Books about Books and never ending reading lists

 

Down the rabbit hole thanks to Norfolk Library and Information Service

I’ve become very meta at present and many of the books I’ve been reading have been about reading or books. I think that perhaps my (not so) inner bookworm is out of control…

First up was Reading the World by Ann Morgan. This book charts her experiences of spending a year, 2012, in trying to read a book from every country.

This wasn’t as easy as you’d think as there’s a lot of dispute about who does appear on such a list – as Morgan found this is an incredibly fraught issue with many possible answers.

Her next issue was finding books that she could physically read – not very much literature gets translated into English in the grand scheme of things.

Then there was the issue of  finding the books (not every nation has a proud written word culture) and then getting them to England for reading.

The book wasn’t so much about the books read for the project as the process around it, however all of Morgan’s reviews are still available on her blog – along with lists of other books that could have been chosen but weren’t.

 

Next was Stig Abell’s Things I learned on the 6.28: a guide to reading. In 2019 Abell decided to focus the reading he undertook on his morning commute in an attempt to expand his reading, and looks at genres in more detail. Each month had a different theme such as Poetry, Shakespeare, American Fiction, and then Abell mixes his thoughts on the books with his daily diary and his research in to the author/genre.

As the world changed so much in 2020 this book felt a little bit like a historical document as I read it but dipping in and out reading a month at a time I found I really enjoyed this book, and like the best books about books I have added a fair few new titles to my “I’ll read these one day” list.

 

The final book in this genre for now is Tom Mole’s The Secret Life of Books: why they mean more than words. Unlike the other two books this isn’t about specific titles but is all about what the book as a physical object means to a person.

The 8 chapters take themes like Book/Life or Book/Self and then explore what the book brings to each of these areas, a lot of what Mole says resonates with my thinking on the topic – especially in light of reading Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own last year. Spread through the book are also some works of art that feature books and Mole explores what the books have to say about the paintings which is fascinating and a topic I’d like to read more about!

 

Three very different books and ones that have made me think a lot about my own reading. I love translated fiction and so will definitely be using Morgan’s books to learn more about literature from other countries, and Abell’s focused reading was inspiring.

However I can’t see myself dedicating my reading time to such specific (and limiting) projects. I look at my ‘to read’ pile and think that I should read all of that before anything new comes along. I am trying to read more from it but I’d hate not being able to read something new and exciting that came my way, and it would stop me from taking part in some of the exciting projects that do cross my path.

Reading is a pleasure and I want to keep it that way, several times while reading Morgan and Abell I got the feeling that their projects had become a chore. I want books and reading to stay as personal and pleasurable as possible – for as Mole says, the book really is a wonderful item.

Busy month and book guilt

 

Tsundoku

While the first relaxation of this lockdown's rules hasn't impacted on us much (we live too far from family to be able to meet up for an al fresco lunch) we have definitely been enjoying travelling a little further from home for our walks.

The upside to this is that we are spending more time outdoors than we were, and as the days get longer and the temperatures are in theory getting warmer (as I type this I can hear the sleet/hail hitting the window) I am spending less time curled up with a book. Right now this trade off is fine with me - it has felt a long dark winter and no longer having to travel by book is pleasing.

I have still been reading, and since finishing my World Book Night challenge I have spent some time catching up on some of the advance reading copies supplied by Net Galley - look out for reviews and thoughts on these as it gets closer to their publication dates, I've read through some of the library reservations that have come in for me, and I've also been reading for another of my projects.

The one pile of books I've been neglecting however is the stack of physical books that I've bought or been sent (by friends and publishers) over the past few months and I think that the time has come to set some discipline in my reading - for every advance copy pr ebook I read I should read one from the physical stack of books. 

I think that this challenge might be harder than any I've set before - but if I don't start making in roads into these physical piles there is a huge danger that one of them will fall over and crush me! I know that sounds a little like hyperbole but I was good recently and sorted all my books - the ones I've read are on shelves and the unread ones are in boxes/piles all over the house (and yes this is so Mr Norfolkbookworm doesn't work out just how many there are!) 

I justify these quantities by saying that I've been supporting independent publishers and bookshops but the truth is I have very little self control when it comes to books and the pleasure of a new book is one I cannot resist. Some people have taken up sensible projects during the pandemic - I've just grown stacks of books...

In my defence there is some evidence that I can show restraint. I use an app to list the books I hear or read about and want to read. Currently there are 312 books on that list and (only) 25 are marked as 'owned but not read' the trouble is every time I open a paper, magazine or Twitter I see more I want to read.

Now of course I will go an prevaricate over these piles of books and try to pick one to read, I am wondering about either getting Mr Norfolkbookworm to pick one for me or perhaps lining them all up with their spines hidden and picking one at random - who am I kidding first I need to look through the review sections in the papers to see what is published this week...

My name is Sarah and I suffer from tsundoku

Reading Break

Both the Kentishbookboy and I have lost our reading mojo a little bit right now - partly because of the Coronavirus changing so much of daily life and partly because in May the weather was sooooo glorious we spent as mush time out doors as possible.

In fact in May I only read 7 books which is the lowest figure in years (the months following my SAH not included).

June has started in a better fashion for me, partly because the weather has changed I think but hopefully we'll have more book chat to share soon!

Reading Challenge Updates

Personal Reading Challenges.

As was proved in 2017 I really suck at reading challenges, even ones I set myself for fun!

This year I am trying to do a little better. My job has changed somewhat and for the first time in 21 years I am not working directly with books, authors and readers.
As I've survived a brain hemorrhage and regained the ability to read it feels very important to not lose my book world knowledge or my love of books.

I belong to an online book discussion group linked to Norfolk's libraries and for this we created two challenges for 2018.

One is a simple monthly challenge:

And so far I have managed to complete the first quarter's challenges

• In January I read Flat Share by Beth O'Leary
• In February I started If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura, a book I only bought because I fell in love with the cover! (I didn't actually finish this one in Feb but I'm counting it as a challenge sucess!)
• In March my reservations for Two Weeks in Florence and Yesterday Morning by Diana Athill arrived and I enjoyed both of these short books, one a diary of a holiday to Italy and the other a memoir of a Norfolk Childhood.

We also launched a bingo style challenge to inspire reading:

Without even realising it I have actually 'ticked' many of the boxes here as many of my reads do tick more than one box!

• Is a story about a real character - Becoming Mrs Lewis
• A debut novel - The Flat Share
• A number in the title - Vintage 1954
• Set during war time - Island Song
• A non fiction book - The Cut Out Girl
• Award Winning - The Cut Out Girl
• A book from my wishlist - Chasing the Sun
• An item from a library that is new to me - Beauchamp Hall
• Read a children's book/watch a children't film - The Lego Movie 2
• Read a book set in Norfolk - Beauchamp Hall
• Read a book in translation - Vintage 1954

If I do complete this one, I might go back and try to get a unique item for each prompt.

Just this week one of my closet friends shared the reading challenge that she has developed as part of her job and I am tempted to start that one too.

I think that I like these challenges so much because I don't have to read anything set but can retrofit my choices!

Remembrance musings

What with our recent trip to Belgium, my work over the last 4 years on the Norfolkinworldwar1 website and the recent poppy project along with reading a lot of books connected to WW1 you could say I've been pretty immersed in the whole conflict for quite sometime.

I've enjoyed it a lot (enjoyed the research and learning, obviously not the horror of war) and this past November with the commemorations of Armistice100 a few thoughts have been swirling in my mind. In no particular order, and with no answers they include...

There has been, rightly, a lot of focus on the horrors and losses of war - but these have not focused much on those who came back injured either physically or mentally.

• I wonder if this is because when the men returned they didn't (or couldn't) talk about their experiences? We don't have their stories but the people who lost family members wanted to keep their stories alive and so we 'know' more about them... 
• This also ties in with family history research - records are sealed for around 100 years in a lot of cases and so only the bare bones of survivor stories can be researched, where as there are often many more records available for the dead...
• The increase in ease of completing family history research thanks to the internet could also be a factor in this, along with the ease of visiting many of the WW1 locations...
• There is also the point that we have very few, if any, survivors from the period to talk to - even our centenarians were born as the war drew to a close and so have very few memories of the period. They also grew up in a time where feelings were more repressed and so didn't ask/find out the thoughts, feelings and experiences of their parents...

My other concern has been regarding veterans from conflicts that came after WW1.  2019 will mark the 80th anniversary of the start of  WW2 and have we lost the chance to record the stories of those who fought/survived that war too as we concentrated so hard on WW1 for the past 4 years or so. I've also been surprised/annoyed by television programmes talking about the work of the Commonwealth War Graves (among other military issues) that just haven't even mentioned that the CWGC looks after graves from wars other than the Great War...

I don't have any answers to these thoughts and I am well aware that with my projects I have added to this agenda, but I hope that we have (for the most part) tried to work through the myths of the war and to tell new stories. I know that should I get to work on any similar commemoration projects for WW2 that I will certainly be paying more attention to the survivor stories.

Many of these musings have been brought into focus as I read through Neil Oliver's Not Forgotten: The Great War and our modern memory -  a book that I've been dipping into over the past month and whole heartedly recommend, and that I'm pleased to report echoes some of my thoughts even if it couldn't solve my dilemmas either.

The Grumpy Norfolkbookworm

A week which has left the Norfolkbookworm grumpy and bewildered.

I think that regular readers of this blog (waves at all three of you!) know that I love books from all genres and that as long as people read I have no snobbery as to what it is being read, however this past week has really challenged me three times.

Irritation number one – poorly edited books

This week I have picked up two new space books from the library with a view to buying them for my nephew later. However both of them have had major errors within the first 60 pages making me doubt the content of the rest of the book.

The first book (Apollo by Zack Scott) lists the wrong Apollo astronaut as part of a mission.

The second book (Beyond the Sky by Dara O’Briain) describes in really easy to understand terms how a solar eclipse occurs but then in big, bold, fancy text calls it a lunar eclipse. #facepalm

To be fair the publishers of Apollo have come back to me an apologised and assured me that this will be corrected in subsequent reprints and Dara O'Briain has tweeted me to say that he'll get his book corrected in reprints too.

Irritation number two – World Book Day 2018

The titles that children can swap their £1 vouchers for next March were announced this week and at first I was really pleased as there are 10 titles to pick from this time – surely this will mean there is something for everyone…

However of these 10 books

·         4 are by celebrities who are supposedly writing these books themselves

·         1 book is all about the Avengers and so not necessarily by any particular author

·         2 books feature well established characters (Paddington and the Mr Men)

This leaves just three books by ‘real’ authors.  Now I know that any book in the hands of a child is better than no book *but* why aren’t publishers using this opportunity to promote new authors to readers?  There are hundreds of great authors out there who go undiscovered because all of the press coverage goes to celebrity writers – why not use this promotion to widen reader experience rather than celebrity profile?

Before people call me out on this I’m not particularly questioning the quality of the books or the promotion as a whole. Free books give people the chance to try something new and I think a big opportunity is being missed here. Infrequent book buyers recognise celebrity names and brands and are more likely to buy these familiar books whereas they are less likely to try unknown authors and potentially ‘waste’ their money – WBD gives people the chance to try new things without spending anything…

Irritation number three – book reviews in the press

We’ve recently started buying a Saturday paper on a regular basis and I am enjoying the review section a lot as a rule. However this week I was just left fuming.

In the book section this week 20 books were reviewed. Of these just two were written by women and even these didn’t get full reviews, just short paragraphs.  A further two books were featured in more chatty articles – these were also by men. One book was about a woman but this too was written (and reviewed) by a man.  Three of the reviewers were female which is slightly better…

My rant on Twitter lead to some interesting chat with other readers, one said that she wasn’t bothered by the gender of the writer just the quality of the book which was a fair point but it goes back to my thoughts on World Book Day – if books/authors  don’t get the coverage how do casual readers (who don’t go in bookshops and libraries to browse) find them?

I confess that I was tired and grumpy as I read the paper yesterday and so to be fair I dug through the recycling to find last week’s paper to do the same counting exercise…

21 books were reviewed last week and 8 of these books were by women. There were also another four featured authors – 2 of whom were female. 

It is possible that I just overreacted this week but I will be watching this closely – and don’t get me started on the lack of children’s books or those in translation…

Talking Books Four: Reading Allowed

Reading Allowed: True Stories & Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling.

This book should be given to everyone who wants to work in a library, or thinks that we just get to sit around reading all day once we have the coveted job!

Paling's accounts of his life in a public library were like he'd just popped into our staff room and written down many of the conversations we have.  It was bittersweet to know that what we experience daily is the same as in other libraries!

People who like fly on the wall television, and blog-to-book style writing will probably enjoy this as well as anyone working in a library - but it will shatter a lot of people's ideas of what a modern library is.

The most important message I took from this book, and my day to day job, is that libraries are vital. They are still the heart of a community - just not in the way they once were. Please fight to keep your local library open - sign petitions, demonstrate etc. but most of all use it.  Where else can you get a dozen or more books for free as often as you like?

The irony of my book review blog

I am well aware of the irony of this blog being called Norfolkbookworm when I spend much more time talking about the theatre.

One of my unofficial resolutions for this year was to write more about books and I think that to do this I am going to try and do a monthly round up of what I've read as well as talking about outstanding books as I come across them.

Watch this space as they say....

Geek counting

Number crunching the books.

A near disaster with a glass of water and 11 years of  reading diaries saw me decide to type up all the books I've listed in various diaries and journals over the past decade.

It has (unsurprisingly) taken me quite a while to get through the various notebooks and diaries, and while I don't have the stereotypical doctor handwriting sometimes deciphering my notes was interesting.  I'm also pretty sure that I've lost a couple of months from 2009 - I can't believe that I only read 8 books in three months even with a trip to Canada and a new job.

The stats from January 2005 to December 2015 are now crunched and even I was quite surprised to discover that in ten years I'd noted 2973 books.

It is very clear that when I still worked in book retail I read a lot more, however I was a children's specialist and for several years part of the team responsible for selecting the 5-8 book of the month meaning that every month I read an awful lot of shorter reads. At some point in my record keeping I decided not to note down what are commonly known as 'picture books' - everything has 48 pages or more.

Since starting work in the library I can see that I read a lot more non fiction and that I take a lot more gambles on my reading, there is no pattern at all to what I read - I really will try anything.

One thing that also came through from my notes is just how often I re-read a few authors, a couple of these are typical mid-twentieth century school/family story authors and the third is a contemporary, feminist, fantasy author.  On average I read many of the books by these authors once a year.
I was a little surprised that books I consider favourites, such as Little Women, don't feature highly on my rereads list but other books by Alcott, such as Eight Cousins, reoccur much more often.

Some books that I felt sure would appear on this list aren't there and I wonder if it is because I read them before 2005 or if I just didn't note them which is possible, until I found the right journal:

This lets me list the author, title, date read and gives me a line for notes about the book and the layout lets me note my reading for two years in each volume.*

What I found interesting reading back through all of the lists was just how many of these books I could actually remember in some detail. A few I hadn't listed the author but as soon as I popped the books in to a search engine it all came flooding back, looking at the dates I read some books also stirred memories, some good and some less good. Looking at some titles I am instantly transported back to where I read them - Greek beaches, slow trains, plane journeys the lot.

Right all of this typing has eaten into my reading time and as today has been designated #readabookday I'd better get on with it.

*On looking for a picture of my preferred reading diary I've discovered it is now out of print so I am off to bulk order the ones left in stock.

Shelf-Help

My friend the Upstartwren has got me thinking again as she blogged recently about books and mental health. I found myself nodding along to a lot of the points that she made, especially about self-help books being big business. From my former life in retail I can say that it isn’t just mental health that is big business however – it is all forms of health and diet.  All you have to do is look in a book shop each and every January with the plethora of “New Year, New You” displays.

Mindfulness is the buzz word at the moment, along with colouring for grownups.  I can’t really comment on either of these as I’ve not tried them therapeutically, I will confess to being quite happy siting down and stealing borrowing my nephew’s colouring pens!

I very much like the idea of the teen “Shelf-Help” promotion that I think the Upstartwren was referring to.  My first port of call for information about anything is generally a book, and I like the mix of fiction and non-fiction books that are recommended for all manner of issues that might be bothering a person – and I don’t think that this list should be limited to just young people, the titles are relevant for all ages. 

I do hope that the books are discretely marked rather than in-your-face-front-and-centre. If you are feeling delicate in anyway then announcing this as you browse the books might not be ideal.

(The library where I work has had the adult books on prescription scheme running for a while and with these people can come in and ask for the book or just come across them on the shelf, they also have a longer loan period than other books.)

Think about these promotions then lead me, like the Upstartwren, to think about how I use books as a form of personal self-help…

When I feel poorly I tend to turn to books I know well, old friends, they are often books from the Girls Own genre published before 1960, they are very much of their time, and pure escapism but I find them comforting.

When I am on holiday, and relaxed, I am far more experimental with my reading. I’ll try lots of new things, and from all sorts of genres.

However there are books that I know however many times I read them they will make me cry and there are always times when this is cathartic. There are other books that will cheer me up regardless of how many times I read them. Unlike the Upstartwren I haven’t yet found a poetry book that has spoken to me on the same level as prose.

However the main way that I use books as self-help is by always having one to hand.

The times I am most miserable are when I am trapped with nothing to read. The worst punishment as a child was not being sent to my room but having to sit in a quiet room with all my books taken away from me. Without a book to read I become quite twitchy:  when we travel I always have an eBook, a physical book, and eBook apps on my phone/iPod to hand. Anyone who travels with me trembles when I announce I’ve finished my book.

Hmm reading this, and looking at self-help books, I think I diagnose myself as an addict – I’ll just go and find a book to help me!

I didn’t mean to end this on a flippant note, I know I am very lucky that I haven’t needed any of the books prescribed for anything more than curiosity but knowing that should I need them there are titles out there is very comforting to me.

Random thoughts about books and authors

A lot of tweets in my time line have been about sexism lately, and not just from the @EverydaySexism feed.  Fuel was added to the fire this week when Sir Tim Hunt, a Nobel Prize winning scientist, called for segregated laboratories as women were just too distracting to work with, and cried too much.  I may have oversimplified his points here but like a lot of people he made me very cross.  The comeback on Twitter were great with people (men and women) posting photos of themselves at work in the scientific world with the tag #DistractinglySexy.

I am lucky in the way that I have never felt discriminated against for being female but I have regularly experienced sexism, probably from people who are unaware their behaviour can be thought of as such.  For example I am a keen photographer and I am looking to buy some new equipment in the next year or so.  Mr Norfolkbookworm and I went to a camera shop and although it was me with the good camera around my neck, trying new models and asking questions the salesman repeatedly spoke only to M and handed him all the cameras to try.  Little things like that happen far too often.

However I am not sure how I feel about one response to this from the book world.  Recently an author I admire made the 'provocation' that 2018 should be a year when only women writers are published.  This is in response to another study that has shown that books about women are less likely to win book prizes.

I am what you could call a prolific reader, from my journal I can see that so far this year I have read 81 books.

46 of these have been by male authors.  Now as I am studying Shakespeare and other dramatists from the late 16th Century I thought I'd take these out of the totals...

Thus so far this year I have read 68 books, of which 33 have been by men.

And if I am honest I am quite happy with that.  I read a book because it appeals to me not because of the gender of the author.  In fact due to another project that I'll talk about later in the year a further twelve books I've read this year have been selected for me and I've had no say on the gender of the author and again this has had no bearing on my views of the books.

To me a book is either good or it isn't and that has nothing to do with the author's gender, it is about the subject.  I like historical fiction, 16th century plays, and Greek and Roman classics - these are traditionally by men and about men and I know my life would be poorer.

I think that as women we do need to pull down barriers and make sure that sexism is relegated to a thing of the past but I am not sure that publishing female authors only is the way forward. I'm still thinking about this a lot and these are just two of the thoughts going around in my mind...

The book trade has always seemed a heavily female dominated industry to me and yet the books are about men...

Are there more books about/by men because as a rule women read more and will read widely where as men need encouraging to read....

For those interested my book stats at the nearly half way point in the year are:

• 81 books read
• 46 by male authors
• 33 non fiction books
• 15 plays
• 11 books in translation

many thanks to my friend Sam @samruddock who blogs here for really making me think about this with a random tweet about his reading habits.

Book A Day August

Another part of the book world picked up the #bookadayUK baton in August and as anything that makes you think about, or talk about, books is good and so I continued to think about the 31 questions, and when possible to take part in the Twitter conversations.

This month's questions or prompts were given by the Siobhan Dowd Trust.

1st - To start, most arresting opening line?

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" always makes me smile, from I Capture the Castle.

2nd - Best pairing of words and pictures?

I adore Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, simple words that the pictures add so much detail too.

3rd - Favourite collection of short stories?

Has to be those from Katherine Mansfield or Mollie Panter Downes both published by Persephone books.

4th - Best graphic novel?

I've only read a couple so for now has to be Maus but any recommendations are gratefully received.

5th - Classic hero/ine or antihero/ine?

I do like Henry V as portrayed by Shakespeare and Margaret of Anjou as written by Conn Iggulden is a strong character. Being more 'traditional' then m favourite antihero is Captain Hook.

6th - Best for a bedtime story?

I have very fond memories of the Chronicles of Narnia being read to me over time as bedtime stories.

7th - Enjoyed by several generations?

My mum and nan enjoyed Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson as much as I did.

8th - Never fails to cheer me up?

I love Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Anne Stafford

9th - Most powerful storytelling?

I think that my vote on this one goes to Louis de Bernieres for Birds Without Wings

10th - Best written bestseller?

Depends on your definition of best seller I guess but I think my choice of a recent book is The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid.

11th - Ideal for a book group?

I really enjoyed the discussions my book group had when we looked at All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

12th - Most practical book?

Has to be the book How to Boil an Egg that my nan gave me when I left home totally unable to cook for myself.

13th - Favourite controversial read?

I'm taking controversial to mean most challenged/banned and picking To Kill a Mockingbird. 

14th - Best quick read?

I'm a fast reader so not many books take that long to read for me but I do re-read Tamora Pierce's Tortall books a lot and race through them as they are old friends.

15th - Best looooooooooooooooooong read?

Once more this has to be Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres.

16th - This book defends the undefended?

Not quite sure that I fully understand this prompt but Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie certainly talked a lot about an important genocide that has swiftly been forgotten.

17th - Most beautifully designed book?

All of those published by Persephone Books and Pierene Press are works of art.

18th - I read it to impress (& did it work?)

I've always been a stubborn reader who only reads what she wants, I'll take recommendations but I don't read to impress.

19th - Best young adult book?

Recently published has to be The Fault in Our Stars by John Green but my favourite teen books of all time are those by Tamora Pierce.

20th - The sequel was better than the first?

I think that the Harry Potter books improved as the series went on.

21st - Helps to tackle a difficult subject?

This can be any book really as we all find different things difficult, anything that pushes boundaries and raises questions is good.

22nd - 19th Century characters - lets play shag/marry/kill...

Now a confession - I don't think I've read enough books from this era to pick!

23rd - Best picture book for older readers?

The Sad Book by Michael Rosen.

24th - Who's life: best biography or autobiography?

The best one I've read is Carrying the Fire by Apollo astronaut Mike Collins - his story of being the 3rd man on Apollo 11 and the man who didn't walk on the moon.

25th - Recommended for a Bank Holiday?

A Fortnight in September by R C Sherriff, a wonderful book about the end of summer where nothing much happens but the story remains tense.

26th - A book worth persevering with?

Life is too short to keep going with books that you aren't enjoying but I did love Anna Karenina on the 3rd attempt.

27th - Classic book most relevant to now?

I think many of the books about wars through the ages that stress the waste of life and futility strike home the most right now.

28th - Most timeless modern book?

Another one that is hard to predict but I do keep returning to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

29th - Was totally worth the hype?

I think this goes to Harry Potter as they are good stories and have inspired so many readers.

30th - Best back to school book?

For the first day at school I heartily recommend Chu's First Day of School by Neil Gaiman as Chu is such a wonderful character.

31st - Top book of the month?

Of the books I've picked for August's #bookadayUK my favourites have to be the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce, great fantasy novels and real comfort reads.

Book a Day July

As promised/threatened last month I've once more summed up all of my answers to the #BookadayUK questions for July into one place.  Some of the questions are a bit similar to those in June but I did manage to respond to a few tweets on the day this month!

1st - A book that made you laugh out loud

The Suicide Shop by Jean Tuele, trans. Sue Dyson.  Deliciously black comedy, I found it a mix of The Addams Family and Pixar's Ratatouille.

2nd - Favourite SF/Fantasy novel for world UFO day

Easier to pick authors than specific books as so many are series rather than stand-alone novels but John Wyndham is a real favourite.

3rd - Favourite novel in translation

Either The President's Hat trans. by a team at Gallic Books or All Quiet on the Western Front (new trans. by Murdoch).

4th - All time favourite American novel for 4th July Independence Day

Children's book has to be Little Women but Stoner by John Williams is one I've recommended a lot.

5th - Most delicious novel about food

I really liked Baking Cakes in Kigali and also Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe but I'm not sure I'd try the barbecue.

6th - Which book you will put down to watch the Wimbledon final

For the first time in a long time I actually stopped reading to watch the sport, I usually multitask, but I was reading Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles (again).

7th - Most chocolatey novel - it's National Chocolate Day

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without a doubt.

8th - Favourite Great War novel

Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is probably my favourite novel set in WW1 but my favourite book about the war is Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth.

9th - Most irritating character in a novel

Pollyana.  The idea of turning a positive to a negative is fine once in a while but for two novels and countless spin-offs it is just too much.

10th - Novel with the most memorable picnic for Teddy Bear Picnic Day

Any of the ones that happen in Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books.

11th - The book that made you cry

Many books can make me cry but John Green's The Fault in Our Stars left me a wreck for ages.

12th - Novel that best conjured a place for you

This would be Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mystery series, by the time I got to Rome I felt I knew the place and on visiting Ostia I felt I'd stepped back in time.

13th - Best title for a novel

Which ever one has just caught my eye and made me pick it over everything else I've got in a to read pile.

14th - For Bastille Day, your favourite novel about or set in France

No surprises here as I pick The President's Hat.

15th - Last book that you bought

On the day here it was the wonderful biography of the first American female in space - Sally Ride - as recommended by the team who run Space Lectures and the events in Pontefract with the astronauts.

16th - Favourite book to take to the beach

Cheating here as I have to pick my Kindle as it gives me access to 100s of books to suit whatever mood I'm in.

17th - Novel which surprised you the most

Probably On the Beach by Neville Shute as it was the first truly bleak book I ever read and I was surprised that books didn't have to have a positive ending. I was only about 12 at the time.

18th - Favourite crime novel of all time - it's the Harrogate Crime Festival

Not a favourite genre at all but I do like the Greek Detective books by Anne Zouroudi.

19th - Most memorable plot twist

We Need to Talk About Kevin. I really didn't expect how that concluded. Really powerful writing.

20th - Your desert island novel

Again I'll have to cheat and pick either my Kindle as the thought of being without a book is the scariest thing ever.

21st - The novel you expected to hate, but turned out you loved

I wasn't expecting to like Longbourn as I've not read Pride and Prejudice but it was a real surprise and favourite from 2013.

22nd - The novel you most like to give to friends

I'm always a bit worried that people won't like books I love so I tend to give book tokens!

23rd - Favourite novel with an exotic background

Twisting this to be favourite exotic background and saying anything set in Greece as they either bring back memories or inspire travel!

24th - A book that reminds you of your English teacher

My Family and Other Animals. Durrell was recommended to me by a teacher when I had no clue what to read next.

25th - Book that is your guilty pleasure

The one I'm reading when I should be doing anything else.

26th - The novel you wish you'd written

I'm a reader not a writer so it really could be any book ever written but I think that if pressed I'd pick Matilda by Roald Dahl

27th - For National Parent's Day - the best or worst parents in fiction

Predictable but Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is awesome.

28th - Favourite animal character

I think this one goes to Badger in Wind in the Willows - antisocial and grumpy but a really good friend when in need! Although Tigger will always be my true favourite character.

29th - Favourite likeable villain

Influenced by the film Hook I've always had a soft spot for Captain Hook from Peter Pan.

30th - The book that you'd like to read thanks to recommendations on the #bookadayuk thread?

I've been reminded of so many books in the past few months but I think that it is time to re-read the Swallows and Amazons series and to try The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.

31st - The book that reminds you of someone special

Two here - Heidi and Black Beauty as my parents recommended these two to me and I still have their childhood copies of the books.

Book Butterfly

I have a terrible confession.

Just lately I've had terrible trouble finishing a book.
I've started loads and they've generally been really good but  lots of great books have just been added to Net Galley and I've been approved to read them, plus proof copies from Bookbridgr and other sources have been dropping through the door.
This means that however good the book I was reading was I've dropped it in favour of the new.

My to-be-read pile is enormous again and all of the books look appealing and many need reviewing but thanks to Twitter I've just discovered that there are two new astronaut biographies out and we all know that I am a sucker for them...

It is probably a good thing that I am on summer break from uni at the moment and so do actually have time to read without causing the MA to suffer but I really need to settle down to a book and read it from cover to cover. And then review it!

Book-A-Day June

In June, while I was away, I started noticing lots of tweets going around all tagged #BookadayUK.

When we got home, and I'd recovered from the jet lag I looked into this and discovered it was an initiative from Borough Press to get people talking about books on Twitter.  Each day a question about books was given and people from all over the world answered.

I didn't take part as by the time I found out about it the month was more than half gone, but since then I've been thinking about it and decided that all in one go I'd answer the questions.

1st - Favourite book from childhood? 

Has to be Little Women, I still reread it at least once a year and the sequel Good Wives can still make me cry.

2nd - Best Bargain? 

This would be when I found a hardback copy of Two Sams at the Chalet School in pristine condition for just £5, copies are on sale currently for £250!!

3rd - One with a blue cover? 

Captain Corelli's Mandolin. The cover is mostly blue and the book wonderful, just don't expect the film to be faithful to the book.

4th - Least favourite book by a favourite author? 

The Wildflower Path by Sarah Harrison. I loved the detail of Flowers of the Field and A Flower That's Free but this one was slight and just a re-write of the first two books. Long awaited but disappointing.

5th - Doesn't belong to me? 

A huge pile of library books, my library card is often maxed out.

6th - The one I always give as a gift?  

A bit of a cheat but I generally give book tokens so that people can pick their own. 

7th - Forgot I owned it? 

Any number of titles as my shelves are all double stacked. I have got 3 copies of Regeneration by Pat Barker so I do keep forgetting I own this.

8th - Have more than one copy? 

Does it count having a paper copy and an eBook version...

9th - Film or TV tie in? 

My copy of Chocolat is the film version, and possibly also one that I prefer the film to the book.

10th - Reminds me of someone I love? 

This would be any of the space history books around the house as I'd never have become so interested in this topic without Mr Norfolkbookworm.

11th - Secondhand bookshop gem? 

About 70% of my books are secondhand but I think it has to be the aforementioned Two Sams at the Chalet School.

12th - I pretend to have read it?

 I'm not too embarrassed about admitting to have not read things but I've never read 1984.

13th - Makes me laugh? 

I find the most inappropriate things funny but Bill Bryson's books about America always raise a smile, his ones about Europe and Australia are a bit xenophobic but I love the US ones.

14th - An old favourite? 

I'll often re-read the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce, I think I must nearly know some of them by heart now.

15th - Favourite fictional father? 

Struggling with this as so many books I like need an absence of parents for the plot. Probably the Swallow's father from Ransome's Swallows and Amazons.

16th - Can't believe more people haven't read? 

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres. A real epic in the Homeric style which I think puts people off but a real sweeping story about Greece, Turkey and World War One.

17th - Future classic? 

Too hard to predict but I do think that the Harry Potter books will survive in the way that Hobbit / Lord of the Rings have done.

18th - Bought on a recommendation? 

Numerous books, last one was probably Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore which I adored.

19th - Still can't stop talking about it? 

The President's Hat, great fun all the way through and one that I seem to recommend and defend in equal measures.

20th - Favourite cover? 

Probably the grey covers from Persephone books as they are just beautiful but don't influence your thoughts of the books as they give nothing away.

21st - Summer read? 

Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Set in snowy Alaska and a real escapist read in a humid, sticky English heat.

22nd - Out of print?  

At least 50% of my books fall into this category and thanks to specialist publishers more are coming back into print. I'll pick many of the Mary Renault books but they are being reprinted in August so they only just count!

23rd - Made to read at school? 

There weren't too many of these but I still don't know the ending to Stig of the Dump as we didn't get to the end of it when I was in the 2nd year of primary school.

24th - Hooked me into reading? 

I can't remember a time when I couldn't read but early favourites were the Garden Gang series of books.

25th - Never finished it? 

Watership Down, tried so many times but the warning given by a teacher that it was a "bit hard" when I was about 7 and it keeps stalling me.

26th - Should have sold more copies? 

The President's Hat. It is very funny but I think that being in translation put many people off.

27th - Want to be one of the characters? 

Generally the book I am currently reading if I am enjoying it.

28th - Bought at my favourite independent bookshop? 

I love all bookshops equally so can't pick a favourite.

29th - The one I've reread the most often? 

Probably Little Women but the Tamora Pierce books are a close second.

30th - Would save if my house burned down? 

I think that eventually most of my books could be replaced but my signed astronaut biographies would be the irreplaceable ones and so the ones I'd save.

The publishers Doubleday have taken up the baton and the same thing is happening through July and again I keep missing these so will do a round up again in August. If you are on Twitter then do check the hashtag as I am creating huge long list of recommendations!

Books by post

Lots of the books I've been reading and enjoying lately have come from very small, independent publishing houses and a lot of them have also been books in translation.

While the books can be found in mainstream book shops and of course in the library I decided that I wanted to support these publishers in a more direct way than just reading the odd book.

Both And Other Stories and Peirene Press run a subscription model.  Like a magazine you subscribe to them and every time they publish a book it is sent to you - generally slightly in advance of the book being available on the general shelves.

Both publishers have produced books that I've enjoyed a great deal, and even when not quite my cup of tea the books have been thought provoking. I don't subscribe to any magazines and so unable to decide which publisher to support I threw caution to the wind and joined both schemes.

I've had at least one book from each scheme now and it is a great feeling knowing that quality books are going to be delivered regularly to me and a little bit before many readers will discover these titles.

The books from Peirene also have the advantage that they are all novellas so this means that as I have less time in the autumn thanks to returning to study I won't have to feel guilty for reading new books rather than the set texts!

Vive La France

An Englishman Aboard - Charles Timoney
Road to Rouen - Ben Hatch

Travel writing can be very good and sometimes it can be self indulgent rubbish, in the past 10 days two titles about France have come my way - one from the library and one through a competition on Twitter.

Although I am only a little way into Road to Rouen so far both books are fun, enjoyable reads although very different. Both have made me want to visit France and to get off the beaten track once there...

Charles Timoney built a row boat to the amusement of his French friends who at a New Year party challenge him to circumnavigate the length of the Seine.  He quickly realises that it won't be possible to do this in his rowboat and so we are spared long passages of him complaining about blisters and backache but rather have anecdotes on towns and villages near to the river, food and drink reviews of the areas travelled through and a few expeditions on the river in various crafts.  Towards the end I got the feeling that he remembered that this was supposed to be about a boat on the river and not about all the other things and, for me, it petered out a little but on the whole it was a fun read.

Ben Hatch on the other hand is travelling around France with his family and on a mission to write a travel guide.  He is trying hard to find things to review but travelling with young children isn't making this as easy as he'd hoped BUT is very entertaining to read from my (childfree) point of view.

I feel that parents will be nodding along and sympathising with Ben Hatch but I'm afraid I am just enjoying knowing that when we travel it can be spontaneous and that as long as Mr Norfolkbookworm and I have plenty to read and access to nice food we are easily amused.

A few other books have come in to the library for me that I can only borrow for a couple of weeks as there are long reservation lists on them so I shall only be dipping into Road to Rouen for the next few weeks but I know that I'll be looking forward to those moments!

Tea for four...

Bucket lists were all the rage a little while back and while my mum, aunt and I don't exactly have a full bucket list we've decided to do the things we want rather than keep putting them off.  As another relative said to me - you don't regret the things you've done, only the things you don't do...

With all of this in mind the three of us and a friend met in London on Thursday last week with the sole intention of being entirely ridiculous and having champagne afternoon tea at the Savoy Hotel.  To mark the importance of the occasion I even wore a dress!

From the instant we stepped from the Strand into the side street that the Savoy occupies we felt special, not at all out of place or patronised simply special.

We had a large table in the corner of the beautiful art deco Thames Foyer and two very attentive and knowledgeable staff looking after us.
The food was delicious - sandwiches that were nothing like I put in our lunchboxes on a daily basis, light scones, jam, cream and lemon curd.  There were two champagnes to chose from and 32 teas...

Trays of petits fours were offered, tea cups refilled and tea pots replaced with fresh.  The only slight disappointment was the cakes offered at the very end weren't quite as nice as the petits fours. Should we go again (or if any of my readers go) we'd pass on the last course and ask for more of the petits fours!

The live piano music was of a very high standard, if a little loud at times, and the service what you'd expect.  The best bit for me (apart from the food and company)? Even at the Savoy they can't get teapots that don't drip.

To bring the blog back around to it's origins again one of my all time favourite authors, Michael Morpurgo, has set a book at the Savoy making it a top literary destination as well as a foodie one.  Kaspar Prince of Cats is a really sweet tale and well worth searching out!

I'm not sure that I'd go to the Savoy for tea again but it would be very easy to get used to that level of luxury...are you listening Mr Norfolkbookworm?!