Norfolkbookworm took an unexpected hiatus

 

Oops once more I really didn’t mean to leave a gap of almost 2 months between posts on here. Part of this has been because I’ve been reading lots of advance copies of books which means my lips have to be sealed until much closer to publication, part of it has been that I’ve not read a lot of books that I’ve loved, and part of it is pure laziness! Now the Kentishbookboy has supplied two new reviews for me so I really have to start blogging again!

Proper posts about a couple of books coming very soon but for now here’s a few non fiction books that I’ve enjoyed and that I think are worth looking out/reserving from your local library.

All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley

Bringley shares memories of his 10 years as a guard at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. He took the job as a stopgap during a traumatic period of his life and stayed 10 years. He talks about the job, the people and the art wonderfully and I am truly impressed at his stamina, I am sure museum floors are made out of harder material than anything else in the world!

 

Letters from New York by Helene Hanff

Alistair Cooke’s Letters from America were always interesting to listen to and gave an insight into how he saw America through the decades, I didn’t know that Hanff had had a similar slot on Women’s Hour. Her monthly essays are very chatty and in general just focus on life in her neighbourhood of New York, but they are simultaneously of her time and timeless and I laughed out loud more than once reading them.

 

Last Sunset in the West by Natalie Sanders

This book came out just at the same time as David Attenborough’s new series Wild Isles and the two tied together brilliantly. This book is about Orcas and in particular the pod found off the west coast of the UK rather than the east coast whales featured on the TV, however it is also about orcas in general and how unique each small population around the world is. I’d love to see an orca in the wild, and even more after reading this book. At times the book feels a little repetitive and at points like separate essays awkwardly linked together but overall the author’s love for the orca shone through and outweighed these minor annoyances.