Work, Life, Balance

Summer is coming to a close and many people are returning to work after holidays, so it seemed an apt time to tell you about 'I Hope This Finds You Well' by Natalie Sue.

This Book will Give you an Ear Worm...

Continuing the story of the dream team tackling supernatural nightmares, 'Relight My Fire' takes the Stranger Times gang to a whole new level of weird. And thanks to its title, makes Take That and Lulu your daily internal soundtrack.

Thoroughly Modern Myth-Making

Can anything new be said about the story of King Arthur?  If you read 'Bliss and Blunder' by Victoria Gosling, the answer is surely 'yes'. 

Do Fear the Reaper...

I'm sucker for a good story idea, so when someone recommended a book about a vicar who also happened to be a serial killer, it certainly got my attention. I had to read 'The Reaper' by Peter Lovesey.

'The Woman Novelist and Other Stories' by Diana Gardner

I love a short story and admire anyone who can craft a successful one.  Thanks to publishers like Persephone Books and the British Library, it's becoming ever easier to find and enjoy works that would otherwise be lost to history.  Persephone has published quite a few short story collections, and I have recently finished 'The Woman Novelist and Other Stories' by Diana Gardner.

'Illuminations' by Alan Moore

I'd not read any Alan Moore before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked up 'Illuminations', his first collection of shorter fiction. Moore is best known for his comic books, including 'Watchmen', 'From Hell' and 'V for Vendetta', but as a fan of other graphic novel alumni such as Neil Gaiman, this just told me to expect something fantastical. But that was just the start of it.

'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus

Sometimes, I hear about a book and think 'Ooh, that sounds interesting!', but become doubtful as I hear more and more about how wonderful it is. On the one hand, I know marketers can't perform (many) miracles, but I'm also well aware that it's easy to get swept up by a wave of excitement. This is why I hesitated before reading 'Lessons in Chemistry' by Bonnie Garmus.

'Waiting' by Ha Jin

This post is about a book that I nearly didn't read. A spring clean had created a pile of books to donate to charity, some I'd read, but also ones I'd bought but thought I'd never get round to. Then I did that thing bookish people do; decided to try reading one or two, just to be sure. The first one I've finished is 'Waiting' by Ha Jin. 

'The Stranger Times' by CK McDonnell

Do you believe in ghosts?  Monsters?  Things that go bump in the night?  Well, they exist - in the pages of fiction at least!  And many make appearances in the comic novel 'The Stranger Times' by CK McDonnell. 

'Maureen Fry & the Angel of the North' by Rachel Joyce

Firstly, I want to make it clear that this has not become a Rachel Joyce fan site.  It just happened that the lady herself was one of the many brilliant writers to take part in a local literary festival recently, so I ended up getting my hands on the third book in the Fry family series much sooner than I expected.  On top of that, 'Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North' is much shorter than it's companions, and I couldn't wait to discover where Mrs Fry's travels would take her.

'A Snow Garden & Other Stories' by Rachel Joyce

It's October, which means that the Christmas products have started appearing in shops and supermarkets in the UK.  This has clearly had some sort of subliminal effect on me, as I've just finished reading the December-set 'A Snow Garden & Other Stories' by Rachel Joyce.

'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey' by Rachel Joyce

I can't believe it's ten years since I read Rachel Joyce's debut novel, 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'.  This was the unexpected hit that launched many imitations; for a while it felt like every book I was offered was mooted as 'the next Harold Fry'.  Regardless, this original novel had such an effect on me that it was only this year - a mere eight since publication - that I final felt able to tackle it's successor, 'The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey'.

'I, Mona Lisa' by Natasha Solomons

Like many people, I'm a sucker for a story with a great concept.  When Natasha Solomons visited my area recently to talk about 'I, Mona Lisa', I looked up the book and was immediately intrigued.  

'Yinka, Where's Your Huzband?' by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

As a book blogger, I'm fortunate enough to get sent both books and sample chapters from time to time.  One of these was 'Yinka, Where's Your Huzband?', and I remembered enjoying it enough to seek it out when it was finally published earlier this year.

Money, Money, Money

Reading the back of 'Keep the Aspidistra Flying' by George Orwell sent a bit of a chill down my spine.  Like many people who enjoy writing, I've daydreamed about what it would be like to throw in the towel and try to make it as a full-time wordsmith of fiction.  Here was that same idle thought made 90 years ago and turned into a novel by one of our greatest 20th century writers.  And it didn't sound like it turned out well.  With trepidation, I open the book and began to read...

The Real Deal

'Reality and Other Stories' by John Lanchester

So, as the nights are drawing in (just) and autumn is around the corner (more or less), it's time for a spine-chiller!  And they don't come more chilling than 'Reality and Other Stories' by John Lanchester.

Read and Return

'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig 

At last!  A book you've heard of - and probably even read!  Although, if you've read it, why on Earth would you want to read a blog post about it?  Go away and read something else!  Actually, no, don't do that.  Stay here, and read some thoughts about Matt Haig's massive bestseller 'The Midnight Library'. 

The Final Count Down

'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas (Translated by Robin Buss)

Like any normal person, there's only so much nagging I can take.  "You must read 'The Count of Monte Cristo'!" my friend kept telling me.  In the end, I cracked.  When it arrived, too big to fit through the letter box, I wondered what on Earth I'd let myself in for.  Turned out to be 1300 pages of intrigue, adventure and revenge.

Rebooting Orwell

'The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984' by Dorian Lynskey (Picador, 2019)

You know a book's big when it has its own biography.  I recently re-read 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' in preparation for 'The Ministry of Truth', Dorian Lynskey's story of the origins and afterlife of George Orwell's most famous novel.

Ctrl Alt Delete: Back to Nineteen Eighty-Four

'Nineteen Eighty-Four' by George Orwell (Penguin Modern Classic edition, 2000)

One of the few fun features of lockdown has been getting a look inside people's homes during video calls.  After a short while, it became obvious that people were curating the rooms they broadcast from.  "I'm a family man!" cried the wall of kids photos and crayon drawings.  "I've got incredible taste!" boasted a minimalist display of just one, large, abstract artwork.  "I'm an intellectual!" crowed bookcases of leather-bound classics.  The only problem is that bookshelves cannot be trusted.  As many well publicised surveys have proven over the past decade, not only are shelves littered with unread volumes, but people happily lie about reading some of the world's most prestigious works.  George Orwell's infamous novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is often listed among them - ironic for a book themed around truth.