Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Ghost Wedding by David Park

Blurb from Goodreads

For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Donal Ryan and Anne Tyler comes this beautiful novel following two troubled men, separated by nearly a century, bound by the ghosts that haunt an imposing Irish manor

George Allenby is still wrestling with his experiences as an officer during the First World War when he is sent by his employers to construct a lake at the Manor House, home of the newly rich Remington family. The construction process raises traumatic memories that he isn’t yet prepared to face, but solace emerges in the unlikely form of Cora, a maid in the grand home.

Almost a century later, Alex and Ellie are planning their wedding in the grounds of the Manor House. But like Allenby before him, Alex is haunted by a secret that threatens to destroy the life he has built. As the day of his wedding approaches, he must decide whether to tell Ellie about the evening he will always regret.

In this masterful portrait of love and betrayal, David Park reveals the many ways the past seeps into the destructive, formidable, but also hopeful, in the many moments of fragile beauty that remain

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Time does fly fast. We are already in the third week of February. The third month of the year is just over the horizon. How time flies! Sadly, time just takes its natural course. It doesn’t wait for anyone. We can neither slow it down nor freeze it. We just have to go along with it. Anyway, how has the new year been so far? I hope that 2025 is showering everyone with positive news and blessings. If nothing is going in your favor, I hope you get to have a reversal of fortune in the coming months. A lot can still happen. We have time to pursue our goals and dreams. On another note, I hope everyone started the work week on a high note. I hope you all had a good start to the workweek. I hope everyone makes it through the week. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit, not only this week but for the rest of the year.

Reading-wise, I have quite some lofty goals this year. For one, I have already set my reading goal to 100 despite historically initially setting my reading goal at a more realistic level, i.e., achievable. However, I wanted to challenge myself and push my limits. I also wanted to maintain the reading momentum I built during the pandemic years. If the past three years are any indicator – I breached the three-digit threshold – then surely I can do it again this year. I also plan to read more translated works to reduce the gap between books originally published in English and translated literary works. Despite the new year, some things never change. As customary, I am kicking off the blogging week with a fresh Goodreads Monday update, which, over the past few years, has become an essential part of my weekly blogging ritual.

Since the start of the year, the books I have been featuring in this weekly update are books that will be published this year that I am looking forward to. Most of them are included in my 2025 Books I Look Forward To List. Among the writers I encountered for the first time while searching for books to include on this list is Northern Irish writer David Park. I just learned today that he has quite a prolific career that started in the 1990s, mainly with short story collections. He has since ventured into full-length prose and this year, he will be publishing Ghost Wedding. Ghost Wedding‘s premise immediately piqued my interest, hence, its inclusion to my own most anticipated 2025 books list. A work of historical fiction, this is just right up my alley.

Ghost Wedding is Park’s tenth novel. I am curious about the reference to Anne Tyler. I haven’t read any works of Sebastian Faulks but I believe they are mainly works of historical fiction; Tyler’s works, on the other hand, are more sentimental as they explore the conditions of human relationships. This makes me look forward to Ghost Wedding which is set to be released later this year, on August 5 to be exact. I am hoping to obtain a copy of the book. How was your Monday rather? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!