What I'm reading ...

I have started My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes. I needed some lighter reading and I am sure, from past experience of this author, that this book will fit the bill. Here’s the blurb:

Anna has just lost her taste for the Big Apple…

She has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that?

Anna, it turns out.

Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.

Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats – and violence.

Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over.

There’s just one fly in the ointment – old flame Joey Armstrong.

He’s going to be her wingman.

Never mind their chequered history. Never mind what might have been.

Because no matter how far you go, your mistakes will still be waiting for you . . .

A History of the World in 47 Borders - by Jonn Elledge

I was right in my assumption that I would learn stuff from this book; I did learn a lot. So many aspects of history - both large scale things and small details - are associated with borders. A profound observation is how few borders are “natural” - like rivers or shorelines; a very large majority are totally man-made, often by people just looking at a map and drawing a line.

The book is very detailed, so it took me a time to read. However, it is well-written and easy to read, with comfortable length chapters and a very relaxed writing style - no pompous academic language!

At the end, I am left with the feeling that so many of the world’s problems were [and are] caused by borders that result at least in a sense of “other” and at worst conflict. We would be so much better off if we could all just be citizens of Planet Earth.

What I'm reading ...

I have started A History of the World in 47 Borders by Jonn Elledge. Time for some non-fiction and this looked like a book from which I might learn something, whilst being quite a light read. Here’s the blurb:

People have been drawing lines on maps for as long as there have been maps to draw on. Sometimes rooted in physical geography, sometimes entirely arbitrary, these lines might often have looked very different if a war or treaty or the decisions of a handful of tired Europeans had gone a different way. By telling the stories of these borders, we can learn a lot about how political identities are shaped, why the world looks the way it does - and about the scale of human folly.

From the Roman attempts to define the boundaries of civilisation, to the secret British-French agreement to carve up the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, to the reason why landlocked Bolivia still maintains a navy, this is a fascinating, witty and surprising look at the history of the world told through its borders.

Small Pleasures - by Clare Chambers

This book is essentially a mystery story, told from the viewpoint of the investigator, Jean. It is well written, with well drawn characters and the description of England in the last 1950s is very evocative.

As I went along, I guessed how aspects of the story might work out, but the final outcome remained a mystery until the last pages of the book.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers - a book recommended to me recently. I should be moving on to non-fiction, but I’m on holiday and need a relaxing read. Here’s the blurb:

1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud.

As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness.

But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.

The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett

The main subject of this book is family relationships. The author explores this by envisaging about the most complex family one could imagine. A family that includes homosexuality, domestic abuse, secrets, estrangement, jealousy and regrets. It is interesting to see how someone (Sabine), who has lived a lot of her life - all her adulthood anyway - in one place (California) responds when plunged into the midst of a family in a very different place (Nebraska).

I enjoyed the nuences and complexities of the story, but was slightly unfulfilled by the ending, which could be interpreted in a number of ways - but perhaps that is just what life is like. 

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett. Although I should now be on to non-fiction, the last book was short and unsatisfying, so I am awarding myself some time with this tried and tested author. Here’s the blurb:

Sabine – twenty years a magician's assistant to her handsome, charming husband – is suddenly a widow.

In the wake of his death, she finds he has left a final trick; a false identity and a family allegedly lost in a tragic accident but now revealed as very much alive and well.

Named as heirs in his will, they enter Sabine's life and set her on an adventure of unravelling his secrets, from sunny Los Angeles to the windswept plains of Nebraska, that will work its own sort of magic on her.

Orbital - by Samantha Harvey

The subject matter of this book should interest me: the operation of the space station and the lives of the [fictional] characters. My problem was that a trusted friend had already given me his rather negative views on the book, but I did try to approach it objectively.

Although I did learn stuff from reading the book, there really is not that much to say based on a single day's activity. The book is mercifully short, but even that required a lot of what feels like padding; long philosophical ramblings that seemed interminable.

How/why this book won the Booker is beyond me.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Orbital by Samantha Harvey. I am somewhat sceptical about award-winning books - and this one was last year’s Booker - but the subject matter made me decide to give this one a go. Here’s the blurb:

Life on our planet as you've never seen it before

A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.

Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.

The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?

Lab Girl - by Hope Jahren

I expected this book to be written from a perspective with which I might identify, as the author is a scientist. For the most part, that is the case, but the story was also much more personal than this view would imply. Overall, I found it quite a page-turner - I wanted to know how her life progressed. As always, with autobiographies and memoirs, I enjoyed learning about a life that is different to my own.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. I always like memoirs and autobiographies and this one has been sitting on my “shelf” for quite a while. I noted that someone famous [Can’t remember who!] was enjoying reading it recently, so I moved it up my list. Here’s the blurb:

Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren's remarkable stories: about the discoveries she has made in her lab, as well as her struggle to get there; about her childhood playing in her father's laboratory; about how lab work became a sanctuary for both her heart and her hands; about Bill, the brilliant, wounded man who became her loyal colleague and best friend; about their field trips - sometimes authorised, sometimes very much not - that took them from the Midwest across the USA, to Norway and to Ireland, from the pale skies of North Pole to tropical Hawaii; and about her constant striving to do and be her best, and her unswerving dedication to her life's work.

Visceral, intimate, gloriously candid and sometimes extremely funny, Jahren's descriptions of her work, her intense relationship with the plants, seeds and soil she studies, and her insights on nature enliven every page of this thrilling book. In Lab Girl, we see anew the complicated power of the natural world, and the power that can come from facing with bravery and conviction the challenge of discovering who you are.

Picture Perfect - by Jodi Picoult

As I expected, this author delivered. A well-paced, pleasingly complex story that educated as well as entertained me. I learned about domestic violence, the world of Hollywood celebrities, Native American culture and a bit about anthropology. I already look forward to the next Jodi Picoult book. 

What I'm reading ...

I have started Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. I needed a holiday read and knew that this author - a personal favourite - would deliver. Here’s the blurb:

A woman is found in a graveyard in Los Angeles, unable to remember anything about herself or her life. No one is more surprised than she when her husband comes to the police station to take her home - and turns out to be Hollywood's leading film star.

Bewildered by the perfect life that has been suddenly thrust upon her, Cassie finds herself living a dream. But there is something dark and disturbing behind this glamorous façade - and it is only as her memory gradually returns that it will all come crumbling down . . .

Occupational Hazards - by Rory Stewart

As expected, this was a well-written book that gave a clear picture of the author’s experiences in Iraq. Overall, I had the impression that he and his colleagues were endeavouring to do an impossible job in chaotic circumstances. The fact that they had any success is probably the most surprising.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart. Having read another of the author’s books and being a regular listener to TRiP podcast, this one looked interesting. Here’s the blurb:

By September 2003, six months after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the anarchy had begun. Rory Stewart, then a young British diplomat, was appointed as the Coalition Provisional Authority's deputy governor of a province of 850,000 people in the southern marshland region. There, he and his colleagues confronted gangsters, Iranian-linked politicians, tribal vendettas and a full Islamist insurgency.

Occupational Hazards is Rory Stewart's inside account of the attempt to rebuild a nation, the errors made, the misunderstandings and insurmountable difficulties encountered. It reveals an Iraq hidden from most foreign journalists and soldiers, a rare and compelling insight that remains just as important today.

Strange Sally Diamond - by Liz Nugent

This book starts out quite “light”, but the story soon becomes rather darker. It is well written, with clear characters. The author does a good job of getting into the [rather confused] minds of the two main protagonists.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. This book got my attention because I’d heard some good things about it and I’m interested in neurodiversity. Here’s the blurb:

Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.

Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.

But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbour seem to be obsessed with her? Sally's trust issues are about to be severely challenged . . .

Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages - by Gaston Dorren

This book took a while to read, partly because I was busy, but mainly because it contains so much information. As I had hoped, it was fascinating and I have learned so much. As I am studying Spanish, that chapter got my particular attention. At last I have some explanation as to why there are two verbs used as “to be”; it turns out that we have that in English too, but I have never noticed. This book is perfect for the amateur language nerd. 

What I'm reading ...

I have started Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages by Gaston Dorren. Despite being, for all intents and purposes, a monoglot, I have always been interested in languages and human communication. So, this looked potentially interesting. Here’s the blurb:

If you were to master the twenty languages discussed in Babel, you could talk with three quarters of the world's population. But what makes these languages stand out amid the world's estimated 6,500 tongues?

Gaston Dorren delves deep into the linguistic oddities and extraordinary stories of these diverse lingua francas, tracing their origins and their sometimes bloody rise to greatness. He deciphers their bewildering array of scripts, presents the gems and gaps in their vocabularies and charts their coinages and loans. He even explains how their grammars order their speakers' worldview.

Combining linguistics and cultural history, Babel takes us on an intriguing tour of the world, addressing such questions as how tiny Portugal spawned a major world language and Holland didn't, why Japanese women talk differently from men, what it means for Russian to be 'related' to English, and how non-alphabetic scripts, such as those of India and China, do the same job as our 26 letters. Not to mention the conundrums of why Vietnamese has four forms for 'I', or how Tamil pronouns keep humans and deities apart.

Babel will change the way you look at the world and how we all speak.

By Any Other Name - by Jodi Picoult

Once again, this author has delivered. The use of two parallel stories is ingenious and very well executed. The thread taking place more or less contemporaneously has a tone that sounds modern and American; the thread in the Middle Ages in England has its appropriate tone without being written in 17th Century English, which would have been a very hard read. All in all, the argument that Shakespeare was not actually the author of his plays was, IMHO, very convincing.

What I'm reading ...

I have started By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. After reading a heavy non-fiction book, I needed something a bit easier going. This is an author upon whom I can rely for a worthwhile read. Here’s the blurb:

Student playwright Melina Green finds that even in New York, her words will struggle to make the stage, when the power is held by men. Inspired by the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, a gifted and witty storyteller herself, Melina takes a lesson from history, and submits a play under a male pseudonym . . .

As Melina discovers more of Emilia’s extraordinary life in Elizabethan England, she is determined to right the wrongs of the past – and finally tell her story.

Two women – centuries apart – are both forced to hide behind another name.

But can either make their voices heard?

The Elegant Universe - by Brian Greene

Reading this book was quite a long haul. It is well written in a very clear style, but the subject is large and complex. I certainly didn’t understand 100% of it, but did gain some insights. I now have many questions! My only criticism is that, although it has been updated, the book isn’t bang up to date, so, for example, there is nothing about the discovery of the Higgs Boson. I will need to read up on this elsewhere …

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. This book covers a topic that I find very interesting and it was recommended to me as an accessible guide for the non-specialist. We shall see! Here’s the blurb:

The iconic bestseller that introduced legions to modern physics and the quest for the ultimate understanding of the cosmos, featuring a new preface and epilogue.

With a rare blend of scientific insight and writing as graceful as the theories it explains, The Elegant Universe remains the unrivalled account of the modern search for the deepest laws of nature. In this new 25th anniversary edition, renowned physicist Brian Greene updates his classic work with a new preface and epilogue summarising the significant theoretical and experimental developments over the past quarter-century. From established science, including relativity and quantum mechanics, to the cutting edge of thinking on black holes, string theory, and quantum gravity, The Elegant Universe makes some of the most sophisticated concepts ever contemplated thoroughly accessible and entertaining, bringing us closer than ever to comprehending how the universe works.

The Campus Trilogy - by David Lodge

When I set out to read this trilogy, I knew that I had read the first book many years ago, but was unsure about the others. However, although I could not recall any details of the books, there was a familiar air to all of them.

It occurred to me that this was historical fiction - but recent history in a time that I lived through. I enjoyed being reminded of a world which is now long past. The author’s notes were also very interesting to put the books in context.

Overall, the trilogy was a very enjoyable read, with just the right balance of humour and social comment. 

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Campus Trilogy by David Lodge. I read and enjoyed Changing Places many years ago and went on to read some other books by the author. I do not believe that I read the other two books in this trilogy. The recent sad death of the author made me decide to return to the work. Here’s the blurb:

The plot lines of The Campus Trilogy, radiating from its hub at the redbrick University of Rummidge, trace the comic adventures of academics who move outside familiar territory. Beginning in the late 60s Changing Places follows the undistinguished English lecturer Philip Swallow and hotshot American professor Morris Zapp as they exchange jobs, habitats and eventually wives. Small World sees Swallow, Zapp, Persse McGarrigle and the beautiful Angelica Pabst jet-set about the international conference scene, combining academic infighting and tourism, esoteric chat and romance. And finally, the feminist lecturer Robyn Penrose swaps the industrial novel for a hard hat in Nice Work as she shadows the factory boss Victor Wilcox. Sparks fly when their beliefs and lifestyles collide.

Getting Better - by Michael Rosen

Another enjoyable read. I expected this book to be mainly an autobiography. It does indeed tell much of his life story up to and beyond his time in hospital during the pandemic. The title suggests that it might be very focused on the latter part of this timeframe and I guess it was really. However, the book is also something of a self-help manual. The author offers a number of ideas for “getting better” in both sense of the phrase: recovering from being unwell and generally improving in life. 

What I'm reading ...

I have started Getting Better by Michael Rosen. Although I have read other work by this author, he is best known to me as a radio presenter. I look forward to reading his insights before we all forget totally about the pandemic and its impact. Here’s the blurb:

In our lives, terrible things may happen. Michael Rosen has grieved the loss of a child, lived with debilitating chronic illness, and faced death itself when seriously unwell in hospital. In spite of this he has survived, and has even learned to find joy in life in the aftermath of tragedy.

In Getting Better, he shares his story and the lessons he has learned along the way. Exploring the roles that trauma and grief have played in his own life, Michael investigates the road to recovery, asking how we can find it within ourselves to live well again after - or even during - the darkest times of our lives. Moving and insightful, Getting Better is an essential companion for anyone who has loved and lost, or struggled and survived.

The Life Impossible - by Matt Haig

Another book that did not leave me disappointed. The story might be described as sci fi, but I feel that would be understating it. It reminds me a little of Star Trek, where sci fi is used as a vehicle to tell a story with deeper meanings. In this book it is all rather “meaning of life” stuff, but I’m good with that.

I enjoyed the information about Ibiza and feel attracted to idea of visiting and exploring the island. I also liked the snippets of Spanish, many of which I could easily understand; others taught me things like how to swear. 🙂

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. I have enjoyed a couple of other books by this author, so I was interested to see this recent publication. Here’s the blurb:

When retired Maths teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the Balearics Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

Making It So - by Patrick Stewart

This book, as I hoped, was a very enjoyable read. It is well written and has a good pace. Stewart’s story is interesting, as he started from very humble beginnings and has overcome numerous challenges. There is an honesty about the way it is written which makes me feel that I actually know something about the man.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Making It So by Patrick Stewart. I always like memoirs/autobiographies and have been a fan of the author for many years [and not just in STTNG]. Here’s the blurb:

From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations with his indelible command of stage and screen. Now, he presents his long-awaited memoir, MAKING IT SO, a revealing portrait of an artist whose astonishing life—from his humble beginnings in Yorkshire, England to the heights of Hollywood and worldwide acclaim—proves a story as exuberant, definitive, and enduring as the author himself. 

Where There's Smoke - by Jodi Picoult.

I have started and finished this book in quick succession. It is a very short book [a novella?], hence I read it very quickly. Not really my favourite format or genre, but this author is a firm favourite and I enjoyed it. Here’s the blurb:

Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she's an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have died. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts.

When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage - to both her reputation and her show - Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price.

Tom Lake - by Ann Patchett

This was a very gentle, enjoyable story, with a few surprises along the way. There are two timelines, but this makes complete sense for the story and there is no confusion - it adds to the dynamic. Again, an author to whom I will return.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. Another author whose work I am pleased to return to. Here’s the blurb:

It's spring and Lara's three grown daughters have returned to the family orchard. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the one story they've always longed to hear – of the film star with whom she shared a stage, and a romance, years before.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents lead before their children are born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart.

The Outrun - by Amy Liptrot

This is a beautifully written book that was a pleasure to read. Although her accounts of her chaotic London life were harrowing, this is offset by her descriptions of life in the Orkneys. As I always hope when I read an autobiography or memoire, I gained insights into another world.

There are a few details that were “tweaked” for the film. Nothing that detracted far from the story and I can see why the changes were made to drive the dynamic of the film.

The author has another book about her later travels to Berlin; this is a “must read” for me.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. We recently saw the excellent movie adaptation of this book, so when I stumbled across the “original”, I thought that it would be good to read while the film was still in my mind. Here’s the blurb:

After spending her twenties in London, Amy Liptrot returns to her home in Orkney where she comes to terms with the addiction that has consumed the past decade of her life. On the remote island, Amy spends her mornings swimming in the cold sea, her days observing wildlife, and her nights searching the sky for any signs of the Northern Lights. She soon discovers how the natural world can restore life, heal old wounds and renew hope.

Perfect Match - by Jodi Picoult

Another book that I approached with anticipation and was not disappointed. As with all this author’s work, the story is full of detail, which has clearly been thoroughly researched. As usual, I feel that I’ve acquired knowledge; in this book I have learned more about DNA profiling and the making of maple syrup, for example. There are numerous points where one feels that it is clear where the story is going, but she springs a surprise - right up to the end.

I am so glad that JP is such a prolific author, as I have many more books to look forward to.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult. This is a favourite author so I am looking forward to immersing myself in this story. Here’s the blurb:

As a career-driven Assistant District Attorney, Nina Frost's life is dedicated to balancing being a mother to five-year old son Nathaniel and seeking justice to keep those who commit the most unthinkable of all crimes behind bars.

But this delicate balance is upset when Nina and husband Caleb find out that Nathaniel has fallen victim to the same crime she strives to fight.

Broken and angry, Nina is determined to seek justice for her son. But as her desire for vengeance drives her to the brink, the lines between justice and crime threaten to blur forever. . .

Thunderclap - by Laura Cumming

I was not quite sure what to expect from this book. When I started reading it, I felt that it was rather slow, but, in due course, I got its pace. As I had hoped, I learned a lot about Carel Fabritius, but much more besides. I was unaware of the importance and sheer quantity of Dutch art, particularly from the 17th Century. It was very interesting to read descriptions of pictures from someone who really understands how to appreciate them. I learned a lot.

The author’s autobiographical notes were also interesting, adding another layer. I think that I now need to go to Delft sometime …

What I'm reading ...

I have started Thunderclap by Laura Cumming. Having recently read the fictional work The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, about the painting of the same name, when I stumbled across this book, it was a must read. Here’s the blurb:

On the morning of 12 October 1654, a gunpowder explosion devastated the Dutch city of Delft. Among the fatalities was the painter Carel Fabritius, dead at thirty-two, leaving behind his haunting masterpiece The Goldfinch.

Thunderclap explores what happened to Fabritius before and after the disaster whilst interweaving the lives of Laura Cumming, her painter father and the great artists of the Dutch Golden Age. It takes the reader from seventeenth-century Delft to twentieth-century Scottish islands, from Rembrandt’s studio to wartime America and contemporary London. This is a book about what a picture may come to mean, how it can enter your life and change your thinking in a thunderclap.

I Follow You - by Peter James

This author has a distinctive writing style: he draws you in by setting up a series of story lines, which gradually come together; the pace of the book gradually increases and by the last 100 pages or so, it is very hard to put down. This book was no exception. His other trademark is meticulous research. I am used to detailed Police precedures set in Brighton; in this book it is all medical stuff taking place on Jersey.

I really enjoyed the story, seeing events from multiple viewpoints, feeling that one is observing the whole picture, but with a few red herrings thrown in. I continue to feel that any book with Peter James’ name on the cover deserves my attention.

What I'm reading ...

I have started I Follow You by Peter James. I have read and enjoyed many of the author’s books about his character Roy Grace, so I thought it would be interesting to have a look at something else that he’d written. Here’s the blurb:

To the outside world, suave, charming and confident doctor Marcus Valentine has it all. A loving wife, three kids, a great job. But there’s something missing, there always has been. . . . or rather, someone . . .

Driving to work one morning, his mind elsewhere and not on the road, he almost mows down a female jogger on a crossing. As she runs on, Marcus is transfixed. Infatuated. She is the spitting image of a girl he was crazy about in his teens. A girl he has never been able to get out of his mind.

Lynette had dumped him harshly. For years he has fantasized about seeing her again and rekindling their flame. Might that jogger possibly be her all these years later? Could this be the most incredible coincidence?

Despite all his attempts to resist, he is consumed by cravings for this woman. And when events take a tragically unexpected turn, his obsession threatens to destroy both their worlds. But still he won’t stop. Can’t stop.

Erebus: The Story of a Ship - by Michael Palin

Having enjoyed a previous book by Palin, I was looking forward to this one and I wasn’t disappointed. His writing brings history to life. He focusses on people and stories instead of dry facts. His research seems to be thorough and his enthusiasm boundless. This is much more than the story of a ship, it is an education in many aspects of life in the first part of the 16th century.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin. I read the author’s book about his great uncle and enjoyed it - learning some good history. I am hopeful that this book will similarly deliver. Here’s the blurb:

In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, HMS Erebus undertook two of the most ambitious naval expeditions of all time.

On the first, she ventured further south than any human had ever been. On the second, she vanished with her 129-strong crew in the wastes of the Canadian Arctic, along with the HMS Terror.

Her fate remained a mystery for over 160 years.

Then, in 2014, she was found.

This is her story.

The Goldfinch - by Donna Tartt

This was a very long book [881 pages!], so it took me a while. But it was quite well timed as I was on holiday for a lot of the time I was reading it. It’s a long book because it covers a long and complex story, in which I found myself pleasantly lost. A lot of the story is inside Theo’s head - his thoughts and impressions. Although this was interesting, I think there was maybe just a bit too much. I think there is a great 650 page book in here …

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It’s time for fiction and this is a long book that hopefully I can get my teeth into. I am told that it’s quite immersive, so we’ll see. Here’s the blurb:

Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

Breaking Through: My Life In Science - by Katalin Karikó

I had a feeling that this book would suit me, as I like science and, because people’s lives interest me, I like an autobiography. I was right. This book intersperses the account of the author’s life with lots of detail about the science.

Overall, the book is a great lesson: An immigrant, who struggled to get through education and into the US and faced deportation at least once, goes on to become a Nobel Prize winner. As an aside, her daughter won gold in the Olympics twice. Quite a contribution!

This was an uplifting book that leaves me wondering how many people have great ideas and talent, but don’t have the tenacity of this author and, hence, don’t quite make it.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Breaking Through: My Life In Science by Katalin Karikó. I heard some of this book being read on the radio and was then recommended it. As I’m interested in science and enjoy an autobiography, it seemed logical to give it a go. Here’s the blurb:

Katalin Karikó began life as a butcher’s daughter in post-war Communist Hungary: a hand-to-mouth existence in a single-room house of clay and straw with no running water. Breaking Through is her extraordinary memoir of how she achieved her dream of becoming a scientist, first in Hungary and then in the USA, and pursued her belief – despite so many telling her not to – that an elusive molecule could transform our ability to prevent disease.

For three decades she worked in obscurity, battling cockroaches in a windowless lab, enduring demotion, the derision of her colleagues, even threats of deportation. But in 2020, Karikó’s vision was spectacularly vindicated when her work made possible the vaccines that brought an end to the pandemic, paving the way for similar vaccines against HIV, malaria and other life-threatening diseases.

As frank, wise and fearless as Karikó herself, Breaking Through is a remarkable story of tenacity, friendship and loyalty, and one woman’s unshakeable commitment to her values.

Fifteen Dogs - by Alexis André

A really interesting story, even if I had to suspend belief to accept it. Curiously, I am not sure whether I learned more about dog behaviour, hearing the dogs’ thoughts on that, or human behaviour as I hear their observations. It reminded me somewhat of another book where an alien gets to be a human for a while and is very confused about the way be behave.

Overall, it was thought provoking and I’ll take that.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Fifteen Dogs by Alexis André. This book was recommended by a friend. I am always a little wary of fantasy books, but thought that this sounded intriguing. Here’s the blurb:

It begins in a bar, like so many strange stories. The gods Hermes and Apollo argue about what would happen if animals had human intelligence, so they make a bet that leads them to grant consciousness and language to a group of dogs staying overnight at a veterinary clinic.

Suddenly capable of complex thought, the dogs escape and become a pack. They are torn between those who resist the new ways of thinking, preferring the old 'dog' ways, and those who embrace the change. The gods watch from above as the dogs venture into unfamiliar territory, as they become divided among themselves, as each struggles with new thoughts and feelings. Wily Benjy moves from home to home, Prince becomes a poet, and Majnoun forges a relationship with a kind couple that stops even the Fates in their tracks.

Engaging and strange, full of unexpected insights into human and canine minds, this contemporary take on the apologue is the most extraordinary book you'll read this year.