Recent Reading and some snowdrops

Irrelevant photo of snowdrops taken on recent annual visit to see them at Ness Gardens

It's time for a book post.  Here's my list since my last round up in November. I'm continuing with my marks out of 10 policy as used by the Waverton Good Read.

Waverton Good Read (First Novels)
'Himself' Jess Kidd  7
'Conversations with Friends' Sally Rooney (Unfinished) 4

'Fahrenheit 451' Ray Bradbury 7
'1984' George Orwell 8

Audio Book 'La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume 1' Philip Pullman 8

Bookclub
'Midwinter Break' Bernard MacLaverty 9
'The Green Road' Anne Enright 9

I'm enjoying taking part in the Waverton Good Read which I blogged about recently.  I liked 'Himself by Jess Kidd, a kind of darkly comic murder mystery set in Ireland. Brilliant characterisation, my favourite being an elderly widow Mrs Cauley who assists the main character in his quest to find out what happened to his mother.  The dialogue is also spot on but the plot fell apart a little at the end.  My other Waverton choice 'Conversations with Friends' has been widely praised in the media - it's a debut novel by a 24 year old -and was one of the recommended Guardian books of the year.  I didn't like it at all and in the end didn't finish it because someone else had requested it in the library so I had to return it. I'm not sure I'd have finished it anyway as I found the central character and first person
narrator intensely irritating - self-absorbed and selfish.

I also reread '1984' in full for the first time since I was a teenager.  I loved it then and enjoyed rediscovering the bits I'd forgotten. The chapter about Room 101 which had shocked me so much last time wasn't so terrifying this though I found the section where Winston and Julia are discovered quite disturbing.  We saw a theatre production of the novel a few years ago which captured in full the horror of their treatment. I also read another dystopian novel 'Fahrenheit 451'.  Both written 60-70 years ago and scarily accurate in their predictions of a world dominated by TV screens, mind-numbing entertainment and our movements and actions monitored by CCTV and the innocently named 'cookies' or are they algorithms (?) that track our internet searches and shopping.

My top score goes to Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty, who is a writer I've loved since reading 'Cal' many years ago.  This is his first novel for 16 years and so I chose it when it was my turn at bookclub.  It's an excellent portrayal of a marriage with the writer switching between alcoholic in denial, Gerry and Stella, who was badly injured in a shooting during the troubles in Northern Ireland and is still affected by this memory many years later.  Stella is increasing intolerant of Gerry's drinking and looking for a new direction for her life in her 60s,  There's not much in the way of plot - the couple go to Amsterdam on a break in February, visit the Rijkmuseum, Anne Frank's house, eat good meals and have afternoon naps. Stella visits a place she hopes will hold the key to her future while Gerry attempts and fails to conceal his secret drinking. There's lots of detail; maybe too much (reringing the taxi which doesn't arrive on time to pick them up, going through security at the airport).  Even so it was memorable because he really explores the complexity of the relationship and the characters are convincing. And the writing is beautiful - seems effortless. I was there with them in Anne Frank's house looking at the pencil marks on the walls.  Perhaps it's because I have done this myself - there was a lot in this novel I could identify with.  But even so this is an excellent book.  My bookclub friends last week largely agreed, though some found it slow to start.

The Philip Pullman audio book 'La Belle Sauvage' helped me through the misery of my January flu virus.  I have signed up for free audiobooks and magazines at my local library and this was my first download. Great service and costs nothing at all.  I loved the Northern Lights trilogy and this book, which is the first of three in the series, is a kind of prequel with Lyra, the heroine of Northern Lights as a baby.  Lots of action and adventure in this one - perhaps too much plot and too many encounters with villains - it is a children's book. Or young adult I suppose. There were loose ends in the plot but I suppose these may be picked up later in the series.  I'm a recent convert to the audiobook and enjoy the luxury of being read to, though I am prone to falling asleep when listening in bed and then can't find my place again.

I have started a new bookclub with colleagues at school so now have two choices a month which are not my own.  Good as it widens my horizons.  School bookclub choice is 'The Ragged Trousered Philantropist' Robert Tressell which I have heard of but never read.  And I have already read my other bookclub choice, Anne Enright's 'The Green Road', another Irish novel. It was also excellent.  And there's another Waverton Good Read by my bedside: 'The Witchfinder's Sister' I'll review these next time.

Books of the Year

I haven't written a book post since March so instead of my usual The Year in Books entry I'm going to do a summary of my reading year in the way they do in newspapers.  I've been inspired to do this because I've signed up to a blogging workshop next Sunday run by Simon Savidge who writes a book review blog called Savidge Reads.

So here's the list.  I've decided to give each a mark out of 10, according to how much I enjoyed them..

On Kindle:
The Light Years: Book 1 of The Cazalet Chronicles Elizabeth Jane Howard  9
Hard Times Charles Dickens   (Reread) 6
Thomas and Mary -A Love Story Tim Parks  6
History of the Rain Niall Williams (Reread) 9
O Come Ye Back to Ireland  (NF) Niall Williams   8

Bookclub Choices
A Spot of Bother Mark Haddon         7
Four Letters of Love Niall Williams   6  (My choice)
The End of the Affair Graham Greene 5
The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead 9
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman  9
Good Me, Bad Me Ali Land  7

From library/school/own bookshelves:
Bad Dreams Tessa Hadley (Short Stories) 7
A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled Ruby Wax  5
On Writing Stephen King 9
The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini (Reread) 9
The Essex Serpent Sarah Perry 8
The Road Cormac McCarthy 8

Waverton Good Reads
The Things We Thought We Knew Mahauda Snaith  7

I've recently been taking part in The Waverton Good Read. Every year since 2003 the residents of Waverton, a village not far from Chester read novels published in the last 12 months and make an award for to the one they judge to be the best.  I don't live in Waverton, but have been allowed to take part.  It's great as I get to read new hardback books for free.

Listing the books like this reveals quite a lot to me about my preferences.  My favourite kind of book is a family saga with strong characters I can identify with and a good plot.  If I was to nominate my top read for the year in terms of sheer enjoyment it would be The Light Years - The Cazalet Chronilces.  I'm looking forward to reading the other four books in the series. Eleanor Oliphant made me laugh out loud. I'd like to think that other Eleanors in the world would have a similarly happy ending but I suspect they won't, which is why the ending is a little unconvincing hence 9 out of 10 rather than full marks.  I do enjoy a book with humour and Eleanor's observations about office life are hilarious.

The 'best' books here are The Underground Railroad and The Road, both of which were very powerful but actually not great bedtime reading because of the horrors they relate.  You can read the Simon Savidge review of The Underground Railroad  here.  I read The Road because we are using it as a coursework text for A Level.  It is a bleak account of the attempts of a father and son to survive in a world destroyed by the effects of climate change.  Very powerful but not easy to read with only glimmers of hope through the portrayal of the father/son relationship.  I suppose these are the 'best' books because they are ultimately more memorable and have something to say.

I'm now reading another Waverton Book 'The Pinocchio Brief'  which is a kind detective/court drama, not my usual kind of thing.  Bookclub book of the month is 'Surfacing' by Margaret Atwood.  I'm looking forward to this as I've read quite a few Margaret Atwood books and always enjoy them.  I also would like to try a Stephen King novel as I read his book 'On Writing' and found it fascinating.  I reserved a copy of 'The Stand' through the library but it's an expanded edition which is over 1000pages so I think I'll return it and read the original.

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Kiltumper Writing Weekend

Two weekends ago I travelled to Co. Clare in Ireland to participate in a creative writing workshop run by Booker nominated writer, Niall Williams. It was a wonderful weekend in so many ways. The sun shone, a rare occurrence in this part of Ireland, as you will know if you read his book 'History of the Rain'; the company was good; my B&B was excellent and Niall was an inspirational teacher.

I've been looking at writing courses like this for years and have always been too busy, too reluctant to spend money on a holiday just for me or too scared to actually go ahead, thinking everyone would be much cleverer, better read and confident than I am.  There were 13 of us, 12 women of varying ages and backgrounds and one youngish Australian man.  The group worked well together even though no one knew each other beforehand. I'd resolved in advance not to read out anything I'd written in front of the group but in fact it was fine and I did share my work because Niall treated everyone the same and the focus was always on the writing itself not on the writer. In creative writing classes I've attended before there has always been a competitive feel to the proceedings. Here it was collaborative. We completed an exercise: some of us read our work while the rest of the group and Niall listened attentively. Then he asked questions. For example could we see the character introduced in the writing? He doesn't go in for vague faint praise but specific advice - 'That works'; 'Take that sentence out - it isn't needed'; 'Use that piece of dialogue later in the piece'.

The course was held in the primary school near the village of Kilmihil in Co Clare. Niall Williams lives near here in the townland of Kiltumper with his American wife Christine in a lovely house and garden. We returned there each day for lunch: delicious soup, homemade bread and salads and she provided us with cakes - brownies and lemon drizzle for afternoon tea break.

I stayed in B&B, the Blue Ivy, Spanish Point (named after the ships of the Spanish Armada which were wrecked here) on the coast 20 minutes or so from Kilmihil with a friendly family in a house with amazing sea views and fantastic breakfasts. On the Saturday evening I went for a walk on the beach with some of the other women on the course.  I've never visited this part of Ireland before so that was also part of the pleasure of the weekend, though I never did get to the Cliffs of Moher, the main tourist attraction in the area.  It was a fine evening; the tide was out and the beach was quiet and beautiful, framed by cliff tops dotted with primroses,  a clean wide damp stretch of sand with an occasional stream running through it. One deep one blocked our path but we crossed it precariously on wobbly stepping stones worn smooth by the sea which comes right up to the cliffs when the tide is in.  I enjoyed  finding out about my companions on the walk and why they'd chosen to do the course. Two were like me, mothers of teenagers, interested in writing but also making time for themselves for a change. Others were more serious about writing and had had work published.  I got to know one of them a bit better as I'd given her a lift to Kilmihil each day in my hire car; she is a really talented writer and has given me lots of advice. We've exchanged email addresses and hope to keep in touch. 

Now, two weeks later, I'm immersed in coursework marking and exam preparation as usual. But it was a great weekend which I enjoyed very much.  And I may even put some of Niall's good advice into practice over the summer holidays this year.

The Year in Books: March

I've read quite a lot recently.  Nothing I've loved really but for the record, here's the list:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
I chose this after watching the documentary about the Bronte sisters at Christmas.  Anne was considered the less talented one, apparently.  I quite like this book, though the device of the letters is a bit clumsy.  The narrator switches halfway through and there is a rather sanctimonious, moralising tone which can get annoying. It seems clear that Anne was using her brother Branwell to inspire her characterisation of Huntington, the debauched husband of the central character, which, if the drama is to be believed, didn't go down too well with the rest of the family,. Good plot if slightly telegraphed plot with a happy ending.  As I have said before, I prefer books to have a proper plot.

2. Solar Bones Mike McCormack
It was hard work following the plot of this one as it's written without a single full stop. That was a bit annoying at first and I'm not sure whether this structural device (English teacher speak) added much to the novel. It's the story of an engineer, Marcus, living in small town Ireland and, actually, I warmed to him as the narrative is basically a stream of consciousness so we can sympathise with his anxieties as a parent of an artist daughter who achieves success by painting with her own blood and his smartarse son who is currently jobless, very hairy and working his way round Australia. There's also a lot about engineering which interests me a little since quite a few members of my extended family are engineers of one kind or another and there's probably some extended metaphor going on if I were to look closely.  I didn't realise until the end that the whole narrative is framed by the fact that Marcus is dead.  This is not a spoiler as, if I were not so dim,  I would have realised the significance of the references to All Souls day in the opening sequence. He's back as a ghost observing and the last part of his life.  It's on the blurb of the print edition but, as I read it on my Kindle, I didn't know.  Husband reading this one - his Kindle purchase, not mine though his appear on mine for some reason,so will be interesting to see what he thinks.

3 A Boy Made of Blocks Keith Stuart
Another one of those books which explores autism (Curious Incident, Rosie Project etc.)  I picked it up in the library and read it quite quickly. The writer reviews video games for The Guardian and the novel is loosely based on his own experiences with his autistic son and how he connected with him using Minecraft which is, as far as I can gather, a game where you build houses etc. on the computer.  It was ok: there was too much detail about the game for my taste and the plot - marriage breakdown due to central character's failure to deal with his grief for his brother - was a little thin.

Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout
Who is the writer of the moment. Top of the best seller lists, Booker prize nominated for Lucy Barton is Missing, which I haven't read, and Pulitzer Prize for Olive.  This is my book club choice and I did admire the writing and characterisation but in the end was disappointed by what promised to be a good book at first . Olive, retired maths teacher married to Henry, is quite a character and she holds together the narrative which is basically a series of loosely connected portraits of people living in a small town in New England/  No real plot which I found irritating, especially in the final chapter which doesn't include Olive at all but a character who was only briefly referred to earlier.

This month I'm going to finish The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry and some more books by Niall Williams who wrote History of the Rain which remains my current favourite book. You can read my comments on it here.  I'm rereading it and have also borrowed Boy to Man from the library. I've also chosen Four Letters of Love for my bookclub choice - it's my turn.  The reason for all this Niall Williams reading is that I have booked to go on a weekend Writing Course he is running in Ireland during April.  I'm very excited about this as I have always wanted to do a residential writing course, but am now very anxious as I'm afraid other people will be proper writers and not sloppy bloggers like me. 

Post illustrated by an irrelevant photo taken in Amsterdam by my daughter.  One reason for my lack of recent blogging is that I spent my half term on a school trip in the Netherlands attending, for the third time, a Model United Nations conference in Zoetermeer and taking my daughter too. It was a brilliant experience and the students I took thoroughly enjoyed it, but it has left me behind with other things. I've blogged about MUNA before here.

Linking again with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees

Recent Reading

Inspired by Christina's account of her December reading, I thought I'd write a book post, something I haven't done for ages.  I've read a few books recently which I really enjoyed and thought I would share these with you though to be honest there was a period in September/October when I wasn't reading very much at all.  I don't worry much about this - reading is pleasure so I don't set myself targets about numbers of books to read a year or anything like that.

For my bookclub in November I read ' A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry.  It's quite a chunky book -600 plus pages - but was written so well that you don't really notice this.  It is set in 1970s India and follows the difficult lives of three men and one woman against a background of political upheaval.  It's very sad but wasn't a depressing book because of the characters' resilience and how they usually find ways of dealing with all difficulties they face. There's a huge cast of eccentric characters - in one review I read, Mistry is described as a kind of Indian Dickens. I can see what this reviewer means. At the bookclub meeting we all loved this one - very unusual.

I have also read several very average books.  My husband read and recommended Sebastian Faulks 'Where the Heart Used to Beat'. I was a little disappointed - I never really warmed to the central character and was unconvinced by the big love affair which is central to the plot. The war scenes were well done though - he'd done his research - but it was too obvious rather than feeling integrated within the characters' experiences. Then there were a couple books from the best seller lists.  'Versions of Us'  Laura Barnett and 'The Trouble with Sheep and Goats' Joanna Cannon, neither of which was very memorable.

Another more interesting read, again a bookclub choice, 'The City and the City' by China Mieville was hard work to read, not enjoyable as such,  but it was worth persevering to unravel the complex plot which was half detective story, half sci-fi. There are two cities and two communities which overlap 'geotopically'. However the residents of each city must not interact and must 'unsee' each other otherwise they will be in trouble with Breach, the ruthless secret police force for the cities.

In January, I'm planning  to read Anne Bronte's 'The Tennant of Wildfell Hall', having ignored this particular Bronte in favour of her sisters until now.  I watched the BBC drama on Boxing Day - I've forgotten the name- was it 'To Walk Invisible' ? - and this has renewed my interest in this forgotten sister.

I'll also be dipping into my lovely new cookbook  'Home' by Trish Deseine - a Christmas present from NZ sister. It's a beautiful book full of recipes and pictures of Ireland. I'd bought a copy for her birthday last year after hearing a radio review and said I'd like one too. The photography is stunning and the writer includes stories of growing up in County Antrim as well as featuring Irish chefs. The recipes are a familiar mix of old favourites like wheaten bread and buttermilk scones which I don't really need a recipe for and the sort of traybakes that my mother used to make for coffee parties in the church hall.

And a bit of more general news - my new year hasn't started too well as I've managed to chip a bone at the top of my arm having fallen over a duvet left on the floor by one of the teenagers who stayed on New Year's Eve. I didn't know I'd broken anything until five days later when I finally got past the receptionist who'd initially fobbed me off with a physio appointment next week, and saw a GP who sent me to A&E. Spent over 5 hours there watching all the little dramas unfold in front of me - NHS at its best and worst - possible stroke patient waiting for ages but then being treated with real compassion when he was seen.  I have to wear this collar and cuff thing and have a 'virtual appointment' tomorrow - someone from orthopaedics will ring me having looked at x-Ray. So can't drive. Or do much housework. Silver lining etc...

My New Year wardrobe accessory - a lovely piece of pink foam!

Happy New Year to all - I'm planning to post more frequently this year so keep reading.
I started blogging regularly about books because of the Year in Books posts by Laura at Circle of Pine Trees which you can read more about here.  I'm aiming to join her by posting one a month about my reading.

Dickens versus Insomnia

Life is stressful in our house at present. Work stress for both husband and me; GCSEs for Kate.  And uncertainty about next year's plans too. Kate has to choose A levels and a new school for September and there are decisions to be made for all of us.  As a result there is a fair amount of grumpiness and, for me, sleep problems as I tend to wake at night and worry about things.  I've written about my battle with insomnia before and my attempts to deal with it have had limited success.  I'm now bored with the Mindfulness book audio tracks I used for a while to help reduce stress.  It does work in helping me switch off, but it sometimes seems such a waste of time lying there thinking about 'just this breath in and this breath out' when there are more interesting things to do. ( I kind of feel the same about 'relaxation' in yoga)

So I have a new weapon. I recently discovered audio books, thanks to Christina who has blogged about her love of 'reading' this way.  After a few technical hitches I succeeded in downloading to my phone Dickens' 'David Copperfield' for 99p, choosing this mainly because of price: if I didn't like the audio book experience, I wouldn't have wasted much money.

One of the problems with my insomnia is that it affects everyone else.  If I get up and go downstairs, it's cold and it disturbs my husband; the Kindle 'Nook', my birthday present last year, which is designed for reading in bed, actually emits quite a bright light which disturbs my husband and my neck gets sore after a while.  Listening to my phone with headphones is less annoying for him. (Although not when I fail to put the headphones in properly, as I did last night, waking him up with a blast of DC!) And I can stay cosy and warm, lying down fully relaxed with my eyes closed as I listen.

So I'm loving listening to 'David Copperfield', a classic I never quite got round to. It's narrated by someone called Peter Batchelor whose voice is fairly inoffensive although he attempts a squeaky voice to convey David as a child which is a bit annoying. So, instead of visualising nightmare work scenarios or rerunning things in my head at 3am, I'm picturing Aunt Betsy riding her pony trap through Canterbury or Uriah Heap rubbing his hands, or Mr Micawber telling David of his latest financial problems.  Brilliant.  I don't sleep any more, but at least I am relaxing and,

after a hour or sometimes two, I go back to sleep.  It's 32 hours long. I have 23 left so it was well worth the 99p.  And plenty more Dickens to go.  And then I might start on Hardy.

The Year in Books: Binge Reading

I'm not sure the Year in Books link up is still there but I wanted to write a books post to share what I've been reading recently.  I've written before about 'The History of the Rain' by Niall Williams, a book I read last summer and then reread right away - I read it quickly as I was desperate to know what happened to the narrator so there was a lot I didn't fully grasp first time as it kind of meanders, back and forward in time and there are so many references to other books.  It's been hard to find something to match it since.

I read and admired 'A God in Ruins' by Kate Atkinson, which also jumps back and forward in time. But I found it a bit disappointing after all the hype and preferred her book 'Life after Life'.  It was obviously very well researched and I should have been interested with all the detailed descriptions of what it was like to be a fighter pilot.  But it felt like homework, improving reading, at times rather than the escapism I like my reading to provide.  'A Place Called Winter' by Patrick Gale, who I usually love, didn't grab me either.  All that bleak landscape and hard work.

I enjoyed 'Number 11' by Jonathan Coe, for its humour and portrayal of modern Britain, particularly the chapters which make fun of celebrity game shows, but, again, it lost pace towards the end.  I also read a book 'One by One in the Darkness' by a writer called  Deirdre Madden who was born and brought up near me in Northern Ireland.  She'd obviously drawn from her own experiences of growing up in the 70s and it was interesting to read about the Troubles from a different perspective.

Last week I indulged in a bit of binge reading, having found one of those elusive books that absorbs me so much I don't want to put it down.  It was passed on to me by a friend who has excellent taste. It's 'The Girl in the Red Coat', a first novel by Kate Hamer.  Reading it reminded me a little of 'Room' by Emma Donoghue as it's about the abduction of a child. Some of the chapters are narrated by the 8 year old child, the others by her mother.  Even though it was a very busy week at work, I ignored marking, housework, family and lost sleep until I got to the end within a couple of days.  Highly recommended and better than the other recent thriller books with 'Girl' in the title (The Girl on the Train' didn't appeal me much.)

Highly recommended.  Now I just need to find another to match it.  Any ideas out there?

Mockingbird v Mockingjay

I've tried and failed to persuade my daughter to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.  She did start but it was a bit slow for her.  I suppose that bit at the beginning about the history of the Finch family is off-putting for some.  She likes more action and particularly enjoyed the 'Divergent' series by Veronica Roth.  It, like The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins, is set in a dystopian future society and features a strong female character who takes on evil tyrants and corrupt leaders.  There's always a love interest but this doesn't distract the heroine too much from her quest to conquer evil. Both books have spawned a series of films, hugely popular with teenage girls.

Last night, as a reward for surviving a week of back-to-back mock examinations, I took Kate to see the latest of these films based on The Hunger Games, Mockingjay; Part 2.  Usually I avoid these films and she goes with friends but no one was around so I went along, expecting to fall asleep as I am prone to do on a Friday evening.  I dozed a bit at first but then woke up mainly because it was an incredibly violent and frightening film.  I had to cover my eyes in the part where Katniss Everdene (the 'mockingjay', a teenage girl who, like James Bond, seems to have an uncanny ability to survive every attempt to kill her) and her companions are attacked by zombie-like creatures in an underground tunnel. And this is certified 12A?  I certainly wouldn't be happy taking a 12 year old to this.  Sometimes I think they get these certificates wrong - the, Guardian review of the film also makes this point.  I'm worried about showing Zefferelli's 'Romeo and Juliet' to my Year 10 group because it has a 15 certificate, presumably because at one point we see Romeo's bare bottom.  This is hardly going to upset 14-15 year olds, but I bet some of the younger teenagers who watched Mockingjay Part 2 were traumatised by it: I certainly was!

There has been much discussion in the press about whether Katniss is a good role model for young women.  In general, I think she is: she is independent, strong and has a clear sense of justice.  She doubts herself but goes ahead with what she has to do anyway. But I felt the final scene of the film with Katniss cradling a baby while Peeta, the more sensitive of her two suitors,  plays with a toddler in a sunlit meadow was a bit disappointing and ultimately unconvincing. Why wasn't she leading the new regime instead of the army commander who was chosen instead? And what happened to Gale, her other love interest?

Despite the violence, these are good books for teenage girls.  Certainly better than the Virginia Andrews 'Flowers in the Attic' books they used to read when I started to teach.  But I'd still be happier if they were reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

The Year in Books: August

Joining in again with The Year in Books hosted by Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.  I missed the July link up and am only now reporting on my June book 'Bellman and Black'.  I didn't read very much at the end of June and July but I'm catching up now it's the school holidays.

I enjoyed 'Bellman and Black' by Diane Setterfield, though I'm not sure it was a ghost story as it claims to be.  It's a portrayal of a successful Victorian industrialist: how he is 'haunted' by the elusive Mr Black who seems to be associated with the rook that William Bellman shot with a catapult as a child.  The shadow of the rook pervades the novel: there are chapters devoted to descriptions of the bird and the folklore associated with it.  There's also a great deal of description of Bellman's success in his business; he is a kind of upmarket undertaker, providing coffins and the trappings of mourning for wealthy clients.   This contrasts with the tragedy of his personal life - I won't reveal any more plot details in case you are tempted.  I was particularly interested in the character of his daughter, Dora, and was a little disappointed that her storyline wasn't developed more.  Penny at The Homemade Heart has written an excellent review of the book.  She described it as a psychological study of Bellman and that is, I suppose, why we don't hear more about Dora.  The focus is on how his mind works, how he makes a success of his working life at the expense of personal happiness, perhaps because he is unable to deal with strong feelings. So, overall, good, but doesn't compare with my all time favourite period ghost story, Susan Hill's 'The Woman in Black', which is properly scary.

I've also been reading a couple of texts by Irish writers in preparation for a coursework unit I'm going to be teaching to an A Level class in September.  I've read 'Amongst Women' by John McGahern and also the play 'Dancing at Lughnasa' by Brian Friel.  By coincidence, both texts feature on a group of sisters living in a village in Ireland so particularly appeal to me.  I am already familiar with 'Dancing at Lughnasa', having seen an excellent production of it at the Theatre Clwyd in Mold a few years ago.  It was one of the most enjoyable evenings at the theatre I have ever had.  The play explores the relationships between the sisters and how things are changing for them and the country.  Reading it wasn't quite the same as a live production but I do have a DVD of the film to watch this week.

For my August book I'm reading another novel by an Irish writer, 'The History of the Rain' by Niall Williams, which was nominated for the Booker prize. NZ sister recommended it and for me that's a better reason to choose it rather than a Booker nomination.  I'm also dipping into another book which kind of links to 'Bellman and Black' as it features Victorian business men. It's Jacqueline Yallop's 'Dreamstreets: A Journey through Britain's Village Utopias'.   It has a chapter on Port Sunlight, which is near here, and how it was created by William Hesketh Lever for his workforce to live in, We visited Port Sunlight last week and went to the museum as my daughter has to complete a piece of history coursework about Lever and Port Sunlight.  So I'll be encouraging her to read this book too.

The Year in Books: June

I missed last month's link up with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees as I didn't finish any of my planned reads for April and ended up reading a lot of self help books instead.  I've now decided to abandon this genre as you can see in this post and am enjoying reading again.

So a quick round up of my recent favourites and plans for June.  I'm half way through The Rosie Effect by Graham Simsion, the follow up to The Rosie Project which many other bloggers enjoyed. It's more of the same from the narrator Don and his interpretation of the world around him is touchingly humorous, but I'm finding the plot dragging a little this time.  But an easy bedtime read which is what I want sometimes.

It's my usual habit to read several books at once so I'm also half way through 'Late Fragments: Everything I want to Tell You (About this Magnificent Life) by Kate Gross.  This is a brilliant book and more valuable in its advice about how to be happy than any of the self help books I've read, surprisingly as the book was written by a young woman who is dying.   Kate Gross died of bowel cancer aged 36 on Christmas Day last year , leaving a husband Billy and twin boys aged 5. This book is primarily for her children.  She wrote about her life after her diagnosis as a way of coming to terms with it all,  and preparing herself and her family.  She wrote about her early memories; her family and friends; her awkward teenage years; her impressive career - how she became a policy advisor for Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister and then chief executive of the Africa Governance Initiative. But it's not just the subject matter and the fact she was a successful woman that makes this book so good.  It's also really well written. She's an English Lit graduate and her book is full of quotations from other writers - everything from John Donne to J. K. Rowling. Here's a snippet for you:

'I can spread my childhood memories out like a patchwork quilt.  My quilt is brightly coloured, richly textured, a mix of the familiar and the foreign.  My parents showed me the world form an early age and experiencing it - drinking in the astonishing wonder it provides - has made me who I am.  Because of them ,'the ears of my ears awake and the eyes of my eyes are open', as ee cummings put it.'

I'm looking forward to reading the rest.  How sad that such a talented woman died so young.

In June I'll be finishing these books and hope also to begin 'Bellman and Black' by Diane Setterfield which I'd ordered from the library after reading Penny's comments on it via The Year in Books.

I'm also reading 'Amongst Women' by John McGahern in preparation for a unit of work on Irish Literature which I am teaching in September.

I also get to teach some Seamus Heaney poems which I am looking forward to very much.

Five on Friday: Self Help Books

Over the past year I've read quite a few self help books which I've mentioned in the blog on occasions.  Currently I've got several Mindfulness books out of the library and have been dipping into them.  But I'm starting to question my addiction to this genre and think now it is time to stop and evaluate the advice given.  There's just so much of it floating around my head now that I'm afraid I'll forget what I am supposed to be doing to make me less anxious.  A paradox - I'm anxious about how to be less anxious. 

Many years ago (late 70s?) I read Susie Orbach's Fat is a Feminist Issue and it helped me escape the yoyo diet cycle I was trapped in at the time.  I don't remember the details, just one piece of advice - eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full.  Sensible and easy to follow advice which seems to work for me as I've managed to maintain a fairly stable and healthy weight since.  So I'm now going to condense the advice from the self help books I have read into five commandments.

1. Slow down

I tend to rush through days, even days off, squeezing in as many chores and improving activities as possible. This needs to stop.

2. Do one thing at a time

This will be hard - I'm a habitual multi-tasker. But I know from experience that lesson planning while  making dinner often leads to burnt offerings.

3. Be in the moment.

Smell the flowers; listen to the birdsong; taste the coffee; watch the woodpecker; stroke the dog.  Be aware of your body and senses.  This one is easier for me.

4. Listen actively to others.  

I'm ashamed to say that I've been in the habit of finishing people's sentences for them.  This will stop if I focus on them and stop being so self-absorbed.

5. Breathe

I've been doing some of the meditations in one of the Mindfulness books and, for the first time, it seems to be working.  The Three Minute Breathing space works best for me.

By the way, my life was not changed magically by tidying up, as promised by Marie Kondo, so none of her advice is included here.  I have decluttered as instructed but now am regretting getting rid of some items of clothing I didn't feel love for because I have nothing to wear to work! I now fold my knickers and scarves are packed vertically in an old shoe box in a pleasing way, but otherwise my house is still relatively untidy.  

 

An Easter Eggshibition and The Year in Books: April

Sorry about the bad pun.  A quick post before our short break to Belguim and Holland.  When we were in Northern Ireland we visited this Easter Egg exhibition in First Lisburn Presbyterian Church.  Local businesses had produced these contributions to the display which aimed to encouragepeople to visit the newly-refurbished church.   We went along with my sisters and the children and my daughter took these pictures which I thought I would share.  Really impressive and inventive display.

And now another late post for Laura's lovely Year in Books link up.  This month I have been reading Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, a best-selling first book by an unknown author.  I'm slightly curious about how she, a 20-something student,  managed to be in a position where she was given a huge advance for a book and had nine publishers competing for it. How did she get their attention in the first place, when many successful authors, including J K Rowling, are rejected at first?  Did someone spot her when she was doing the Creative Writing MA at UEA?

What is different about this book is that she gets into the head of Maud, her central character, who has dementia, and writes a convincing account of life and events from her point of view.  My mother-in-law had dementia in her final years and much of Maud's behaviour is familiar: leaving the gas on; going out at odd times; attempts to continue with routine activities like cooking and shopping but getting in a muddle about it.  My aunt, who suffered from dementia, once tried to make a ham sandwich for her son with the blood-soaked absorbent paper at the bottom of a plastic supermarket meat tray: she still saw it as her job to feed her family even after the roles had reversed.

What Healey does so well is to show that for Maud, her actions, which frustrate and baffle others, are actually entirely logical in her mind.  She confuses past and present all the time. Her friend Elizabeth is 'missing'. She's actually in hospital, but Maud, who is in English Lit teaching terms, an 'unreliable narrator' never grasps this. Maud confuses the fact that Elizabeth is missing with the disappearance of her sister Sukey in the post-war years, an event that Maud is able to remember in vivid detail.  This means that we, as readers, can understand why Maud says something about Elizabeth which seems ridiculous to her daughter, as we know she is referring to Sukey.  What is also well observed is the reaction of her daughter Helen: Maud notices her eye-rolling and her desire to get away. This reminds me so much about how we were with my mother-in-law and I feel ashamed.  It seems that Healey drew on her own family's experience with her grandmother to write the book.  It must be slightly uncomfortable reading for her mother, if Helen is based on her.

I discussed this novel at my bookclub and one member, who works with dementia patients, says it is a very accurate portrayal of the condition.  And that is what it is - very well written and original book. Did I enjoy it? Yes, though I preferred the next one I read more Colm Toibin's Nora Webster.  But more of that another time.

My next book was recommended to me by Annet, the teacher I stayed with in the Netherlands.  She gave me a battered paperback school copy.  It's The Music of Chance by Paul Auster.

The Year in Books: How do you read me? Let me count the ways...

I've been neglecting the blog recently, though I've been on Blogger fairly regularly checking out and reading other blogs.  And I've been thinking about how I read online. It's a different kind of reading for me than reading print.  An e-book is different again.  There are some posts I read all the way through properly; some I look at the pictures; others I skim or just read the entry on the home page.  And you are probably the same.  I tend to write fairly long posts not very often and so it's fairly likely that you are skim reading this post.  I doubt very much if all the 16000 + people who have come across me online have actually read a whole post. But you never know, perhaps you have time today...

Anyway here I am again with the only regular post I manage , the Year in Books link up with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.  My January read was 'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton, which I received as  Christmas present.  I haven't quite finished it yet, one reason for my late link up.  I've enjoyed it. Beautifully written, it is one of those books that brings the characters and place to life.  It's full of detail about 17th century Amsterdam, obviously well researched.  I like the evocative descriptions of taste of the sugar and delicacies made from it, which reminded me of  Joanne Harris's 'Chocolat'. The plot, and its link to the dolls' house, is intriguing rather than gripping though, which explains why I've read it slowly.  It's a book to savour and one which will stay with me a long time.

But now I want a pacy, pointless, plot type novel to read over half term. A fast food kind of book, to read and forget - not good for me but enjoyable all the same. I haven't found it yet - considering the new S J Watson as I liked 'Before I go To Sleep'.  Any suggestions out there?

My February books, which I have already dipped into, are both non-fiction.  I've borrowed Steven Pinker's 'The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century' from the library.  It's  not one I'll read all the way through, but it looks interesting and I did enjoy his book 'The Language Instinct'.  I am also teaching Carol Ann Duffy's poetry at present and so am reading 'Rapture'.  Again one to read slowly.  I read the title poem yesterday and this line
stayed with me all day:
 'How does it happen that our lives can drift
far from our selves, while we stay trapped in time,
queuing for death?'

Another question.  Is it always better to read more, to get through as many books as possible?   Or am I alone in my occasional preference for some slow reading?

New Year in Books

We're half way through January and I'm only just getting to my monthly book post. This is because I haven't finished my December book, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'.  I am quite enjoying it and love the character of Owen and the child narrator - he reminds me a little of Scout in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. But it's a long book and somehow over Christmas the slow afternoons I'd envisaged reading by the fire just didn't happen.  So I'll be finishing that this month along with my January book, a Christmas present from a friend who usually makes good choices. It's 'The Miniaturist', by Jessie Burton.  I see it's been a Sunday Times bestseller so I've broken my resolve not to read these.  It's nice to have a real book too, especially one with such a pretty cover.  I've started it already as I tend to pick up real books more readily than the Kindle.  It's set in Amsterdam which appeals to me as I'll be visiting the Netherlands next month on a school trip so reading this will get me in the mood.

I also finished 'Happiness by Design' by Paul Dolan which is another one of those self-help my husband laughs at me for reading.  The writer is an economist and some sections were a bit statistic- heavy for my taste but there was some sensible advice, the main, rather obvious point being that we are happier when choose activities which give us a balance of both pleasure and purpose..  So if I record my day so far (I have most of Wednesday off), according to his chart it would look like this:

1. Drove daughter to school while listening to her sing along to Now Disney CD 20 mins
Pleasure 7 Purpose 10 (Essential journey more fun than usual)
2. Tidied upstairs, including decluttering wardrobe, putting on washing etc.  (Alone, listening to Women's Hour) 2 hr  Pleasure 5 Purpose 7 (Can find something to wear in morning)
3. Walked dog on usual route with neighbour catching up on news 1hr
Pleasure 9 Purpose 8 (Exercise for dog and me)
4. Made healthy Lentil and Bacon and Carrot and Coriander soup while watching 'Loose Women' (Alone 1 - 2 hrs including eating lunch)

 Pleasure 6 Purpose 7 (Healthy,if possibly not very nice, meal for family - looks unappetising, especially lentil)
5. Wrote this post on Blogger Alone 30 mins Pleasure 7 Purpose 5

And now because I have chosen to write this I haven't really got time for the other thing I intended to do before work at 4 pm which is go into town and return some clothes I bought to M&S,  But writing this gave me more pleasure than a trip to town which can wait until the weekend.  That's his other piece of advice: pay attention to the choices you make and do things which make you happy.  Which is why I am here rather than in M&S.  Now time for a quick cup of tea, before selecting something to wear from my newly organised wardrobe for work- dog walking clothes won't do.

The Year in Books: December 'Us' by David Nicholls

I've been neglecting the blog recently: it's three weeks since my last post.  I've been trying to think why as I'm not really any busier than usual.  Mainly it's because I've been hibernating!  I sleep much more when it's dark or even if I don't sleep I spend more time in bed as it's too cold to get up.  This is a good thing, I suppose, as I generally feel less stressed and grumpy after a good night's sleep, but I do miss the long quiet weekend mornings I get in summer when I wake at 6am and can blog undisturbed by the rest of the family.  But I'm up earlyish this morning and joining again with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees for the Year in Books, my favourite link up.




My November read was the Booker nominated 'Us' by David Nicholls, pictured above.  I had high hopes for this novel, having enjoyed 'One Day' a lot.  Reviews were good and the subject matter appealed to me as he was writing about the marriage a couple in their 50's with one teenage child.  Now I am not so narrow in my reading habits to simply want to read about people like me but, even so, the similarity to my own family situation did appeal.  I'd expected, and hoped for, a book which explored the complexity of a long term relationship from both sides.  Unfortunately I was disappointed, as it really doesn't do this at all.

'Us' is written from the perspective of Douglas Petersen whose wife announces in that she thinks their marriage has run its course and she intends to leave him when their son goes off to university.  He desperately wants to keep her and plans a long road trip to Europe for the family, a kind of Grand Tour, visiting key works of art in major cities, in the hope of saving their marriage.  Douglas is socially awkward and introverted whereas Connie is his opposite: attractive, amusing and extrovert, only marrying him in the first place because she needed more stability than her previous partner had offered.  Douglas also feels a little jealous of his wife's close relationship with their son, Albie.  He has a rather troubled relationship with his son and the book is as much about this as it is about the marriage.  Douglas tries hard as a parent, advising his son and doing the things he thinks he ought to do such as forcing him to eat his greens, doing his maths homework with him and encouraging him build Lego according to the instructions. He doesn't understand his son's distress when he 'helps' by gluing the completed Lego models together.  Albie turns out to be more a of free spirit with artistic leanings like his mother and he falls out spectacularly with his father during the trip, going off travelling with a girl he met busking.  Much of the book tells of Douglas's attempt to find his son and bring him home.

It was all very readable and you cannot help but sympathise for poor Douglas.  I was reminded a little of Harold Fry from Rachel Joyce's book.  My problem with it was that I expected something different.  As a portrait of a marriage in crisis it failed: it was too one-sided.  We don't get to know Connie at all: she seems too perfect and all the 'blame' for the relationship breakdown is heaped on Douglas.  There are much better portrayals of long term relationships in crisis in Ian McEwan's novels. Both 'Enduring Love' and 'The Child in Time'  do this well.   Also it just didn't ring true - Douglas and Connie are just too nice too each other when breaking up.  From what I have seen in observing friends and acquaintances going through divorce, it's rarely 'amicable'.

So for my last book of the year, I'm avoiding the best seller list and going for a book lots of people have recommended, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' by John Irving.  I hope it's good as recent books I have chosen have failed to meet my expectations.

The Year in Books - November: Reading 'Best Sellers'

My October read was this Booker Prize nominated novel, We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler.  I noticed yesterday that it is number 3 in the best selling paperback list published in 'The Times'.  In fact quite a few of my recent reads are on there (The Chimp Paradox, The Goldfinch) as well as my November choice Us by David Nicholls.  This has lead me to consider how much I am influenced by marketing in my choice of reading: the book promotions and displays in Chester's only bookshop, Waterstones; the reviews in the papers; the radio interviews; and even the appearances at literary festivals: all of this is marketing.  And even though I know this, I am still easily influenced. It makes me a bit uncomfortable: how will any new writers get on the shelves if booksellers fill them up with these heavily promoted books, often written by those who have already had a best seller? So I am going to make a deliberate effort to avoid such books in the future, basing more of my reading on recommendations like those on this link up The Year in Books by Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.

I quite enjoyed We Are Completely Beside Ourselves which I chose initially because of the intriguing title, though possibly also because of its position in the Waterstone's display.  (I didn't actually buy it from Waterstone's but did my usual library order.  It's usually either that or a Kindle purchase for me so I am guilty, I suppose, of contributing to the demise of independent bookshops and their support of new writers.)  It was another book which was really promising in the first few third, but then lost pace later on.  It's in the first person again, like many books I have read recently, and tells the story of a young woman who is the daughter of psycholgist parents and how the family breaks down because the father chooses to experiment with his own family. There's a major twist which I won't give away, but after that is revealed, I think, the book goes downhill and I felt sometimes that the writer's research was a bit intrusive - more scientific detail than I wanted. Perhaps others like this: I noticed it had a rave review in The Guardian. (Don't read this if you want to discover the twist yourself).

I have started Us, by David Nicholls.  It's about the marriage of a couple in their fifties whose son is about to go off to university and so interests me as I'm not so far from that stage.  But so far it seems depressingly similar to One Day: the main character is a kind of older version of Dexter,  Anyway - will reserve judgement until I read some more.  I have also tracked down the book I referred to in my last post and I have ordered it from the library.  It is 'Happiness by Design' by Paul Dolan.  I'll be reading this too.  And now I am off to rake up leaves in the garden, an activity which makes me happy.

The Year in Books: Easy Reading October

I've been on an enforced blogging break recently - busy with work and barely getting to essential household maintenance never mind blogging.  But time this morning for a quick books post, joining in again with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.

In September, I eventually finished 'The Goldfinch'.  It was hard work in the end and I didn't enjoy the last 300 pages much.  I ceased to care very much for Theo and skipped over the rather complex business of how the painting was found; lost again and then returned for a large reward. There were too many characters; too much violence for my taste; and the aspects of the novel I was enjoying, such as the Theo's relationship with Hobie and Alice, were not really developed.

So my October choices are much lighter, easy reading.  Many other readers who post on The Year in Books have recommended 'The Rosie Project', so I'm now reading it too.  I love it and am already nearly half way through.  Don is utterly charming and a much more pleasant companion than Theo (Is it just me who considers characters in books in this way - especially when there is a first person narrator?)  But I am a little uncomfortable with the humour in this book.  Should we be laughing at the results of Don's social blunders because of his Asperger's Syndrome?  My experience of teaching children with Asperger's suggests that their lives are much more challenging than this.  My other September read was 'The Reason I Jump', which was written by a Japanese boy and translated by David Mitchell, gives a better insight into autistic spectrum brains.

I have also borrowed from the library 'How to Build a Girl' by Caitlin Moran which I'm looking forward to - I love her writing.  And I have reserved  'We are all Completely Beside Ourselves' by Karen Joy Fowler . I know nothing at all about this book but the title is intriguing.

Nothing too demanding then: I'm beginning to wonder if my capacity to cope with more serious intellectual books is declining and that is why I didn't like 'The Goldfinch while others loved it.

How Long is a Good Book? The Year in Books: September

I've been delaying this month's Year in Books post in the hope that I would manage to finish my August read, 'The Goldfinch'.  I'm now admitting defeat - there are still over 300 of the 771 pages to go.  Yes I'm enjoying it and I will finish it: the first section was really good.  Others have said it was unputdownable and at this stage I tended to agree.  It's another book with a young male first person narrator - the fourth of this kind in a row for me, by accident rather than design.  As a 13 year old, the boy's life is shattered when his mother is killed in a terrorist bombing of a New York gallery they are visiting.  Donna Tartt's description of this is really vivid and her characterisation superb - I have a full picture of the world she created in my mind.  He tries to help another injured victim, a character called Welty, who he had noticed with his granddaughter just before the explosion.  He dies but not before telling the boy to take the painting of 'The Goldfinch', which his mother loved, out of the gallery.  This is the central plot device and the reader looks forward to seeing what the boy does with the painting - you suspect that he will hang onto it as the book begins with him hiding from police in Amsterdam for an undisclosed crime.  But then she kind of wraps the painting up for a bit, just like her character does, and digresses: he moves to Las Vegas to live with his father, meets Boris, another fascinating character and they grow up drinking, discovering girls, drugs etc.  All very well written, though rather too much vomiting for my taste,  and again she draws you into this desert and sun and casino world.  But there is, frustratingly, no plot advancement.  Then his father dies in a car accident and he's back in New York, at first as a teenager and then as an adult in the part I'm currently reading I'm starting to lose sympathy with him now, always a problem if you have a first person narrator, and I want the real story to start.  I checked out what others on The Year in Books thought and Lifechimes seems to agree.

Basically this book is just too long.  I caught the end of an interview with Ian McEwan on the radio a week or so ago and he was discussing this   He says that "very few really long novels earn their length", and "my fingers are always twitching for a blue pencil".  I tend to agree.  Yet short books are not to my taste either.  I found McEwan's Booker prize nominated 'novella', 'On Chesil Beach' disappointingly brief.  He says that he likes the idea of a book that you can read at one sitting, like his latest 'The Children Act'. (A man's comment - few women of my acquaintance have the luxury of reading even a 203 page book in one go.)  It sounded good when I caught a bit of it Book At Bedtime but I won't be buying it.  Not enough reader satisfaction for the £6.45 it costs on Kindle.

And so to answer my own question.  For me a good book is usually at least 300 and no more than 500 words long.   Just like my other August book which I did finish: Hardy's 'Far from the Madding Crowd' (469 pages), first read with Mrs Neill at the Rainey Endowed school in 1974/5 for my O Level English Literature.  I haven't read it since and  I really enjoyed it.  Hardy may digress into descriptions of rural Dorset but he never forgets to keep the plot going for the reader.  Like Donna Tartt, he has that skill of drawing you into his world so that you live it for a while. 

I also think everyone should read this book before choosing a life partner. Listen to these wise words at the end of the novel. 
'
They spoke very little of their mutual feeling; pretty phrases and warm expressions being probably un- necessary between such tried friends. Theirs was that substantial affection which arises (if any arises at all) when the two who are thrown together begin first by knowing the rougher sides of each other's character, and not the best till further on, the romance growing up in the interstices of a mass of hard prosaic reality. This good-fellowship — CAMARADERIE — usually occurring through similarity of pursuits, is unfortunately seldom superadded to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labours, but in their pleasures merely. Where, however, happy circumstance permits its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as death — that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam.'

 Hoping I can persuade my daughter to read it so that she's not taken in by some Troylike flashy scoundrel in a red jacket showing off his fancy sword work. Or its modern equivalent.

So in September for the Year in Books, I won't be too ambitious. I will finish 'The Goldfinch' along with a couple of non-fiction library loans pictured below. Joining again with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.