wish list

I've just come back from a mini-break to Wiltshire- so expect some photos of some historical properties and pretty gardens coming up in the next few days.

Whenever I National Trust property I always make sure to pop into their secondhand bookshops, as they do paperback for 50p and hardbacks for £1.50, which is incredibly good value. There wasn't anything that grabbed my fancy this time though, so I'm currently at a bit of a loss of something to read.

I do have a rather extensive wish list however.....

picture source

what I've read this month (January)

First round-up posts of the year - feels like the blog has got off to a slow start. I haven't posted as much as I intended, nor read as much as I expected.

But, here is a list of what I have read:-
1. Madeline Miller, Song of Achilles (re-read, review here)
2. Lee Child, Never Go Back
3. Steven Saylor, Roma 
4. Tom Rob Smith, Child 44
5. J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  (re-read)
6. Warren FitzGerald, The Go Away Bird 

The worst novel of the month was undoubtedly Never Go Back racist, sexist and formulaic. I highly suggest you skip this, and read one of the earlier books in the Jack Reacher series.

Of course, I had to read Harry Potter after visiting the studio tour, I'm going to put up some more pictures from my visit next week. I also started the year by re-reading my another one of my favourite books of all time The Song of Achilles, I feel emotionally moved by this beautiful love story every time I read it.

Out of the new (to me) books I read, Child 44 was the best, but to be honest it was out of a rather weak bunch. I found out recently it's going to be turned into a film, and it is part of a series of books. I doubt I'm going to read any of the others though, because it's strength was that it introduced me to a period of Russian history I'm ignorant about, and it would probably be a better idea just to read some non-fiction about this period.

wishlist

Though I far far too many unread books on my shelves at the moment, I'm always browsing books shops and the internet for my next purchase. Here's what on my current wishlist:

1. Maggot Moon, Sally Gardner 

This one sounds really unusual, it's about a totalitarian state, determined to beat it's enemies in the race to the moon. They thing that really grabbed me, is that it is narrated by a young dyslexic boy, this could either work really well- or be a complete disaster.

2. The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr I. Solzenitsyn 

After reading Child 44 I've come to the conclusion that I'm ignorant about the Soviet Union. This is a memoir of the authors experience in a gulag (prison labour camp) for criticising Stalin on a postcard. For reviews, it sound like a pretty harrowing read, but I think its important that these historic events are recorded and widely read.

3. Nervous System: The Story of a Novelist Who Lost His Mind, Jan Lars Jensen 

Another memoir, this time about mental illness. I noticed a trend recently for more fiction and biographies discussing mental health (for example  The Shock of the Fall) which I think is a really positive thing, as it's still such a taboo.


4. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins 

There's so much buzz about this one, it's going to be the next literary phenomenon and is being touted as the next Gone Girl, so I need to read it before I'm left out.

What do you think of my choices? Have you read any of them?

what I've read this month (December)

Another short list this month, I haven't read as much as I expected over Christmas.

1. Lyndsay Faye, Dust and Shadow
2. Mary Roach, Gulp (non-fiction)
3. Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves   

I also started a couple of books J by Howard Jacobson and Exodus: Immigration and Multiculturalism in the 21st Century, Paul Collier and another Man Booker - To Rise Again at a Decent Hour. I'm probably going to polish them all off next both.

I found it a real struggle to get into a book this month, I felt quite apathetic about reading, plus I was short on time. The three books I did read however, were all rather good. Glup was my favourite, an unusual choice seeing as it is a non-fiction book about digestion.

Is it worth the struggle?

Feeling like Carrie Bradshaw, I got to thinking is it ever worth is struggling on with a book?

 Nowadays, I only read for pleasure, but I still find myself soldiering on with books I'm not enjoying. There are several reasons for this:-

1. Habit- some of the novels I studied throughout school and uni really didn't interest me, but I had to read them for my course, and I think I'm still under the impression that if I've started something I should finish it. 
2. Recommendations- If the book has won lots of awards or has been lent to me by a friend I feel like maybe they know better and it's worth persevering
3.  Trend- 50 Shades is complete trash- poorly written and problematic, but I read them because I didn't want to be out of the loop. I wanted to know if they were as good/bad as everyone said
4. Needs Must-  I read a lot, and sometimes if I'm away, or haven't managed to get down to the library it's slim pickings and I'll read whatever is available- even if it's not any good
5. Duty- similar to my first point, I feel like I should read some books because their 'classics' and meant to be enriching. However, I've come to the realisation that the classics are heavily dominated by old, dead, white men and their enduring regard is influenced by patriarchal, classist and racist ideas.  

Take my recent library haul- two of these books went straight back. Whit I didn't even open, I read the back again and really didn't fancy it. I attempted A Girl is a Half Formed Thing but the fragmented, experimental style really didn't do anything for me. 

I do wonder if I have perhaps been too hasty however. For example when I started The Knife of Never  Letting Go I couldn't bare it, but have the first 3 or 4 chapters I was hooked. Or at the age of 11 when I was first handed Harry Potter by my teacher I was resistant, as I wrongly assumed that it was about train-spotting. 

On the other hand for some unknown reason I read Martina Cole's Two Women  until the end even though I was completely disgusted by it.  

To make a more informed decision about what is and isn't worth reading I'm going to adopt the 100 page rule. Basically I'm going to continuing reading (even if it's a struggle) and if it hasn't improved, or I'm not enjoying it, I'm going to put the book down and try another. 

What do you think? Have you ever read something to the end and wasted your time? Or, are you glad you stuck with it? 

mother's day book list

It's mother's day this Sunday, and although my family don't celebrate it (not that we don't appreciate our mum) I thought I'd put together a list of books that put parent/child relationships at their core.

So, if you want to gently steer your mum away from Maeve Binchy or Joanna Trollope have a look under the jump for my suggestions:-

Queer Lit

I'm not claiming to be an expert and this list is not extensive, but I've put together a small list of books that have LGBT* protagonists that I have read and can recommend:-

• Sarah Waters - one of my favs, so she gets to go on top. Lesbian historical fiction
• Patricia Highsmith- wrote the Talented Mr. Ripley, I would also recommend reading Carol  
• Jeanette Winterson 
• Gore Vidal - I suggest The City and the Pillar to get you started 
• Edmund White 
• Wallace Thurman- also wrote about racism and colourism in the African-American community, The Blacker the Berry. Warning- Thurman uses the n-word and some people may find his subject material triggering
• Richard Bruce Nugent - a contemporary of Thurman and a key member of the Harlem Renaissance 
• James Baldwin - I recommend reading Giovanni's Room . It is a violent, complex classic of gay literature.  
• Patrick Gale 

Do you have any suggestions to add to this list? 

Anglesey Abbey

We braved the rain today and visited Anglesey Abby, a Jacobean house owned by the National Trust.  It has impeccably maintained gardens, and although the interior is a bit fusty and grandma-ish, the library is pretty impressive.

the books look good, but most of them I wouldn't want to read - A History of  Eton and loads of Punch  annuals

The grounds were the best bit, though it was too wet to go round all of it and parts of it are still a bit dead.

The silver birch reminded me of a Weirwood in  A Song of Ice and Fire  

 We finished up our visit with a cup of tea. The cafe isn't the best, it has no character and looks like a school canteen. Never mind, more importantly the sandwiches were tasty and they had a good selection of gluten-free cake.

Wimpole egg and lettuce