to know her in the first place? That he had thought her a scheming ambitious woman?

🎄 This seemingly short, light, soppy Christmassy romance, turned out to have more depth than you would've expected - personal struggles in facing illness and death is one, and family secrets is another. All is encased with Christmas and winter cheerfulness - skating, skiing, tobogganing, hot cocoa, snowman's building, gifts, scrumptious Christmas dinner - just all you could imagine of a wonderful Christmas. And of course, there's love, forgiveness, and hopeful future - the essence of Christmas.

🎄 If it sounds like a perfect Christmas read, well.... it is!

Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄1/2

Miss Marley (2018) by Vanessa Lafaye #ALiteraryChristmas #InspiredByClassics

🎄 We all know A Christmas Carol is the most famous Christmas story ever, written by Charles Dickens, the man who re-invented the Christmas spirit. It' is about Ebenezer Scrooge's transformation - perhaps the biggest character transformation in literature. We know what has made him the hard miser we have known him at the start. And his transformation begun with Jacob Marley. But what we know about Marley? What had made him ended up a tormented spirit burdened with those self-forged chains? This novella, Miss Marley, is our answer, written as a prequel to A Christmas Carol.

🎄 Miss Marley is Clara Bell Marley, sister to Jacob Marley. The siblings lived comfortably in their big house. But after their parents death, they were expelled from their house by their corrupt wicked uncle. Thus begun their wretched lives in London's slump. It began in working house, which infected poor Clara's lung and gave her severe coughing. Then Jacob brought her out in the street. And that's where we saw them at the beginning of the story.

🎄 Few days before Christmas, cold, hungry, and homeless, the siblings kept dreaming of a better life. Jacob was caring and attentive towards his sister. During their wretched hours, he kept telling her that he will fight and work hard to make Clara's life happier. One night they witnessed a man dying in the corner of the street. Instead of calling for help, Jacob picked one the man's two purses, and they ran away.

🎄 The money provided them shelter and medicine for Clara. They started working, and with the money, Clara suggested to lend money to the poor - thus the start of their money-lending business. Later on Jacob would find the acquaintance of a young ambitious Ebenezer Scrooge, with whom he would partner in building Scrooge and Marley counting house.

🎄 As soon as they started the money-lending business, Clara witnessed how Jacob gradually changed, from the caring and attentive boy who protected her in the street, to be the ruthless businessman who ignored his clients' plight for the sake of gain. This makes Clara abandoned their joint business, and chose to work at the store instead. After Scrooge and Marley, Jacob's transformation to the heartless man became more permanent. He didn't even relent when Clara and her fiancée needed business fund.

🎄 If you love A Christmas Carol, then this novella might thrill you. But let me warn you that it's less cheerful and hopeful for a Christmas read. It's about what had led Marley to be the doomed spirit, is it not? You can't hope that kind of story would make you feel Christmassy. But as a classic reader, I'm sure you'll appreciate it. Moreover, Vanessa Lafaye has kept the atmosphere true to Dickensian London.

🎄 An interesting fact: Lafaye died in the midst of writing this novella. The publisher and her husband then asked her writer friend Rebecca Mascull to continue. And we must give credit to Mascull for a seamless story, which you wouldn't know had been penned by two writers.

Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄