Weekend Miscellany

It’s been a while since I did a Weekend Miscellany – I had a few thoughts for them in May, but A Book A Day took over. I also realised I was going to reflect on A Book A Day In May and haven’t yet. Well, this year it was harder than before, I’ll admit. That was a mix of my eyes not being great (they never fully recovered after getting Covid for a second time last September, though are nowhere near as bad as they were in December 2022, praise the Lord), having a busier-than-usual calendar, and possibly having read an awful lot of the obvious novella choices already. The second half of the month was definitely easier, and I finished some fantastic books. Will I do it again next year? Well, probably.

My only project for June is Reading the Meow, Mallika’s week of cat-themed reading, which kicks off on Monday.

But let’s have a book, a blog post, and a link – happy weekend!

1.) The book – Somehow I’ve not mentioned the latest British Library Women Writers book?! It’s Forest Silver by E.M. Ward, set in wartime in the Lake District. It’s not one I chose for the series, but it’s an interesting look at what war was like outside of London – which so often dominates ‘home front’ novels.

2.) The link – John Self has written as fascinating post on Booker prizewinners that were initially rejected by publishers, over at the Booker Prize website. It’s very well researched, and particularly interesting is the way people differently remember (often to their own advantage) the rejection process…

3.) The blog post – Moira always writes such interesting posts at Clothes in Books, and this one from May on mourning clothes in books is particularly intriguing.

First things first – your reminder that the 1962 Club is coming up around the corner! Join in a week of reading books published in 1962 and share your thoughts wherever you share bookish thoughts online. Looking forward to it!

Ok, onto the usual miscellany…

1.) The blog post – I always love Jacqui’s thematic round-ups, and the most recent is on monstrous women. Go and enjoy her excellent suggestions, and throw in your own…

2.) The book – have I mentioned Stories for Winter, the next British Library Women Writers anthology? It comes out in a few weeks and I think it’s a really good selection of stories. Find out a little more on the only link I could find.

3.) The link – I really enjoyed the latest episode of Risking Enchantment – a podcast about art, culture and faith – which looks at two books I love and what they tell us about how to be on holiday: The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff and The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Listen here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Happy weekend, everyone! I’ve spent much of this week championing Tove Jansson in an online poll of NYRB Classics authors, and I’m delighted to say that she won the overall competition – even if it did mean losing favourites like Barbara Comyns, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sylvia Townsend Warner along the way. She also got her fair share of people (mostly men) dismissing her as a children’s writer – it reminded me of a recent podcast episode where Rachel and I discussed how female writers are often expected to write for children too, and then critically diminished for doing so.

ANYWAY, on with the usual miscellany. I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend.

1.) The book – I hadn’t heard of Catching Fire by Daniel Hahn until Emily commented on a blog post. She wrote “Also has anyone read the book Catching Fire by Daniel Hahn? It is a memoir, the subtitle says a translation diary, about when the author translated the book Never Did the Fire by Diamela Eltit.” Emily also mentioned that she hadn’t read it yet, but that description was enough to send me straight to buy a copy (directly from the publisher) – and it is now waiting on my coffee table.

2.) The blog post – I enjoyed Sheree’s take on some of most reviewed books on GoodReads – or, as she puts it, Daddy GR :D

3.) The link – Charleston House (the country residence of major members of the Bloomsbury Group) is a marvellous, inspiring, enveloping place – and I enjoyed the Guardian’s take on its role in fashion history.

It’s the weekend, and I’ll be preparing for my first ever sermon/talk at my church – that I’m giving in a couple of weeks, on Jesus healing a blind man in John 9. I’ve done talks in other places, and contributed to talks at my church, but this is New Territory. Wish me luck, or something more spiritual!

I hope you have a good weekend lined up. As ever in the miscellany, I’ll send you on your way with a book, a link, and a blog post…

1.) The book – praise be for Michael Walmer, continuing to republish the wonderful Stella Benson. I’ve read the four they’ve already published, and now I’ve bought Pipers and a Dancer and am looking forward to getting started on that one. Order your own, or catch up on Benson’s quirky, funny, inimitable backlist, over at his website.

2.) The link – this New York Times article by Sophie Hughes on literary translation is fascinating, and brilliantly interactive in the way it’s laid out.

3.) The blog post – I enjoyed the overview of 2023 reading so far from You Might As Well Read – so many excellent choices, and some very tempting ones I haven’t read.

It’s fully summer now, and we have our annual village drinks this Saturday. Fingers crossed for sunshine? I hope you’re also enjoying suitably summery activities – unless, of course, you are in the southern hemisphere. In which case I hope you’re having a lovely winter.

Onto the usual miscellany!

1.) The blog post – a melancholy but lovely post from Scott about the books that Furrowed Middlebrow would have published, were it not for the tragically early death of Rupert.

2.) The link – it’s a Spotify link, but I’m sure you’ll find the Independent Teacher podcast on other platforms. I enjoyed listening to my ‘Tea or Books?’ co-host Rachel on an episode about ending sexism in schools – sharing her research on sexism in the choice of books taught in English lessons in the UK.

3.) The book – for pre-orderers – my friend Tom has a novel out in October called Blight, which I’m excited to read. Below the pic is what it’s about…

1897. James Harringley is summoned home from London to his rambling family mansion in the north of England. His father is sick, deranged, and James must return, confronting the horrors he tried to forget: the labyrinthine house, the madness and secrets which poison their bloodline and, most frightening of all, the spectre of the tall man – an eerie visage who promises to whisk children away and make them royalty in the land of Faery.

James returns to the house and finds his father and brother at war, and the nebulous substance of his childhood brought into unbearable relief. He remembers the whispers about the tall man. But can he trust his own memories? Then the groundskeeper Janey has had her baby kidnapped, one of many child disappearances connected with the house and the nearby village. There are those who blame the tall man, while others believe a more earthly culprit is responsible. James must sift through the ramblings of his father, the scepticism of his power-hungry brother and the uncertain fabric of his own memories to discover the truth.

Much of the weekend has gone, but it’s not too late for a weekend miscellany. Here in the UK it is very sunny, so I’m going to take my book off to a park to find an ice cream in a minute. First, I’ll leave you with a book, a blog post, and a link.

1.) The blog post – I’m really looking forward to a new reading week run by Mallika at Literary Potpourri – Reading the Meow! It’s coming up soon: 12-18 June, we are encouraged to read books about cats. That can be fiction or non-fiction, or somewhere in between. Ideally the cat should be the main point of the book, I think, rather than a passing visitor. I’ve got three books I’m planning to read – for anything looking for recommendations, I particularly liked The Fur Person by May Sarton and Particularly Cats by Doris Lessing.

2.) The link – Tom Cox’s beautiful article about a book hoarder’s manor for sale looks beyond the headlines to a moving imagining of the old man’s long life with the house, books and the community. (Sidenote: it’s on substack, which basically seems to the cool new cousin of blogging, though as far as I can see it is exactly the same as blogging. Everything comes full circle!)

3.) The book – Sarra Manning mentioned a novel that I am very drawn to – coming out in July, it’s Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar. It’s a group of residents of an apartment building in Chennai, India, and what happens when a developer threatens to demolish their homes…

It’s been a busy week, and eyes have been a little ropey again, so haven’t really done any reading. It’s going to be up and down, I’m sure, but hopefully it will continue to tend towards improvement. But I will pop down my first miscellany of 2023 – hope you have a lovely weekend ahead of you.

1.) The link – a brilliant article by Lucy Scholes on being an ‘archive mole’, hunting out titles for reprint publishers. While I didn’t contribute, there are many things I’d say the same from my perspective as Series Consultant for the British Library Women Writers. (My only disagreement is about keeping possible authors’ names secret – though have definitely seen some reprint publishers act like they’d rather be spies!) There’s also a great list of recent reprint highlights, and I was delighted to see A Pin To See The Peepshow made the list.

2.) The book – I saw Bibliomaniac by Robin Ince mentioned on Liz’s blog and it could scarcely be more up my street. Someone touring the bookshops of the UK and writing about it? Yes please.

3.) The blog post – James – known to many of us as Caustic Cover Critic – has written his overview of 2022 reading as one of the guest posts at Dorian’s blog. It’s a list that could hardly have less in common with my reading tastes, and a fun and interesting blog post.

Happy weekend! I’m off on holiday so won’t be blogging for a bit. But, dear burglars, there will be someone in my house while I’m away. No burgling please! Or burglarising, for my American friends. Or burglarizing, I suppose. The word ‘burgle’ has lost all meaning for me.

An episode of ‘Tea or Books?’ will be coming out while I’m away, but otherwise I’ll leave you with a book, a blog post, a link.

1.) The blog post – Susan at A Life in Books always comes up with interesting topics for blog posts, and ‘Five Novels I’ve Read With Unusual Structures‘ is no exception.

2.) The book – I loved comedian Tom Allen’s book No Shame, and I’m looking forward to Too Much coming out on 10 November. I recommend listening to him reading his own audiobooks. This memoir will cover his father’s recent death and, if it’s anything like the previous book, it will be sensitive, observant, and hilarious.

3.) The link – I love the ‘Never Too Small’ YouTube channel – looking at how architects have designed stylish, functional homes in small spaces. Here’s one to get you started, but you might end up getting addicted and binge-watching…

Happy weekend, everyone! I have lost my voice! It now seems to be a stage I get during most colds, which is super fun. It means a bit of a delay to ‘Tea or Books?’, which is probably fine because I haven’t finished the books yet. And that’s because I’ve been knee-deep in books for the 1929 Club – which starts on Monday. For those new to a club year, Karen and I invite everyone to read books published in the same year and review them wherever you post things – on your blog, on GoodReads, on Instagram, in a comment section – anywhere! Together we build up a picture of a year. And 1929 is promising to be, as ever, a really interesting one.

But, before that, here’s a book, a link, and a blog post.

1.) The blog post – Ali has written about the latest British Library Women Writers book, War Among Ladies by Eleanor Scott, and (spoilers) she liked it a lot.

2.) The link – Barbara Kingsolver has a new novel out, and I enjoyed reading the books of her life over at the Guardian.

3.) The book – It won’t be for everyone, but I am very interested in reading comedian Rob Delaney’s A Heart That Works – a memoir, if that’s the right word, about the illness and death of his young child Henry.

Is it summer? Is it autumn? Is it winter? The weather in the UK this week is very unsure on that point, and so am I. But the windows are still open, and the blankets are out, so I’m making the best of fresh air and cosiness. The perfect reading weather. And perhaps the perfect weather to enjoy a book, a blog post, and a link…

1.) The book – I’ve never read Celia Dale, but I’ve heard great things and I totally trust the combination of (a) Daunt Books and (b) novelist Jenn Ashworth, who has written the introduction. I’m going to copy across a big chunk of the description from the Daunt Books website, because doesn’t this sound wonderful?

Middle-aged Josh and Maisie Evans lead an unremarkable, unassuming life. When Auntie Flo, who has lived with them for years, dies and leaves them her Estate, they head to Italy on holiday, to take in the sea air and let the sun soak into their bones. It’s there they meet Mrs Fingal. A wealthy widow, she lives with her grown-up niece Lena and it’s pretty clear that neither is happy with the situation. So when Josh and Maisie bond with Mrs Fingal, over ice-cream and gentle toddles, it’s only natural that they all decide she should must move in with them once home. It suits everyone.

Beneath the suburban respectability of cups of tea and genteel chitchat, however, emerges a different tale: one of ruthless greed and exploitation, and suffocating, skin-crawling terror.

2.) The link – the forthcoming film of Paul Gallico’s Flowers For Mrs Harris (aka Mrs Harris Goes To Paris) has led to the Guardian doing a list of ten books about cleaners. I’ve read three (Ibbotson, Stockett, Gallico) and haven’t heard of the other seven. I’m also struggling to think of any to add to the list? Unless we encompass domestic servants, then obviously there are dozens.

3.) The blog post – I’m not sure I’ve ever used this slot to link to Captive Reader’s Library Loot, so let’s do that. And scroll back through a few others – she always has such an interesting selection. I seldom use the library (basically just for book group books) because I have so many books unread on my shelves, but I try to go and chance my luck on something new every few months. (The most recent was a Bryan Washington novel – I was very grateful that I hadn’t bought it, because I gave up after a few pages when I discovered there were no speech marks.)