AlisonY - In Search of the Artist's Way in 2025 - Part II

Spring has sprung, so time for a new thread. Here's another lovely linocut from artist Annie Soudain, which I'm currently looking at on the wall as my picture for April on my calendar. It brings me joy every time I look at it.

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Reading progress:

January
1. The Bell by Iris Murdoch - read (4 stars). 1973.
2. Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst - read (4 stars). 2024.

February
3. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - read (3.5 stars). 1926.
4. Went to London, Took the Dog: The Diary of a 60-Year-Old Runaway by Nina Stibbe - read (3.5 stars). 2023.
5. Heartburn by Nora Ephron - read (3.5 stars). 1983.
6. Letters to Camondo by Edmund de Waal read (4.5 stars). 2021.
7. The Man on the Third Floor by Anne Bernays read (3.5 stars). 2012.
8. The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman. read (4 stars). 2018

March
9. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. read (4 stars). 2021
10. The Plague by Albert Camus - read (4 stars). 1947.
11. Beyond the Shallows: Life is Better in the Deep End by Jason Mundley -read 3.5 stars (2025)
12. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer - read (4.5 stars). 2007
13. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein read (3 stars). 1933.

April
14. The Colony by Audrey Magee - read (4.5 stars). 2022
15. Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall - read (4 stars). 2019 (this edition)
16. God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg - read (3 stars). 2005
17. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf - read (3 stars). 1990.
18. Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - read (3.5 stars). 2024.
19. Song of Solomon (abridged) by Toni Morrison - read (4 stars). 1977.

May
20. Edith's Diary by Patricia Highsmith - read (4 stars). 1977.

June
21. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald - read (4 stars). 1978.
22. I'm Not As Well As I Thought I Was by Ruby Wax - read (4 stars). 2023.
23. There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak read (3.5 stars). 2024.
24. When You Need a Miracle: Stories to Give You Faith and Bring You Hope by Ann Spangler - read (3.5 stars). 2009.

July
25. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy - read (4.5 stars). 2013.
26. The Year of the End: A Memoir of Marriage, Truth and Fiction by Anne Theroux - read (4 stars). 2022.
27. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout - read (4 stars). 2023.

August
28. Health Revolution: Finding Happiness and Health Through an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle by Maria Borelius - read (4 stars). 2018.
29. Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Céspedes - read (4 stars). 1952.
30. The Case for Faith Student Edition: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity by Lee Strobel - read (4 stars). 2021.
31. Don't Stop Me Now: 26.2 Tales of a Runner's Obsession by Vassos Alexander - read (3.5 stars). 2016.

September
32. Long Island by Colm Toibin - read (4 stars). 2024
33. The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski - read (4 stars). 2003.
34. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan - read (4 stars). 2023.
35. Orbital by Samantha Harvey - read (3 stars). 2024.

October
36. Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge - read (4 stars). 1935.
37. My Sister and Other Lovers by Esther Freud - read (4 stars). 2025
38. Enemies: A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer - read (4.5 stars). 1966.
39. Musical Tables Poems by Billy Collins - read (3.5 stars).2022
40. Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino. read (3 stars). 2026.

November
41. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter. 2021.
42. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks- read (4 stars). 2010.
43. The Innocent by Ian McEwan - read (3.5 stars). 1990.

December
44. Braver Than You Think: Cycling to Self-Discovery from Land's End to John O'Groats by Claire Davies - read (3.5 stars). 2025.
45. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan - read (3.5 stars). 1981.
46. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna - read (4 stars). 1975.
47. Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament by Michael A. Singer - read (3 stars). 2022.
48. ‘Mum, What’s Wrong with You?’: 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know by Lorraine Candy - read (3 stars). 2021.
49. The Little Book of Miriam by Miriam Gargoyles read (3.5 stars). 2025.
50. The Thing About December by Donal Ryan - read (4.5 stars). 2012.

Non-fiction - 22
Fiction - 27
Poetry - 1
Audiobook - 14

Published year:
2026: 1
2020-2025: 21
2010-2019: 9
2000-2009: 4
1990s - 2
1980s - 2
1970s - 5
1960s - 1
1950s - 1
1940s - 1
1930s - 2
1920s - 1

14. The Colony by Audrey Magee
Audiobook - narrator Stephen Hogan

In my new 2025 foray into audiobooks, this is probably the first title closest to the type of book I like to read in physical form, which I was nervous about for that very reason but happily it worked well. Stephen Hogan was a great narrator for this book - he managed very distinct voices for each of the characters, and managed to do female voices without sounding like a pantomime dame, which was an appreciated bonus.

The Colony is a great mix of well depicted place, good characterisation and a gentle but interesting plot to carry the reader interest along. Mr. Lloyd, an English artist, arrives on a small, remote Irish island at the beginning of the book, interrupting the daily rhythms of the multigenerational family hosting him, along with a French academic who is studying the demise of the Irish language amongst the islanders. Each of the characters, through four generations, is tied in differing ways to the island life, to their heritage, and to the weight of expectation upon them in terms of their position within the family.

Set during the 1970s at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the book intersperses the plot with headlines of real murders from The Troubles during that period, which sets the scene for the underlying resentment between some of the older family members and Mr Lloyd, the Englishman in their midst who is tolerated by the men in the family for the income that he brings but is far from liked. Lloyd's spiky, forthright character doesn't help to build relations, but he does strike up a relationship of sorts with the teenage son of the family, a naturally gifted artist who wants to learn from Lloyd and escape off the island through his artistic ability.

Magee keeps the reader interest up by sowing regular seeds of doubt and tension around how the summer will end and who we can trust amongst the cast of characters.

4.5 stars - an enjoyable, atmospheric read. Recommended.

Happy new thread, Alison!

>4 AlisonY: That one's up toward the top of my pile—if I can keep it straight with another recent download with the same title, The Colony by Annika Norlin. Maybe I'll have to read them both and do a compare-and-contrast.

>5 lisapeet: Oh that is confusing.

>1 AlisonY: Lovely Alison.

>4 AlisonY: I enjoyed this a lot when I read it.

Nice review of The Colony, Alison; I absolutely loved it.

>7 Caroline_McElwee:, >8 kidzdoc: Definitely an enjoyable read. I'll look out for more from Audrey Magee in the future.

15. Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

My copy of this book is 5+ years out of date (updated to 2019), but it still made for an informative and enlightening read.

Covering major geographies such as Russia, Europe, Africa, India, Pakistan, China, South America, USA and the Arctic, Marshall explains why the natural geographies of different countries have so heavily influenced politics in different countries, from hundreds of years ago to present day. In this modern age of global connection through air travel, it's easy to dismiss how much geographical features still continue to largely determine the economic future of many large countries, as well as heavily influencing military strategy. The interior topography of Brazil, for example, one third of the country being rainforest, has long hampered its agricultural growth, with poor soil in cut-down areas of rainforest only sustaining agricultural use for very short periods. In other countries, such as Russia, the geographical concerns are more around containment (or recapturing) areas key for military defence. Africa, historically suffering from both domestic and foreign exploitation through corruption, civil war and colonialism, continues to experience both scrambling within for economic and political dominance, as well as foreign 'meddling' from the likes of China, which has invested billions into African infrastructure in return for access to its precious resources.

Given the precarious position of current relations between many of the world's superpowers, this book gave me a clear and easy to understand background to the strategy behind many of the political moves being made. Given Trump's current moves towards Greenland, Marshall may have to consider rewriting this section about the Arctic in his next update to this book:

However, there are differences between this situation and the 'Scramble for Africa' in the nineteenth century or the machinations of the great powers in the Middle East, India and Afghanistan in the original Great Game. This race has rules, a formula and a forum for decision-making. The Arctic Council is composed of mature countries, most of them democratic to a lesser or larger degree.

4 stars - whilst it made for dense and not particularly relaxing reading after a long day at work, this was a very worthwhile read and I feel much more informed (and terrified) about the drivers behind modern global politics.

>10 AlisonY: Great review, Alison.

>4 AlisonY: Fantastic review, and I'm looking forward to reading this book that I had previously not heard about!

>10 AlisonY: Again, a fascinating review, and when I read your notes, I thought to myself - well, I do in fact want to know how physical geography influences politics.

>11 kidzdoc:, 12 Thanks. It's sad how most wars seem to come down to either greed or paranoia (or both).

>10 AlisonY: always been interested in geography and the interaction between countries, so this looks like a BB for me. good review

This might be a bit of trivia of interest:

The board game Risk was created by Albert Lamorisse, a French filmmaker, in 1957. Originally, it was called La Conquête du Monde (The Conquest of the World). The game was inspired by the concept of global warfare and conquest, reflecting the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War era. Players strategize to dominate territories on a world map, blending skill, tactics, and a bit of luck.

It was later adapted and published by Parker Brothers in 1959 as Risk: The Continental Game, and it has since become a classic in the strategy board game genre.

>10 AlisonY: Nice review - and I'm glad you found it informative despite the relative age of your copy. I have - ahem - an even older copy (2016) on my TBR shelves. I've always thought it looked interesting, but it also looks very dense, as you say...but you make me want to read it.

>15 JoeB1934: Risk was the favourite boardgame of my parents and their friends in the late 1970s - my sister and I used to love playing with the pieces, though I never actually played the game.

I remember intending to read Prisoners of Geography some years back but never did, so I'm very happy for the reminder on that one!

>14 cindydavid4: Thanks. Look forward to comparing notes if you get to it

>15 JoeB1934: That's interesting. Of course I know the game, but didn't know the background around the inspiration for it.

>16 rachbxl: Even with a 2016 copy there's plenty to learn that helps make sense of certain strategic moves being made now in 2025.

16. God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg

For Lent I'm reading something Christian-related every morning, and this was my second title. Both of my Lent reads have been on my phone as I've borrowed the books as ebooks from the library, and I have to say that I don't think it's a good format for me. I find it really hard to retain digital books, and always have done.

Nonetheless, Ortberg's book was very readable, and as the title suggests focuses on how to make God feel more tangible in your life now, rather than a relationship to hope for after life.

3 stars - an interesting read, but could have been improved by circling back in each chapter to the main point that was being made. The narrative drifted at times, and I don't think it was just my poor e-reader attention issues.

Happy new thread, Alison. I loved The Colony when I read it. I wouldn't have thought it would be a good audiobook.

Prisoners of Geography sounds fascinating. I will add it to my NF wishlist.

>20 BLBera: It was terrific on audio, Beth. The narrator was excellent. I agree that with many other narrators it could have been terrible.

>21 AlisonY: >20 BLBera: I read it on audio too. Loved it.
Stephen Hogan did a great job.

>19 AlisonY: I was enthusiastic re ebooks at the beginning Alison, but like you find them harder to retain. Even remembering titles ha. I probably read a couple a year.

17. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf

Audio Book - Narrator Kirby Heyborne

Back in Haruf's fictional town of Holt, Colorado, this novel focuses on the local bad boy - Jack Burdette - and the impact of his actions on most of the townspeople.

I loved Kent Haruf's Plainsong trilogy, but this earlier novel didn't engage me nearly as much. What didn't help was death-by-audio-narrator-voice from the get-go; his shouty, monotone drawl was painful to listen to and did nothing for my listening pleasure.

Audiobook ear-pain aside, it was an OK book. There was enough of a story to pull me along, but it will be fairly forgettable. I've only one more of Kent Haruf's books to read, but as Our Souls at Night was a fairly mediocre read for me as well I probably won't bother with The Tie That Binds.

3 stars - enjoyable enough, but definitely not recommended as an audiobook with this narrator (unless monotone drones are your thing).

>24 AlisonY: I have learned to listen to a sample before committing to a narrator. I learned this the hard way after purchasing Apeirogon and then realizing I couldn't understand McCann's narration.

>25 labfs39: Generally I do try to do that, but I think I still have "audiobook ears" inexperience. I might think a narrator is ok for a minute or two on a sample, but feel totally different once I'm 10 or 20 minutes into the book.

Thankfully it was a relatively short novel.

>25 labfs39: I'm still learning what I like to listen to as well. It's a process!

deleted wrong book

>4 AlisonY: im happy you enjoyed The Colony. I adored that book. Lloyd is so cruel

>24 AlisonY: a bad reader really can kill a book. Sorry about.

>25 labfs39: i was burned by the sample once. It was a nonfiction book the author reads introduction in a very engaging voice. That’s all i heard and i bought it. But a different person read the rest of the book and I didn’t like how they read

>29 dchaikin: I always move the slider away from the beginning of the sample. I’ve been burnt by a good intro to a bad reader before. The ranking in most apps have narrator quality as separates category, and I’ve found if more then 20 ppl have reviewed the book, the narrator rating seems pretty reliable.

They are already introducing AI readers. I use this “listen” feature on WSJ. Maybe one day books read by AI narrators will out perform bad human narrators. Certainly this new AI function will make more books accessible.

>30 kjuliff: very interesting about AI readers.

>31 dchaikin: Try this news article. Just click on the Listen link near the top of the page. I read the whole paper like this.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/iceland-military-defense-us-alliance-8cac5c19

>24 AlisonY: That’s disappointing. I loved the Plainsong trilogy too, and I bought Where You Once Belonged some time ago but haven’t read it yet.

>29 dchaikin: the author reads introduction in a very engaging voice. That’s all i heard and i bought it. But a different person read the rest of the book

Ugh, that's frustrating. I'll be on the lookout for that. I have yet to listen to nonfiction on audio although I own several. I feel like that would be more difficult listening.

>34 labfs39: i find nonfiction easier listening. It tends to be far more straightforward

>34 labfs39:, >35 dchaikin: It helps it it is narrative non-fiction. I loved Age of Wonder on audio, but couldn't follow The Emperor of All Maladies.

>29 dchaikin: Thanks for stopping by, Dan. Yes, I enjoyed The Colony more than I expected to. Lloyd was indeed a brute.

>33 FlorenceArt: Bear in mind that my view on Where You Once Belonged will have been skewed by my annoyance at the narrator, but even so I don't think this novel was anywhere as strong as the Plainsong trilogy. I wouldn't avoid it, but I wouldn't actively rush to read it either.

>36 ELiz_M: I agree The Emperor of all Maladies would be way too hard to follow on audio. It required concentration as it was in print.

I'm in a little bit of a book funk. I was away for a few days 2 weeks ago (Scotland for a funeral and Italy for a city break) and I didn't pick up a physical book once, which is most unlike me. Granted, I'd had a really busy period leading up to both trips, and they both came back-to-back and were very tiring, so maybe it's no more than that. I did keep on with the audio books, though. They definitely fill a gap when I want to be reading but can't quite be bothered.



18. Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Audio Book - Narrator Catalina Sandino Moreno

This short novella is the Gabriel Garcia Marquez 'forgotten' novel (otherwise known as the novel dead authors didn't want to publish when alive but which their estate managers decided otherwise on). Garcia Marquez felt this novel to be undeveloped and put it aside in favour of writing another book, before succumbing to dementia.

I've not read anything else by Garcia Marquez, but I feel I can't fairly judge this writing great based on this novel. The rough edges are noticeable, and there's nothing particularly satisfying about it as a short read. The premise is that the protagonist visits a local island every August to tend to her mother's grave, and after an unexpected sexual encounter on one such visit, her annual visit becomes an annual permission to herself to stray from the monogamous confines of her otherwise happy marriage.

As a short novella it filled a few hours travelling, but I can't say I'd rush to recommend it.

3.5 stars - OK but fairly forgettable. I think there's a running quality theme with these 'lost novels' which surface from time to time.

>38 AlisonY: I hope Italy was wonderful. Which city did you visit?

19. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Audio Book - Narrator Toni Morrison

Another short audio book, this time narrated by the author herself. Mostly it was a positive experience, as Morrison's narration really conveyed the rhythm of the novel and how she meant it to be read, but my one negative was that she spoke at a slightly faster a speed than I like to listen at, so now and again she'd lose me when my concentration lapsed for a minute. My other major general big negative with this audiobook was that it randomly kept resetting itself back to sections I'd already listened to, and as I was already driving by the time I realised I'd no option but to listen to a number of passages for a second time. Grrr.

This is my third Morrison read, and I enjoyed it more than The Bluest Eye but nowhere nearly as much as Beloved (that's a tough act to follow). Whilst there's a story plot that runs through this novella, my take on it was that it is a novel primarily about black heritage, identity and experience. From reading up on it afterwards I gather there are all sorts of developed themes, not all of which were obvious to me from a quick, distracted listen whilst driving. However, what I admire and enjoy most about Morrison's writing is that somehow she really illuminates for me as a white reader the experience of being black, particularly in that era not too many decades after the abolition of slavery. I've read and enjoyed some terrific novels by a number of other hugely talented black authors, but there is something about Morrison's writing which really elevates that experience for me above everyone else. Perhaps it's that she somehow leads me as a reader to understand the why's behind some of the characters' actions - the heritage not just of racism and slavery, but of family and environment.

I'm probably not articulating very well what I'm trying to say, but I really noticed Morrison unlocking a palpable sense of experience for me whilst I was listening to Song of Solomon.

The story itself is good enough but on its own wouldn't have overly stuck with me. However, there is such cleverness in the layers to her writing, and somehow she really vividly transports me into the whole being of her characters. I can't quite put my finger on it, but she left me very much thinking about how the lens of my experience as a white person in the modern world is very different to that of a black person, even though her novella was set in a much earlier period.

4 stars - she's hailed as a great for good reason.

Note, I'm writing this extremely tired just before bed, so I sincerely hope none of the above comes across as sounding condescending or entitled, as truly that is not my intention.

Edit - ignore my load of nonsense above as it seems I unwittingly read only a snippet of the book in an abridged version. Sigh.

>39 RidgewayGirl: It was 3 nights in Bergamo. I really enjoyed it. We've done quite a few of the big ticket places in Italy, but I really enjoyed this for the very reason that it's not just as much on the map as some of the better known touristy cities. It was lovely just taking in everything that I love about Italy - the people, the food, the architecture, etc.

>38 AlisonY: I'll also be travelling by train soon, so I'll be taking my Tolino with me as well as my mp3 player. That way I can at least read books.

>40 AlisonY: This novel is over 300 pages. I wonder if your audio was abridged or if she was reading really really fast!

I saw this book on Litsy and thought it might interest you: Enough: Climbing Toward a True Self on Mount Everest

Sorry to hear about the funeral and the reading funk Alison.

>40 AlisonY: This one is on my 'to be reread soon' pile.

>42 Ameise1: Do you enjoy ereaders? I can't take the books in at all in e-format. Wish I could.

>43 ELiz_M: Sweet goodness it WAS abridged! Arghhhh! Now it makes total sense that I kept wondering why the story was jumping all over the place. What in hell is the point of an abridged book? I feel so cheated! 🤣🤣

Love a mountain book - thanks for the link.

>44 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline. Sounds like I'll be having to re-read it too! 🙄

>45 AlisonY: Alison, my favourite thing to read is physical books. But when we go on holiday by train, I think the e-reader is great. It takes up very little space. What I like about the e-reader is that I can adjust the font size, so I don't get tired. I can also borrow countless books from my local library.

>45 AlisonY: Thanks for the warning.
How long was the actual reading time? If you got it from Audible ask for a refund.
Se their notes on the book
“ RELEASE DATE
09-12-17
LANGUAGE
English
FORMAT
Unabridged Audiobook
LENGTH
15 hrs and 28 mins
PUBLISHER
Random House Audio
CATEGORIES
Literature & Fiction/“

>47 kjuliff: It was from Borrow Books, so a library borrow. I've checked and it says in the small print it's unabridged. Never saw that, as wasn't expecting it to be a thing.

It was 3 hours, so I'm guessing I've not even read half of it.

20. Edith's Diary by Patricia Highsmith

I've been MIA on LT for most of May. I think I mentioned before that I'd lost my reading mojo a bit in April, mostly down to being insanely busy in work and also enjoying a few TV programmes in the evenings instead of reading. Then early on in May I became quite unwell and my reading concentration has been poor, even for audio book listening.

Nonetheless, I have managed to eventually finish Edith's Diary, which took me an inordinately long time to read considering it is right up my street and I enjoyed it. It's also taken me a ridiculous amount of time to feel like reviewing it, but better late than never.

Spanning the 1950s - 1970s, this novel tells the story of Edith, an earnest, well-meaning wife and mother whose life gradually begins to spiral out of her control despite her best endeavours. Moving in the mid 1950s to Pennsylvania with her family, Edith is hugely optimistic about their new life there together, with great plans for The Bugle, a local newspaper she and her husband plan to publish. Alas, her husband and son begin to thwart her ideas of domestic idyll, and as home life unravels and Edith becomes increasingly troubled, she finds solace in the narrative of her diary entries.

This is an imaginative and well written novel set in a period of American fiction which I really enjoy. It was my second Highsmith novel, and I'm finding I enjoy her writing so I'll probably delve into some of her thrillers as well, even though they're not my normal genre.

4 stars - if you enjoy Anita Brookner's novels, this is an excellent American novel with a similar feel.

Song of Solomon is one of my favorite books by Toni Morrison - I hope you give the full novel a try! How weird that they even made an abridged version. I can't imagine.

>50 japaul22: I'm still annoyed about that! :)

>49 AlisonY: So many years since I read this Alison, glad it was a hit for you.

21. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Audiobook - narrator Eve Karpf

This book was right up my usual reading alley, so in some ways I'm a little disappointed that I read it via audiobook rather than fully absorbing it via a physical book. Written in 1978 but set in the 1950s, it has that nostalgic wholesomeness and jolly feel to it typical of British fiction of that era. A little bit Enid Blyton for grown-ups.

Florence Green, a middle-aged widow, decides to open a bookshop in an old abandoned house in her village that is full of damp and comes with it's own poltergeist (or "rapper", as it's called in the novel). The odds aren't stacked in Florence's favour from the beginning, with scepticism from the locals about their need for a bookshop and opposition from a wealthy, influential lady in the village who has decided she wants the house for an arts centre.

Our protagonist has such determination about her quest (built more on a love for spreading the joy of literature rather than sound business sense) that as a reader we champion her cause and mentally high-five her when she scores a point against her detractors.

It's a quiet, unassuming type of book, so high drama book lovers should probably look elsewhere, but if you enjoy the likes of Barbara Pym or Anita Brookner you'll get a lot out of this enjoyable comfort read.

4 stars - a rainy day, chicken soup type of book.

I used to read a lot of Penelope Fitzgerald Alison.. I haven’t read any of her books for a long time and I’m wondering whether I will still like them. I might give this one a try because it’s so different than what I’m reading now..

>54 kjuliff: I've only read The Blue Flower before this, which I found to be quite a different style to The Bookshop (really excellent novel).

The Bookshop version I loaned had a great narrator, so it was a good audio listen.

>53 AlisonY: >54 kjuliff: I’m ready to ready everything by Penelope Fitzgerald. So eventually The Bookshop. But noting to skip the audio. She’s is so compressed and efficient, audio would be challenging.

>56 dchaikin: Oh the audio was great as far as audio books go, so I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. It's just I like to save books that really click with my reading tastes for physical book reads.

>53 AlisonY: A little bit Enid Blyton for grown-ups Great turn of phrase!

>53 AlisonY: I just realised who Penelope Fitzgerald’s books reminded me of - it was Anita Brookner. I went through a phase I think in the 1990s really enjoying these types of English books. So I’ll have to pick up on them again.

>53 AlisonY: Nice review, Alison. I've read it eight years ago and gave it also four stars.

>55 AlisonY: Good to know. I’ll add it my list.

22. I'm Not As Well As I Thought I Was by Ruby Wax
Audiobook - narrator Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax has the ability to easily irritate me, yet somehow I find myself now having read three of her non-fiction books.

For those unfamiliar with her, she was a popular American comedienne in the UK in the 1990s, who's probably best remembered for her unconventional interview style in her documentary series 'Ruby Meets', where she interviewed and hung out with everyone from Bay Watch's Pamela Anderson to Amelda Marcos to Tom Hanks. Her most famous episode is probably the one where she irritated a much younger Donald Trump so much he threw her off his private jet (he didn't warm to her laughing when he said he wanted to be president one day).

Since then she's reinvented herself in the area of mental health, an area she's fascinated by as she's the first to admit she has a lot of emotional baggage stemming from her parents and her upbringing.

In this book, she chronicles an episode of depression which sees her checking into a London clinic for over a month, but the book focuses not just on that but the lead up to the depression and the lifestyle choices she makes which feed into depressive exhaustion (overcommitting to travel and work commitments).

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, particularly as Ruby Wax narrated it and she knows how to use her voice to entertain. However, somehow I didn't quite buy into the honesty of the book. As she recovers towards the end of the book, Wax discusses the book she's writing (this book) with her therapist, and it feels like we've just seen how the magician does the trick to cut the woman in half. Given how unwell she purported to be, I don't want to believe that Wax was even slightly thinking about book writing as she navigates her mental health, yet by the end I can't help feeling a little conned, that her various exploits were all convenient material for writing this book. First she's in a remote silent retreat in the backwaters of the USA somewhere for a month, then (in between holiday dashes here, there and everywhere and a random circle of healers on a whale cruise) she's staying at a strict Christian monastery looking for faith before having to jet back to London to book herself into a clinic for her depression. I'm not saying she hasn't had depression - she's very honest and vocal about it - but I did feel like I was getting played a little.

Nonetheless, I enjoy how Ruby Wax otherwise is very open. She candidly recognises and admits her faults, and although the humour (again, like other books) was a bit too try-hard at times, I found this a very entertaining listen on my drives to and from work.

4 stars - probably more stars than it deserves, but it entertained me so credit where it's due.

I think I have the first in the series Alison, yet to be read. I used to enjoy her interviews with other well known folk, but yes, she can also irritate.

>63 Caroline_McElwee: She definitely can irritate, but she knows that she can be annoying so I admire her self-awareness and honesty in that regard. She's smart. I admire her quick brain.

23. There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

This is not the sort of fiction I would normally be drawn to, but a fellow book-lover at my gym wanted me to read her copy as she absolutely loved it.

Taking water as its theme, particularly the evolution of a single drop of water as it falls and condenses and returns to water time and time again, the book intertwines three stories all connected to the Epic of Gilgamesh poem, considered to be one of the oldest surviving works of literature. In the mid 1800s, a man born into poverty on the bank of the Thames becomes an unlikely expert in translation of clay slabs containing excerpts of the poem at the British Museum, a passion which takes him to the banks of the Tigris in search of the remaining pieces. In more recent times, the story follows the narrative of a young Yazidi girl on the cusp of deafness, whose family wish to make one last trip to their origins in Iraq to have her baptised before their homeland in Turkey on the banks of the Tigris is flooded to make a new dam. In modern day London, a young scientist who studies water is struggling to find happiness. Newly separated from her husband, she finds herself anchorless as she deals with the well-intended interference of her aunt and uncle who took her in as an orphaned child whilst trying to start afresh.

I understand why no doubt many people enjoy this book, but for me it was all a little too... prescriptive? It was one of those books where I was very conscious of what the writer was trying to do, whereas the best books for me are ones where I forget there's an author at all and just get absorbed in the story. It was all a little too neatly constructed for my tastes. Pick a theme and research it to the nth degree - tick. Develop three characters and narratives with a (somewhat unlikely) common connection to the river Tigris and the Epic of Gilgamesh - tick. Find a way to connect all 3 characters at the conclusion (in an even more unlikely manner) - tick.

3.5 stars - that's probably a little harsh as this book is an enjoyable enough read, but a bit too formulaic for my reading preferences. I did appreciate the introduction to the Yazidis through this book, though; I knew little about this religious group, often unfairly referred to as 'devil worshippers', and was appalled through my own reading to learn of their horrendous persecution by Islamic State.

>65 AlisonY: I definitely enjoyed it more than you Alison. I think it's the third of hers I have read, and I may have another.

>66 Caroline_McElwee: It's not the kind of fiction I would have chosen when left to my own devices, Caroline, so I'm probably just not the right reader for it.

>65 AlisonY: It was one of those books where I was very conscious of what the writer was trying to do
I know what you mean Alison. I’ve read other books that have that same problem, where is no subtlety. The one that comes to mind is.The Kite Runner, though subject matter is quite different.

24. When You Need a Miracle: Stories to Give You Faith and Bring You Hope by Ann Spangler

During Lent I set myself the task of reading Christian related books in the morning while eating my breakfast. This was one of the last I picked up, and given how far we are past Lent you can tell I wasn't 100% consistent (although in my defence, I often only had time to read one story, which was often just 2 or 3 pages).

This book, as the title says, is a collection of short real life stories and analyses of stories within the Bible. I liked that the chapters were short - 2 or 3 pages at most - so it was a good dipping into book.

It's not the best Christian book I've ever read, but it set me up nicely for the day, making space for God before I go about my daily busyness.

3.5 stars - a little bit long (I was reading it on my phone and it felt like I wasn't making much of a dent on page numbers for a long time), but a good book for short daily devotions.

25. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy

Sigh. Deborah Levy is one of those writers who makes me green with envy. She's just so damn smart.

This is the first of her three-part memoir on writing and womanhood, and it's slim but perfectly formed. Arriving at a remote hotel in Majorca in the middle of a snowstorm, Levy, at a dark point in her life, has an unexpected dinner conversation which forces her to reluctantly look back at her turbulent childhood in South Africa and how it continues to shape her as a woman.

The prose is simply perfect, every sentence exquisitely crafted:

Some mothers go mad because the world that made them feel worthless is the same world with which their children fall in love. The suburb of femininity is not a good place to live. Nor is it wise to seek refuge inside our children because children are always keen to make their way into the world to meet someone else. Yes, there had been many times I called my daughters back to zip up their coats. All the same, I knew they would rather be cold and free.

Ah, those last few sentences are so, so clever. I've photographed the page and sent it out en masse to my friends who are mothers.

4.5 stars - what a talent.

Just back from a very lovely week on the island of Madeira. We hiked above the clouds beyond the mystical UNESCO protected Fanal Forest, with its wonderful old twisted laurel trees between 500 - 800 years old, watched baby dolphins frolic in their natural habitat of the Atlantic Ocean, walked one of the famous Levada trails, ate ridiculously good food and walked up far too many hills! Lovely temperate weather and a lot to see and do for a small island. Recommended!

The middle photo in the third row is of me in Fundacao Livraria Esperanca, one of the oldest and biggest bookshops in Portugal with over 107.000 different titles, all hanging by clips with their covers facing out. It has to be the biggest bookshop I've ever been in, and was a complete Tardis, as from a small shop front on an old street it expanded into a vast warehouse that never seemed to end. Sadly, despite getting ridiculously excited over it, the English section of 2 small shelves was beyond pitiful, so I went away empty handed.



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26. The Year of the End: A Memoir of Marriage, Truth and Fiction by Anne Theroux

Last December, I took a one day Faber & Faber online writing course led by Marcel Theroux as tutor. He was a lovely man - interested, encouraging, smart and generous with his ideas and support. I've not read any of his books yet, but he piqued my interest in his famous family - his lookalike successful documentary-maker brother Louis, actor cousin Justin (ex-husband of Jennifer Aniston) and of course famous writer father Paul. His mum I knew nothing about, so this memoir written by her caught my eye when I spotted the famous surname in Waterstones whilst browsing one day.

It's a fascinating account of the year in which she separated from Paul Theroux after 22 years of marriage (written over 20 years later). Revenge is a dish best served cold, so they say, and Anne Theroux certainly takes her opportunity in this memoir to set the record straight on the reality of being married to this writing heavyweight. Separating after Paul's serial philandering was drifting into longer term relationships, Anne chronicles her life in this period whilst they were initially on a trial six-month separation, not only navigating social structures as a single person for the first time in two decades, but also looking back at their relationship from the early years in Africa, through to the birth of their children, her career in broadcasting and love affairs on both sides as Paul's work (and personal desires) increasingly took him to all corners of the globe for months at a time.

History tells us that famous writers are often notoriously selfish, egotistical people to be married to, yet fascinating and appealing in equal measure. It's clear from this memoir that Paul Theroux was still very much the love of Anne Theroux' life, but she could no longer continue being married on his terms (that very much of the cake and eat it variety).

As she tells it, Anne was voiceless and powerless when Paul recounted various aspects of their relationship in his various fiction novels, so this book is very much her taking her opportunity to redress the balance and have her say on her terms. Obviously this is only one half of the story (and Anne seems no stranger to a bit of ego herself), but nonetheless it was fascinating and well written. I imagine that for her sons it's probably a difficult, embarrassing read with far too much personal family dirty laundry pegged out in public view, but she certainly proves herself as a talented writer in her own right. I'm a little sad that she's only discovered her pen late into her seventies.

4 stars - hurray for mama bear stepping into the family 'talent' spotlight for a change.

>71 AlisonY: Beautiful photos, Alison! The door art is fascinating.

>72 AlisonY: Great review. As you say, hurray for mama bear.

>71 AlisonY: Love the tree photo!

>70 AlisonY: I think I love Levy's non-fiction best Alison (though I started with her early fiction way back when). I love this trilogy especially.

>71 AlisonY: Looks like a great holiday and bookshop.

>73 labfs39: The door art was a thing they had on one street in particular in the old town area of Funchal. Nearly every door had a different piece of art on it.

>74 FlorenceArt: The UNESCO forest was my favourite part of a day trip we took. It was close to where they did some filming for the last Star Wars movie, and it had a real other world feeling - very jurassic.

>75 Caroline_McElwee: I'm definitely going to buy the rest of this memoir trilogy, Caroline, and I agree I liked it more than two of her fictional books I've read (although I did really enjoy Hot Milk).

>65 AlisonY: Yes! I recently put There Are Rivers in the Sky aside after a third but that was enough to agree with what you say. I think Shafak is a great story teller and like you I understand why so many people love this book, but I could see the strings being pulled and I don't want that. I also felt that it tried a bit hard to make the various threads of the story work together, whilst striving to put to use every last scrap of that meticulous research. Last year I really enjoyed The Island of Missing Trees but on starting Rivers I felt it was the same formula again in a different setting, and once was enough.

>70 AlisonY: I'm a Deborah Levy fan as well. I just started The Position of Spoons today.

>71 AlisonY: Gorgeous photos! Now I want to go to Madeira...

Thanks for sharing the Madeira photos, Alison. I have added it to my destination WL.

The Theroux memoir sounds interesting.

I liked There Are Rivers in the Sky more than you did, but I found the story of Gilgamesh pretty compelling. Arthur's story was the most compelling for me, and I would like to know more about the person he is based on.

27. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Audiobook - narrator Kimberley Farr

I know I'm on my own a bit with this, but I've not been a massive Elizabeth Strout fan. My Name is Lucy Barton I found quite forgettable and it didn't speak to me at all. Olive Kitteridge I enjoyed more, but would have rather had more focus on Olive rather than the jumping around into different stories. Anyway, I'd decided Elizabeth Strout wasn't for me, but then I forgot that and started this one on audiobook.

As well as having the not great history with Strout before, I've also sworn I've no interest in reading books set during Covid-19. I didn't read the blurb properly on this one and had already committed to it on my driving commute before I realised, so I had to go with the flow (for that drive at least), but I'm glad I did as I ended up enjoying it.

This novel opens with Lucy's ex-husband William bringing her up to Maine, away from New York, to wait out the pandemic. As days turn into weeks and months, we see Lucy and William's relationship change, and the book is partly about the different dynamics between them now they are older, as well as Lucy navigating her relationship with her grown-up daughters under the forced separation that Covid has brought.

The character of Lucy spoke to me more in this novel than in My Name is Lucy Barton. I did wonder if maybe Elizabeth Strout is one of those rare authors that I might generally get on better with in audio format than written form - who knows (Kimberley Farr did a great job as reader). It was certainly long enough (at 300 pages in printed form), and I don't think my attention could have held for much longer, but generally I enjoyed my listen.

4 stars - a quiet book about human relationships and reflection with the wisdom of time.

>79 AlisonY: Like you Alison, Elizabeth Strout was a bit hit and miss for me, or maybe just luke warm, until her most recent, Tell Me Everything, which I really enjoyed. I also liked the series of Olive Kitteridge with the wonderful Frances McDormand leading.

>71 AlisonY: Wonderful photographs, I especially liked the last one on the top row (of the tree). Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

>72 AlisonY: I didn't know Anne Theroux also wrote- I've read and so disliked Paul Theroux's works that I might pick this one up out of schadenfreude. Enjoyed your review.

>81 rasdhar: Thanks. Was a great trip!

Not having read anything by Paul Theroux or knowing much about his reputation it was hard to know where the truth lay in Anne's account of their marriage, but if what she wrote was even half true it sounds like his head is brimming with his own self-importance and he wanted that adulation from women too.

She's honest enough to admit she was no saint either. Must have been exhausting for the children.

>81 rasdhar: I really liked his first few books but then noticed his judgmental tendencie, I actually tossed dark star sufari against the wall halfway through

>82 AlisonY: I've read some books about travel by Paul Theroux, and I would say it sounds like he has a healthy ego.

>79 AlisonY: Your comments on Lucy by the Sea were interesting. I liked My Name is Lucy Barton much more than her COVID novel. I think Olive is her best character though.

>83 cindydavid4: I was going to give Paul Theroux a go at some point, but now I'm definitely not rushing in that direction.

>84 BLBera: On reflection, I'm betting My Name is Lucy Barton would have resonated with me more in audio format.

Endure: Mind, Body and the Curious Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson
Audiobook - DNF

I gave this audiobook a good 4 hours of my life, but with 6 more to go I bailed. I really enjoy reading about sport performance and hoped to perhaps pick up some endurance tips from this audiobook, but it was way too heavy on scientific facts for my tastes and I found myself glazing over. I could have committed to another hour or so, but an additional 6 was more than my tired commuting ears could bear.

28. Health Revolution: Finding Happiness and Health Through an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle by Maria Borelius

I've mentioned at times before on my thread that I suffer quite badly from IBS. In May of this year I had my worst ever flare, which finally prompted my GP to thoroughly investigate this time after my inflammation markers came back high. After much prodding and poking and a colonoscopy, my latest gastroenterologist pronounced that it's still simply IBS, and I left my last appointment not much further forward in terms of solutions. I'm quite a logical person, and the lack of answers to improve my IBS annoys me no end, so yet again I'm taking matters into my own hands. Given that my gut showed high inflammation during that particularly bad flare, I'm starting with inflammation and how I reduce that in my body.

A friend in the gym leant me this book as a starting point, which a nutritionist friend of hers swears by. Maria Borelius is a science journalist in Sweden, and this book chronicles her own path to following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, not to resolve any particular health issue but simply to feel better in herself. She uses the following mnemonic device to remember the key principles of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle:

Boost your system with anti-inflammatory foods
Lower sugar intake to reduce the glycemic response to the sugar you do eat
In motion - give yourself the chance to exercise every day
Stillness - give yourself peace, calm and conscious rest every day
Seek out awe - be curious about how to find your awe and allow yourself to experience great and divine moments

I know that clean eating with less sugar definitely positively impact my IBS, and I've been really trying to improve my sleep over the past while too, which is very important.

Back to the book, it wasn't what I expected - a guide to adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. At least not in the purest sense of 'here's what ti do' - it's more of a memoir of the path Borelius takes as a journalist and someone interested in going down this path to explore different health approaches to it, with tips along the way.

I did find it an interesting read and a good grounding to anti-inflammatory living, but it certainly wouldn't be a book I'll necessarily buy myself to refer back to - it would require quite a bit of page-flicking to find the points I'm interested in.

4 stars - a good starting place nonetheless in what I hope will be a new way to improve my gut health.

29. Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Céspedes

This is the first novel I've read by this Italian-Cuban writer, which has only recently been translated into English.

The protagonist, Valeria, gives into a sudden impulse one day to buy a notebook and start a diary, which she must keep secret from her family given she's pouring out her innermost thoughts onto its pages.

Her family, living in Rome after WWII, is fairly impoverished, and Valeria is exhausted and dissatisfied working in a law firm office by day and at home owning all of the household duties of a stereotypical housewife. Her husband dotes on her but by now sees her through the lens of 'mamma' to their grown children rather than as a romantic partner, and her children worry her every day, with her daughter risking her reputation carrying on with an older lawyer and her son invested too heavily at too young an age in his relationship with an unlikeable young local girl.

This book is a slow burn, and it took me a good 50 or more pages to get into it, but it was a worthwhile read, and having finished it I now see that the book needed to be a slow burn to work; that the reader needs to feel Valeria's dissatisfaction growing with the small stuff on a daily basis for later elements of the book to make sense and draw our sympathy towards her. By the ending I was rooting for a better life for her, for her to seize an opportunity which is presented to her, but will she?

4 stars - worth persevering with if you enjoy slowly developing literary fiction.

>88 AlisonY: I like that idea of the book needing to start off slowly in order for the reader to enter Valeria's state of mind. How did you discover the book?

>88 AlisonY: This looks like a book I would enjoy. Thanks for bringing it to my attention - I had never heard of it.

>88 AlisonY: Lovely review, Alison. I'll look for a copy.

>89 SassyLassy: I think it just came up as a suggestion on Amazon based on other things I've read.

Struggling to reply properly to everyone on LT on my phone, but for Jennifer and Kay as well it definitely is a quiet book so if that's not your thing I wouldn't recommend it. I enjoyed it, though (eventually).

>88 AlisonY: A bookseller brought this to my attention a few years back. I have copy and now am more interested in reading it (...eventually).

>93 ELiz_M: It's one of those I'm nervous of over-selling as it takes quite some time to get into and is a slow-paced book, but I liked it.

30. The Case for Faith Student Edition: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity by Lee Strobel

Continuing my little Lenten project, I'm trying to continue to read something of faith every morning when having my breakfast.

The author of this books takes some of the most difficult issues that people have against Christianity and examines the arguments for and against. For example, creation versus the Big Bang, why suffering exists if there is a God and why would a loving God allow Hell to exist.

I enjoyed this book. It was concise yet thought-provoking, and above all reminded me that Christianity doesn't expect any of us to have faith that is never shaken.

4 stars - recommended for both Christians and atheists alike who are interested in this ultimate life debate.

31. Don't Stop Me Now: 26.2 Tales of a Runner's Obsession by Vassos Alexander

Before I discovered the joy of audiobooks and before that podcasts, I used to regularly listen to Chris Evan's breakfast show on Virgin radio on my commute to work in the mornings. Vassos Alexander was his side-kick sports broadcaster who always came across as a most affable and positive chap, and I regularly was amazed by his Monday morning tales of having casually run an ultra marathon that weekend before meeting friends for dinner, as if he'd just nipped down to the local corner shop for a loaf of bread. On the back of his infectious joy for running, I had this book on my wish list, as despite never having any interest in running a marathon, I do enjoy sporting books brimming with passion and enthusiasm about topics I occasionally dip my toe into at the shallow end.

Split into 26.2 chapters, each chapter opens with Alexander's recounting of each painful mile of an Iron Man triathlon which isn't going very well, before spinning off into other tales of his running experiences, and at the end a short piece from famous runners about how they got into the sport and what they love about it.

I've seen some critical reviews of this book that it's very Alexander-centric (which it is), and not a particularly useful book for serious runners (it's not), but I don't think that's the point of it. It's a personal experience of passing on one man's experience at finding the joy of running in his thirties, and sharing other top athletes' reasons for loving it. It does get a little repetitive after a while, but overall I found it inspiring and it almost (but not quite) got me reaching for my running trainers again. I've never managed to find that love of running, but I do envy people who do, and if I've taken anything from this book it's a little bit of hope that next time I get back to it (which I do, regularly), maybe if I stick with it long enough I'll also at some point discover that simple joy and endorphin rush that others seem to get from it. Certainly Alexander's capacity for grit and determination when the going gets tough was incredibly inspiring.

3.5 stars - probably a book more to encourage those teetering on the edge of running rather than those already there.

>95 AlisonY: - I've put this book on my library wishlist. I have no religion, but find religion - particularly Western religion - very interesting, mostly because it, in its various forms, has shaped so much of our current world. And I'm generally in favor of thought-provoking books.

>88 AlisonY: A lovely review and I also look forward to this. There's a very nice article in the Guardian about de Cespedes and her very interesting life. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/25/resistance-fighter-novelist-and-sa...

I read Ferrante's Frantumaglia last year and she cites de Cespedes as one of her influences and a writer she keeps going back to. I believe this translation is by Ann Goldstein who also translates Ferrante.

>97 Fourpawz2: It's a slim read (at least I think it is - I read it on my phone),

>98 rasdhar: You remind me that I have an Ferrante on my bookshelf TBR pile that I've been inexplicably avoiding for a while.

Hi Alison: The Forbidden Notebook sounds like one I would like. Great comments. I like that you warn readers of a slow start. When I comment, I also try to let people know about things they might not appreciate.

The case for Faith sounds interesting as well.

>100 BLBera: I get instantly nervous when I get a flurry of 'must read that' replies! Hope you enjoy it if you get to it.

I've been MIA for a few weeks. Overworked by day and too many household things to attend to by night. Reading has slipped a bit - some books aren't hitting my reading mood just now, plus I've been dipping in and out of NF books which I won't read cover-to-cover so they won't make it to my thread.



32. Long Island by Colm Toibin
Audio Book narrated by Jessie Buckley

It's been ten years since I read Brooklyn - back in my first year of LT - and I have to say my memory of it was scant, but it's not a precursor for enjoying Long Island as it stands well on it's own as a novel anyway. All you need to grasp (which Toibin goes over early on anyway) is that 20 years previously Eilis Lacey migrated from Ireland to New York, met an Italian New Yorker, went back to Ireland and had a hot affair with local lad Jim Farrell and then returned to NY and her Italian, leaving her young Irishman confused and broken-hearted.

It's now the 1970s, and when a stranger appears at Eilis' door with some news she's immediately thrown into a crossroads point in life. Stick or twist. Stay or go. To put some space between her and her life in New York so she can come to a decision, Eilis finds herself returning home to Ireland for the first time in 20 years. Will everything be as she left it behind, and does she want it to be?

This was what I call a good old-fashioned page-turner (or whatever the audio equivalent of that is). There was enough to keep you guessing and hooked, and even listening whilst driving I managed to stay focused throughout.

Whilst I like Jessie Buckley as an actress, she's got a certain steeliness to her persona which I felt strongly coloured her narration of the book and portrayal of Eilis. Her narration was generally pretty good, but it was desperately sombre when she was taking on the various characters' voices, and now and again I wished she'd allowed one or two of the characters not to sound deadly serious all the time. Irish people in particular like a good bit of craic, but no one in Eilis' circle was any craic at all the way Buckley read it.

4 stars - Toibin knows how to spin a good yarn, and Long Island was a credible sequel to Brooklyn. A book that worked as well in audio as it would in print.

33. The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski

This book did me no good. No good at all. Take someone who has spent the last x many years being stressed out and overworked by their employer and put this book in front of them; either they'll be in euphoria by the end of it or in utter despair. Guess which side of the fence I fell on...

I get everything Zelinski is saying in this book, I really do. Life's too short - get off the hamster wheel, rediscover what used to light your fire before work consumed 9 or 10 hours a day of your life 5 days a week, improve your health, make new friends, se the world, RELAX.... He already had me before I opened the cover; no sales job was needed. I really didn't need the chapter on ideas of things to do when you stop work, as I've already got a list wayyyyy long of all the things I want to do but never get time to, but still - it was all interesting reading.

BUT - my heart sank when I got to the financial chapter on how to make it all a reality ( 'Financial independence on less than twenty dollars a day'). Actually, heart sank isn't strong enough to describe it. It's like I watched through a window the most beautiful view you could ever see - luscious green grass, soaring mountain peaks, birds singing, a double rainbow in the sky... and then someone pulled the curtains to, handed me a shovel and growled for me to return to my job in the fiery pit of hell (yes, that's how much I'm loving my job just now). Because sadly $20 a day is not sufficient when I'm the major breadwinner of a family of 4, not unless everyone in the family is prepared to do a complete 180 on the lifestyle we've all been used to.

I understand all of Zelinski's points about not needing as much money as you think you do, and that money doesn't buy happiness. Honestly - if I was single I think I'd make it happen. I would downsize to somewhere cosy in a heartbeat and never look back. But it's much more complicated when you've other dependents, especially children who are getting to tertiary education age and learning to drive, etc. etc.

The worst part of all is that I know this is a self-induced sentence in the pits of hell - only one person put me here and only one person can get me out. I've traded quality of life for a job I hate to sustain a lifestyle I don't have time to enjoy.

So yes - this book did me no good at all. It unsettled me no end and made me very cross with myself, but I'm still on the wheel, crying as I keep going round and round.

4 stars for content, but honestly - I wish I'd never read this and looked out of that window.

>103 AlisonY: I am so sorry, Alison. I hope your job improves.

>102 AlisonY: Great comments on Long Island. They really made me want to pick it up. Onto my WL it goes.

>103 AlisonY: Ugh. I've read books like that too, when all I can think is easier said than done, try writing that while walking a day in my shoes. Mostly it was parenting books when my daughter was hanging on by her toenails. I'm sorry the book added to your stress. Life is tough enough. I wish I could pop over with some brownies!

>103 AlisonY: Oh! That looks interesting. I wonder what would be the best time in life to read that.

>104 BLBera: Long Island is great when you just want a book that's quick to get into and doesn't need much thinking about.

>105 labfs39: I'm just really desperate to retire and have time to do all the things I currently can't!

>106 baswood: I would say best time in life to read that book is when you can't decide about whether to retire or not and are worried about how you'll fill your time in retirement. I'm not expecting to have that problem - my bucket list is long!

>103 AlisonY: I just read another book by the same author, but all about retirement, and yes, he is rather breezy about the financial considerations. Even single with no dependents, stepping off the wheel is not simple.

>108 qebo: Agree. And given he's made a career from writing and public speaking he's not exactly given up work himself.

34. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan

Winner of the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction last year, Question 7 is an interesting mix of philosophy and history peppered with memoir. It's a book that's hard to pin down or restrain - it skips all over the place, quietly suggesting some of life's big questions about why certain things happen, or people behave in a certain way.

The name of the book comes from question 7 in one of Chekhov's early stories which was a parody of children's maths questions:

Wednesday, June 17th 1881, a train had to leave station A at 3am in order to reach station B at 11pm; just as the train was about to depart, however, an order came that the train had to reach station B by 7pm. Who loves longer, a man or a woman?

Chekhov believed the role of literature was not to provide the right answers but to ask the right questions, and clearly this is what Flanagan tries to do in this book (and mostly succeeds).

The thread of the book is based around his father's internment in a Japanese POW camp, and his liberation that came ultimately from the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima. He plots the connection between H.G. Wells' unlikely affair with Rebecca West to his writing a novel that sowed the seed of the idea for nuclear bombs in the mind of scientist Leo Szilard. Along the way Flanagan also examines the colonisation of his native Tasmania and the impact that this had on his own family's history, and tells the story of his near death experience in a Tasmanian river.

It's not quite a perfect chain of events, which is why I'm dropping a star as my attention wandered somewhere in the middle when he jumped from chapters on the atom bomb development to family memoir snippets from his childhood in Tasmania. However, on the whole I enjoyed this book; I learnt a lot, Googled a lot, and thought deeply between reads.

It's a book I probably read less of in one sitting than normal. I had to be in the right mood for it, and as it was thought-provoking it didn't work well as a tired bedtime read. Given that it jumps around in content quite a lot, on occasion I lost the thread of the writing if I didn't keep reading it on consecutive days and had to retrace my steps, so I would certainly recommend committing to it if you choose to read it.

4 stars - this dipped a little closer to 3.5 stars somewhere in the middle, but a strong ending won me back. I don't think I did the book justice in how I read it, with too much dipping in and out.

I don't think I did the book justice in how I read it, with too much dipping in and out.
Allison, I think that’s the sort of book this is. I tried with audio, but I think it needs a lot of concentration and interest the subject matter. I’m still interested in the book. I don’t think I’ll be reading it. I can’t concentrate lately.

>111 kjuliff: Hmmm. I think I'd struggle with it in audio format, Kate. You're right - it needs concentration; I think it would be difficult to keep the thread in audio when it jumps about on topics.

I wonder are you finding it hard to concentrate on reading because you're limited to audio books now? I feel I need to be quite swept away by a book in audio format or my attention quickly wanders. Long Island definitely worked well in audio format, but you've likely read that already.

>112 AlisonY: With most books I have to really concentrate to get into them. Audio is not the same as print reading. I can live with this. But what really upsets me is that a lot of books that I really want to readare not available in audio format.

I haven’t read Long Island, and for some reason it just doesn’t appeal. I’m interested that you think I might like it so I might give it to go.

>113 kjuliff: It's not your usual type of book, Kate, so I might be off beam with it, but I found it an audio book I could easily concentrate on and get into the story with.

35. Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Audiobook - narrated by Sarah Naudi

I actually cheered when I got to the end of this audiobook, not out of appreciation but because I was so glad to reach the end of it.

I'm sorry, but I don't get the Booker win for this book at all. Certainly it was a book that didn't lend itself well to audio, and the narrator's flat intonation got on my nerves, but even if I put both of those audiobook issues to the side I just found this book to be like an extended, overwrought creative writing exercise by an enthusiastic first year student.

Yes, I will give Harvey credit for successful imagery around the experience of space travel and looking down at earth but no longer being part of it, but that's essentially what 80% of the book was - endless flowery descriptions going on and and on. I felt zero connection to any of the characters, who felt like a a bit part on a novel where adjectives were the plot.

Desperately dull.

3 stars - yet another Booker prize dud.

>114 AlisonY: thanks Alison. I’ll listen to a sample..

>115 AlisonY: hmm. Maybe audio isn’t the way. After i read this and everyone compared to Virginia Woolf. And then everyone felt bad for making such an impossible and unfair comparison, I read Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Yeah, Harvey was actually doing Woolf. I loved it. But it’s a plotless, meandering thing.

I loved Orbital, but I can't imagine listening to it. I loved the language and was fascinated by the space stuff.

>117 dchaikin:, >118 BLBera: Sounds like it's not a good book for audio. I couldn't imagine ever reading Woolf via audiobook.

The narrator's flat delivery really turned me off as well.

It sounds like the audio would be good to fall asleep to.

>120 BLBera: The problem with falling asleep through an audiobook is that the characters come into your dreams, and it can be quite spooky. Even though I put the timer on for it to stop after a certain number of minutes, I find this doesn’t always work and I wake up, thinking I’m in some drama or other and I’m glad to wake up and find I’m be alive, even though in this imperfect world.

>121 kjuliff: thats scary!

>121 kjuliff: That does sound scary.

Hi Alison!

>115 AlisonY: Ha! I thought Orbital felt like a book designed in a lab to win the Booker. Some beautiful words, a bit about a pressing issue and nothing to hold onto once you closed the book.

>121 kjuliff: I hate those kind of dreams. Does it put you off the book the next day?!

>123 BLBera: Hi Beth! Waving!

>124 RidgewayGirl: Some beautiful words, a bit about a pressing issue and nothing to hold onto once you closed the book. - exactly this.

>115 AlisonY: one of the reasons I didn’t read Orbital was the sense it would be exactly like you’ve described. Now I feel a lot better. I’m not the only one that wasn’t enchanted with the book..

>125 AlisonY: Alison, no the dreams do not put me off the books the at all. Sometimes I’m interested in why I had the dream and how it fitted my life. It usually does, and I can see what events in my life the book has touched on, events that I didn’t think of as I was reading the book. Sometimes they are on things I’ve left behind me, and dwelling on them is not healthy. They are usually dark and gloomy dreams with no beauty..

The way I see is that the book has the effect of connecting neurons in my brain that I didn’t connect at the time of, or after the event.

One dream I had was so clear in what referred to that it was frightening. I had a boyfriend years ago who was not born into to the Anglo-Saxon world ; he was also very shy of English people - they seemed to upset him especiallyacademic ones, although he was an academic himself in the scientific area

People talking about philosophy and literature really made him feel bad. I had been reading a Muriel Spark novel and i fell asleep. I dreamed of this old boyfriend and a whole lot of educated British people sitting around the table having dinner. As the dinner progressed my boyfriend became smaller in size. He didn’t speak at all. He didn’t contribute to the conversation. He just got smaller and paler in color and sort of shrunk into his chair until he completely disappeared. During this scene, I said nothing directly to him, I didn’t move to him or draw anyone’s attention to him and what his accomplishment were. I laughed along with rather obnoxious people who were talking about books and famous writers that they knew. They did not even notice his presence and subsequent absence.

I awoke feeling guilt and gutlessness.

.

Another one who liked Orbital more than you Alison, though had to settle in to the repetition.

>102 AlisonY: I'm glad that you liked Long Island, Alison, as I bought a copy of it a few years ago, based on how much I enjoyed Brooklyn.

>103 AlisonY: Ugh. I'm sorry that you're in that difficult situation.

Just back from a lovely few days at the Cheltenham Literary festival. Heaviest year yet in terms of my book haul - I was seriously worried about the luggage weight on the plane going back.

Somehow there was quite an American flavour to what we went to see this year. Our first event was with the American legal scholar Cass Sunstein, followed by a DoubleDay proof party where all 3 debut authors were American - Madelaine Cash, author of 'Lost Lambs' (which from the reading sounds like a very funny and smart novel about a dysfunctional family), Eliana Ramage, author of To The Moon and Back (already published in the US - not sure on this one, as it sounds like she's possibly thrown too much into this coming of age novel about a Cherokee woman wanting to become an astronaut), and Madison Kashino, author of 'Best Offer Wins' (which sounds like quite a funny thriller, if you like that kind of thing). All 3 were really lovely girls, and having a fine old time promoting their first books - good for them. We also managed to bag a further 3 proofs from a Canongate proof party earlier in the week which didn't sell out (result).

On day 2 we saw Ian McEwan for the second time - our first slice of Britishness. Sadly no in-person signing, but at least it wasn't a surprise this time. I did cave and buy 3 pre-signed books of his, however. Then we were back Stateside again with the poet Billy Collins who was just a delight - deadpan hilarious and with such warmth to his poetry. Obviously that necessitated another purchase and signing. Finally on that day, we went to see New Yorker Huey Morgan from the band The Fun Lovin' Criminals, who was the complete antithesis to everyone we'd seen up until that point and was laugh out loud funny and just what the doctor ordered after a few drinks (obviously another book and signing was required there).

On our final day we went to just one event, where I had a fan girl moment afterwards meeting Esther Freud (glad I did, as she'd hardly anyone asking for a signing, which I was appalled at as she's one of my favourite authors). She was on with Emma Jane Unsworth, who I feel (unfortunately for Esther Freud) is more of the moment in terms of popularity right now. Unsworth came across as really lovely - sadly I absolutely couldn't carry any more books back by this point. My lovely friend also bought me a signed copy of Miriam Margolyes latest book (didn't get to meet her, but did get a sneaky snap), Patti Smith's memoir (which I've been eyeing up for years) and Esther Freud's latest book My Sister and Other Lovers which I got signed. Freud and Unsworth were interviewed by Abigail Bergstrom, who seems to be doing very well for herself with What a Shame and Selfish Girls (whilst running a wildly successful author agency and still looking about 25 - we were very jealous).

Oh - I also bought a signed copy of one of Geoff Dyer's books (actually he was supposed to sign it but ran off just before we got to the table, so some lovely Waterstones' staff hunted him down later and got him to sign).

Here are a few snaps in case anyone's interested (please excuse my crazy hair in the pic with Emma Freud - it was lashing with rain outside and quite humid, so my hair was enormous and I looked like I'd been pulled through a hedge backwards by this point. She was probably quite frightened - total crazed fan girl vibes).

.

36. Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge

This 1935 novel, until recently mostly forgotten, was an absolute gem. The novel opens as our protagonist, Lady Kilmichael, is running away from her life and family for an indeterminable amount of time. Although an eminent artist, she feels belittled and out of step with her youngest daughter and husband (who she suspects of having an affair), so decides to secretly take off on a solo adventure to Split and Dubrovnik to find herself. En route in Torcello outside Venice, she has a random encounter with a young Englishman, and their paths become inexplicably entwined as they find themselves travelling along the remote Illyrian coast.

This was a novel full of heart with a tremendous sense of place. Despite the ending being a little pedestrian, I thoroughly enjoyed it - I'd had a bit of a fiction hiatus for a couple of months, and this was exactly what I needed to lose myself in a book once more.

4 stars - if you enjoy The Enchanted April, I would recommend this.

>130 AlisonY: Ooo, thanks for the Cheltenham update Alison.

I love Patti Smith’s writing and photography (less familiar with her music) and am looking forward to her next one next month.

>131 AlisonY: There are so many gems from this period especially in the writings of women. Some are only coming to light now. I look forward to Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge.

>131 AlisonY: oh this is a definite BB! thanks

>130 AlisonY: Great haul. I'm always interested in what Canongate finds to publish. What fine Waterstone's staff looking up Geoff Dyer.

>130 AlisonY: I love Esther Freud's books. After seeing copies of My Sister and Other Lovers on an event bookstall before official publication, I reserved it from the library, and then discovered that it follows on from and refers back to her first novel Hideous Kinky.

>132 Caroline_McElwee: I've not ready anything by Patti Smith, so looking forward to this one.

>133 kjuliff: I agree. Persephone are really good at reissuing forgotten female authors from that era (I love Dorothy Whipple). Not sure if they make it to audio book, unfortunately. The Illyrian Spring was by Daunt Books, so I'll be looking to see what else they're publishing.

>134 cindydavid4: Hope you enjoy it, Cindy.

>135 SassyLassy: I haven't really looked near the Canongate proofs we picked up - I must take a look. More debuts I expect.

>136 elkiedee: Yep, it's a follow on from Hideous Kinky. Sadly I can remember next to nothing about it as it's 20 years plus since I read it. I'm nearly halfway through My Sister and Other Lovers, and I'm not finding it much of an issue. It stands well enough on its own. Have you read it yet?

Yes, I've read My Sister and Other Lovers and posted a review on LT. I don't think it's essential to read Hideous Kinky but I really enjoyed the reread, it's fairly short and I have a copy. I think it's worth rereading after My Sister too if you can find a copy. I was shocked to realise that it was published 32 years ago. I think I should reread her other books - and I still have Mr Mac and Me tbr.

>139 elkiedee: I'm pretty sure I still have my original copy.

Look forward to reading your review when I'm done. Enjoying it so far.

I told her that The Sea House is my favourite novel of hers which she seemed surprised at. She had reread it recently as she was asked to consider a screenplay of it.

The only novel of hers I haven't liked is I Couldn't Love You More. It just seemed so contrived versus how she can write. She said when we were chatting that her older novels flowed much more freely and that it's harder work now, so I was a bit worried that My Sister and Other Lovers might be another dud but so far it feels like a great return to form.

>130 AlisonY: That sounds amazing, Alison. Thanks for sharing. I haven't read any Esther Freud. What should I start with?

Illyrian Spring sounds like one I would love.

>141 BLBera: Hmm. That's a difficult one as my favourite is not necessarily the popular choice, and vice versa. I loved The Sea House, but Mr Mac and Me would is a very popular novel, even though I had some issues with it.

Having said that, Freud's niche is that she writes very well about unconventional families who are of course always dysfunctional, and Hideous Kinky is a very good example of that and probably her best known work. Clearly there's more than a tinge of autobiography to that first novel - she had a rootless and bohemian upbringing, including 18 months in Morocco with her mother (her father is the painter Lucian Freud and apparently was absent a lot of the time), and Hideous Kinky is a child's observation about a mother's very unconventional way of bringing them up as they travel around Morocco. There's not a whole lot of constructive parenting going on, and that's interesting to observe through the lens of a child and what is and isn't understood.

Yes, on reflection I'd probably start there. The Sea House is a gentler book with a strong sense of place, but Hideous Kinky is probably the best intro into what makes Freud tick most as a writer.

Illyrian Spring sounds like one for me, and I needed the reminder that I've been intending to read The Enchanted April for at least ten years.

>142 AlisonY: Thanks Alison.

>131 AlisonY: I did! Adding.

37. My Sister and Other Lovers by Esther Freud

Yes! Esther Freud is 100% back on form with this wonderful novel. A sequel to Hideous Kinky, her first novel from over 30 years ago, in retrospect I now wish I'd reread that before starting this book, as I couldn't remember much about it and I think it would have nicely set the scene for the relationship between the two sisters and their mother.

In Hideous Kinky the two girls are young children are the collateral damage of their mother's bohemian whims as she seeks to find herself in a journey across Morocco. It's very much a self-centred adventure, and as we pick up with the girls as they get to teenage years and beyond the novel looks at who they have become and how their individual experiences as children impacts the choices they make as adults.

As the title suggests, our protagonist's adult life is heavily impacted by her evolving relationship with her sister, which has an unavoidable ripple effect on her romantic relationships. That being said, this isn't just a book about siblings - it's a book simply about the messy business of living.

I really enjoyed this, and felt it true to Ether Freud's strongest writing niche - dysfunctional relationships.

If you enjoy novels with a start, middle and end then I wouldn't recommend this to you, but if you enjoy quiet books where you're a fly on the wall watching other people's lives then it's a great read.

4 stars - edging towards 4.5 stars for pure reading pleasure, but perhaps not quite at the level of some of my other 4.5 star reads.

38. Enemies: A Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Wow - thanks to @kjuliff for putting this author on my radar.

From the moment I started this novel I was drawn in by the beauty of the writing. For a few pages I was worried that the plot was solely going to be the aftermath of the Holocaust (not that that's not a valid plot, but it wasn't what I was in the mood for reading), but I needn't have worried as wham! - Singer hits us between the eyes with an early plot twist. The fallout and impact of the Holocaust on the various characters is definitely central as a backdrop to this novel, but Singer still has fun with the plot, and we're never quite sure how it's going to play out.

It's a wonderfully paced book, that manages to somehow balance humour with the dark shadow the Holocaust has cast on the lives of the characters. Like the best of protagonists, Herman Broder is desperately flawed; inherently he's a decent man who lacks the strength to make difficult decisions, and in doing so and trying to people please ends up getting himself deeper and deeper into a ridiculous domestic mess and web of lies.

I expect that Jewish readers get an additional layer of enjoyment from this novel that non-Jewish readers will miss - I was conscious that there were references and phrases that had no context for me which I expect bring another level of familiarity and amusement to Jewish readers (such as conflict over holiday rituals), but I would say that's an additional enhancement for some readers and it certainly didn't detract from the enjoyment of the novel as a non-Jewish reader.

4.5 stars - a wonderful, crazy story. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

>147 AlisonY: I must get to this one!

>147 AlisonY: I thought you would enjoy this book. I only know a little Yiddish, but as you wrote it’s not necessary for understanding the book.. I loved the humor. And I like the main character Herman Broder, although he was a bit of a rascal and a womanizer.. in fact, I think I liked all the characters.

>147 AlisonY: Definitely recommended!

>149 kjuliff: You were spot on, Kate. Which of his other books would you recommend?

>150 AlisonY: Enemies a Love Story was my favorite I B Singer. The second was Sosha. There are a number of short stories such as Gimpel the Fool and The Slave that I’d recommend. I preferred his stories written when he was in New York, but really anything by him is worth reading.

You can read my review of Sosha here

>151 kjuliff: Thanks Kate - noting that one.

39. Musical Tables Poems by Billy Collins

I bought this collection of Billy Collins' poems after his event at the literature festival. He'd read from a number of his books, but this collection of very short poems sounded the most fun.

Ultimately I was a little disappointed with this collection, as I feel the poems he read at the event were the best of the bunch from the book, but it was still a good read, and no doubt I'll spot things I missed next time I leaf through it.

In the flesh he's as deadpan and funny as his writing, and I really appreciated hearing his poems performed as I always make more sense of poems when I hear them read as the poet intended them to be read.

This one particularly amuses me:

3:00 am
Only my hand
is asleep,
but it's a start

3.5 stars - a fun read, but not a collection that's going to stick with me overly.

>153 AlisonY: Ha, liked the wee poem.

40. Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

This novel is one of the proofs I picked up the other week at the lit festival, and would not be the type of novel I would normally buy (mass market humorous thriller). However, that being said, taking it at face value and putting aside the fact that the plot became utterly absurd, I did find this to be an enjoyable page-turner. A bit of escapist reading, if you will.

Our protagonist is a young married woman who has begun to despair at constantly being outbid on new homes in the DC area when they come on the market. When she gets a tip that a house that ticks all the boxes and beyond is coming on the market but hasn't been listed yet, our protagonist becomes increasingly desperate in her bid to get an offer accepted by the couple living there with their young daughter.

It's a silly but fun read, and as a debut novel in this genre Marisa Kashino did a pretty good job with it. It's all a little too dramatic for my usual reading tastes, but it was fun and I did get drawn into it. It's not been released in either the US or the UK yet, but Kashino is already doing OK, as TV rights have been snapped up to serialise the book (which I think will work well).

3.5 stars - this is not Booker material, but it ticks the boxes for fun, escapist reading.

Glad you enjoyed Enemies, A Love Story. As you may know, I've been reading through all of Singer's novels, two books per year, in chronological order of their publishing in English. I've been very much enjoying the project. The novels already mentioned were very good. If you're in a mood for a long multi-generational family saga, I recommend The Family Moskat, which takes place in Poland in the first half of the 20th century.

>156 rocketjk: Thanks Jerry. I do like a good family saga.

41. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter

Audio Book - Narrated by the Author

Michael Easter embarked on an Alaska hunting trip for a month, enduring extremes of weather and lack of basic luxuries. His story is interwoven with examples from other people's adventures and scientific studies which support the argument that putting yourself out of your comfort zone regularly is good for the soul (what the Japanese call Misogi challenges). Misogi challenges should push your limit (i.e. there's a high chance of them not being successful), should scare you a little bit and should be for you and only you (i.e. you should learn something about yourself).

I've a Misogi challenge of my own coming up soon (I won't say just now what it is), so I was interested in this audiobook as, call it a midlife crisis if you will, I feel very drawn to pushing myself beyond my own limitations. I'm naturally a worrier who talks themselves out of doing things in case they don't go to plan, and I suppose I'm a bit tired of being very self-limiting as a result.

I'll save you 9 hours of your life by summarising that beyond this message of 'do hard things', there wasn't much to hold onto from this book, and it was absolute death by monotone author reader.

3 stars - a few interesting points, but too long and too dull

42. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Audio Book - Narrated by the Author

I'm on a bit of a run of listening to personal development books on my commute, so bear with me (or come back later).

The Big Leap is one of the better personal development books I've read in a while. It focuses on the idea that we all have an unconscious habit of self-limiting ourselves (our "upper limit' problem), particularly when things are going well. It's not necessarily decisions that we decide to take which take us off track - it can be our bodies physically sabotaging us through illness or injury as well. I can certainly relate to the latter - when my training is going really well, I can be very sure that an injury will soon befall me.

Gay Hendricks was a good narrator on this book, and I felt like ht hit on something which I've not read about in other books. However, I'm not sure he so clearly spelled out the antidote to all this self-limiting, beyond making a decision to stop doing it.

Having said that, as I'm at a personal point in life where I want to break free from the things that hold me back, it was a good book at the right time.

4 stars - whilst the solutionising could have been better explained, this book was the right read at this point in time.

Two great reviews, Alison. I happen to be reading a book in a similar vein, Notes on Being a Man by Scott Galloway, a professor in the NYU School of Business, which is mainly geared toward young men but has applicability to men of all ages. He also suggests that men, in particular, would benefit from moving outside of their comfort zones, whether making new friends, searching for a variety of job opportunities in different fields, and even learning how to dance to make themselves more attractive to young women of their age. I purchased it after watching two interviews of the author on prominent American television programs that I usually watch two weeks ago.

>160 kidzdoc: Sounds interesting, Darryl. I'm a strong believer in constantly trying new things to keep life interesting, but sometimes it's hard to be brave about your choices!

>161 AlisonY: I agree, Alison. The author was encouraging young men in particular to make efforts to meet other people, whether men as friends or women as potential partners, and not be afraid of rejection or mild humiliation*. This lesson also applies to other aspects of one's life. I am definitely a situational introvert, as I can be open and friendly around strangers if I feel comfortable, the environment is not overwhelming and my energy level is high, but I can likewise draw into my tortoise shell if I'm feeling uncomfortable or overwhelmed. What makes things easier for me is that people tend to be drawn to me, as I come across as kind and approachable, which isn't always the case as an African American man, and that makes it much easier for me to respond positively.

*or vice versa

Popping in to catch up and wave hello.

>163 labfs39: Waving back! A bit preoccupied with work and some other stuff at the moment. Hoping to get back to LT a bit more regularly soon.

43. The Innocent by Ian McEwan

For such a slim novel I've been labouring over this book for weeks. I usually prefer McEwan's earlier work, finding it much more creative than his more recent books, but there was something very dense about the first half of this book and I kept putting it down after a couple of pages.

Set in 1950s Berlin, the book is set amidst the backdrop of heightening tensions between Russia and the US / UK. It's a fictional retelling of the true story of Operation Gold, a joint MI6 / CIA initiative to spy build the Berlin Tunnel to spy on the Russian army's telecommunications. The first half of the novel was centred very heavily on the tunnel and the British protagonist's role in the operation, but it bored me. There wasn't a hook that made me want to keep turning the pages.

In the second half of the book the story eventually got interesting (for me at least), when the protagonist's romance with a local Berlin woman becomes complex and his darker side is revealed. in the last quarter of the book the tension really mounts up, but again somehow the prose feels heavier and more laboursome than it needs to.

3.5 stars purely because the last quarter did reel me in, but definitely far from a McEwan favourite (if I counted up all the McEwan's I've read, I'd probably find that more than half don't agree with me, but somehow I still can't let him go. I think it's because when he's good, he's up there as one of the most inventive literary fiction writers there is).

>165 AlisonY: I too prefer McEwan’s earlier books, and I own but have not read his The Innocent. This puzzles me. Why would I have bought and not read this book? I’m not a collection of books that I do not intend to read.

Perhaps I was disillusioned with McEwan around the time. Maybe I’ll get around to reading it but your review has not exactly energized me.

McEwan is such an unpredictable writer that only solid McEwan fans seem to be able to stick with him. I almost gave up on his latest. What We Can Know and discarded it for a few weeks. But it ended up to be surprisingly good.

>166 kjuliff: I'm glad the new one is good. I have it so might read it over Christmas.

>167 AlisonY: It took me a while to get into it, hence my discarding it for a couple of weeks. But once you work out what it’s about, it is truly fascinating.. I’m pretty sure you would enjoy it.

44. Braver Than You Think: Cycling to Self-Discovery from Land's End to John O'Groats by Claire Davies

The minister in my church, knowing that I'm a big reader, is braver than the majority of my family and often chooses a book for me at Christmas. I love this, as usually he picks books I wouldn't have necessarily chosen myself, but I usually enjoy them.

This book was this year's gift, an account of a 53 year old woman's cycling journey from Lands' End in Cornwall to the other end of Great Britain - John O'Groats.

Despite there not being a huge variety to her days beyond cycling, eating and sleeping, I enjoyed this book. Claire Davies was burnt out and fed up in her job when she decided on a whim to take a sabbatical and embark on this journey, much of it on her own. As a woman of nearly the same age, I totally understand the sentiment that drove her to undertake this adventure - a search for freedom and refinding the part of herself that years in a corporate job had taken.

I love the notion of setting off on on an epic journey like this and reclaiming that sense of adventure that life's busyness often erodes.

3.5 stars - not necessarily a book I'd rush to recommend, but an interesting read to whet your appetite for an adventure of your own.

I agree with you about McEwan. I will give his new one a try because I've heard it's really good. The latest ones I've read have almost made me give up on him.

>169 AlisonY: I heard this author on the radio, and she sounded interesting.

I like the idea of others giving us books we wouldn't necessarily choose for ourselves, as the giver often sees a possible interest for us that we haven't quite figured out yet. In this case, the idea of just starting out on an adventure alone sounds like a good one. After all, it can be a small one to start!

Initially I wondered how Davies decided between going north to south, or south to north, but then decided that the south to north made far more sense in terms of leaving things behind.

>171 SassyLassy: Funny, I think my minister heard her on a podcast and thought she'd an interesting story to tell.

I agree - it's fun when other people pick out books for you. This one definitely tickled my growing midlife crisis!

45. The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

This slim McEwan novel was a signed pick up from the bookstore at October's lit festival. Written in 1981, it's got all the hallmarks of classic McEwan - a bit of a crazy story that I appreciate for his inventiveness.

A couple on holiday in an unnamed city become lost when searching for someone open for food late one evening. Bumping into burly stranger Robert, he encourages them into a bar he owns, and from there things begin to take a sinister turn.

This is the type of McEwan novel I'd have devoured ten years ago, yet while I enjoyed it I can't say I fully committed to it somehow. I suspect it could be me more than the novel - my attention for reading fiction (and reading in general) has become poor of late (I blame the mindless allure of playing games on my phone).

3.5 stars - I enjoyed returning to the crazy storylines of early McEwan, but it's not a novel I'll overly remember.

>173 AlisonY: this and The Cement Garden were my introductions to Ian McEwan. There was something about the books that grabbed me although I can see why they wouldn’t grab other people.

Of the subject of early books by now-famous writers I highly recommend Julian Barnes Before She Met Me . It’s absolutely hysterical - about a jealous guy who won’t honeymoon in any country in Europe where his new wife might have had sex with a man. This of course rules every country out, except those in the eastern block. Every time he thinks he’s found a little country and says “what about Monaco?” for example, she thinks and comes up with “oh no sorry I think I did it in the car wash with a gypsy.”

Well, with a read. Play Bryan Ferry’s “Just a Jealous Guy” in the background.

>174 kjuliff: Oh that sounds fun. I'll investigate...

Funny, The Cement Garden was my first McEwan too. I loved how crazy it was.

46. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

This Finnish novella is a fun, crazy story of how a chance encounter with a hare one summer's night is the catalyst for an unhappy journalist turning his back on a suburban life he hates for a simple life in nature travelling across Finland with his new companion. Despite his best efforts to keep to himself, he becomes unwittingly entangled in other people's business, with each chapter bringing new tongue-in-cheek mayhem to his attempts at a quiet life with his pet.

4 stars - a playful and entertaining short novel

47. Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament by Michael A. Singer
Audio Book - Narrated by the Author

I loved The Untethered Soul, and others I have recommended it too have equally enjoyed it, but this one went too far into woo-woo land for me.

If you enjoy books on spiritual enlightenment then you'll probably get more out of this than I did. Somehow, despite spending quite a few hours of listening to this in the car, I never fully grasped anything profoundly different from the ideas in his first book. Singer covers much of the same old ground, centred around recognising that it is our own thoughts that often hold us prisoner from enjoying our life. Whilst I found the first book quite practical, this one gets heavily into spiritual concepts and philosophies, bouncing between Hindu, Buddhist, yogic and Christian principles with a lot of padding in between.

At a simple level, much of the message in this books relates to samskaras, the imprints of previous actions, thoughts and experiences which 'scar' our mental thought patterns to shape sub-optimal current decisions and behaviour. Singer spends a lot of time explaining them, and I very much get the principles around this, but the letting go of these destructive thought patterns was much less clear, as was how to prevent unpleasant experiences from creating new samskaras.

3 stars - I prefer my personal development books to be heavier on the practical than philosophical side.

>176 AlisonY: This sounds like the perfect stressful end-of-the-year-holiday-season book, Alison.

>177 AlisonY: I'll pass.

>177 AlisonY: Singer spends a lot of time explaining them, and I very much get the principles around this, but the letting go of these destructive thought patterns was much less clear, as was how to prevent unpleasant experiences from creating new samskaras.

I graduated from HS 50 years ago, and these are very prominent in my life. Im long past the age where I should let go but the fact that I refused to attend my reunion speaks volumes. Ive lately been thinking about that and sorry I did not go, Id very much like to let go,, but I think I feel them loosening Maybe it just takes age and distance

>178 BLBera: The Year of the Hare was definitely an enjoyable holiday read.

>179 cindydavid4: Age and distance probably helps, but Singer I think would argue that it's not dealing with the issue. I'm still not 100% how to deal with past scars or stop new ones forming, beyond his suggestion that you don't push difficult things down.

I too avoided my school reunion (was a 25th one for me about 10 years ago), but although part of me had a bit of FOMO at the time, I'm glad I didn't go. I didn't enjoy my time at grammar school, so I didn't need the falsehood of pretending otherwise for a night with people I've not kept in touch with for a reason.

48. ‘Mum, What’s Wrong with You?’: 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know by Lorraine Candy

Lorraine Candy is a British journalist who has most recently been making a bit of a name for herself in the area of teen parenting. I'm slap bang in the middle of parenting a 16 year old daughter, and often enjoy the nuggets of wisdom from Candy's Instagram account. I have to admit I incorrectly thought from the title that this book might lightheartedly poke fun about the parenting eggshells you have to tread on at this stage. Although there was some humour sprinkled in, this was more of a serious handbook on navigating the various specific challenges that come with parenting teen girls.

I definitely don't share all of Candy's personal parental approaches (a 16 year old daughter going away for the weekend with her boyfriend would be a bit much too soon in our house, and I thank my lucky stars I'm not having to deal with teens heading to unknown parties on the other side of a major city). However, there were definitely some interesting and thought-provoking topics covered in this book and some differing perspectives on navigating areas such as teen drinking, sex, leaving home, etc.

Ultimately (and indeed Candy agrees on this), I think every teen requires parenting in different ways depending on their personalities, and no one is ever going to write a definitive handbook on how to make the right parenting decisions. For that very reason, I wouldn't have bought this book had I known that it wasn't the chuckle I was expecting (no slight on Candy's writing - just I didn't want to read a 'guide').

3 stars - many interesting points, but I got bogged down in this book too many times. Just not what I'd expected.

49. The Little Book of Miriam by Miriam Gargoyles

Miriam Margolyes appeared at the Cheltenham lit fest in October, and although my friend and I didn't go to see her, I've always had a soft spot for her.

Whilst an accomplished screen and theatre actress for many decades, she's had a bit of a renaissance lately thanks to her outrageous stories on numerous Graham Norton talk show appearances, but I expect that's made her a bit of a love her or loathe her character. Many adore her for her no-filter hilarious, and often rude, stories, whilst others no doubt abhor her for much the same reason. I'm about 75% of the way towards the 'love Miriam' camp, but I do suspect she tells many a tall story to further this persona that makes her still bankable on screen despite now being in her 80s (and I can't applaud anyone for thinking farting in enclosed public places is acceptable behaviour).

Anyway, after dinner and a couple of cocktails, my friend and I were queuing to get a signing by Huey Morgan from 'The Fun Lovin' Criminals', and Miriam was finishing signing in the other corner of the Waterstones tent. I lurked a bit, hoping I could hop onto the end of the queue and get a book signing, but the Waterstones police wouldn't let me (much to my annoyance, after telling me she was much too tired they then spent quite a while chatting to her and taking selfies, but perk of the job I guess - mustn't be bitter!). She had pre-signed a stack of books, so my pal bought the two of us a copy each (we were sold by the funny illustrations inside which look like book graffiti with lots of comedy sketches of Marian's ample cleavage).

This is an A to Z style book, which invariably irritates me as a format as authors end up filling in ridiculous ways to fit the letters, but aside from the fun it also gives glimpses of Miriam's intellect, and at times I couldn't help but feel a little sad that she feels the need to recount (again) some of the more outrageous stories from her time on Norton's couch. Does she really need to tell us numerous times about the countless b**w jobs she gave young men in her youth in encounters that were almost transactional in a way rather than romantic? I feel it makes her into a bit of a caricature, when she's sharp, witty and interesting anyway. But, her choice, and maybe, as she'd have us believe, she genuinely couldn't give a monkeys either way.

This is not an earth-shattering read, but I did enjoy it more than I expected, and I think Miriam herself in the book sums up my feelings exactly:

RUDERY: This is a word I must have coined, because it doesn't appear in any dictionary online. I use it to cover the saltier strands of my vocabulary and story-telling, through which, thanks to The Graham Norton Show , I seem to have become popular. Potty-mouthed, dirty-minded, vulgar, even vile, are the adjectives I've inspired and I'm now refuting the justice of those epithets. There's more to me than filth; if all I said was centred below the waist, I'd be a pathetic old thing, but I'm fighting back... I hope I've proved I'm also a thoughtful, occasionally even wise soul, always stressing the most essential words - 'kind' and 'compassionate' - when I can. 'Rudery' should not be the last word on Miriam Margolyes.

I feel this is a just self-appraisal from what I read in this book. Margolyes is funny and outrageous, but this Cambridge University alumni is also fiercely intelligent and interesting, with a strong sense of justice. Propensity for farting aside, I think she'd be a fascinating person to have conversation with.

3.5 stars for the sassiness and savviness of this sprightly octogenarian - I hope we get to enjoy this British treasure for many more years to come.

>182 AlisonY: Ah, I’ve enjoyed Miriam when she’’s appeared on the Graham Norton show. She is an intelligent sensitive person although I don’t always like her British double entendre humor she’s a national treasure. I don’t think I’d read the book at the moment because I’m not in the right mood, but I’m glad that you enjoyed it. The world needs more people like Miriam..

>183 kjuliff: It definitely does need more Miriams on several counts.

50. The Thing About December by Donal Ryan

I've not been great at concentrating on fiction this year, so it's been a delight to finish off the year reading this heartbreakingly beautiful Irish novel.

Johnsey Conliffe is a soft, harmless crathur (pronounced crate-ur) lacking somewhat in the intelligence department but full of heart. Shielded for much of his life by his doting parents, the novel opens in January with Johnsey struggling to deal with his grief over his father's death and the shifting tides the loss has brought to all that was familiar to him on the family farm. The farmyard is now devoid of animals or care, the land leased out to greedy neighbours pushing for a land grab, whilst his mother as he knew her is disappearing before his eyes, lost in the well of her own grief. Without the protection of his father's fearsome reputation, the village bullies are also moving in, terrorising his daily walks home from his pity employment at the village Co-Op.

As the year passes, and life takes agonising further turns for the worse, as a reader we are swept away with this beautiful, tormented soul, caught in the swell of an overwhelming loneliness and mistrust about those still involved in his life.

This is a pitch-perfect novel of immense heart, brought alive by Ryan's ear for Irish dialogue and sentiment. Whilst my own family come from Northern Ireland, both my parents grew up not too far from the border, and it was such a joy to read turn of phrases I'd grown up hearing in 'the country' on extended family visits which are now disappearing from the vernacular of my own family (now living in an area where these phrases would not be spoken), probably never to be spoken again by my children's generation and the generations that come after them.

Personal sentiment apart, this is a compelling novel, and was a great way to finish my 2025 reading.

4.5 stars - recommended for lovers of books like Bruce Chatwin's On The Black Hill.

And that wraps up my reading for the year, which feels very much overshadowed by Caroline McElwee's passing.

Caroline has been a major part of my LT experience these past 10 years; we shared very similar reading tastes, so there were endless book bullets to catch from her thread and so many shared titles to discuss. I was always fairly confident she'd appreciate books that I'd enjoyed, and similarly could be confident that any books highly praised on her thread would be a hit for me too.

I don't think Caroline ever got around to reading The Thing About December, but I know she would have loved it.

Goodbye dear Caroline - you will be so very much missed.

>185 AlisonY: This sounds wonderful

>186 AlisonY: I didn't know Caroline well, although I've seen her around LT forever. I'm sorry for you loss. The comments I've read remind me of how I felt when rebeccanyc passed. It's hard losing our book friends and mentors, even when they are (or are mostly) virtual.

>187 labfs39: I still really miss Sybil (aka rebeccanyc) too - we shared an interest in a writer not many other people on my online groups know of - Victor Serge. And several other book friends on LT and other online communities. I'm very sad about Caroline and will miss her thoughtful comments on her reading. She also kindly posted on a couple of books to me.

>187 labfs39: I'll definitely be reading more of Ryan in the future, Lisa.

>187 labfs39:, >188 elkiedee: Yes, both Sybil and Caroline were titans of LT. Both of them were such interesting readers and people. As you say, Lisa, even if you never meet in person for sure you build up a relationship with people on LT over the years.

>186 AlisonY: I am one of the fortunate few who met Caroline on numerous occasions (10-12+ I would guess) during my frequent trips to London, thanks to Luci/elkiedee, and she was just as lovely and as giving in person as her online persona would suggest. We must have seen no fewer than half a dozen plays in London together, especially when our mutual friends from Chicago Debbi/walklover and Joe/jnwelch were also in London (for several years the three of us spent a fortnight there), we had a lovely tour and a lunch in the Chelsea Physic Garden on one occasion, and four of us had an unforgettable day in the town of Rochester. Similar to my dear Dutch friend Anita/FAMeulstee from the 75 Books group I assumed that the last time I saw her would not be the last, which makes her loss that much more palpable.

>190 kidzdoc: You will miss her terribly, no doubt, Darryl. It's all been so sudden and such a shock, hasn't it? She really loved that Chelsea Physic Garden.

>188 elkiedee: It's funny, I still feel awkward calling rebeccanyc Sybil. She was so private. There's another online friend in CR that I never call by their name, because they too are private. After a while, I think of them more by their online name. Anyway, it's hard when online friends pass, or when they disappear and you aren't sure what happened.

>191 AlisonY: That's right, Alison. IIRC her last post in the 75 Books group was only a few days before her passing; hers is a thread I starred and followed closely. I think that I made a Facebook photo album of the plants we saw in the Chelsea Physic Garden; I'll have to check.

>185 AlisonY: I have followed Donal Ryan for a while now, and read this book a while back. I gave it four stars at the time. I think it’s one of Ryan’s better books. I enjoyed your review as it brought back memories of the book. I will look up The Black Hill as I feel I am bound to like it.

>194 kjuliff: The Black Hill is fabulous. I think you'd enjoy it, Kate.