What I'm reading ...

I have started The Public Confessions of a Middle-Aged Woman: (Aged 55 2/3) by Sue Townsend. I wanted some light reading and this author, who sadly died recently, has never failed to deliver. Here's the blurb:

Enter the world of Susan Lilian Townsend - sun-worshippers, work-shy writers, garden-centre lovers and those in search of a good time all welcome. Over the last decade, Sue Townsend has written a monthly column for Sainsbury's Magazine, which covers everything from hosepipe bans and Spanish restaurants to writer's block and the posh middle-aged woman she once met who'd never heard of Winnie-the-Pooh. Collected together now for the first time, they form a set of pieces from one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed writers that is funny, perceptive and touching.

Hideous Creatures - by S E Lister

I enjoyed reading this book. It has a good pace, that kept me turning the pages, and the descriptions of people, places and events are very vivid. In common with many - perhaps most - modern novels, this story is told using multiple timelines. It starts near the end of the time period covered by the book, then we are taken to the time when Authur travelled to and arrived in America and started his life there. In due course, we are taken back further to Authur's childhood up to his leaving England. I do question whether a simpler beginning to end approach might be better?

As I do not generally read fantasy, maybe I am not good at suspending belief. Perhaps this is why I have a number of nagging questions, which I felt were not addressed in the book (or I was not smart enough to see the explanations):

• What was it exactly that Shelo did to/for all those people?
• What really happened in the Governor's bedchamber? And why?
• Was Shelo dead?
• Why was Arthur so dismissive of the idea of sex?
• How did Arthur know that heading into a cave and swimming in a water course was wise and would lead somewhere sensible? And how did he get to meet Lucas? This is all a bit fuzzy in my mind. Maybe that's just me.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Hideous Creatures by S E Lister. This is another "fantasy" book. Although I normally like to swap genres with each new book, I thought it might be interesting to read two back to back, particularly as the author of this book has been compared with that of the last. I discover books in various ways, but is one is unusual, as it was recommended to my by the author's father, with whom I am acquainted through our mutual interesting photography. As a proud father myself, I knew where he was coming from. Here's the blurb:

Arthur Hallingham is the youngest son of an English earl. He’s on the run from his former life – from a family where painful, half-understood secrets lurk. Arthur travels on a slave ship to America, hoping to lose himself amidst the teeming squalor and vaulting ambitions of the New World. Before long he meets Flora, the tough daughter of an outlaw, and Shelo, a native medicine man with mysterious powers who seems to have a plan for him. The three set off on a journey through the thick forests and along the wide rivers of the lush southern wilderness. As they near their destination, Shelo’s terrible and destructive purpose is gradually revealed. Hideous Creatures is a rich, beautiful and compelling novel that will appeal to readers of Audrey Niffenegger and Neil Gaiman, by a young debut author destined for literary stardom.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane - by Neil Gaiman

As I have said before, I am wary of "fantasy" books and approached this one with reservations. However, only a short way into the book, impossible things began to occur, or, at least, be hinted at, and I was OK with that. I was quite surprised by the extent to which I could suspend my disbelief. 

The first line of the first chapter (which is always supposed to be pivotal) drew me in immediately: "Nobody came to my seventh birthday party."

I think the book is very well written in a plain, accessible style, which found easy going. There was enough pace to the story to keep me coming back for more. Notwithstanding the simple form of much of the writing, I felt that the descriptions of people, places and events were very vivid.

At the end of the book I realized that the narrator (I don't think we ever get to hear his name) still has part of the "wormhole" (a good old sci Fi term) inside him. Is that a possible thread for a sequal?

Overall, a good read and I would be interested to loom at more of the author's work.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I am not sure about fantasy books, but it is my next book club book and won the Guardian book of the year award in 2013. Here is the blurb:

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.
His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

The Chimp Paradox - by Steve Peters

In summary, I would say that this book delivered on its promises. The Chimp Mind Management Model is quite straightforward to understand and the author's descriptions of how it relates to numerous everyday situations all make complete sense. This analogy is fine, but I felt slightly overwhelmed by all the other analogies that are introduced [e.g. planets and moons etc.], but felt that I did not necessarily need to embrace all of these to gain benefit from the book. I think that this is a book which has implanted some ideas into my brain that will stay with me. I am likely to return to it in the future.