Thank you Alex. It’s good to think about what and why we read. This year so far I have read or reread:-
1. Old Men Forget by Duff Cooper, an excellent insight into prewar politics from the liberal right, which I had been intending to read for at least three decades.
2 and 3. Orbital by Samantha Hervey and The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, Christmas presents.
4and 5. A Question of Upbringing and A Buyers Market.
6 The Amazing Pranks of Master Till Eulenspeigel (1949 children’s book with colour illustrations which I loved as a child) ) in preparation for
7. Tyll by Daniel Kehlman - a historical novel around the character of Till Eulenspeigel, translated from the German, highly recommended by a friend, This showed me how totally ignorant I am of the Thirty Years War, the Winter Queen etc so I aim to read something round that period soon.
8. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - a rereading because of the state of the World today.
I am currently rereading Under the Net by Iris Murdoch, for the only reason that our daughter read it in her book group, borrowed my mother’s copy (1956, 1st edition, 3rd impression) and it was lying around the house when she brought it back. Then, back to A Dance …., the Winter Queen or maybe rereading more Iris Murdoch. I get blown hither and thither. My goto, comfort blanket books are Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy, the former has taught me all I know about the US college system, though a hundred years back. My first encounter with them was my mother reading to me and my sister in the bath when I was very young. And happy memories of The Eagle of the Ninth and all Rosemary Sutcliff.
Happy memories of Jennings, the Moomins and The Eagle of the Ninth... For adult reading, I guess I am pretty unsystematic too. A mixture of reviews, social media recommendations and whatever my book group has heard about, plus things I've spotted in bookshops or the library. I have a wishlist on my online library account and use their reservation service a lot.
So far this year: Adult fiction (novels and short stories) 10; Memoir 4; Non fiction 2; Children's fiction 1; Poetry 1. Where I read: in a comfortable armchair, on trains, in waiting rooms etc.
I think Jennings has aged much better than a lot of other childhood stories, especially William which I loved but now feels very ancient (though still funny). There's a Jennings Society which meets up once a year and has a chat room - www.linbury-court.co.uk. I also keep a kind of wishlist but it's ludicrously long and to all intents and purposes useless.
Good question. I’ve been feeling very subverted for a while in terms of what I read. I’ve come to realise the (negative) impact that the big publishing companies, hand in hand with big bookshops have on our purchases. And don’t get me started on Amazon and all its acolytes!
[Now I have to declare an interest. My latest book, published by an obscure not-for-profit hasn’t been reviewed once - so sales are slow. I have to really work hard even to get the independent bookshops to stock it. And I decided that the book would not be available on Amazon - though I think they’ve nicked a few review copies (silly because it’s an un-proofed not for sale version!)
But the book is doing well in a few indie bookshops where I hope the owner recognises a good read. And someone came up to me in one of these ‘enlightened’ bookshops only yesterday to tell me how much they enjoyed the book - so I must have done something right.
I indulge this rather long tale of woe to explain why I’ve changed the way I buy and read books these days. ]
These days I don’t read mainstream reviews, and I’ve become a little wary of the big bookshops, preferring to delve into my own groaning library and that of my local private library (The London) and the non-fiction writing group I attend there.
I also listen to podcasts like LRB’s close reading, which provides a far deeper insight into what might be called, ‘classics’. Last but by no means least, I’ve joined Substack and enjoy reading about what other writers are reading - including you!
So top of my reading list is Dance to the Music of Time, but I’m limiting myself to one a month so that I’ve got a chance to read other things:
Good luck with the book. It's hard to do it all by yourself, but even with the big names authors still have to do a lot of legwork themselves. Thanks for the list too.
Thank you Alex. It’s good to think about what and why we read. This year so far I have read or reread:-
1. Old Men Forget by Duff Cooper, an excellent insight into prewar politics from the liberal right, which I had been intending to read for at least three decades.
2 and 3. Orbital by Samantha Hervey and The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, Christmas presents.
4and 5. A Question of Upbringing and A Buyers Market.
6 The Amazing Pranks of Master Till Eulenspeigel (1949 children’s book with colour illustrations which I loved as a child) ) in preparation for
7. Tyll by Daniel Kehlman - a historical novel around the character of Till Eulenspeigel, translated from the German, highly recommended by a friend, This showed me how totally ignorant I am of the Thirty Years War, the Winter Queen etc so I aim to read something round that period soon.
8. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - a rereading because of the state of the World today.
I am currently rereading Under the Net by Iris Murdoch, for the only reason that our daughter read it in her book group, borrowed my mother’s copy (1956, 1st edition, 3rd impression) and it was lying around the house when she brought it back. Then, back to A Dance …., the Winter Queen or maybe rereading more Iris Murdoch. I get blown hither and thither. My goto, comfort blanket books are Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy, the former has taught me all I know about the US college system, though a hundred years back. My first encounter with them was my mother reading to me and my sister in the bath when I was very young. And happy memories of The Eagle of the Ninth and all Rosemary Sutcliff.
Happy memories of Jennings, the Moomins and The Eagle of the Ninth... For adult reading, I guess I am pretty unsystematic too. A mixture of reviews, social media recommendations and whatever my book group has heard about, plus things I've spotted in bookshops or the library. I have a wishlist on my online library account and use their reservation service a lot.
So far this year: Adult fiction (novels and short stories) 10; Memoir 4; Non fiction 2; Children's fiction 1; Poetry 1. Where I read: in a comfortable armchair, on trains, in waiting rooms etc.
I think Jennings has aged much better than a lot of other childhood stories, especially William which I loved but now feels very ancient (though still funny). There's a Jennings Society which meets up once a year and has a chat room - www.linbury-court.co.uk. I also keep a kind of wishlist but it's ludicrously long and to all intents and purposes useless.
I must read them again, then. I remember falling about laughing reading them as a kid.
Good question. I’ve been feeling very subverted for a while in terms of what I read. I’ve come to realise the (negative) impact that the big publishing companies, hand in hand with big bookshops have on our purchases. And don’t get me started on Amazon and all its acolytes!
[Now I have to declare an interest. My latest book, published by an obscure not-for-profit hasn’t been reviewed once - so sales are slow. I have to really work hard even to get the independent bookshops to stock it. And I decided that the book would not be available on Amazon - though I think they’ve nicked a few review copies (silly because it’s an un-proofed not for sale version!)
But the book is doing well in a few indie bookshops where I hope the owner recognises a good read. And someone came up to me in one of these ‘enlightened’ bookshops only yesterday to tell me how much they enjoyed the book - so I must have done something right.
I indulge this rather long tale of woe to explain why I’ve changed the way I buy and read books these days. ]
These days I don’t read mainstream reviews, and I’ve become a little wary of the big bookshops, preferring to delve into my own groaning library and that of my local private library (The London) and the non-fiction writing group I attend there.
I also listen to podcasts like LRB’s close reading, which provides a far deeper insight into what might be called, ‘classics’. Last but by no means least, I’ve joined Substack and enjoy reading about what other writers are reading - including you!
So top of my reading list is Dance to the Music of Time, but I’m limiting myself to one a month so that I’ve got a chance to read other things:
Read this month:
Hisham Matar - A Month in Siena
Sarah Moss - My good bright Woolf*
Jennifer Tann - Wool and Water
Alison Hanham - The Celys and Their World
To be read:
Diego Ramos - The Last Morisco
Jane Gleason-White - Double Entry
Good luck with the book. It's hard to do it all by yourself, but even with the big names authors still have to do a lot of legwork themselves. Thanks for the list too.