Micro Review 31 (Wainwright Prize long list)

 

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape)

NetGalley

I was lucky enough to have the chance to read this back in July 2020 thanks to NetGalley and so I was very pleased to see it on the long list.

Unlike H is for Hawk this wasn't a straight forward narrative, this was a collection of essays, musings, and articles all with nature as a theme.

As is always the case with an essay collection not every one hit the mark for me, but I loved the format - a book to really dip in and out of. Macdonald's writing is very readable and I like her style a lot.

It didn't quite hit the high of H is for Hawk but I am really surprised that it didn't make the Wainwright shortlist. I was amused to see that nature writing is no different to other genres in that books with similar themes come along at the same time - 2021 seems to be the year of the swift!

What I've been reading that's not for World Book Night!

 

The ever expanding 'to read' pile

I seem to be making better use of Lockdown 3 than I did of parts 1 & 2and my reading mojo has come back. It has to be said that the book piles (physical and electronic) are not getting any smaller but I am definitely making dipping in and out of them. I am trying to keep to my resolution of buying books from independent publishers and/or independent bookshops a lot more but even this doesn't seem to be reducing the number of parcels being delivered!

In physical books I've been enjoying reading some of the Persephone Books that I've treated myself to but not got around to reading. They are such beautiful books that I don't ever feel guilty for having shelves of unread titles but it is nice to have put them all in order on the shelves and made a list of the ones I've got.

In ebooks I've been very lucky in the titles that publishers have approved on NetGalley and I'm trying to read a book that's been on my shelf for a while for every new book that I'm approved for. This isn't going quite so well as I am easily distracted by the shiny new titles.

Some that I've enjoyed so far this year (and will review some closer to their publication dates) include

• The Swallows' Summer by Hilary McKay (a brilliant follow up to The Skylarks' War)
• How to be Brave by Daisy May Johnson
• Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien (trans. J Bulloch)
• A Trip of One's Own by Kate Wills (unintentionally I started this one straight after reading Woolf's A Room of One's Own!)
• Fifty Words for Snow by Nancy Campbell

While working from home I have become much better at taking a tea break away from my computer during the morning and at these times I'm really enjoying books of essays, short stories, diaries and pieces of nature writing.

At the moment I have A Claxton Diary by Mark Cocker and Susie Dent's Word Perfect to hand and I have just finished One Woman's Year by Stella Martin Currey and I really recommend all of them. Next on that pile is Who Cooked the Last Supper by Rosalind Miles which looks like it will be thought provoking at the least!

 

World Book Night 2021: Book Three

 

Common People ed. Kit de Waal (Unbound)

Borrowed from the library's eBook collection

Another genre of books I've been increasingly keen to see in promotions such as World Book Night / Quick Reads is one that includes anthologies of short stories or essays. A book that you can dip in and out of, a genre that leaves you feeling accomplished as you can read a whole story easily or in limited time.

I enjoyed a lot of the pieces in this book, but like most anthologies not every entry was for more but by the end well over three quarters of the entries appealed which is a pretty good hit rate.

I'm still not 100% sure if the entries are autobiographical, observations or short stories but this didn't matter as they are all well written and 'lived' as I read them. I'm not sure I'd have found this book with out WBN21 and my challenge but I am very glad that I did.

Hopefully on the mend

Unlike the weather here in Norfolk at the moment I am definitely starting to feel better. Reading and computer use still aren't the easiest things sadly but I have managed to read a full novel  which feels a huge leap forward. I can also manage some time on a laptop now.

What has been interesting for me throughout this whole process is that I've not lost the ability to read. After the cerebral hemorrhage and blood clot I just lost the concentration and stamina to manage novels. Not being able to remember what has happened from one chapter to the next has been incredibly frustrating, and even now I am on the mend it is definitely lighter novels that I am managing and enjoying without frustration.

During the past couple of months short stories and essays have been my life line and here's where I want to really praise the eBook catalogue from Norfolk Libraries.  I've been able to try dozens of new things, all for free, and as they are electronic I have been able to change the font size/background colour as needed on a daily basis. 

As for physical books I have become far more aware than ever before about the fonts and sizes chosen by publishers - and so many interesting books have been rejected (for now) just because I physically couldn't read them due to these factors.
The subject of ePublishing hit the news a few weeks ago with this story from a leading publisher, however after all my experiences all I can do is sing their praises, as this rebuttal also did. There is also the weight issue of a physical book compared to an eReader or tablet, especially when you aren't feeling your best.

Here's hoping that the next few weeks will see me almost back to usual and back to full reading strength - my list of books I want to read is now taller than me!

May Reading Round Up

May seems like it has been full of Bailey's Prize books, I may have only had five left to read but I've been writing about them here and on the Norfolk Library book review blog as well as talking about them with others on Twitter and Instagram. However as these books have all been great reads this hasn't been a chore!

In between these books I also finished another 13 books in May and in addition to Stay With Me which I reviewed here there are three more books I want to talk about:

London Under - Peter Ackroyd
This is a simple non fiction book which looks at the history of London under your feet. It covers hidden rivers, sewers and of course the Tube. It was an easy read but one that made London come to life for me, especially after our recent trip to the London Guildhall and the Roman ruins buried under there.

Who Let the Gods Out - Maz Evans

This was a fun book for children taking a currently popular idea of the Greek Gods returning to modern day Earth. This one had a different feel from some of the others although I am hard pressed to explain  how exactly, in many ways the closest comparison to other books Marie Phillips God Behaving Badly - although with content suitable for children! For once I was also really pleased to realise half way through that this was going to be a series. 

The Boy Behind the Curtain - Tim Winton

This is a quirky book, part autobiography, part environmental treatise and part whimsical musing about the state of the world.  I loved every section of it and I really liked the Western Australian setting and the reminder of just how remote this state is to the rest of Australia. I can't remember what made me reserve this book from the library but I am pleased that I did as this was a wonderful read.

I'm now looking forward to seeing what books June bring, the Wainright Prize longlist has just been announced and so I think I might start reading those...