Monday 10 June 2019

This Year's Books - Part One

Hello, thank you for dropping in and thank you for your comments on my last post.  You lot are lovely.  The weather here is cold, wet, dark and gloomy so I think it's time to cosy up and bring you my promised reading post.  If you were here last year you might remember that in 2017 my reading mojo almost completely disappeared so at the beginning of last year I set myself a reading target of twelve books over twelve months and I made myself document my progress here as extra motivation.  By the end of December I had read twenty-three books and made great inroads into my To Be Read pile shelf bookcase.  I have set up a separate page which lists those twenty-three books, partly in case you would like to have a peep but really so that I can look at them myself, especially as more than half of them have now left the building.
 
 
This year I decided to keep the target at twelve books but, now that my reading muscles are much fitter, the difference is that those twelve books will all be long ones.  I expect you know the sort of thing I mean, the broad spines which stare at you from the shelf, dominating it with their size and which you put off reading if you are out of condition because the distance seems daunting.  At least, it did to me. However, by the end of last year I felt ready to take on the challenge: twelve books, each one at least 450 pages long, which meant that this year, I have to keep a log of the number of pages in each book as well as its title and author.  So, here is the pile of books I have read so far this year. -

 
Thirteen already!  However, I am sure that you will have noticed that three of these do not meet the requisite criteria, being much shorter than 450 pages.  During this marathon I realised that sometimes, I need the refreshment of a short book, and as reading fiction is supposed to be a pleasure, I decided to meet that need whenever necessary - as long as I read twelve longer books over the course of the year, the target will still be met.  So with two more of those to read over the next six months, there should be plenty of room for other books, too. 
 
 
My heart sank on the day, more than two years ago, when a colleague brought me a bag containing seven long books by Susan Howatch, simply because it's difficult to find room for seven new, thick books in a teeny, tiny house.  "I noticed you were reading one of hers a couple of months ago," she said.  She was so kind and thoughtful that I hadn't the heart to correct her and say that the book she had noticed was actually by Elizabeth Jane Howard!  This is the Starbridge series of novels which explores different attitudes and schools of thought within the Church of England between 1937 and 1968.  Each novel stands alone, although the characters recur throughout the series.  I felt that I ought to read them but after the first one I was hooked and carried on because I really wanted to.  They are serious, and seriously good.  These four are, in order, Glittering Images, Glamorous Powers, Ultimate Prizes and Scandalous Risks.  There are two more which I haven't read yet (and that's not because I can't find them, no, it's really, really not, honestly, although it might be, and I really did need a break from mid-twentieth century Anglicanism) but The Wonder Worker takes the action to London and moves some of the same characters into the 1980s.  I didn't like this one so much, it began well but became a bit too soapy for me and I found the ending unbelievable.
 
The Lee Child thrillers about Jack Reacher were passed on to me with  recommendation and one of them, Killing Floor, was the first to be published.  Although they are not really my sort of thing and the short sentence structure annoyed me, I found them very difficult to put down.  He's obviously a good writer, but I don't think I'll read any more.
 
 
Rosie Thomas' A Simple Life was also passed on to me and frankly, the story itself was overshadowed by the physical book, which was horrible.  It was filthy and stained, the pages felt greasy in my hand and it's leaving my house to be pulped because I should be embarrassed to pass it on to anyone else.  The fact that I couldn't let it go before reading it probably says a lot about me! 
 
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver is the longest of these books, measuring up at 670 pages, and won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010.  The action takes place in Mexico and the USA between 1930 and 1959 and features Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Leon Trotsky and a cameo appearance by Richard Nixon.  I enjoyed it very much.

Asking me to name a favourite book is like asking me to name a favourite child, I can't do it, but I think that All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is my favourite of all these.  When I took it off the shelf I didn't realise that it was largely set in St Malo in 1944, but reading it in the same week as the 75th anniversary of D-Day has given it extra resonance.  I found it a beautiful, spellbinding read and heartily recommend it.  I am also thanking my bookish sister who bought it for me, as well as The Lacuna, and may be surprised that it's taken me so long to get round to them; all I can say is that they were worth the wait.

18143977

As for the three shorter books, I have written about The Wool-Pack and Cradle on the Waves in previous posts so that just leaves The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, in which the aging mother of Jesus looks back on his life and death and which I read at Easter.  This is an intense and moving novella, only 104 pages long, and I think that reading it may become part of my Easter tradition. 

These books amount to 5,716 pages.  I'm a bit stunned by that so I'm going to write it again: I have read five thousand, seven hundred and sixteen pages so far this year.  And again: 5,716 pages of prose.  I know that some of you read far more quickly than I do but for me, this is a huge total and makes me feel very positive about the whopper which I am building up to later this year.  I am so happy to be reading again.   

See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x

 



18 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a lot of pages Mrs Tiggywinkle, well done! I must say that I struggle to get 'with it' in the reading department, though I never used to. Obviously belonging to the book club helps. We naturally have 12 months (though we only meet for 10 of those) - so 12 books, plus we have 3 more members, so we allowed them to chose a book and I slot their choices in as extras. This month is one of those double book reads. We take a break in both August and December, so we discuss 2 books in September and January. All the best with your reading. Cathy x

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    1. I think 15 books a year is plenty. I have found that I am carving out more and more time to read, sometimes getting up an hour earlier than usual and often going to bed an hour earlier than usual. I am becoming addicted to it. x

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  2. You have surpassed with your reading, well done. I must admit I am sadly lacking in that department preferring to work on a craft project.

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    1. I think I started to read less when I took up knitting again and learned to crochet. I know someone who can read and knit at the same time and I really envy that, it would be perfect! x

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  3. What an achievement, you've been time travelling the world in all those pages and relaxing at the same time. x

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    1. It is rather lovely. I can't believe I've read so many already. x

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  4. Some interesting choices, Mrs T. I remembered reading one of Susan Howatch's books as soon as you described them, it was set in the 1960s I think. I like the sound of 'All the light we cannot see' and must look out for it. You certainly have renewed you love of reading:)

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    1. I really have, and it feels so lovely. It's also very satisfying to watch the TBR shelves empty. The choices are not really mine, I realise that the only two I chose were The Wool-Pack and Cradle on the Waves, all the others being gifts, but it is an eclectic selection. You are only the second person I have come across who has read any of the Starbridge series. I think they should be better known, they are very good. x

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  5. That's a lot of pages! I lost my reading mojo when my children were young, I found I just didn't have the time for reading and once I went to bed I was always so tired that I just went straight to sleep. It was wonderful to rediscover my love of reading a few years ago, though I must admit that I'm not reading quite as much at the moment, I'm just not in the mood for it, but I do love to have a book on the go.

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    1. I have been through phases when I haven't felt that I had enough time to read and then somebody suggested that I read poetry during those times. It was a revelation - I always had enough time to read a poem and it kept my reading brain going. x

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  6. Well done on your reading achievement. I have to be really engrossed in a book to spend a few hours reading. I like physical books, but get put off by books with small print as I don't want to strain my eyes these days. I suppose audio books would be the answer, but not so practical in our open-plan UK house. I like books with shortish chapters and not 'blockbusters'. I've read the Starbridge series. My late mother had the same taste in reading, interested in aspects of mid 20th century Anglican history, so I borrowed her copies. Out of interest I looked to see if our local library had copies, but they only had one audio version of one of the novels. So many new books on my TBR shelf and not enough time so I don't think I would go back to this series although enjoyed reading the novels at the time. You're fortunate to have had yours given to you. Enjoy your reading!

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    1. Thanks Linda. I like physical books, I don't have an e-reader and I don't really fancy audio books. I do really struggle with small print and it makes me cross. In fact, I've just been for an eye test and, as I thought, my close eyesight has deteriorated dramatically so I've had to order new specs. I dread the time when I can't read small print at all. I am glad to know somebody else who has read the Starbridge series! x

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  7. How wonderful to read about your progress on your reading goals. All the Light We Cannot See is a book I've enjoyed reading, too. So poignant, especially in light of the D-day commemorations. Susan Howatch is a new author to me and I'll be looking her up in our library. I love reading, and I'm a fast reader, so the longer the better for me. Have a wonderful week.

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    1. Thanks Lorrie. I'm glad to find somebody else who enjoyed All The Light..., poignant indeed. Susan Howatch is interesting, these books were a deliberate attempt to write something "serious" after she had published several lighter novels. Penmarric is one which I read and loved when I was about twenty, having seen the BBC serialisation a few years earlier. x

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  8. Wow...now that is a lot of pages...no getting into mischief whilst reading! x

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    1. Does a glass of wine count as "getting into mischief"?! x

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  9. I read all those books by Susan Howatch and loved them, in fact I could read them all over again.

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    1. Ooh Chris, I am pleased to read that. None of my "real" friends has heard of them and yet it seems that quite a number of my blog friends have. I obviously have a clearly defined "tribe"! x

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