Read - Juliet, Naked (#11/52)

I think my rather Pollyanna-ish take on this book is that sometimes it's quite rewarding to come across a book I don't enjoy, to remind me that I still have critical faculties.  After loving the last few books I've read (including Funny Girl, also by Nick Hornby) , Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby was a bit of a let down. The story is about obsessive fandom, reclusive rock stars and mid-life angst, but I didn't feel sympathetic to any of the characters and I found the plot in turn clichéd and implausible. I don't mind fantastic stories or wild twists and turns in a plot (not that there were many of these in this book), but overall it has to feel true to the characters and circumstances, and this book didn't really work for me in that way; the motivations and psychology of the main characters didn't feel real enough to me, and it felt too contrived in places.  Sorry if anyone's read it and loved it - I'd really like to hear any opposing views!

To be honest, I chose this as light relief between book club books, as it was on the 'borrow me' shelf in the staff room at work, so it will be going back there next week! And, on the upside, it's been very enjoyable to read a few 'real' (ie not 'e') books recently - my Kindle's been having a welcome rest.

Read - The Summer Book (#10/52)

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson is a truly delightful book.  Short and very sweet, it consists of episodes in (I think) a single summer, on a tiny Finnish island where  six year old Sophie, her father and her grandmother are spending the summer.

Originally written in Swedish, the language of the translation is perfect, and I imagine it echoes the original in style and simplicity. The landscapes and seascapes are described beautifully, and the depiction of Sophia and her grandmother, and their relationship, make them feel very real people. I found the simple, but sometimes hard way of life on the island very attractive (I have a not-so-secret yearning for isolation by the sea).

This was the second time I've read it (it was a book club book) and it won't be the last - there's more to discover in it each time, and the short chapters make it ideal for dipping in and out of. It's a great summer read. Tove Jansson also wrote A Winter Book which I haven't read yet - maybe one for later in the year (and she's the author of the Moomin books, which I loved as a child).

Read - The goldfinch (#9/52)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt was another book club book,  but I would have read it anyway as I loved Donna Tartt's first novel (The Secret History).  Luckily book club didn't meet in April (our usual date fell in the Easter holidays) as this book really needed more than a month to read.

It's long, complex, full of twists and unexpected turns of plot - I absolutely loved it! It's so cleverly written in the voice of Theo, who is 13 at the start of the events recounted in the novel, 27 at the end, and tells the story of what happens to him after he is involved in an explosion at a museum. I don't really want to say much more about the plot than that as it was great reading it and being truly surprised and intrigued by all the different elements of the plot.  The characters are brilliantly written and I felt real affection for several of them - we spent a long time at book group discussing who would play each role if it was made into a film (and it would be a great film - or tv series)  - we all had very strong opinions, as the characters had become very real to us all!

It's not without its flaws - I felt there were some slips in historical accuracy when Theo's teenage years were being narrated,  and a few sections could have done with stricter editing.  But overall it's a fabulous book to read - a worthy winner of the Pulitzer prize and wholeheartedly recommended by me.

Read - Five Red Herrings (#8/52)

Last year I (re-)read Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers for one of my book clubs and it made me remember how much I'd enjoyed reading the Lord Peter Wimsey books when I was younger.  With easy availability provided by my Kindle, I started to download the series a book at a time so I could re-read them all in order.  When I read them previously I'd borrowed them from my local library, which meant reading in order wasn't an option - it was down to chance which title was available on the shelf, and I have a feeling I may have missed one or two altogether.

So I read the first few titles last year, and am now up to number 7 - Five Red Herrings.  I started it a while ago but have had to intersperse a few books for book club between, so it's been a rather disjointed read.  On the whole, it hasn't been one of my favourite Wimsey books. It's set in an artistic community in Scotland, and when one of the artists is found dead, there are, as the title suggests, five suspects for the murder. I enjoyed the descriptions of the community and the evocation of 1920's life, but the way the plot hinges on detailed analysis of movements and train times and the like became a bit tedious.  Still worth a read though - and I'm enjoying the challenge of reading all the books in order this time.  I remember really enjoying a couple of the later books when I read them first time round, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I think of them now.

Read - Funny Girl (#7/52)

I read 'Funny Girl' by Nick Hornby for book group this week.  I wasn't looking forward to it for a couple of reasons - I'd inadvertently read some reviews on Amazon before downloading it which were pretty unfavourable, and I've been preferring to read 'real' books rather than ebooks recently.

But do you know what? I really enjoyed it.  I haven't read anything by Nick Hornby for a while, probably not since 'About A Boy', and I'd forgotten how engaging his writing style is.  This is a charming novel with a heroine holding her own in sixties London.  There are obvious parallels with several stars of the era (Cilla Black, Barbara Windsor) but Barbara / Sophie is original enough to be a believable character.  Real people and events are cleverly woven into the story (reminiscent of William Boyd's 'Any Human Heart', although that's on a much grander scale) and it was an easy, pleasant read.  Probably not a prizewinning piece of literature, but I'd definitely recommend it if you want something light and enjoyable.

Read - Margrave of the Marshes (#5/52)

Margrave of the Marshes starts as the autobiography of John Peel, but after 200 pages or so it morphs into a biography written by his wife, Sheila Ravenscroft, with help from their four children - this is due to John's sad and untimely death in 2004, shortly after he'd started writing the book.

I had been wanting to read this for ages, then once I'd started it I found it very hard to get into it.  It's been sitting on my bedside table, 50 pages read, for the best part of a year.  I picked it up again this weekend and after some initial effort found it much easier to get on with second time a round. The first half is very much in John Peel's voice ( a very familiar voice if, like me, you grew up illicitly listening to his late night radio shows under the bedclothes in the 1980s) and was very poignant to read.

This part of the book comes to an end while John is still in America and well before he's started his British career as DJ and national institution, and it's left to Sheila (also, apparently affectionately, known as Pig) to take over and write the account of the subsequent years from their meeting to his death.  This is interesting but feels understandably rushed - more of a summary of events.  Extracts from John's diary are interspersed here and there which make it more interesting.

All in all I'm very glad I read this book.  I enjoyed the memories it sparked of the thrill of hearing an amazing piece of music for the first time when I was just a teenager, I loved hearing John Peel's voicce come alive again as I read it.  And I was listening to 6 Music today as Tom Ravenscroft  (John's son) was doing the afternoon show, and he mentioned Robert  Wyatt - one of John's favourite musicians whose amazing version of 'Biko' I first heard on the John Peel show - and it felt very apt.

Read - forgotten book

I mainly did pottering today, as planned - but pottering turned into major de-cluttering (long overdue) during which I unearthed a half read biography / autobiography of John Peel.  It's unusual as he was writing it when he died, so the first part is all his own voice, and the second (which I've just started) is written by his wife Sheila, with quotes from his diary.

I'm just over halfway through it, and I think I'm enjoying the second part more - I found the first part hard going, which is probably why it ended up under a stack of other books on my bedside table.

Read - Elizabeth is missing (#4/52)

The best description I've seen of Elizabeth is missing by Emma Healey is 'unsettling'. Not because of the mystery surrounding the missing Elizabeth, or the mystery of the disappearance of Sukey, sister of Maud (the main character), but because of the way the author imagines how it is to live with dementia and have fluctuating memory capacity. Maud is an extremely sympathetic character but at the same time is infuriating, spiteful and tiresome, especially for her loving but long-suffering daughter. Dementia as depicted in this novel - and who knows how realistic it is - is a truly terrible illness.

I think this is definitely a book worth reading and it would be good for a book group (although it's not on either of my book club lists currently - I need to crack on with books I'm actually supposed to be reading).

Read - The improbable story of Orion Goss (#3/52)

I've just finished reading a print book - a real rarity as I read most frequently on my kindle nowadays - The improbably story of Orion Goss by Vicky Woodcraft. I can admit that I would never have read this book if it hadn't been chosen by one of my book groups. But all in all, I'm glad to have persevered with it. It was a gentle, enjoyable read; I'm not sure how realistic a depiction it is of early 20th century Cornish life but it's not badly written and the story moves along at a reasonable pace.  I've definitely read (several) far more badly written books for book club, by far more established authors.

The thing I liked most from a personal viewpoint is that it's set in Falmouth - a place I've visited several times over the last year or so, so I enjoyed trying to place bits of the action.  In fact, my very first post  featured a glimpse of Falmouth from the coastal path - and I must have gone past several places mentioned in the book on that very run.  If the book hasn't made its way to a charity shop by the next time I visit Falmouth, I'll try and take it along for some location spotting.

Read - We are all completely beside ourselves (#2/52)

I finished another book this morning in the 10 minutes I had between waking up and my alarm going off - sneaky reads are the best.  This time it was a 2nd reading of We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler - I read it last year for fun, but now it's been selected for book club so I needed to refresh my memory of it.

I really liked this book first time round and still enjoyed it on a second read.  The writing is very engaging, there's a 'surprise' which doesn't spoil a re-reading and it provokes lots of questions - I think it's going to be fun to discuss at book club next week.

The next book I'm reading is one I failed to finish (or even start!) in time for book club last month - I've promised myself I WILL read all my book club books this year, even if not in exactly the right order (and even if I would never have chosen them myself ...)

Read - The Mitford Girls (#1/52)

I'm usually quite a voracious reader but this year I've managed to read the grand total of half a book so far.  I've flicked through others , I've amassed a pile to read, but I've only actually sat down and solidly read half a book so far.

The book I'm wading through is The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell - it's for one of my book clubs but the meeting was a while ago and I couldn't make it, so the urgency to finish it passed. I think the reason I'm taking so long to read it, is that the Mitford family and other characters in the book seem so very far removed from my own background and experiences.  I don't dislike them (well, not all of them) - but I'm finding it hard to comprehend how the family apparently had such involvement in key events of the 20th century. What the book has done is spur me to read The Pursuit of Love - so I shall add that to the steadily increasing books-to-read list.

Edit (21-02-15): Turns out that my Kindle's idea of 52% and my idea don't quite match - as this book included a large number of  footnotes, all at the end, the main text only made up about 65% of the overall book. A couple more hours reading last night and this morning and job done! Only another 51 to go in 2015 ... ?

Read - bought, borrowed, found

I love to read and to this end I'm in two bookclubs.  They operate quite differently. One is super-organised - we meet on the same day every month and we compile a booklist every January for the coming 12 months. We also have a very complicated scoring system for each book and rank the books at the end of the year. The other is more fluid - meetings take place evey 4-6 weeks on different days of the week and books are chosen at the preceeding meeting. Both bookclubs are great and have made me read far outside my comfort zone (which would be only crime fiction). Sometimes it feels like a chore having to read a book to a schedule and sometimes (quite often) I fail to read the book in time or even at all.  But more often than not it does get read.  And sometimes books get read well in advance for the super-organised book club, if I can't wait till the right month.

The Miniaturist is one of these - so many people have recommended it and I was very excited that it got accepted onto this year's booklist. I found it reduced today whilst waiting for a train at Kings Cross so it's now in my pile of new books and will be started very soon.

Two of the other books in the photo are also new acquisitions this week - they belong to other members of my family but I'll be sneaking them away to read as they look great. The poetry book, however, I found on my bookshelf this morning. I was given it years ago by a friend and never read it, so I'm going to add to my 'to read' pile as I NEVER read poetry.  Four books on the go - and none of them for the next book club meeting.  Oh dear!