What a year!

So that was 2018!

What a year it has been, I ended 2017 in pretty bad health and by the end of January discovered that this was because in December 2017 I had in fact suffered a brain heamorrhage.

The first quarter of the year is pretty much a blur to me, I was incredibly tired and had the mother of all headaches (in fact nearly 13 months on there hasn’t yet been a day when I haven’t had headpain/headache which is pretty tiring). For me the worst thing was that I’d lost (temporarily thankfully) the ability to read - and as this is usually my way of self medicating when unwell it felt really awful, possibly worse even than the headache.

Slowly my concentration has returned and I can again (mostly) follow the plot of longer, more complicated books but I have a new found respect and love for short stories, essays and the wonderful Quick Reads scheme. Epistolary novels and those told in diaries are still the easiest for me to read and follow, especially when tired but I console myself that books rarely vanish completely and so all the great books I’ve not managed this year will still be there in years to come.

Sadly the same can’t be said for theatre and I know I’ve missed some cracking plays this year (whether due to illness or weather) but in the scheme of things I am just grateful I got to see the things I did, and that I enjoyed (most) of them.

At work it has been even more of a roller coaster. With great support from my colleagues I managed to return to work on limited hours & duties. I managed to deliver my 1918-2018 Armistice project and also got to work (as a volunteer) on creating the Armistice: The Legacy of the Great War on Norfolk exhibition - two things that at the start of the year seemed impossible to consider. However my current job, and those of many colleagues, has been deleted and I am currently trying to work out what will happen next...

There will be no top 10s from this year, but I do really recommend Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngsen, The Skylark’s War by Hilary McKay and To Obama, with Love, Joy, Hate and Despair by Jeanne Marie Laskas as these are the three books that have stuck with me longest and given me hope that my problems with memory/concentration/reading will continue to improve.

Who knows what 2019 will bring, certainly changes in my work life but as I’ve learned life is a very precious thing and work is by no means the most important thing in it,

Shock horror a book review!

Fallen Glory by James Crawford.

I've been wanting to talk about this book for months and months. I read it way back in the summer when it was one of the books submitted for a project I was taking part in. I wasn't allowed to talk about it then but now the book has finally been released to the wide world I can do so.

I think that this may well be my favourite book of the year, fiction or non-fiction.

Crawford tells the history of the world in a new way, via the great buildings of various cultures. We visit, amongst others, the Tower of Babel, Troy, Mongolia, India, South America and then, right up to date, we get to the Twin Towers and September 11th 2001.

Of course it is only giving a snap shot of history but the buildings are cleverly linked and there are a surprising number of connections that I hadn't encountered before. Equally if a building/period of history isn't quite your thing then you can skip to the next location without disrupting the narrative.

Crawford is also good at explaining how myth interacts with reality and at no point did this book feel anything other than engaging, well written and informative. Not a hint of text book about it.

I don't think that the book was selected to feature on the radio as part of the project in the end but that shouldn't stop  you from giving it ago.

At least of the other books that I read and enjoyed did make the cut and details of the whole project can be found here and here.

Top Tens from 2012

Better late than never...

Due to my Christmas lurgy I'm later than I planned in posting my personal top 10s from the last year.

I've been thinking about them for a while but I don't like to list them until the year has turned - there have been times when the book I've finished as New Year's Eve ends have been the best of the year, The Book Thief in 2006 for instance. This wasn't quite the case in 2012 but I did read one of my favourite books late on in the month.

None of these lists are in any particular order and all of them seemed a lot hard to pick this year!

Top 10 Books 2012 

Shakespeare on Toast by Ben Crystal - this is the book that made me understand how to read the plays of Shakespeare and enjoy them as much as seeing them performed.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - very late to the party on this one but despite this it blew me away.

The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Haflon - a rare book that despite *having* to read for book group I loved.  I was wary of the book because it listed so many translators but it was beautiful if odd.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr - another book that I liked enough to blog about.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - a very gentle book that just swept me along.

Strange Meetings by Harry Ricketts - I loved this one so much I blogged about it!

The American Wife by Paula McLain - I like Hemingway's collection of stories called A Moveable Feast a lot and this novel captures his lifestyle at this time wonderfully.

These Wonderful Rumours by May Smith - a recently discovered wartime diary of a female teacher in the midlands.  A real insight into a young woman's war and terrifically funny at times although possibly this was not intentional.

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window by Jonas Jonasson - I only finished this book between Christmas and New Year but I've already been recommended it to several people. It is deliciously dark and funny although just occasionally the history isn't quite accurate.

The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton - this was another book group novel that I'd probably never have picked up otherwise.  It was a dark, unsettling war novel but unlike my favourites by R F Delderfield this was not a comforting read - it was the language and style that made it stand out.

Top 10 Plays of the year

Richard III - The Globe & Apollo Theatre

Henry V - The Globe

The Recruiting Officer - Donmar Warehouse

Cabaret - Theatre Royal, Norwich

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Cottesloe Theatre at the National Theatre

Noises Off - Novello Theatre

War Horse - New London Theatre

Taming of the Shrew - The Globe

Hymn and Cocktail Stick - The Lyttleton Theatre at the National Theatre

Berenice - The Donmar Warehouse

Worst 5 Books of the year 

Care of Wooden Floors by Will Willes - a book on a longlist I was reading, found it a real chore to read and by the end was ready to throw the book at the wall in frustration. I think it would have made a great  short story or novella but as a novel was just dull.

Paddington Races Ahead by Michael Bond - it pains me to put this on the list but as I blogged earlier in the year the updating of classics rarely seems to work.

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekov - I know it is supposed to be a classic but by the end I was willing them to tie the lead charcters to the trees and then set fire to the orchard. Perhaps I should see this on stage and see if my opinions change?

The Descendents by Kaui Hart Hemmings - this was a hit film so I thought I'd try the book. On finishing it I decided not to bother with the film...

The Fifty Shades trilogy by E L James - I confess I read all three of these (on an eReader so that no one could see that I was doing so). They were dire and for me and about as erotic as toothache. The real problem was that there was just enough story in the trilogy that kept me reading to the end as I had to know how it finished - badly, don't bother!

Worst 2 Plays of the year

Love and Information - Royal Court Theatre

What the Butler Saw - Vaudeville Theatre