AlisonY - Moseying Along As the Mood Takes Her in the 2H of 2022

Welcome back to my thread in the 2H of 2022. This year's reading's working out a lot slower than normal due to other distractions, but I'm still reading every day and plugging away at some good books.

2022 Reading Track

January
1. The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgaard - read (4 stars)
2. Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen - read (4 stars)
3. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo - read (3.5 stars)
4. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - read (2.5 stars)

February
5. The Eggman's Apprentice by Maurice Leitch - read (4 stars)
6. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison - read (4 stars)

March
7. Property: A Collection by Lionel Shriver - read (4 stars)
8. Benediction by Kent Haruf - read (4.5 stars)
9. The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai - read (3.5 stars)
10. Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic From Above the Clouds in Ethiopia by Michael Crawley - read (4 stars)

April
11. Real Life by Brandon Taylor - read (3.5 stars)
12. Anniversaries Volume 1 by Uwe Johnson - read (4 stars)
13. Poets Are Eaten as a Delicacy in Japan by Tara West - read (3.5 stars)
14. The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah - read (4 stars)

May
15. Anniversaries, Volume 2 by Uwe Johnson - read (4 stars)
16. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson - read (3 stars)
17. The Motion of the Body Through Space by Lionel Shriver - read (3.5 stars)

June
18. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - read (3 stars)
19. Atomic Habits by James Clear - read (3.5 stars)
20. Rock, Paper, Scissors by Naja Marie Aidt - read (4.5 stars)

July
21. Disturbing the Peace by Richard Yates - read (3.5 stars)
22. I Saw a Man by Owen Sheers - read (4 stars)
23. The Fear Bubble by Ant Middleton - read (4 stars)
24. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck - read (4.5 stars)

August
25. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - read (3.5 stars)
26. I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron - read (4 stars)
27. At Home by Bill Bryson - read (4 stars)
28. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk - read (4 stars)

September
29. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - read (4 stars)
30. Mental Load: A Feminist Comic by Emma - read (4 stars)
31. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur - read (4.5 stars)

October
32. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker - read (4 stars)
33. A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel - read (3.5 stars)
34. The Beacon by Susan Hill - read (4 stars)

November
35. Lessons by Ian McEwan - read (4 stars)
36. Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek - read (4 stars)
37. Who I am: My Story by Melanie C - read (4 stars)

December
38. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - read (4.5 stars)
39. Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart - read (3.5 stars)
40. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy - read (3 stars)
41. 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson - read (4 stars)
42. I Heart Me: The Science of Self Love by David R. Hamilton - read (3 stars)
43. The Proof is in the Plants by Simon Hill - read 5 stars

F = 24
NF = 19

hold again

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Happy new thread, Alison. I love the photo at the top!

>5 BLBera: Was in the mood for something light-hearted, Barbara!

21. Disturbing the Peace by Richard Yates

I love Richard Yates' writing, so much so that I've been pacing myself so as not to rush the last few I have to read. That said, I suspect I've probably covered his best work already.

Yates' books usually involve someone middle-aged who's desperately dissatisfied with their lot in life and Disturbing the Peace was no different, but beyond general life disappointment this novel is focused heavily on alcoholism and relating mental health deterioration.

It wasn't my favourite Yates' novel by a long shot, but there was enough there to keep me turning the pages. Yates always feels to me like Updike's gentler cousin from the writing of that era, but there was more of an Updike-esque 'laddishness' feel to this particular novel.

3.5 stars - I enjoyed it well enough and was glad I read it, but it pales in comparison with much of his other work.

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Still chipping away at the C.S. Lewis book as well.

>7 AlisonY: This sounds like an interesting project. I would say the same about Steinbeck. I read one every summer (northern hemisphere here) and have to pace myself. I am seriously considering a second one this summer, but then there is not that much left...

>9 OscarWilde87: I've only read one Steinbeck and even though I enjoyed it for some reason I've avoided anything further. Your last review convinced me otherwise.

>10 AlisonY: For me it all started with Cannery Row, which I read because I was going to Monterey, CA. That's when I fell in love with Steinbeck. So maybe it is as much about the memories connected to that summer as it is about the writing for me.

I was 11 or so when I read my first Steinbeck grapes of wrath Iwas in the middle when I went down to dinner crying. When dad asked me what I was reading, he took the book, said take a break. Finished it later was probably the first book I read that was so devastating look at the world. But I didn't stop there, think I read most by the time I was in HS. Except one that I just read recently The Short Reign of Pippin IV that was so hilarious

Steinbeck said he wasn't a reader till his aunt handed him Le mort de arthurwhen he was 11 or so. that was all it took

>11 OscarWilde87: Well, what do you know - I'm on holiday in a self-catering cottage with a lovely full bookshelf and I started Cannery Row from that last night.

>12 cindydavid4: I've had The Grapes of Wrath on my shelf for years in a really nice copy and for some reason I keep avoiding it. Maybe reading Cannery Row will bring me round to it now.

Interesting snippet on Steinbeck. Sadly my own 2 kids seemed to have gone the other way and stopped reading at around 11. My daughter will pick up a book when she has to but no more - so frustrating as only a year ago she read 25 books in the first part of the year. My 15 year old won't read novels at all now, but he does enjoy reading about tanks and planes and engines and that kind of thing, so I think he's just less Artsy on his interests.

>14 AlisonY: There you go! Enjoy! I really liked how Steinbeck created the backdrop of Cannery Row and how he gave the characters life.

22. I Saw a Man by Owen Sheers

Michael, the main character in I Saw a Man is working through his grief after tragically losing his wife. Starting afresh in London, he quickly becomes close friends with the young family next door, but when Michael finds their back door unexpectedly open one day it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sheers keeps the tension going throughout, and with well thought out characters it had me turning the pages from the get-go. It reminded me of some of McEwan's better books, with its flawed characters, London setting and unexpected plot.

I'd not heard of Sheers as an author before (I believe he's a poet and playwright also), but I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for his other titles.

4 stars - recommended: a great holiday page-turner.

I've been away for a week in the Gloucestershire part of The Cotswolds, so with plenty of relaxation time I squeezed in more books than normal. Despite having brought plenty books with me, when I spotted a full bookshelf in our accommodation I was like a kid in a sweetie jar and just had to read some of those instead.

There's something about finding random books which just works for me, so my own books came back unread. Those I read are titles I most probably wouldn't have bought myself in a shop, rightly or wrongly.



23. The Fear Bubble by Ant Middleton

If you're in the UK or Australia, Ant Middleton is pretty well known now having been the lead ex-special services presenter of the show SAS: Who Dares Wins, a reality TV show where a bunch of super fit people get mentally and physically tested to the end of their limits. Middleton controversially got sacked from the show in the UK in the not too distant past for some Twitter comments and 'inappropriate behaviour' on the show, but took himself off to Oz to do the show there instead and has been making a bucket load of money writing more books than he's probably ever read in his life and doing other TV work.

This book is half a recounting of his time climbing Everest and half his strategy on how to overcome your fears. If you'd like to overcome your fears but don't fancy wading through this type of book I can save you the cash and tell you his theory boils down to (a) opening those doors you've been too scared to open before and (b) visualising stepping in and out of a "fear" bubble when you are about to do something terrifying, like throwing yourself off the side of a cliff.

The recounting of his Everest climb amused me greatly as all irony was entirely lost on him. Middleton allegedly 'prepares' for this epic climb doing nothing but sitting on his arse eating chicken wings as he was too busy on his speaking tour around the UK, and halfway through the altitude acclimatisation spends 4 days hitting the bottle in a pub, but yet spends pages berating the 'Everest tourists' who are there for the wrong reasons, i.e. spending a shed load of cash just so they can say they've climbed it. Somewhere along the way Middleton completely loses sight of the fact that he's there for precisely the same reason (no, worse - he's getting his fees paid in return for bringing a TV cameraman up with him). He chastises people who 'shouldn't be up there' as they're risking other people's lives, and then in the same breath goes on to ignore the advice of his sherpa and experienced climbing colleague, insisting that they skip out doing the altitude rotational climbs recommended and forcing them to start their ascent in a storm none of them think is safe to go out into. Everyone else is up there because of their egos, but Middleton? Oh, most definitely not, apparently. He's just in a different league to everyone else, so he keeps telling us.

Needless to say he's super human and the mountain bows down to his utter physical superiority and lets him go up and down safely (which was slightly annoying).

Despite my cynicism, Middleton's ghost writer did a good job with this book and it was an interesting read. Love him or loathe him, whilst I don't overly respect him as a person I do respect his SBS training, so whilst he often comes across as a complete penis he does have some good insights to share on the self mind control techniques they're taught, which are interesting to learn from.

4 stars - he's an idiot, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

24. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

When I saw this one on the bookshelf in the barn I just had to read it after OscarWilde87 commenting on it just a day or two before here on my thread. It's a very long time since I've read Steinbeck, and for some reason had developed a mental block over starting anything by him again, so Cannery Row was a good book to pick up as it's fairly slim and so mentally not a major time investment.

Well, I don't know why I'd been avoiding Steinbeck for so long as I really enjoyed it.

Cannery Row is a book that's all about the sense of place and terrific characters. The fish canning district of Monteray is a melting pot of people, and whilst there's a plot of sorts threading the chapters together, Steinbeck's intention with this novella is really to bring the place and the people alive. This is glass half-full writing at its best - regardless of the shortcomings of the residents of the flophouse, the girls from the brothel or the canny Chinese owner of the local general store, in Steinbeck's hands they're all innocents at heart, and with huge hearts at that.

Perhaps because I've only read Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck I was expecting a twist at the end that never came. However, nonetheless it's a warm, life-affirming book that made me smile plenty throughout.

4.5 stars - superlative writing with plenty of heart.

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This one I "borrowed" from my accommodation as I'm not finished it (well, I followed the book code of leaving one in return). Again, not a book I would have bought under my own steam, but having been immersed in a beautiful part of England for a week with oodles of history its subject matter was calling me.

>18 AlisonY: "he's an idiot, but it's an interesting read nonetheless" Nice.

Also, I don't read enough motivational books to even know what "visualising stepping in and out of a "fear" bubble when you are about to do something terrifying" means. 😂

>18 AlisonY: I spotted a full bookshelf in our accommodation I was like a kid in a sweetie jar and just had to read some of those instead.

love finding these! and I do the same thing, with mixed results

>19 AlisonY: yeah if I stopped after the school required of mice and men I would have missed lots of treasures (fortunately I had already read grapes of wrath and east of eden so I knew Id find more)

>17 AlisonY: I liked this one too, when I read a few years back for my RL book group Alison.

>20 AlisonY: This has been on my shelf for some time. May wiggle it up.

>21 ELiz_M: It's no more complicated than visualising yourself stepping through a bubble as you attack something fearful. But you're not to put yourself in the bubble too early (e.g. if you're getting stressed about an exam, you don't enter the fear bubble until you are actually starting the paper, as opposed to getting stressed weeks / months before). Easier said than done I suspect, but Middleton seemed confident that it works for people.

>22 cindydavid4: It's ridiculous - I get so excited by an accessible, filled bookshelf that doesn't belong to me.

>23 cindydavid4: I really have to stop putting off Grapes of Wrath... East of Eden I saw the James Dean film version of - that could work too...

>24 Caroline_McElwee: I strongly suspect it was your thread that led me to the Owen Sheers book, Caroline. I take a lot of BBs from you. I'm enjoying the Bill Bryson book - I think it's a book you have to be in the mood for, though.

>25 AlisonY: It's ridiculous - I get so excited by an accessible, filled bookshelf that doesn't belong to me.

You say that likes its a bad thing ;why do you think book lovers scout out the bookshelves on people they are visiting

>17 AlisonY: I read an interesting, if somewhat predictable, alternate history by Owen Sheers called Resistance. It's set in a WWII England where Hitler successfully invades. All the men in this particular valley disappear overnight (to join the resistance), and the women are left to tend the farms and deal with the occupying Germans.

>18 AlisonY: Highly entertaining review!

>19 AlisonY: Glad to see you liked Cannery Row. Great review! :)

>18 AlisonY: I guffawed when I got to the ...comes across as a complete penis... and may have scared the cat. I just read an article about a disastrous descent on Mt. Denali where one of the climbers shared that personality trait, so I wonder if they are present in a greater concentration among the mountaineering community?

>28 OscarWilde87: Good recommendation!
>29 RidgewayGirl: I hope I didn't offend anyone, but it seemed an apt description of him. Yes, I think mountaineers generally are risk takers, but he's not really a mountaineer, hence my irritation that he seemed to consistently remind us that he was a cut above everyone else on all fronts.

25. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

This book on Christianity by C. S. Lewis is based on a series of radio talks he gave in the aftermath of WWII. I read it in a very haphazard way spread out over too long a period, so I'm finding it hard to judge it fairly accordingly.

Does it stand the test of time? Yes and no. Mostly yes, as the foundations of Christianity itself hasn't changed, but there definitely were some outdated social ideas in some chapters. Mind you, that gave me some food for thought - are they outdated ideas, or is it that as modern day Christians we want to bend Christianity as we see fit to meet our more relaxed modern day moral standing on various things?

C. S. Lewis is, of course, a superb writer, and a number of the chapters were really thought provoking and gave me more insight on my faith, but others I found to be confusing in their rambling and a little lecturous.

Would this book speak to people without faith who are curious about becoming Christian? I'm not sure. I think it feels more appropriate to someone who already has some faith.

3.5 stars - an interesting book on Christianity, and one I probably need to dip in and out of in the future to get the most out of it.

26. I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

I've got very bogged down in the Bill Bryson book, so needed a comfort read to stop me hitting a reading slump. I've never read anything by Nora Ephron before, but I'd a great book haul just before my birthday and this one spoke to me in the Oxfam charity book shop.

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman is a collection of wry observational essays about getting older from a women's perspective. Some of it touches on big topics, like the essay on confronting death when a close friend dies, but much of it is comical perspective on the every day things in life. Positioning the stories as anecdotal from her own life experiences, the essays are full of New York dry humour and wit, such as the title story on how the neck always gives the game away in the battle against ageing.

You either like Ephron's sort of humour or you don't but it worked for me. These essays aren't meant to be taken too seriously, and I think anyone who reviews this book as being ego-centric is missing the point. Ephron knows that the best humour is to be found in every day life observations and self-deprecation. In one story she writes about how her love affair with the Upper East Side building she rents her apartment in ends after 10 years when her rent is hiked due to a new law allowing huge rent increases for people earning over $250,000. The point of the story is not to inform the masses that she's earning over $250,000, but to poke fun at her own indignation of this first world problem for someone who's very comfortably well off.

4 stars - This isn't a book I'm going to spend too much thinking about afterwards, but it was a short, amusing filler to whet my reading appetite again.

>32 AlisonY: Whenever I see the title of this book, I think about picking it up, but never have. Sounds fun. I'm glad it helped your reading mojo.

>32 AlisonY: I liked this book but the real draw for me is in her screen plays When Harry Met Sally (still watch it every New Years eve) Sleepless in Seattle., Julie and Julia. Very funny woman.

>33 labfs39: It's not a book that will change your life, Lisa, but it was a fun way of whiling away a few hours.

>34 cindydavid4: She was funny and smart and sassy, which is what I enjoyed about this book, and I agree those were great movies (haven't seen them in a while, mind).

27. At Home by Bill Bryson

As I mentioned earlier in my thread, I did a book swap at the accommodation I was staying at in Gloucestershire in July for this title. I was staying literally a stone's throw from a quaint Norman church in the depths of the glorious English countryside, and when I picked this book off the shelf and read that it was various histories sewn together around the loose theme of the country parsonage Bill Bryson had bought in Norfolk I couldn't resist.

I won't lie - I got a bit bogged down with this book for a while once I returned to work and life became busy again, but that was more to do with its length (over 600 pages). It's a book densely packed with historical facts on all sorts of subjects very vaguely tied to the different rooms in the parsonage. For instance, the chapter on the nursery focuses on child labour, child mortality and the way in which children were generally treated over several centuries in the different social classes, whilst the bedroom chapter covers everything from bed bugs to breast cancer to Victorian views on sexual appetite to mourning periods.

It's a fascinating book, covering an enormously wide period in history from early man to the late 20th century across many geographies, but with the biggest focus on 19th century Britain. Bryson covers a huge range of subject matters, from Thomas Jefferson's house in the States to people being accidentally buried alive to 17th century Britain's male penchant for wigs, peppered with his dry musings on events and practices.

It's a book that could easily have been 200 pages shorter and still been enjoyable - in places Bryson got a little carried away with imparting more detail than was necessary - but what I would have appreciated even more than further editing would have been more manageable chapter sizes. Given the density of the facts in this book, it's the type of book that I need to digest in short chunks when my reading time is limited to a short period before bed, and as Bryson had arranged the chapters around the rooms of his house sometimes they could be very long, which could be off-putting when I just wanted to dip in and out of it.

Nonetheless, if you enjoy books that cover wide historical topics there's plenty to enjoy in this book.

4 stars - hugely interesting, but its sheer size and arrangement made it feel like more of a slog at times than it deserves to be.

Love his early ones, not so mooch the recent ones coz same issues
However get your hands on summer 1927 well written, tight and fascinating

>37 cindydavid4: Oh I've never even heard of that one. Thanks for the tip.

I'm also an Ephron fan, Alison. It's nice to hear from an older woman.

Great comments on the Bryson.

>36 AlisonY: Noted Alison. Helpful to know going in. Maybe a chapter a week.

>36 AlisonY: Not a topic I would have thought Bryson would write about, but enjoyed reading your review.
Do you know The Victorian House by Judith Flanders? It's somewhat the same idea, but remains focussed mainly on the Victorian era.

>39 BLBera: Any other Ephron books you'd recommend, Beth? I agree - I enjoyed an older woman's perspective.

>40 Caroline_McElwee: Some of the chapters are longer than others, Caroline, but yes - a chapter a week sounds about right.

>41 SassyLassy: No, not read The Victorian House. I wonder if Bryson borrowed from it as a source.

Nice review of Mere Christianity, Alison. I purchased a copy of The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis earlier this month, and I'll probably read it in September.

>43 kidzdoc: Oh - I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on The Problem of Pain, Darryl.

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Started this one on a trip to London last weekend. I'm really enjoying it, but I got little time to read when I was there and have had even less time since I got back.

Highlight of the trip - discovering a great secondhand book market under Waterloo Bridge! Came away with a couple of random titles that I'm looking forward to getting into:

The Half Finished Heaven: Selected Poems by Tomas Transtromer
The Smell of Hay by Giorgio Bassani

Also dipping in and out of the following which I'm also really enjoying:

,

Hi Alison: I liked Ephron's essays. I also read her novel Heartburn, but I have a feeling that might be dated. I did like it when I read it.

I loved Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - and what a great title.

>46 BLBera: I suspect the essays are probably what I'd look to pick up in the future, Beth.

28. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but found it an enjoyable read. I liked Tokarczuk's style of writing from the get go, the feisty older lady protagonist and the physicality of the setting described.

There's something about this book that makes it an odd kind of read. I think it's perhaps that the narrative is following the somewhat barmy, unreliable thoughts of the woman. It layers literary fiction with a noir thriller element and dark comedy. Sometimes it seems obvious where the plot is heading. At other times it sends you in different directions.

Overall I enjoyed it, but I'm not quite ready to sign up to the fan club just yet. The writing style really drew me in, but I felt a little flat by the end with where the plot went.

4 stars - definitely worth a read, but I don't feel it's going to stick with me for long.

>48 AlisonY: I purchased this a year or two ago and haven't gotten to it yet. I'll save it for when I'm in an adventurous, open-minded mood.

>49 japaul22: Ditto. But it sounds interesting and like a fun read, so it's definitely toward the top of the virtual pile ("top" comprising, I don't know, 50 books?).

>48 AlisonY: I was surprised at how fun this book was given her Nobel laureate status, and how the parameters of the book could easier be transposed into a cozy mystery (which this is very much not).

>49 japaul22:, >50 lisapeet: Oh it's definitely worth a read. When I say I'm not ready to join the fan club, I just mean that I don't think it was as outstandingly good as all the plaudits led me to believe, but it's still an enjoyable read.

>51 RidgewayGirl: Agree - with both. She's definitely a clever writer.

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This one's been on my wish list for many years and I found it in a secondhand bookshop at the start of the summer like it was meant to be.

>53 AlisonY: I read that sooo long ago—20 years?—and I really wonder what I'd think of it now that I have a little more life under my belt. Looking forward to hearing what you think.

>54 lisapeet: Enjoying it so far, Lisa. The reviews of it are very mixed, so will see if it sustains my interest.

>55 AlisonY: Eggers can be polarizing. I like him when I am in the mood for his style. :) Although I had not read this one yet.

I'll probably read Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead next month, for the Reading Globally third quarter theme, books written in the Slavic languages.

>57 kidzdoc: Look forward to hearing your thoughts, Darryl. It's an enjoyable read.

>53 AlisonY: I haven't read this either although it's been on my shelf for years. I'll watch for your comments. Maybe it's time to either read it or find a new home for it.

>53 AlisonY: I'll be curious as to your thoughts, Alison. I read Staggering Genius many years ago and still have a strong distaste in my mouth about it. I felt that he was extremely egotistical and exploited his brother in writing the book. Can't remember the details now though, so perhaps it was just the wrong book at the wrong time.

29. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

This memoir (/ auto fiction in parts) definitely wins is a finalist in my 'best titles' list, but did the content live up to that audacious title?

Dave Eggers' parents died of cancer within 32 days of each other when he was in his early twenties, leaving him the main guardian of his younger brother Toph, who is 13 years younger. After recounting the period of his parents' deaths in the early chapters, the rest of the books focuses on Eggers' life as he navigates the typical preoccupations of young lads that age whilst being thrust into the parenting role for his brother.

I found it mostly a poignant, honest and engaging read, save for some sections in the middle where it lost my attention for a while. His writing style reflects with candidness his diametrically opposed worlds; on the one hand he's a young, immature man who wants to take on the world and hook up with women, yet on the other he takes his role as guardian of his brother seriously. Whilst his methods of upbringing are portrayed as unconventional, veering more towards that of flat mate than parent at times, the love he has for his brother never waivers, and despite the immense restrictions it puts on his own life there is never any sense of resentment that he and not his older brother or sister has drawn the straw of guardianship.

Eggers says it likes it is, and whilst some of that may feel inappropriate to the situation there is an honesty to his writing and very much a sense of being inside the head of a young man who's dealing with hugely difficult life circumstances in the only way a young lad knows how to. Given that his brother Toph has gone on to be a screenwriter I suspect Dave Eggers underplays how much he stepped up to the plate in his parenting role and overplays the tomfoolery and casualness in their life and relationship. Beneath it all is undoubtedly immense grief that Eggers works hard to keep a lid on, allowing only chinks to show through the black humour and laddish trains of thought. Grief not only for his parents but for the regularity and consistency of regular family life and the displacement from what he had known as home.

4 stars - a third of the book was probably closer to 3.5 stars, but the more absorbing parts of the book deserve the higher rating.

I've found the death of the Queen to be much more affecting than I would have expected and I think a lot of people feel the same. It's the enormity of what she did for her country that makes me emotional, serving steadfastly for 70 years right up to the end at the age of 96, honouring the pledge she gave when she became a young queen. It feels like the end of an era, that they don't make them like that anymore. In a world that's gone off the boil she was consistent and steady and familiar - the mothership.

I think most of the UK feels like it's lost it's favourite grandmother, a much needed beacon of light extinguished as we head into a very dark and bleak winter with the current energy crisis draining our purses.

I think I'll have to choose my next book carefully. Hearts and minds feel heavy at the moment.

I don't have a lot of feelings about the Queen, but this vignette, from a 2016 New Yorker article by Ben Taub about the surgeon David Nott’s horrific experiences in Syria, has always stuck with me—possibly more so in context with the rest of the article, which is mostly heartbreaking:

A few weeks after Nott left Aleppo, he was invited to lunch at Buckingham Palace. Wild duck and vintage port were served. Janet Oldroyd Hulme, one of Britain’s most prolific growers of rhubarb, sat on his left, and the Queen sat on his right. When the Queen turned to him, he explained that he had just returned from Syria. “How was it?” she asked. “I tried to play it light, and I said it was absolutely dreadful,” he told me. The Queen pressed for details, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her, and his bottom lip began quivering. At that point, “she summoned the corgis,” he said. For the next twenty minutes, Nott and the Queen petted the dogs and fed them biscuits under the table. As the lunch came to a close, he says, she remarked, “That’s much better than talking, isn’t it?”

>61 AlisonY: ok, it sounds a lot better than the title implies. (I always found the title off putting.) Great review.

I’m sorry about your queen. (And I like the anecdote, Lisa >63 lisapeet: )

>62 AlisonY: Thanks for your comment about the Queen — that seems to be a good way of looking at it.

I’ve been struggling to connect with it in a sensible way: however much respect I have for the Queen herself, it’s mixed up with longstanding intolerance for the institution of monarchy (and the bunch of arrogant spongers it supports) and with retrospective annoyance at myself for having allowed my emotions to be manipulated so easily by all the mass hysteria when Diana died.

>65 thorold: My sentiments are very similar to yours Mark. I understand peoples grief, but feel it is sadly misplaced. The Royal family stands for everything that I do not like about Britain. I have difficulty here living in an ex-pat community where everyone seems to be glued to the BBC and it is all they can talk about. Thankfully the TV is not on in our house and I will be avoiding the Brits for the next couple of weeks.

>63 lisapeet: That's a nice little story, Lisa. Enjoyed that.

>64 dchaikin: Funny that you hate the title, Dan - I think it's great! Horses for courses.

>65 thorold:, >66 baswood: I agree with your sentiments for most of the royals, but not towards the Queen. Which is what makes me feel sad when I catch any of the current news - I think she's the last in line with her mindset of service. But.... I'm prepared to give Charles the benefit of the doubt, even though I've never been a fan.

>63 lisapeet: Yes, I heard that. Her years of observation clearly gave her such fine skills.

Lovely compassionate story in >63 lisapeet: above.

However, I am also one of those who feel there is no longer a use for this particular monarchy. More so, I feel there is no use for a system of government in which Westminster can dictate to and control so much of the future of other countries within the UK, which clearly have no use for the ideas coming out of there. Not only that, the idea that Scotland must go to the Supreme Court in London to determine whether or not indyref2 can be held seems ludicrous, demonstrating that there is absolutely no parity among the members of the UK.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-62823549

Having said all that, I do feel that the Queen fulfilled her role admirably right to the end, but if there ever was a time to change, it's now.

Pause in discussion as I absorb how gutted I am to hear Hilary Mantel has died. What an author - so sad to hear that.

I just saw that. How sad!

>70 AlisonY: Goodness! And she was only 70.

>70 AlisonY: That's enough to pause any discussion. I didn't know this, so thanks - she is on my LT list of favourite authors.

>70 AlisonY: Oh no! She is one of my favorites.

The queen of modern literature dying in the same week the Queen was buried - what a few days it's been.

I appreciate we all have differing views on the monarchy, but all in all I thought the funeral was gloriously British and tremendously well executed. My good friend's cousin was the Queen's assistant personal secretary, and bless him was trending on Monday on social media as everyone spotted how tall he was as he walked in front of the hearse for the mile up to Windsor. Hard to stay inconspicuous when you're 7ft 2, but he did his family proud.

Back to Mantel... what a shock that is. She really was a tremendous writer with a very special talent.

>69 SassyLassy: Jumping around topics... From a NI perspective I'm glad Westminster still has some control, as we only seem to elect squabbling toddlers to our local assembly who can't get anything done when left to their own devices. Not that I think Westminster really gives a hoot about us, but they have to be seen to vaguely show an interest every now and then. I'm not convinced Scotland could economically survive independently.

>75 AlisonY: ...they have to be seen to vaguely show an interest every now and then. I don't know whether it is better to be remembered or forgotten by them! This new PM will be "interesting".

>69 SassyLassy: I'm not convinced Scotland could economically survive independently.

What can I say, I'm a dreamer. This does, however, seem to be one of the major objections. However using that good old Norway comparison, that country has an estimated population of 5,553,840 and survives very well indeed. Scotland's estimated population is 5,491,103, so definitely comparable, and then there's tiny Iceland, at 357,603, although I don't think anyone wants its financial woes.

We'll have to revisit all this down the road.

>76 SassyLassy: We'll have to revisit all this down the road.

Indeed. At the rate we're economically plummeting at just now who knows where everything will end up. Can't help thinking that no one's skipping into the sunset at the end of this.

My dad and I were joking the other day (in light of the massive pound slump) that maybe we should all get on the united Ireland bandwagon after all. Sadly if the UK economy hit the wall it would bring Ireland down with it. My husband was born in Australia so perhaps it's time we dusted down his Australian passport application...

Just catching up here and enjoying all the conversion about the Queen and the monarchy. I'm surprised by my lack of any emotion at her passing -- I thought I'd be a bit sadder. The Queen and my mum were born the same year, got married the same year, and had their first son the same year, so my mum always had a connection to her. My dad on the other hand had no use for monarchy whatsoever. But here in Canada, she's always been a part of our lives, hovering in the background. It will be odd for her to be gone, and I can't imagine Charles on our money. Time to take faces off money and just do different themed art, I think.

I had one friend go off on how anti-monarchy and anti-Charles in particular she was, and I could 100% see her point. (Personally, I can't get past his gross tampon comment from the 1990s). The next day I had a pro-monarchy friend go off on how important the monarchy is, and I could totally see her point too. So I'm just wishy-washy, I guess.

just means there is always at least two sides for every story. Somewhere I read that the ability to see all sides of the story was cursed. Sounds about right

I guess the royals are fallible like the rest of us so there will always be plenty of issues for people to feed off.

I felt the same way about Charles, but I've warmed to him a bit of late. He did a lot of foolish things over the years, but it feels like he's belatedly wised up a bit in his seventies.

Yikes - well behind with reviews.



30. Mental Load: A Feminist Comic by Emma

I've not really read graphic books before (well, not since I was very young, anyway), so this gift was a nice introduction to a different genre.

The enigmatic Emma is a thirty-something French computer programmer who also has comic strips in The Guardian and podcasts for the French Culture radio station. She's a young woman with strong ideas on feminism and racism and she's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

This is a great book - the graphics really stuck in my head about a lot of the points made in a way that pages of text wouldn't. Whilst I wasn't nodding my head at all of her points (perhaps I'm lucky to be married to someone who pulls their weight quite well domestically), she certainly hit the mark in a number of areas, particularly on the topic which led to the title.

I've never classed myself as a feminist (in fact there are areas of feminism that irk me considerably), but (sorry chaps - you may want to stop reading here) I was nodding my head vigorously on the subject of mental load. Like in many households, I end up taking care of all the household admin, whether it's stuff to do with the kids, school, bills, booking holidays, and there is a huge mental stress with always having this endless list of things to do and squeeze in around work. Whilst my husband is generally pretty at doing certain things around the house, it does wind me up that a common refrain is "you just needed to ask me to do x" (after I've spontaneously combusted over something). Emma nails this as a cop out, with women assuming the unwanted role of project manager in the house.

,

I don't want to male bash here. My husband does the lion's share of the outside work, so from a pure work perspective I'd say we have a healthy split, but I don't think men always appreciate that the job of mentally keeping on top of everything that needs done and ensuring balls don't get dropped gets tiring when it's carried mostly by one person.

Emma tackles other topics in this book too, such as the unhealthy work culture of 'he/she who stays latest in the office must be the better employee', the treatment of coloured young males in France by the police and the court system, motherhood and paternity leave.

All in all I enjoyed this book. Emma really cleverly picks up on some hard hitting points, and the graphics are a terrific way to get the message across.

4 stars - this will encourage me to pick up some more graphic books in the future (recommendations welcome!).

31. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

This was another birthday gift which again encouraged me to read outside my usual genres, which is always a good thing. Rupi Kaur was just 21 when she wrote and illustrated this collection of poetry, somehow managing to do the impossible and selling millions of copies of a genre that typically doesn't often top the bestseller charts.

Milk and Honey is a raw, honest and gutsy collection of poems about abuse, falling in love, having your heart broken and healing. I enjoyed the sections on falling in love and breaking up the most - for those of us who passed out of our teens and twenties quite some time ago, it was an enjoyable reminder of the passion that burns so fiercely at that point in life, when sexual relationships are all consuming and break ups so terribly hurtful and destructive (I'm not suggesting break ups aren't upsetting at any stage in life, but there's a particular rawness to those early breakups when you're just discovering life and trying to figure out who you are).

your name is
the strongest
positive and negative
connotation in any language
it either lights me up or
leaves me aching for days

Bam! I'm rocketed straight back to the late eighties and thoughts of an ex who sent me head and heart spinning in all sorts of great and awful directions in my teens.

I don't know why
I split myself open
for others knowing
sewing myself up
hurts this much
afterward

I loved this collection. It's so raw, so open, so painfully, brutally recognisable to anyone who remembers the immense joy and pain of falling in and out of love for the first time.

4.5 stars - a collection for us gals rather than the guys, but just terrific.

32. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

If you're someone who doesn't sleep well, or who regularly sleeps less than 7 or 8 hours per night, I'm torn between screaming at you to read this book and telling you never to go near it, as it will absolutely scare the bejesus out of you (even if you imagine that you're a pretty good sleeper).

Matthew Walker (neuroscientist and sleep specialist) doesn't beat around the bush - sleep is VITALLY important to our health, and in an age when less and less sleep seems to be impressed upon us as the norm we're collectively screwed if we don't wake up and smell the coffee (or perhaps that should be stop waking up early and smelling the coffee to try and compensate for all the work we didn't allow our brain to do overnight).

There's loads of fascinating stuff in here about the important, differing roles deep sleep and REM sleep play in keeping us healthy. I think of it a bit like software patch upgrades; they're needed to keep everything refreshed and working in tiptop condition, and we can ignore doing the install for a while by depriving our bodies of the sleep they need, but eventually the programme's going to stop working properly.

A few things particularly stood out for me. The link between Alzheimer's and long-term sleep problems (older people in particular suffer from much shorter amounts of deep sleep), the huge impact that even losing an hour of sleep has on your cancer fighting cells and the clinical proof of the impact shortened sleep has on our cognitive abilities. Also, the fact that humans are designed to have 2 sleep cycles per day, something which has been eradicated from most of western society, with the exception of some parts of Greece and Spain, for example, where the practice siesta is still observed (and in those parts of Greece where an afternoon nap is the norm, the average lifespan is much longer than in the USA, for example).

Walker spells it out in no uncertain terms - if you know someone who prides themselves on 'only needing 4 or 5 hours sleep' they're completely deluding themselves; we ALL need 7-8 hours sleep nightly for critical reset programmes in our brain to run properly.

My main criticism of this book is that in places Walker gets a bit long-winded and doesn't necessarily need to get lost in so much detail for a popular science book, but overall it's a really important book and one we should all read if we value our health and longevity.

4 stars - fascinating and alarming essential reading.

Currently reading:



It seemed a sad yet appropriate coincidence that I'd already picked this out as my next book when news of Mantel's untimely death broke.

In other news, one of the reasons why I'm a bit behind in posting and reading is that I was in England for a long weekend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The lineup in general wasn't as strong for the opening weekend as we've enjoyed in previous years, but we still had a good time.

Ian McEwan was the standout over the 2 days we went. A natural storyteller, I could have listened to his anecdotes for hours. The perfect person to include in a fantasy dinner guest list. We were really gutted that he didn't do a signing - I would have loved to meet him after reading so many of his books. That's becoming a bit of an irritation of the festival - that it's not made clear in advance whether authors will be signing or not (no doubt to put you off purchasing in advance so Waterstones have a captive market when you're there).

Mel C (aka Sporty Spice) was somewhat less highbrow but entertaining nonetheless. Regardless of what you think of her (and let's face of it, most of us haven't spent much time thinking about her at all), she's had an interesting life with her Spice Girls adventure, and it was curious to hear how it all came about and what she thinks when she looks back on those crazy days in the Nineties now. She was also a disappointing non-signer (especially when we'd bought her book for that sole purpose - now I'll have to make myself read it at some point just because I spent a tenner on it).

We attended our second poetry slam there, which is always good fun, a bit crazy and really inspirational. The poets (all published) were a real motley crew of people - hugely creative and arty types who I sadly don't get to be around at all in my line of work - but all so smart and intuitive. One poet was German and read some of her work in German first before her translator read it in English (she could speak perfect English but wanted to give her translator a shared platform), and despite my school German being too rusty to pick up most of it the whole experience somehow worked.

Also enjoyable was a talk 'How to Live Your Best Life' by two published psychologists. The review of one of those books will be coming up later this month if I manage to keep up some reading momentum.

>81 AlisonY: I saw your post over on the Graphic Stories thread and got all excited to see what you had read. Mental Load sounds great, and I'm adding it to my wishlist. I can relate, why did my partner never know what size the kids wore, when they were due for a dental cleaning, or if the dog's shots were up to date? Another good one in a similar vein (woman talking about life) is Hyperbole and a Half. It's very funny, but also spot in when talking about depression, crazy dogs, etc.

>83 AlisonY: Why We Sleep sounds interesting. I love reading books written by neuroscientists. It might stress me out, thus worsening my sleep issues, but sounds worth it.

>84 AlisonY: Thanks for sharing about the literary festival too. I haven't ventured forth to one since, you-know-what, but enjoy them vicariously through other intrepid LTers.

>81 AlisonY: This is an interesting topic. Why does the task of keeping all the balls in the air fall automatically overwhelmingly to women, even as some men are rising to the challenge of taking on a larger proportion of the household and childcare tasks?

>85 AlisonY: A book festival is always fun. I'm looking forward to the Portland Book Festival next month. But I've never heard of authors at festivals simply opting out of book signings. I heartily hope this isn't a trend that crosses the Atlantic.

>86 labfs39: Noting the graphic recommendation - thanks Lisa.

Yes, the sleep book could easily move anyone to paranoia, but perhaps it's a healthy paranoia given it's something so many of us need to reprioritise.

Totally get where you're coming from on the book festivals. I didn't even go into a restaurant until February of this year. We ended up taking a few flights over the summer which were hangover vouchers from the first summer of Covid, and I think that got me past my fears a bit. Plus I'm tired of not doing anything interesting for such a long time. For sure they could be super spreader events, though.

>87 RidgewayGirl: I wonder, Kay, do we women create a lot of these issues for ourselves (re the mental load). I admit to being a control freak on lots of the mental household plates I juggle. After my husband booked our first ski holiday together when we were dating and chose a 2 star hotel he's never been allowed to book our travel again, for instance. This year our roles have reversed with me working full time and my husband part time, and it's taken me 9 months to relax and trust that he's capable of making the kids' packed lunches without me.

Enjoy your book festival. Yes, the missing signings were disappointing. I feel there should be more advance transparency around that before you go. Hope that doesn't happen at yours.

The book festival sounds fun; I just attended the one in Iowa City, with plenty of books signings! I was very happy with the authors I saw as well: Angie Cruz, Alex Kotlowitz, Jennifer Knox, and Elizabeth McCracken.

Mental Load sounds great. Your comments remind me of my daughter. Her partner does do a lot of the work, but she has to track all appointments, social engagements, etc.

The sleep book sounds interesting; as a person who doesn't sleep well, I'm not sure I should read it. It might be too scary!

>90 BLBera: Glad you enjoyed your book festival too, Beth.

The sleep book is alarming, but he has some strategies for improving sleep at the end.

I also do all of the "household management scheduling" type tasks. Making sure all 4 of our various schedules work together with sports, music, work, medical appointments, etc. And I set up childcare if it doesn't. Oh, plus the dog vet visits and groomings, boarding when necessary. I also do our vacation planning and pay our bills. However, I sort of enjoy doing all of this. My husband does all the cooking for dinners, all the yard work, most home maintenance, his share of the family's laundry, car maintenance for both of our cars, all electronic/digital maintenance (seriously I never even update or backup my personal laptop - embarrassing). Those things that he does do take up mental space and planning as well.

I wanted to write that because when I initially read your review I thought - YES, I do all of that - and WHY? But then when I consider all the things my husband does and that also take planning and time, I think we're actually pretty even. Or I may even be coming out ahead . . .

I have the same thing going; we split the cleaning, but I also d o'"household management scheduling" he vacuums and takes care of anything needing repair, takes care of the yards and the cars. So yeah I probably also am coming out ahead!

As long as your respective husbands (spouses) not only do the work but track when the work needs to be done, they're taking a fair share of the mental load. If he'll take the car to the shop but only when you tell him it's due for something (and the equivalent for any other work), he's doing the physical work but not the mental load. It's an interesting angle, and one I hadn't considered (doesn't apply to me personally, I'm single and live alone, but it's interesting nonetheless).

my dh does not need to be told; in fact he looks for things to do, sometimes when they don't need to be done (very very A+ type) its fine till he complains he's doing to much, at which point I remind him that he has overworked himself. Good thing I love him anyway.

33. A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel

This is my fifth Mantel read after being a late starter. I'm starting to think of her books as Cromwell Mantel and Other Mantel, as her writing style seems really quite different between the two.

A Change of Climate is the tale of a previously very settled marriage in crisis interspersed with the tale of the couple's time as missionaries in Africa when they were first married. The African tale is necessary to later understand perhaps why things have ended up as they have, but I really didn't warm to these chapters as much as the modern day chapters in rural England. They seemed to interrupt my flow of enjoyment of the narrative.

I feel a bit ambivalent towards this one. I enjoyed it enough and turned the pages quite happily, but I'm not sure that I'm going to sing it's praises.

3.5 stars - a good enough read, but not my favourite Mantel to date.

34. The Beacon by Susan Hill

I love Susan Hill's writing. Not the detective books she seems to be well known for now (at least, I've not read those ones) but her other quiet, sensitive, rural stories.

The Beacon is a house in rural north of England. May, who was the child who stayed at home with her parents through adulthood, is facing a new beginning as the last of her parents dies. As she contemplates the future, we're drawn into the missed chances of her youth and a mystery surrounding her brother Frank.

This isn't a book that's going to be on my best of the year list, but sometimes I'm just really in the mood for these quiet books which are all about the setting and memorable characters.

4 stars - not one I'm likely to think about too much in the future, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Currently reading:

>98 AlisonY: I'm looking forward to this one Alison.

>99 Caroline_McElwee: Early days, but so far so good, Caroline. We all know McEwan can be hit of miss, but the reviews on this one are great.

>98 AlisonY: I liked that one, for the most part... a little shaggy but generally fun. Interested to hear what you think, from a more non-U.S. POV.

>102 lisapeet: Just checked out your review, Lisa. Sounds like overall you enjoyed it. I'm off next week so if I don't get to read much this week hoping to finish it then. Got loads of books I'm desperate to get stuck into at the moment.

North American friends - I've been saying for years that I'd like to do a big family holiday to either the US or Canada with my kids before they stop wanting to come with us. Covid got in the way of initial plans, and so now I'm considering it for next year (although the £ could do with getting a lot stronger first).

I'm looking for suggestions please. I want to stay east to keep it to one direct flight out of Dublin (my youngest isn't a great traveller), and unlike the adult trips we've taken to North America I don't think we want to spend loads of time on the road. Has anyone got anyone suggestions for a good base for a couple of weeks - maybe a two centre? I don't want to do NYC or Florida this time around. We enjoy the mountains and my eldest is of an age where he's enjoying the hustle and bustle of being in a city for a few days too. I think my husband would prefer not to have the stress of driving loads, but he's probably OK with doing a bit of it.

I was looking at Montreal and Quebec as we enjoy the mountains, but wasn't sure if this is something that would appeal to teenagers? I enjoyed Montreal when I went with work, but is there enough to do there as part of a holiday? Too far south in the States and I think I'd melt (we're looking at July or August). Is there much to keep teens occupied in Maine if we combined that with Boston or something? When I say keep them occupied, they're pretty good travel companions - I just think they're the age now where they need to have somewhere with a bit of life about it rather than our idea of an idyllic place away from everyone.

>104 AlisonY: Chicago is a fantastic city to visit - there is a ton of stuff there for everyone. We originally went to the Museum of Science and Industry when they had a Harry Potter exhibit and now we've been back three times (and still haven't seen everything we want to see!).

We usually stay in Michigan City, Indiana (have friends there) or drive through and stay north of the city/Wisconsin. There's a Jelly Belly jellybean factory up there :)

>105 Yells: Oh I hadn't thought of Chicago - that's a great suggestion. Somewhere the adults haven't been either. Thanks!

That is such a hard question - it's really hard to narrow down where to go!

I love Chicago - I grew up in the suburbs there. It's a great city to explore and if you want something to add that is more outdoors-y you could do some beach time on Lake Michigan in Michigan or a lake in Wisconsin. Or you could do a day trip out to Starved Rock, which is a really cool state park with canyons, hiking, boating, etc.

In the northeast, I've been eyeing a trip for our family to Montreal and Quebec City. Probably a couple of nights in each. And there's gorgeous Prince Edward Island, but that's a lot of driving. We went to Acadia National Park and stayed in touristy (would be fun for your teens) Bar Harbor. Beautiful hikes, sea kayaking, good restaurants, shopping, etc.

Or you mentioned Boston - you could do Newport, Rhode Island; Boston; Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Plenty of beaches and hikes to add into the city vibes there.

I'm just outside of D.C., which is a fun area to visit, but it's brutally hot in July/August, and I really wouldn't recommend it if you don't deal well with heat. It can be really miserable, even for us who are used to it!

So many options! If you narrow it down to an area I know, I'm happy to give detailed tips! I really enjoy travel planning.

If you go to Chicago, don't miss the Field Museum - Sue the T-Rex among many other things.

Vermont is a wonderful place if you like mountains and not far from Canada.

I live at the southernmost tip of NJ. There is a vacation town called Cape May. The town is an historic landmark due to its Victorian architecture. 5 miles from Cape May is Wildwood with a very fun packed boardwalk. There are hiking paths in Cape May and it is a world famous birding spot. 50 miles north of Cape May is Atlantic City - gambling and night life. 60 miles North of AC is Philadelphia- many historic spots and museums plus a zoo. Going West from Philly, you can visit Lancaster County home of the Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish country.

My favorite thing to do in Cape May is to go on the whale-watcher boat ride. They also have them in Cape Cod which is convenient to Boston/Cambridge.

>81 AlisonY: very interesting post about Mental Load. It's something I've done pretty poorly with in my life.

>96 AlisonY: too bad about Mantel's A Change in Climate. I'm still interested though.

>107 japaul22:, >108 jjmcgaffey:, >109 dianeham: These are all excellent ideas! Thank you so much. I'm off next week so will do some checking out online of these ideas. I could really do with the £ climbing a bit to make it all more doable.

>110 dchaikin: It's an interesting concept, Dan (Mental Load).

Don't let me put you off the Mantel novel. It was an enjoyable enough read - it just didn't blow me away.

If you don't mind going so far west Seattle is wonderful--mountains and ocean, and delightful weather in the summer. Also a short train ride to Portland or Vancouver BC (and a nice ferry ride to Victoria Island. A very bookish city too. I miss it so much.

>112 arubabookwoman: love that place, we spent a wonderful month exploring. If you have it there, I might just be able to go!

>112 arubabookwoman: Sounds lovely, but a bit too far west for my youngest who isn't a great traveller. I want to keep to one direct flight to somewhere east.

The latest consensus is that no one overly wants to do a city this time around as we did London in the summer, so somewhere on the Atlantic Coast perhaps.

Our National Parks are fantastic, but to get to the best ones, you'd need to go farther west than you want. Considering you'd like cooler weather, look at a Maine and Canadian vacation? You could do Acadia National park from Bar Harbor, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia.

Or if you want a beach vacation with actual swimming, I loved the Cape May, New Jersey suggestion.

>115 japaul22: Thanks - will take a look and see what prices are coming out like.

>104 AlisonY: Definitely Montréal! It's not at all like London, it's fun. There is so much there for all ages. I cannot imagine ever getting bored there. Then as >109 dianeham: says, there is Vermont, which is only a short drive away - Burlington Vermont is less than two hours on the highway, or you could go through the beautiful Hero Islands. The province of Québec has beautiful parks for outdoor activities, some very close to Montréal. You're also an easy train ride to Ottawa and/or Québec City. If the children are resisting cities, maybe fly into Montreal for a couple of days and then explore the Saint Laurence.

Should you want to go to the US though, you will need visas or other documents. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements.

>117 SassyLassy: Thanks. Lots of good ideas there.

Sigh. A week off work and... Covid. I first started to feel unwell last Thursday in work but tested negative on Friday and Saturday so shrugged it off as a bad cold. Each day I felt progressively worse so I tested again yesterday (prompted by not overly being able to taste my lunch) and that was that.

As my dad has stage 4 cancer I'm doing full isolating at one end of our house (we live in a bungalow) so I don't pass it on to anyone else who might pass it on to him (although I had dinner with him last Thursday which is worrying, but he and my mum were vaccinated a few weeks ago so fingers crossed). Not quite the week off with the kids over half term I'd planned for, consigned alone to a bedroom. Today is the first day I've started to feel a little better so I probably would have gone out for a walk but the rain is relentless today and I don't think getting soaked to the skin will do me any favours.

Looking to the positives, I've nothing to do but read and catch up on LT. Also, I get out of cooking and cleaning for everyone for several days - got to be a silver lining there! My sinuses were my worst symptom for the last few days and I wasn't interested in reading for a while with the headache, but I'm glad that I seem to be on the up now and reading has become pleasurable again. By chance my husband's been slowly decorating the office at this end of the house, so I guess I may as well take up the paint brush for a few days too.

Oh man, that's a drag. Maybe better timing than having a full work week, but still... disappointing and worrisome. I hope you don't have too bad a case, and that you bounce back (and test negative) soon.

>119 AlisonY: hope you are better soon.

>119 AlisonY: I hope you are feeling better soon, Alison, and that the rest of your family stays well. Symptoms range so with this illness, don't they? I had a case very early on and had a completely different set of symptoms to what people seem to be experiencing with omicron. Rest up. Although I don't hear of as many cases of long covid as with the first strains, it's something you don't want. Take care!

>120 lisapeet: You're right, Lisa. If I'd not been off on holiday I'd have felt obliged to try and work at home and definitely haven't felt well enough for that, so counting my blessings that at least I can convalesce in peace.

>121 dianeham: Thanks Diane.

>122 labfs39: Symptoms do seem so variable, Lisa. I can't say I've had many of the symptoms on the 'usual symptoms' list. My sinuses were the worst to the point where my eyelids were all swollen yesterday. That was making my head ache, but other than that I just have felt very tired and generally nondescript unwell all over.

It's my first time having Covid, and I've definitely been sicker with flu in the past, but this feels a weird, relentless type of illness where symptoms don't let up for quite a while. When the rain cleared today I went out the back for some fresh air and to get my body moving again and it was like I couldn't fully feel my legs when I was walking. Really strange (and rather eerie).

I know you had a really bad time with Covid - really hoping and praying that this blows over without any further effects. How is your long Covid now? Do you still have any issues?

>123 AlisonY: There is such a variety of symptoms that I'm going to just take a test whenever I feel unwell. My case, back in September, began with a sore throat and I felt like I had a mild flu for a few days and then just tired for a further few days.

I hope your recovery is an uneventful as mine was and do rest and relax while you've got the excuse to do so, you'll be pulled back into family and work life soon enough.

35. Lessons by Ian McEwan

This is McEwan's longest novel to date, no doubt because it's his first novel following pretty much the full lifespan of a character's novel.

It's a novel that covers a lot of bases - key world events viewed from the lens of an ordinary Brit, adolescent sexual experiences with an older female teacher, a wife who leaves her family to pursue her writing ambitions (threads of Doris Lessing there) - yet somehow I can't help but feel that given this big life canvas to work with there was a missed opportunity for something a little more special.

It's a good novel, for sure, but it lacked the shock factor of McEwan's earlier novels which threw me off course and had me silently applauding his crazy imagination as I read. As a result it reads like many other decent novels I've read that quickly become forgettable.

McEwan seems to have moved in his senior years of writing towards more of a political and social commentary bent, and I for one miss his old form of just relaying a damn good story. He was trying to give an everyman's view of key historical events, but at times it felt contrived to have the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chernobyl, etc. etc. right up to Covid lockdowns all squeezed into one novel.

At the literary festival earlier in the month he spoke at length about this novel and said it's the book where he's most used aspects from his own life. Maybe that subconsciously constrained where he took the novel on some level.

He's a writer that can both astound and disappoint me. This is the thirteenth novel of his I've read now, and I said I was done with him some years back as I felt I'd read his best work and everything else was disappointing me. I'm glad I did go back to him, as this was a worthwhile read, but I wish he'd find some of his old sparkle (although his form could definitely be hit or miss even at his best).

4 stars - an epic novel, yet it fails to deliver in terms of creating a heartfelt relationship between the reader and the protagonist. Given this is the story of one person's lifetime, it therefore feels like it falls short from what it could have been.

>124 RidgewayGirl: Thanks Kay. Yes, I was just thinking earlier that there aren't many times when I get to completely step out of the household chores, so I'm trying to treat it as a mini break, albeit one that's confined to a small bedroom!

>123 AlisonY: I'm glad you are feeling a little better, Alison. My daughter and I are both in a long covid study with John Hopkins, and the list of symptoms that they include is astounding. My long covid heart issues have gone away, thankfully, as have my daughters hives, but she continues to have temperature dysregulation and a weakened immune system. The latter is difficult since I watch my nieces, and they are little germ factories.

>123 AlisonY: not sure why but I have not been hit with it Im vaxxed and boosted but it seems like others are getting a mild version so they say. gotta get my flu shot still. Hope you feel better soon and no one else comes down with it. Enjoy your reading time

>127 labfs39: That sounds so dreadful, Lisa. I'm sure it's a major relief that your heart symptoms have improved. I'm still a member of Long Covid groups on Facebook since we were making a Long Covid app in work, and it makes for such sad reading.

>128 cindydavid4: Hope you manage to avoid it, Cindy. We're a lot less careful now than we were for 2 years, and no doubt that's a major factor in us now coming down with it.

3 of us are now infected in the house - 1 to go.

I am so sorry to hear about COVID in the house, Alison. I hope all recover with no lasting effects.

Great comments on Lessons; I've been wondering about that one. McEwan doesn't always work for me. I might give it a try; my library has a copy.

So sorry to hear the Covid has spread. Hope it passes through quickly without any lingering side effects.

Hope you are doing better and wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!

>125 AlisonY: Nice review. I really need to get around to reading some Ian McEwan.

>119 AlisonY: Oh how frustrating Alison. But yay for extra reading time. My downstairs neighbour has it (amazing she got this far and not had it, as she is unvaccinated), manly her symptoms are fatigue.

>125 AlisonY: I'll probably wait for the paperback then.

Too bad others in your family have come down with it, I know you were isolating hoping to avoid it. Hope all feel better soon.

>130 BLBera:, >131 markon:, >132 AnnieMod:, >133 Caroline_McElwee:, >134 labfs39: Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Around day 8 I felt like this was never going to end, but yesterday I felt like I turned a bit of a corner and the overwhelming fatigue lifted a bit.

Oddly, I seemed to have more capacity for reading earlier in the week when I felt worse but wasn't so tired. I've picked up Mel C's autobiography as I felt like I needed extremely light reading fare.

I hope you continue to feel better, and the rest of your family too.

>125 AlisonY: I liked Lessons well enough when I read it—a bit baggy, but I enjoyed the weaving in of the events of the 20th century. I thought that added to the realism of what might otherwise read like a bit of an unremarkable life, and found that sort of forced relatability to actually be very satisfying, if that makes sense. Yeah, not sparkly. But well done, and worth the reading time investment.

>136 lisapeet: I think you captured it much more eloquently than I did!

36. Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek

I'm never going to run a marathon in this lifetime, never mind an ultramarathon, but I love reading about the crazy people who devote themselves to running these punishing races of 50, 100, 150 miles.

I first came across Scott Jurek's name when I read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run (which is an excellent read). For a long time Jurek was lauded as king of the ultramarathons, repeat winner of numerous infamous ultra races, and I was interested in his back story. How does someone get into this sport - are they top athletes at school, or does something else propel them along the way? What keeps them going in the most gruelling of competitions?

Jurek focuses on being bullied at school and how he was the most unlikely of ultramarathon champions. That may be true of his younger school years, but as a teenager he started competing at national level in cross-country skiing, a sport that requires huge amounts of endurance. His home life was difficult - he was a carer to a mother disabled by MS and had a fractious relationship with his father - and he believes he built up a level of resilience and self-sufficiency most of his peers didn't have at that young age. Running came as a way of building up stamina for skiing, and he was also positively influenced in keeping going by his friend Dusty, a troubled teen who excelled at sport and long distance running in particular whilst creating chaos wherever he went.

This memoir is an interesting account of Jurek's running career, and how a casual running hobby quickly morphed into him becoming one of the greatest ultramarathon runners of his era (if not the greatest). Jurek uses the long distances, great outdoors and mind control over pain and exhaustion to transport himself somewhere where everyday life can't reach him. It's incredible his dedication to his art, particularly as back in this era of the 90s / early Noughties there was little money to be made from ultramarathon victories. There's something incredibly admirable about how pure his drive is, this need to reach a spiritual nirvana and simply live a life that's very in touch with food and nature.

Each chapter ends with some tips on running and a vegan recipe. Early on in his running career Jurek transitioned to veganism, driven by how much better his body performed and recovered when he moved away from processed food and meat to whole foods. Although I doubt I'll ever commit to that eating path, I'm interested in how plant based eating has really taken hold at elite athlete level.

4 stars - recommended for anyone who enjoys the psychology behind what makes a great sporting hero.

Nice review! Hope you are continuing to feel better.

I'm intrigued by this one. I too will never run a marathon, but reading out people who do is interesting. I also loved Born to run.

>139 markon: Very up and down still with Covid, Ardene. At the moment I seem to get a better day followed by a couple of days when I go backwards again.

If you enjoyed Born to Run I think you'll enjoy Scott Jurek's book. It's really interesting finding out what goes on in someone like that's head.

I nearly bought Rich Roll's book instead - he's another interesting character (and also a plant food devotee).

I like running books too, and don't run. Though I used to, so maybe that's it. But I think it's the whole mindset that appeals to me, and generally like to read about anyone who has some kind of practice. Have you read Why We Swim? I heard Tsui on a podcast a while ago and that sparked my interest in the book.

>141 lisapeet: I agree. And it's not just sport - it's generally fun getting inside the head of anyone who's done something I'll never be able to do.

I've not heard of Why We Swim - will take a look.

37. Who I Am: My Story by Melanie C

I've been struggling with Covid recovery this week, so needed some light reading fare. This book was bought for the Cheltenham Festival signing that never happened, so I decided my tenner wasn't going to go completely to waste and I'd read it, even though I've little interest in The Spice Girls or Mel C.

Well, it was a pleasant surprise to actually enjoy it. Mel C is just a year younger than me so I could relate to a lot of the 80s and 90s nostalgia that gets mentioned in the book. Despite The Spice Girls not being a 'serious' music act that garners major respect in the industry, you have to hand it to them - like them or loathe them they did have phenomenal success between the number 1 singles and albums, huge $ earnings from merchandising and a fairly awful film that still grossed a lot of money at the box office. On that basis, it was therefore interesting to read her insider's account of what it was like to go from a normal working class girl to a world superstar and the highs and lows that came with that (and also afterwards, when a solo career was never likely to have the success that The Spice Girls did).

When someone's writing an autobiography you're conscious that they're always going to portray themselves in as positive a light as possible, but it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that she often felt quite overpowered by the dominant personalities of Mel B and Geri.

4 stars for pure reading enjoyment. It got a little annoying towards the end of the book with Mel C constantly reinforcing her solo success and that she's very proud of the albums that didn't do very well; one does wonder who it was she was really trying to convince, but good luck to her.

>140 AlisonY: I'm sorry to hear the covid is lingering, Alison. Is the sinus pain still bothering you? I hope you feel 100% soon.

>144 labfs39: Hi Lisa, it's mostly a continual headache and dizzy feeling with total exhaustion. I really hope I'm not getting post viral fatigue - I feel worse now than I did in the thick of it last week.

>145 AlisonY: I hope not, Alison. I was surprised at the most recent Zoe symptom report to learn that headache is a very prominent symptom with the newer variants, much more than cough or fever, which were the most common symptoms back when I had it. Fatigue seems to be the one symptom that hasn't changed. How is the rest of your family faring?

>146 labfs39: My 15 year old just had cold symptoms for a few days but hasn't really felt unwell. I was shocked to find out that after 3 positive tests they're allowed back to school under current legislation, even when still testing positive. Apparently it's considered that they're not infectious for as long as adults. Still - won't have him near my parents until he has two negatives.

My husband still feels a bit more tired than usual but is largely OK. My daughter seems to have escaped it. She's the only one who's had it before - I wonder if that's why, although it's 9 months since she had it.

>147 AlisonY: I know it's important to keep kids in school, but going back while still shedding the virus seems risky, especially to the adults around them. I'm so glad I'm not a teacher these days. I hope today is a better day for you.

>147 AlisonY: That does sound off about the return to school, though I know that's been such a huge issue in the politics of Covid restrictions. I honestly have no idea what tune I'd be singing if I were still a (working, single) mom. Anyway, I hope you start feeling significantly better soon. Fatigue is so awful.

I hope you start to feel better soon, Alison.

>148 labfs39:, >149 lisapeet:, >150 BLBera: Thank you for the well wishes. Getting there I think /hope.

The rules in our school district are that students have to stay home for 5 days after covid positive test or symptom onset. There is no required testing to return. For days 6-10 they have to wear a mask. I believe that's consistent with CDC guidelines.

>147yep our state has done the same, just send the kids back no matter how sick they are. I get wanting to keep kids at school but they seem to forget about the adults: teachers, staff,parents who are at the school working. Our district lost several teachers in the first year. Guess they dont mind losing more. sigh

Next up:



I've got a few non-fiction titles on the go, but this is the novel I'm reading at the moment. It's been on my TBR shelf for years and I've had some weird avoidance thing going on even though I fully expect to enjoy it. Well, we're off the starting blocks now.

>154 AlisonY: Superb! I think it's a threepeat for me.

Best way to read it is in as big chunks as you can manage, so that you become totally immersed in it.

>154 AlisonY: It's still on my tbr pile Alison, though I think a reread of War and Peace will happen in the new year. I made an attempt every decade since a late teenager, getting near the end each time. Finally reading the whole thing in my early 50s. I'd already been smitten at aged 12 by the BBC dramatisation. I bought that series on dvd recently, maybe I will rewatch over the winter. A very young Anthony Hopkins as Pierre.

I love Anna Karenina - one of my all time favorites. I hope you enjoy it, but I'll be interested to hear your thoughts either way. Which translation are you reading? I've found that, for Russian works in particular, translation has a huge impact on the book.

>155 SassyLassy: I managed to read some decent chunks over the weekend, but I'm back to work tomorrow and expect with still not feeling well my pace will slow. I'm about a quarter of the way in and really enjoying it.

>156 Caroline_McElwee: I think you'll enjoy it, Caroline. Good luck with War and Peace - that's a project I'll have to get to at some point as well.

>157 japaul22: It's the updated Penguin translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. It seems to have received good reviews.

>158 AlisonY: I've got the Pevear/Volokhonsky edition too. I've heard really good things about it. Maybe you're going to be the push I need...

>159 lisapeet: It's really enjoyable, Lisa. Pulls you in from early on.

38. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

So I finally got to the end of Anna Karenina. My reading speed is no reflection on the book - work's super busy and of course Christmas silly season is upon us when many an evening is spent glued to my laptop looking for gifts. And I'm back to the gym after Covid, so that burns up a few evenings a week as well. All in all, I've not had much available reading time each day.

As so many people have already read this classic I'll stick to my thoughts rather than a review of the plot.

Whilst it's a fairly lengthy tome, for the most part I was fully engrossed in it (and the pages where I glazed a little were less than double figures). So what was the draw? Characterisation is the big one that stood out, particularly the character contrasts between the two main couples in the novel. Tolstoy does a good job of humanising his characters, revealing their many layers as the novel develops. On many pages I was finding Anna entirely self-satisfying and not overly likeable, yet as the book progresses we see her frailties and no doubt genuine love - to the point of obsession - of Vronsky. As a reader we're torn between thoughts of 'well, you made your bed so you'd better lie in it' and sympathy for someone who in a loveless marriage who simply is dazzled by love. Vronsky similarly feels like a selfish playboy at the beginning of the novel, but his genuine love for Anna by the end is clear.

Levin's relationship with Kitty is an interesting parallel, a chalk and cheese pair compared to the fiery romance between Anna and Vronsky. Still waters run deep with Levin, whose thoughts are consumed with self-questioning and desire to work towards the greater good. A totally different man to Vronsky, but who of the two is the most noble in the end?

The second big draw for me in this novel was the setting of Imperial Russia. I knew little of the lifestyle of the nobility in this period in Russian history, and this backdrop was fascinating, from 'society' in Moscow and St. Petersburg to Levin's country dwelling and interaction with the muzhiks post the abolition of serfdom. Tolstoy's descriptions were incredibly vivid, from the dust on the face of travellers who had come the last leg of their journey by carriage to the epic train journeys regularly taken as the society characters moved between their own houses and those of family and acquaintances they went to stay with.

If I have one criticism it's that the last 50 pages felt a little flat in comparison with the rest of the novel. Tolstoy tries to bring the novel to a moral finale, but somehow it felt a bit contrived and rushed along to the conclusion he wanted to get to. But it's a small criticism in a work that was a rich tapestry and hugely enjoyable.

4.5 stars - a wonderful epic that deserves rereading.

>161 AlisonY: Oooh good impressionistic review—as someone who plans on reading it sooner than later and knows the most basic plot but really wants to be surprised also, that's just perfect.

>162 lisapeet: Pretty sure you'll love it, Lisa.

One of my favorites - due for another reread, I think.

I saw the movie (can't remember which one, woulda been in the 70s) and for some reason wasnt interested in reading it. Think I might change my mind

>165 cindydavid4: I saw one of the movies too (the most recent one I think) and felt the same way, but it didn't do the book justice at all. I definitely wouldn't let that put you off.

ok then, thanks

>161 AlisonY: Hooray for finishing. Enjoyed reading your well laid out thoughts.

>165 cindydavid4: I don't think the films I've seen of it have done it justice - hard to imagine how they could, but they are beautiful to watch.

39. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia by Chris Stewart

This was a random secondhand bookshop purchase a while back, and I'm still scratching my head a little over what I thought of it.

Chris Stewart, a young (we think) nomadic Englishman, decides to buy a remote farm in Andalucia with his wife. Rural is not the word. The farm is cut off on one side of a river such that the only way to access it is via a handmade bridge made of a single log which is only expected to last for a few months of the year before it's consumed by the river. When they first move in there's no running water to the house, with 'house' sounding an overly grand way to describe it - a few barely habitable outhouses would be closer. It's primitive beyond belief, and Stewart's book is about their first years living there, as they become accepted by the local peasants (who all seem to be invariably drunk on cheap wine from early hours of the day and dirt poor, subsisting almost entirely on the fruits of their land).

Stewart writes of interesting characters and the challenges of adapting to the environment as they get in tune with the topography of the area and work to find a balance between modern methods of farming and the ways that have served the locals well for hundreds of year. In many ways it's a warm and charming tale, but yet it feels full of glaring gaps.

The book jacket tells us that Stewart was the original drummer of Genesis, yet at no point in the book does he refer to this. By the end of the book he's as elusive as he was at the beginning. We're not entirely sure what age group he falls into or what drove his decision with his wife to embrace not just a life in a new country, but a peasant-like existence on a remote shack of a farm. Beyond a few lines about sheep shearing in England and writing a bit for Lonely Planet we know nothing about him, and that makes the book difficult to fully engage with. He writes enthusiastically about the local shepherds, but who is he, our protagonist and narrator? And who is his wife? It takes a very unique woman to embrace a home with no basic creature comforts which is chock full of uninvited creature guests of various crawling guises, but we never get to know her. What drives her to want to live this cut off life? Even the photos that commence every chapter beg more questions as opposed to answering some. They're tiny close ups which leave you wishing they were larger and showing more of the periphery to fill in some gaps. What did the house really look like? What was the view like from the house? Who are Mr and Mrs Stewart?

3.5 stars - enjoyable yet perplexing. Christ Stewart, in seeking this life off the beaten track, obviously closely guards his privacy and wishes it to remain that way. A shame, as this book would have worked so much more had he let us have a glimpse of who he really is.

>169 AlisonY: Great review. Too bad it had unfulfilled potential.

>170 labfs39: A quick Google informed me that he was sacked from Genesis for not being good enough. Clearly the publisher wanted the Genesis reference made more than the author did.

With every good wish of the season Alison. I hope you have a fun packed time.

>172 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. Merry Christmas to you too.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. Thanks for another great year in CR.

>174 AlisonY: Merry Christmas to you. Here's to another good year in CR.

A good book haul over Christmas thanks to generous presents:



A few from my wish list and a few surprises which are always welcome.

Currently reading 3 non-fiction titles which I've been dipping into for quite a while. Trying to get them finished up over the holidays:

, ,

>176 AlisonY: Nice haul! I loved Palace Walk

>176 AlisonY: I can't remember who exactly gave me the BB for that, but it was definitely someone in CR.

40. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story by Charles Mackesy

My sister bought my daughter this for Christmas, so I couldn't help picking it up yesterday given all the hype. My verdict (without sounding too Scrooge-like) is that this is indeed a book of hype. Yes, the illustrations are lovely and it's a nice message, but it all felt a little bit contrived, like jumping on the 'be kind' bandwagon that seems so popular these days (I've always thought it's good to be kind, not because a bunch of influencers are now hash-tagging it on Instagram).

If you haven't yet read it, I can save you the money by summing the message up as you are enough as you are, you're not the only one who has hard stuff to deal with and home where love and friendship are.

Well done, Charley. You hit the money train with this at just the right time.

3 stars - cute but forgettable.

>179 AlisonY: I loved the artwork and hand lettering in this one, but that was mostly it—and it was enough, I guess. I did a Q&A with him for Bloom and he was a really disengaged interviewee, but I guess you can't hit all the notes in life.

>179 AlisonY: When I first saw it months ago, I picked it up hoping it was not going to be just more saccarine/need insulin after reading kind of book. Read a few pages, and just no. Just cant do those. I am happy that these kinds of books mean alot to other people. Just not for me. Thanks so much for confirming that for me with your review!)

This one is a variation on the original? Or just a different cover? "the animated story" is new. I got half-way through the original, got distracted and never finished. I'd like to, just to finish it off...maybe see if I can find it in my ebooks (that's how I was reading it - PDF I think, which is always more complicated than epub).

>176 AlisonY: Nice haul Alison.

>182 jjmcgaffey: I think it's a new version post the film. I haven't flicked through the original, but I'm thinking this one has more colourised illustrations?

>183 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline. Now having the stress of which to start into first!

41. 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson

Jordan B. Peterson can be controversial given his strong opinions on certain topics and the people he interviews for his podcast, but I find him an interesting character.

Given how hyper intelligent he is, it was no surprise that the 12 rules / chapters in this book could get pretty complex at times, and on occasions I had to circle back to make sure I was following the thread of his point, but heavy going as it was from time to time I enjoyed his philosophising and following the meandering path of this key point for each chapter.

The rules sound pretty random from the titles, but Peterson covers a lot of ground with each:

Stand up straight with your shoulders back
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
Make friends with people who want the best for you
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world
Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
Tell the truth - or, at least, don't lie
Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't
Be precise in your speech
Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

Do I agree with everything Peterson thinks? No (for instance, his thoughts on men and women can be quite stereotypical and black and white), but he's got an exceptional brain and I find his thought process incredibly interesting.

4 stars - thought provoking and insightful. I'll look out for the follow up (but will give my brain a rest first).

42. I Heart Me: The Science of Self Love by David R. Hamilton

Without sounding super woo woo, this year has been one in which I've become increasingly interested in personal growth, which has led me to be more conscious of areas where I'd like to be doing better. Self-confidence has never been my strong point, so I was interested in a title which might point me in the right direction on being a bit kinder to myself.

Hamilton's book is.... OK. I liked that he put himself into the book, and his journey on becoming happier in his own skin was a nice way to frame the content, but there was nothing particularly astounding in his tips. He includes various exercises with each chapter, and perhaps I'd have got more out of it if I'd bothered to do more of them.

On the positive, I did like his reinforcement towards the end of the point 'I am', and that that's enough.

3 stars - nothing special.

>185 AlisonY:

Jordan Peterson is a vile scam artist with a degree, an avowed misogynist (with other usual phobias radiating from this) who thinks nothing of warping the minds of young men (mostly) for profit and narcissistic oomph. If you only know about him that he's "controversial", then you haven't done due diligence on this poisonous clown.

How can you give props to a swine who says that men are owed sex by women and this should be enforced by the government? That feminists secretly yearn for "brutal male domination"? Who refuses to acknowledge trans people, who has stood aside while hordes of his followers poured death threats on umpteen women and other people who dared criticise him? Who shares his unsolicited opinion on women's looks, such as when he called this woman "not beautiful" and then had a tantrum when Twitter ridiculed him?

"Hyper-intelligent", the kook who lives on a diet of beef? That book is a barely sufficient self-help cliché full of incongruencies, history of philosophy lite, slapdash psychobabble and Your Mum's best tips for personal growth. As for his ability to think on his feet, just look up any encounter of his with people of real intellectual calibre.

I worked at U of T at the height of problems we were having with the "manosphere" exploding here, greatly thanks to this turd and similar. Three times in one year we had bomb and shooter threats called in that were internally (but not, IIRC, publicly) traced to these incel garbage. Peterson has a direct share of responsibility in at least half a dozen femicides in Toronto alone, to say nothing of the spread of incel ideology worldwide.

>187 LolaWalser: I think you're being too kind to Mr. Peterson.

>187 LolaWalser: I'm going to try to choose my words carefully as I completely get where you're coming from and don't want to get into a row over Peterson - I'm not here to defend him. I do agree that certain things he comes out with are dangerous nonsense (the "brutal male domination" point and his position on transgender people, for example). However, I come at it from the perspective that just because I don't agree with everything a person says doesn't mean I have to disregard them in totality. He makes a lot of interesting and valid points about a life well lived in this book, and just because I don't agree with his 'men are order, women are chaos', Tao points, etc. doesn't mean I can't appreciate other points he makes which are more in line with my personal values (such as learning how to properly listen to people, which most people don't). I'm not on the woke bandwagon - I'd rather hear someone's perspective on issues and disagree with them than live in a world where no one wants to speak out of turn.

I've not seen anything about him saying that men are owed sex by women and that this should be enforced by the government. If you're referring to his comment on 'enforced monogamy' after the brutal killings of women by that nutter, he's defended that he meant social constructs that promote monogamy, not something enforced by government legislation. I still think this was an idiotic comment for Peterson to come out with, wildly insensitive given the context of the murders, and I'm not interested in delving deeper into even where he was going with his bizarre social construct idea (I expect it's further down the path of his thoughts on women generally picking from the upper hierarchy of men, which I don't agree with), but still - there's a huge gap between that and assumptions that he said the government should enforce women having sex with men. Perhaps you're referring to something else he's said that I'm not aware of - I don't fully follow the guy.

I don't think he can be held responsible for idiot incel devotees who choose to cherry pick things he says, removing all context and threatening women. There are a lot of crazy trolls out there in social media land who only hear what they want to hear.

Anyway, like I said I'm only reviewing my enjoyment of his book, not defending the guy and all his opinions. People tend to zoom in on certain things he's said which make up a small percentage of what he discusses in totality. However, those other opinions and perspectives don't sell news articles.

I appreciate your viewpoint and why you'll give him a wide berth - I get it. But I like to think I'm not condoning his more controversial points by getting enjoyment out of this book.

I know nothing about the guy; I generally stay away from self help books anyway. I do have problems of separating an artists behavior in any field, from her work - I still think Bill Cosby was a genius as a comic, still have his album, His crimes were horrific and should receive some punishment for them. But that doesnt erase the enjoyment I got from his albums as a kid So I understand where you are coming from, in getting something from the book. But yeah, Id give him a wide berth

>185 AlisonY: >187 LolaWalser: I bought this book several years ago on the recommendation of a friend (who is in her 80s and is right of the political spectrum - I am not, but I believe if you wan't to have an opinion you have to read the book), so far I haven't got to it. Maybe I will next year. Thank you both for your perspectives.

>190 cindydavid4: “ I do have problems of separating an artists behavior in any field, from her work”

I think that’s different. It’s awkward when a person who’s done crappy stuff writes a novel or does something artistic. But it’s a different issue when a person writes on a topic related to something they’ve done wrong. I don’t know anything about Peterson. But the concern would be more along the lines of whether to trust his advice, not whether to “enjoy” it.

ah, yes I see that. Good point

>188 RidgewayGirl: I’m with you, >187 LolaWalser: is far too nice about a person who has directly been a horrific influence on our culture.

Further to what has been said about him, I can’t stand how he speaks. He thinks his every breath is brilliant beyond our understanding, when actually… he sounds like a fool.

Here’s a funny incident: I was organizing my office with YouTube playing on my computer and my daughter clicked on a documentary about medieval history. We left for an hour and when I went back YouTube was playing a Jordan Peterson video. In 4 auto play videos the algorithm went from history documentary to him. Creepy and insidious.

As a Canadian, I apologize to the world for him

>189 AlisonY:

Sorry, no, Peterson isn't a misunderstood victim of "cherry-picking" by some "woke" people (and seriously, the so-called "woke" is something negative to you)? The notion that because he may ALSO say something normal (or most often in his case, banal), all the vile things he said and did are somehow misjudged, is utterly laughable. If one wanted to go vegetarian, one needn't take pointers from Hitler--plenty of other sources around.

That you choose to deny his influence on the movement of men who hate women to the point they go out and murder women (and male bystanders) is, IMO, foolish and sad.

Kay and Joyce are right--I have been too kind to Peterson and haven't said half of what I could, but I too don't relish having a full-on discussion here.

Caroline, I've read the book myself, so I'm certainly not going to claim no one should read it--I am claiming that no one is going to be worse off for not reading it. But, speaking as a friend, you may want to inform yourself further on what sort of person and projects that moneymaker is funding.

>189 AlisonY: I think the danger of that approach -- being willing to overlook the more extreme parts of a person's philosophy because the entry-level stuff is routine common sense -- is to ignore how that continuum works. The stuff that is inoffensive leads to stuff that is mostly fine, but adds a bit that challenges the reader/viewer to be more open to the next part, and gradually leads, especially in the target audience, in this case vulnerable teenage boys and young men, into embracing violent and hateful ideas. My son was explaining to me tonight how Andrew Tate (in the news because he was just arrested for human trafficking in Romania) grew his audience -- by having videos about how to make friends and develop self-confidence, but those videos led eventually to some really dire violent misogyny. The agreeable stuff is there to get people to the point where the horrific stuff makes sense.

OK - going to draw a line under the Jordan B. Peterson discussion as I don't want to end my thread for the year on discussions that are starting to feel a little stressful and personal. CR is my haven away from angst.

I think I'm allowed to have my own opinion on the book without feeling at best I'm naive and wrong and at worst - well, let's not even go there.

But as always I do appreciate the debate and thank folks for dropping by and having that. :) Sometimes it's just better to move the conversation on.

>176 AlisonY: Great book haul! I have been interested in Palace Walk for a while, so I'll be curious to hear what you think. I do love an epic family saga, and this has the bonus of being in a setting/culture I'd like to explore.

And I see the Air Fryer craze has hit the UK as well. We don't have a full one, but we have an instant pot that we have an air fryer lid for. It's pretty small so it's not very useful, but we use it for a few fun things.

>198 japaul22: I'm about the same with my air fryer, but I'm trying to increasingly use it to cook things like sweet potatoes, fish, etc., rather than firing up the main oven.

>198 japaul22:, >199 AlisonY: I bought a small air fryer on Amazon Prime Day earlier this year but I've only used it once so far, to cook chicken breasts. I definitely want to use it more, and learn what I can make in it.

My father bought a Ninja Foodi several years ago, which is basically an Instant Pot with an air fryer attachment. I use the Instant Pot portion of it every couple of months, but I haven't tried the air fryer portion yet.

Maybe we could share recipes and ideas in La Cucina next year.

>200 kidzdoc: Great idea, Darryl. It's so quick (and electricity is so expensive at the moment) - I'd like to use it more.

I'm also moving to eating more vegetarian, so any recipe tips there (general - not just air fryer) would be gratefully received.

43. The Proof is in the Plants by Simon Hill

I've recently started working towards eating a vegetarian diet for most of the week. It feels quite daunting after a lifetime of meat eating, so as I start down this journey I wanted to read a book that would break down the nutritional requirements of a plant-based diet so I can try and eat in a balanced way, and get advice on any supplements required.

This book is a fantastic read, and I would thoroughly recommend it to everyone vaguely interested in healthy eating, even if you've no intention of becoming vegan or vegetarian. In the first part of the book, Hill has done a lot of legwork in reviewing the often conflicting studies on the effects of omnivore versus vegan diets on health, particularly in the areas of cardiovascular issues and cancer. He also examines the drivers behind many foods subsidised by governments in different countries, and the notion of our healthcare systems being hijacked by big Pharma, etc. to be more focused on disease / condition management than actual 'health care' (that's something that I'm quite passionate about - I hate that in the UK the focus is on symptom management rather than root cause identification. Not necessarily driven by the big Pharma companies, but certainly driven by monetary factors).

Even if none of the above floats your boat, the chapters looking at healthy eating are fantastic. For someone like me going down the plant route for the first time he really helps to explain how to eat a balanced vegetarian diet, but moreover he provides excellent information on individual foods, which are nutritionally the best bang for the buck in different food groups and how to prepare different food to get the most benefit from them (I never knew that cooked spinach is more nutritious than raw, for example).

5 stars - hugely informative. I'll be referring back to this regularly.

>202 AlisonY: I have been a vegetarian for many years Alison (occasional pescatarian over the past 8), but I'll definitely adding this as I'm sure there is updated information. I did know that about spinach.

Happy New Year Alison.

>203 Caroline_McElwee: It's quite daunting moving to more vegetarian cooking, Caroline, as I need to be a lot more organised about planning what I eat, but I really want to eat more in that direction. I'll probably aim for flexitarian, with most of my meals being pescatarian, but I'm not adverse to eating some meat from time to time. I haven't lost the taste for it, but I think it's better for your health to try to avoid it.

Happy New Year.

>202 AlisonY: Like >203 Caroline_McElwee: I've been a vegetarian and occasional fish eater (how could you not be living where I live?) for quite some time, and like Caroline, I'll look for this book too. Updates are always good.

You may find over time that meat gets more difficult to digest (I'm polite enough that if I'm out for dinner somewhere and the dinner is meat, I eat it without fuss - this happens a couple of times a year)

Happy New Eating Year

>205 SassyLassy: That's interesting. I have IBS and it increasingly feels like most things are hard to digest. It's one of the reasons why I'm interested to see the effect eating mostly vegetarian has on my health, by not giving my gut as complex things to work on.

The author of this book was on a Rich Roll podcast dedicated to the best of 2022 podcasts on plant-based eating, which is what led me to reading it. I've found it immensely helpful. No recipes, but I know I can find those anywhere online - what was more useful was understanding the building blocks I need to be including in my food pyramid.