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.