The Salt Path - Raynor Winn

Title: The Salt Path

Author: Raynor Winn

Pages: 270

First Published: 2018

What is it about: Ray and Moth have lost everything; their home and their source of income. To top it up, Moth has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; they really have nothing else to lose. So they have to face a choice, either wait for the council to give them a roof or embark in a potentially life-changing journey walking the South West Coast Path in England. Their choice is of course for the latter, 630 miles of walking through Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, taking with them only the bare essentials.

Ray takes the reader through every moment, every challenge, every thought they went through, making you feel on the journey with them.

My Thoughts:

Being separate from people for large
chunks of time had reduced our tolerance level

Well, if this does not reflect everyone's thought at this stage of our lives, I don't know what does.

On a serious note, this book was published in 2018, so in a time when COVID did not even exist, a time where everyone's lives were much better. However, reading this, sometimes I felt like the journey they went through at the time is, in a way, what we are going through right now. 

Ray and Moth find themselves alone, with just each other as company, helping each other to go through those rough moments that inevitably occur in life.

Their situation was even worse as had to live on £48 a week, camping in the wilderness, with the possibility for Moth to deteriorate even more.

What got me about their story, is that they didn't give up. They faced many challenges, they had moments, days without water, without food to sustain their bodies. But they carried on. Not just the walk, but their lives.

And I think this message is important now more than ever. We are now facing a third lockdown in England and lots of people are struggling with this, myself included.

Not being able to see your loved ones, to do what you normally do, to live!

But the important thing is not to give up. 

I would honestly suggest this book to everyone who is experiencing a bit of anxiety in these times, not only it will help to escape your room for a little bit, but it will inspire you, it will give you courage that there is light at the end of the tunnel, we only need to keep strong a little bit more.

Ciao Ciao ♥

V.

The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

Title: The Thursday Murder Club

Author: Richard Osman

Pages: 377

First Published: 2020

What is it about: In a retirement village in Kent, four pensioners love solving murders. They have founded a "Thursday Murder Club" so they can meet and discuss old cases. How do they get hold of them? Don't ask. Their routine is about to change when someone gets killed near them. Someone who has something to do with their peaceful retirement village. They have to solve the murder. With or without the help of the police. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim use all the resources at their disposal in order to find the killer, uncovering many more secrets on the way.

My Thoughts: This was most certainly the best book I could have chosen to start 2021. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I cannot wait for the second one to come out. The writing was clear and concise, went straight to the point, with the first murder only a few pages in. All characters have such a witty sense of humour that made me chuckle all the way through. 

Chapters are short but full of content, which I loved as it gave me time to pause for a second to get my facts straight. I hate when chapters go on and on for pages as I tend to get lost and forget where the chapter actually started in the first place.

Like any modern woman, I am any number of things,
as and when the need arises.
We have to be chameleons, don't we?

This was the first book in a very long time, in which I could not predict the ending. I had my suspicions along the way, some were right in part, some were completely wrong, but I most certainly did not expect to end the way it did.

All of the characters have a background story, so no one was just put there by chance, they all had a purpose in the storyline, something that is not always expected in a book. 

I only knew Richard Osman from telly - even though I don't think I actually ever watched an entire episode of his program, but I do really like him as a writer and cannot wait to read his next book.

Ciao Ciao ♥

V.