Farewell, Ozzy

In ‘Last Rites’, his final autobiography, Ozzy Osborne admits that he once became addicted to ice cream.  He even hired a specialist chef to make it for him.  Talk about being full of surprises.

A Sceptic's Guide to Alien Encounters

Are we alone in the universe? It's a question everyone asks, sooner or later. It's also a question that's fascinated astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson since childhood, and which led to his latest book, 'Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter'.

True Crimes

Hallie Rubenhold is an unfortunate historian.  Every book she starts researching seems to take her in unexpected directions, and her latest study of the story of a murder is no exception.

In Two Minds...

In a first for me, I'm going to attempt to tell you about two recent reads in one blog post; 'You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here' by Dr Benji Waterhouse and 'And How Does that Make You Feel?' by Joshua Fletcher.  Wish me luck...

Review of the Year 2025

Happy New Year, fellow readers!

As 2025 becomes 2026, I decided it was time for a quick reflect on the books I've read this year, including those that I haven't had time to post about. Don't worry, there are never that many of them, despite my best intentions!

The Age of Possibility

I'm not entirely sure why '18: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives' by Alice Loxton caught my eye, but it did. Perhaps it was just very thorough marketing - it did seem to be everywhere when it first came out! More likely, it simply sounded like it could be interesting, which, to be fair, is a pretty good reason for reading anything.

'Downton Shabby' by Hopwood DePree

Ever dreamed of discovering that you're descended from aristocracy and that there's a family mansion out there somewhere?  The thought may have crossed your mind wandering around a stately home; tea in the library, croquet on the lawn, games in the billiard room...  Sounds irresistible, doesn't it?  Then you might enjoy my latest read, 'Downton Shabby: One American's Ultimate DIY Adventure Restoring His Family's English Castle' by the magnificently named Hopwood DePree.

'Carry On Regardless' by Caroline Frost

Few film series are so loved yet controversial as the Carry Ons.  Once a staple of weekend TV, I spent many an afternoon watching them as a child.  Some I loved, some... not so much.  But it wasn't until I read 'Carry On Regardless' by Caroline Front that I began to understand why.

Walk this Way

'Tales from the Big Trails' by Martyn Howe

Hello again!  Sorry for the delay, but, y'know, life...

My latest read was 'Tales from the Big Trails' by Martyn Howe, a personal story of one man's attempt to walk 19 of the most famous - and challenging - long-distance walking routes in England, Scotland and Wales.

Down on the Farm

'Field Work: What Land Does to People & What People Do to Land' by Bella Bathurst

So, from battle fields I went to farmers' fields!  Food production and the countryside is turning into a bit of a hot topic at the moment, thanks to Jeremy Clarkson's foray into farming and concerns over supplies and welfare following Brexit and during the Covid-19 lockdowns.  Consequently, 'Field Work: What Land Does to People and What People Do to Land' by award-winning writer and photojournalist Bella Bathurst seems quite timely.

A Man for All Reasons

'Reasons to Stay Alive' by Matt Haig (Canongate, 2016)

I first heard of Matt Haig as an author, then kept hearing praise for his mental health memoir 'Reasons to Stay Alive' online, before seeing the book listed on a Reading Well campaign leaflet that I picked up at the library. With so many passionate voices praising this book, I decided it was time to take a closer look.

Part memoir and part self-help, 'Reasons to Stay Alive' is the story of Matt Haig's life with depression and anxiety.  He describes his illness from a personal perspective, starting with a crippling breakdown he had in his mid-twenties, his ongoing recovery and what helps him keep his mind healthy in everyday life.  Above all, he aims to encourage people to understand mental health in the same way as physical health, and to reinforce that there are many, many reasons to stay alive.

They Were Only Prostitutes, Weren't They?

'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper' by Hallie Rubenhold (Doubleday, 2019)

Ask anyone about the 'Jack the Ripper' murder victims, and most people will tell you that they were prostitutes.  It's everywhere, from the BBC to Wikipedia.  Even Hallie Rubenhold, an author noted for books on the history of women and sex, expected to use the infamous crimes as a gateway into the story of Victorian prostitution.  There was just one problem.  Her research showed little evidence that three of the five victims were sex workers.  Thus the world lost an account of the historical sex trade, but gained an unexpected book about women, history and prejudice - 'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper'.

Telling It Like It Is

One of my favourite podcasts is the Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast (also known as RHLSTP (RHLSTP!)).  It ranges from being gloriously vulgar to delightfully insightful and features interviews with a variety of fascinating guests.  One of the most interesting was with Jess Phillips MP (number 170), whose book, 'Everywoman: One Woman's Truth About Speaking the Truth' I have just finished.

In 'Everywoman..', Ms Phillips sets the record straight by telling her side of what it's like to be a vocal woman and feminist working in the public eye.  In chapters such as 'The Truth About Speaking Up', 'The Truth About Starting a New Career', 'The Truth About Equality', 'The Truth About Winning Elections' and 'The Truth About Trolling', she describes her experiences in life and work and the conclusions they have led her to.  Passionate, down-to-earth and driven, Ms Phillips lifts the lid on politics and privilege from her point of view.

Something to Believe in?

It's taken me six weeks to read 'Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens' by Eddie Izzard.  That's a long time, even for me.  Just as well that I'm as stubborn as it's author!

In 'Believe Me', Eddie Izzard talks about his life and career and the events and personal philosophies that have made him one of the big names in stand up comedy.  He describes the shock of his mother's death when he was was six years old, his time at boarding school and how his determination drove him to develop his skills in street performing and sketch comedy, until he found his feet in film and television acting as well as the surreal stand up that he's best known for.  From football to marathons, coming out as transgender to learning to fly, 'Believe Me' weaves a story of ambition, self-realisation and determination to do something different.

Review of the Year 2017

Happy New Year!  Hope you've had a fab 2017 and are looking forward to a great 2018!

It was a bit of a slow start for me this year, but things have picked up as time has gone on.  In total I read 23 and about 2/3 books, so I wasn't far off my two-a-month target.  I got in a good mix of fact and fiction, some old and some new, so hopefully there was something of interest to you too.

My 2017 highlights have to be 'Pride & Prejudice' by Jane Austen and 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman - something old and something new, and both brilliant.

Looking forward, I'm conscious that I have a shelf of books people have kindly sent me and another of things that people have given to me as gifts.  I feel awful for being so rubbish at reading things promptly, so I'm going to try to start putting this right a bit in 2018.  I always warn people who pass me books that I really do have a lot to read already, but I'm fairly sure that some of my friends and family have forgotten that they've lent me some of these...

Another thing I hope to do is read more classics.  Yes, that again!  Following on from 'Pride & Prejudice', I would really like to read another Jane Austen novel (Twitter recommended 'Persuasion').  Having visited both Haworth and Hardy's birthplace just outside Dorchester, I'd also like to try 'Jane Eyre' and 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'.  I may not get a chance, however, as if I don't read Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo', I think a friend of mine might actually pop! 

(By the way, if I manage to catch up on some of the books I've been sent, I'm thinking of making 2019 a year of books people have recommended to me.  But ask me about that again in 12 months time!)

Finally, I'm desperate to know what happens to Ross Poldark and co. after the Earth shattering events of 'The Angry Tide'.  Hopefully I'll squeeze at least one more of the late Winston Graham's novels in next year. 'Stranger from the Sea' is book 8 of 12, though, so I need to pace myself!

So, let's hope I can keep up the momentum for 2018 and make it a fantastic year.  As always, thank you for joining me on my personal reading challenge and I hope you keep enjoying the blog.  May your own personal projects be as successful!

Right, let's get reading!

2017: A Year in Books

1. 'The Shogun's Queen' by Lesley Downer
2. 'The Flame Bearer' by Bernard Cornwell
3. 'Slip of the Keyboard' by Terry Pratchett
4. 'Ghoul Britannia' by Andrew Martin - A good read for ghost story fans and writers.
5. 'The White Princess' by Philippa Gregory
6. 'Devonshire Folk Tales' by Michael Dacre
7. 'The Angry Tide' by Winston Graham
8. 'It's Only a Movie' by Mark Kermode
9. 'A Life Discarded' by Alexander Masters
10. 'Shattered Love' by Richard Chamberlain - Disappointing.
11. 'Cinderella Ate My Daughter' by Peggy Orenstein
12. 'Discovering Scarfolk' by Richard Littler
13. 'Trigger Warning' by Neil Gaiman
14. 'He Said / She Said' by Erin Kelly
15. 'The Tent, the Bucket and Me' by Emma Kennedy (Audiobook) - Entertaining stories of family holidays gone wrong.
16. 'Trans: A Memoir' by Juliet Jacques - A moving, personal story.
17. 'Free: Adventures on the Margins of a Wasteful Society' by Katherine Hibbert
18. 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater' by Kurt Vonnegut
19. 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen
20. 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman
21. 'How to Be Champion' by Sarah Millican
22. 'Little Me: My Life from A-Z' by Matt Lucas
23. 'Puckoon' by Spike Milligan

Waste Not, Want Not

I do love the weekend papers.  The number of purchases I've made after reading interviews and extracts in the glossies... well, it's not really helped reduce the number of unread books I have!  Last year, I was intrigued by articles about 'A Life Discarded' by Alexander Masters, so trundled off to the bookshop to treat myself.  Should I have made resisted?

'A Life Discarded'
by Alexander Masters
(Fourth Estate, 2016)

'A Life Discarded' is the story of 148 diaries found in a Cambridge skip by two academics, which were then passed on to biographer of the unusual Alexander Masters.  After paying no attention to them for a number of years and several house moves, he finally picked up a volume and started reading.  This was the beginning of a five year project that would involve graphologists, detectives and archivists, not to mention 'I', the enigmatic diarist.  But did Masters get any closer to the mysterious writer and find a meaningful story in the millions of words?

I was extremely disappointed by this book.  It's so unbelievably depressing.  What made for several interesting articles led to a very dull and at times almost narcissistic tome. It seemed to be more about what the 'biographer' thought about his reaction to the subject and her diaries rather than the subject herself, wrapped up in an at times pretentious and repetitive prose and always keeping everything at arm's length.  I felt that this was a project he didn't really want and had no passion for, but felt he had to do in light of what had happened to the diaries' finders.

Assuming that Masters was writing 'A Life Discarded' out of a sense of duty rather than passion, then the apparent lack of feeling the author seemed to have for 'I' starts to make sense.  Without giving too much away, 'I' has led a life where dreams never became reality and what talent she had was never fully encouraged or explored, largely through her own inaction.  Although Masters seems to identify with this as a writer, I never really got a sense of how he felt about 'I'.  As a reader, I knew I felt compassion and pity, but as far as I could tell, Masters felt nothing, not even contempt at someone wasting their potential or a sense of injustice that she'd been let down by those around her.  Perhaps biographers should try to stay neutral, but if that's the case, why did so much of this book seem to be about Masters?

Ironically, this book feels like a wasted opportunity.  It could've been about the many ways lives are lost, through inaction, accident and early death, but instead somehow those threads didn't come together to create a stronger narrative and central theme.  Rather than being depressing, perhaps the book would've become inspirational and about making the most of what time you have, no matter how short or long.  If, if, if...

Unfortunately, I wish I'd resisted and not bought this book.  At least I read it, though, and you never know, whoever reads it next might not be so disappointed.  After all, tomorrow is another day!

Now, what next...

Related Links

'The Biography of a Nameless Person' (The Guardian, 14/05/2016)

The Many Ripples of Terry Pratchett

I'm scared of Terry Pratchett's books.  So many people I know have recommended his work to me over the years - people I respect and like - that I've found it impossible to pick up one of his Discworld novels without feeling a weight of expectation upon it.  Consequently, it feels too heavy, I drop it and then scamper off to find something less intimidating.  In the end, I decided to ease myself in with 'A Slip of the Keyboard', a collection of his non-fiction.

'A Slip of the Keyboard'
by Terry Pratchett
(Corgi Books, 2015)

'A Slip of the Keyboard' by Terry Pratchett is a collection of articles, introductions and speeches reflecting various aspects of Pratchett's life and career.  We hear from the writer, the technology lover, the science fiction fan, the schoolboy, the worldwide phenomenon, the industry PR, the Posterior Cortical Atrophy sufferer and the assisted dying campaigner.  Some pieces are short, some are long, but all provide insight into an author as pragmatic as his worlds seem fanciful.

I found this both a very satisfying and heartbreaking read.  It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me think, which is pretty much all you can ask for from any book really.  Pratchett had his favourite anecdotes and phrases, which does make the book a bit repetitive at times, but, for me, this didn't take away from the overall effect of the writing.  The only thing I would've liked added was a press release from his days with the Central Electricity Generating Board, but that's more from my nerdy curiosity as a former Press Officer than a feeling that it would complete the book.

As 'A Slip of the Keyboard' progresses, it feels like layers of the writer's character are being peeled back, until by the end of the book, (which brings us up to the last few year's of Pratchett's life when he finds himself an unexpected figurehead for Alzheimer's disease and the assisted dying campaign) we see his outrage and raw determination to change a system he sees as archaic, wrong and cruel.  I'm sure that many people feel he died far too soon and it's a shame that this cause lost such a powerful and eloquent spokesperson, leaving the debate with no one else able to bring the issue of assisted death to the fore with such force and knowledge.

Although I can't comment for fans of Discworld, I do feel this is a book for writers and people interested in people.  It lifts the veil a bit on this particular writer's life in a way that doesn't seem to happen very often, talking more about the practicalities of book signings and conventions rather than going over the old cliches of technique and style.

So, am I still frightened of Terry Pratchett's books?  Certainly not as much as I was before.  What I really feel now is bereft that I didn't take the plunge before Pratchett's death.  And if I feel like that, I dread to think what Pratchett's long term fans must have felt like when he passed away.  On the other hand, I have literally a lifetime of books to look forward to.  So there is hope yet.

Postscript

Around the time I finished 'A Slip of the Keyboard', the BBC broadcast 'Back in Black', a charmingly idiosyncratic documentary about the life and death of Terry Pratchett, which worked really well as a companion piece to this book.  I'm so glad I watched it but I'm also glad I waited until I'd finished the book to do so.  It's hilarious and heartrending and I thoroughly recommend it.  At time of writing, it's also still available on the BBCiPlayer.  You lucky people!

'Back to Black' Terry Pratchett Documentary

Post-Postscript

By a weird twist of fate, I've just discovered that I'm writing this on the second anniversary of Terry Pratchett's death.  I'm not sure what it means, or even if it means anything.  Just another ripple I suppose...

Dressed to Empress!

Mention the Empress Josephine and the first thing that comes to mind is 'Not tonight, Josephine.'.  The second thing would probably be Napoleon and the third... erm...

This embarrassing lack of knowledge led me to the wonderful 'Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon' by the even more wonderful Dr Kate Williams.

'Josephine: Desire,
Ambition, Napoleon'
by Kate Williams
(Arrow, 2014)

Born on a plantation in Martinique in 1763, no one could have imagined that Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher would become the greatest jewel in the French imperial crown.  The wild little girl, who ruined her teeth gnawing raw sugar cane, became a romantic teenager, dreaming of the glamour of France and its court.  When her aunt decided she should marry her lover's son and move to Paris, Josephine thought her chance had finally come.  But the marriage was a ploy to keep wealth in the family and Josephine's husband, Alexandre, proved adulterous, suspicious and vile, while she found her lack of education and social graces made her the laughing stock of those she admired.  The French Revolution brought horror and death, but also opportunity.  Her husband was executed and Josephine narrowly escaped a date with the guillotine, but she became a streetwise survivor, determined to live by any means possible.  She rose to become a star of the new debauched France that seemed desperate to wash away the blood with wine and live life to the full in defiance of death.  When she caught the eye of a young Corsican soldier called Napoleon Bonaparte, her latest lover ordered her to keep him happy.  Thus one of history's great partnerships was born...

I adored this book.  I found it so interesting and learned so much that I was astounded that no one has made a TV drama about Josephine.  Hers was an amazing personal journey, shaped by circumstance as much as desire and survival as much as ambition.  Dr Williams' book is studded with fascinating gems of information that really made her subject come to life.  From Josephine's terrible teeth to her love of exotic plants, her naive spending habits to her diplomatic skills, each snippet brings Josephine out of Napoleon's shadow.  Above all, far from being Napoleon's chattel, Dr Williams shows that one of history's greatest couples were most successful when working as a team and that at least part of the General's success relied on his wife's ability to handle the more touchy-feely aspects of being a ruler.  Even the man himself recognised this, although far too late.

'Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon' has a highly accessibly style to it, full of an almost gossipy energy.  The author clearly has great passion for the subject and reading the book is much like sitting down with a friend who can't wait to tell you all the news.  I loved the way letters and other sources were quoted too, so while the whole thing had authenticity, I didn't feel bogged down and the book didn't loose its readability.  If you were doing an academic study on Josephine, you would obviously want more original text, but for someone like me, this was perfect.

Overall, I would really recommend 'Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon' to anyone interested in history and particularly women in history.  It's not just about the battles on the field, people!

STOP PRESS!!

Not long after finishing this book, I had the great pleasure of seeing Dr Williams talking about her new novel at Yeovil Literary Festival and this led to some amazing news.  A drama based on this book is actually being made!  Sounds like it's going to be a bit saucy in places, but so long as the series is true to all aspects of Josephine's story, I'm sure it'll be amazing.  It's currently at script stage, but hopefully we'll hear more soon!

Reader, Digest

As regular readers of this blog (hello, lovely people!) know, I have an eclectic appetite when it comes to books.  Though I enjoy a lot of non-fiction, Science is something that rarely appears on the menu.  When I saw 'Gut' by Giulia Enders and Jill Enders in my local bookshop, however, I couldn't resist!

'Gut' by Giulia Enders,
illustrated by Jill Enders
(Scribe, 2016)

'Gut' is the story of the human digestive system, from mouth to... err... the other end.  Written by a German medical student and based on her prize winning presentation on the same topic, 'Gut' puts what happens when we eat centre stage, exploring the latest ideas and research about everything from the best position to sit on the loo to the influence of gut bacteria on obesity and food cravings.

I absolutely loved this book.  It's playful and accessible, but manages to stay the right side or twee or patronising.  The author is very reader-conscious and the text is rooted in the idea of personal experience and understanding our bodies better.  Best of all, she's clearly very enthusiastic about her subject and it shows in every morsel of this book.  It makes it very hard not to become enthusiastic in turn.

My only real criticism is that 'Gut' does seem to finish mid-meal and left me feeling a bit dissatisfied and far from sated.  It really needed some sort of conclusion, possibly with some recommended further reading or websites which offer more information.

Overall, I really recommend this book and hope that it's not the last from the future Dr. Enders.  I'm sure that there must be other, similar books out there and I intend to keep an eye out for them in the future.  Although I wouldn't want to gorge on too many too soon!

Review of the Year 2014!

Here we are again, can you believe it?  The end of one year and the start of another.  And what a year it's been for my reading project!

This has been my most successful twelve months so far.  I've read 33 books, a whole ten more than in 2013. Admittedly, eight of them were gifts sent to me by various publishers and retailers (thank you!) plus there were a couple of books that weren't on my list at the start of the year, but overall everything balanced out.  The extra ten books I read were new, so the remaining 23 came off my list. So it all sort of worked out nicely in the end.

As always, I've hit the variety button!  The non-fiction covered everything from journalese to murder to psychics to psychology, as well as positive thinking and chocolate (not the same book, honest!).  I've enjoyed new and established writers, short stories and full length novels.  I read thrillers, science fiction, horror and, of course, my favourite, historical fiction, plus a couple of books that defy genre.  These included an original retelling of Romeo and Juliet which I think is very underrated.  Looking back, it's been a very eclectic year and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Last year, I decided to try reading series of books to give me some intermediate and (hopefully) more achievable targets.  I would like to go back to Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series soon and am keeping up with Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, but this year has been the year of James Bond.  I've always loved the films and had heard a lot about the books, so really wanted to give them a go.  I'm lucky enough to have a lot of them on CD, so this was the series I started in 2014.  I've now heard six of the books and am part way through a seventh ('From Russia with Love').  There are just six more after that, so perhaps I'll finish them all in the next year.  You never know!

I'd also like to return to Cornwall and see how the Poldarks are getting on.  A new TV adaptation is looming, so I would really like to be able to watch it without spoiling the books!

So, as well as finishing Fleming and Graham's back catalogues, what else does 2015 hold?  Well, I'd really like to read at least one classic next year, as well as more non-fiction history.  I've got some great looking history on the shelves and would really like to see if it lives up to expectations!

As always, thank you for joining me on this journey.  I hope you're still enjoying the blog and finding my posts useful and entertaining.  If you've got any feedback, you can find me on Twitter as @Girl_LovesBooks.  Take care and have a fun and fabulous new year!

Related Posts

Review of the Year 2013
Review of the Year 2012

2014: The Year in Books

January
'Alex and Me' by Irene M Pepperberg

February
'Romps, Tots and Boffins' by Robert Hutton
'The Pagan Lord' by Bernard Cornwell
'For Your Eyes Only' by Ian Fleming

March
'The Devil in the Marshalsea' by Antonia Hodgson
'Gin O'Clock' by The Queen of Twitter
'The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate'

April
'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming
'Bird Box' by Josh Malerman

May
'Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder' by Kate Colquhoun
'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming

June
'A Host of Voices' by Doris Stokes
'Dr No' by Ian Fleming
'The Psychic Tourist' by William Little
'The Essential Marx' by Groucho Marx, selected by Stefan Kanfer

July
'All My Friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman
'The Art of Being Brilliant' by Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
'Warleggan' by Winston Graham
'My Baby Shot Me Down' by Blinding Books

August
'Wake' by Anna Hope
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories' by Ian Fleming
'Moranthology' by Caitlin Moran

September
'The Illustrated Man' by Ray Bradbury
'Thunderball' by Ian Fleming
'Love and Treasure' by Ayelet Waldman
'Warm Bodies' Isaac Marion

October
'Office Politics' by Oliver James
'We Bought a Zoo' by Benjamin Mee
'The Tiny Wife' by Andrew Kaufman

November
'How to Read a Graveyard' by Peter Stanford
'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming

December
'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton