Caroline's 2024 Reading (Part 3)

Charleston House - home of Vanessa Bell (sister of Virginia Woolf), visited and lived in by many of the Bloomsbury Group.




And there has to be cake! Carrot in this instance.

Last years books read: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353378#8221464

Books Read in 2024

Fiction

House on Endless Waters (Emuna Elon (05/01/24) ****
Orbital (Samantha Harvey) (11/01/24) ****
City of Girls (Elizabeth Gilbert) (22/01/24) ****
I who have never known men (Jacqueline Harpman) (27/01/24) ****1/2
Day (Michael Cunningham) (31/01/24) ***1/2
Held (Anne Michaels) (02/02/24) *****
When the Dead Come Calling (Helen Sedgwick) (19/02/24) ***1/2
In a Summer Season (Elizabeth Taylor) (04/03/24) (*) ***
Searching for Van Gogh (Donald Lystra) (30/03/24) ****
Stone Yard Devotional (Charlotte Wood) (04/04/24) ****
Pet (Catherine Chidgey) (07/04/24) ****1/2
The Light Years: Cazalet Chronicles 1 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (15/04/24) ****1/2
The Convenience Store Woman (Sakaya Murata) (23/04/24) ***1/2
Marking Time V2 The Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (21/04/24) ****1/2
Confusion Vol 3 of the Cazalet Chronicles (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (28/04/24) ****1/2
Casting Off - Cazalets 4 - (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (04/05/24) ****1/2
All Change Cazalet Chronicles 5 (Elizabeth Jane Howard) (11/05/24) ****
The Last Devil to Die (Richard Osman) (21/05/2024) ****
Table for Two (Amor Towles) (28/05/24) ****1/2
So Long, See You Tomorrow (William Maxwell) (01/06/24) ****
The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng) (15/06/24) (*) (reread) *****
Scaffolding (Lauren Elkin (19/06/24) ****1/2
The Boy With a Bird in His Chest (Emme Lund) (22/06/24) ****
Absolutely and Forever (Rose Tremain) (24/06/24) ***1/2
Baumgartner (Paul Auster) (06/07/24) ****1/2
The Sentence (Louise Erdrich) (11/07/24) *****
I, Julian (Claire Gilbert) (19/07/24) ****1/2
Where Angels Fear to Tread (E.M. Forster) (22/07/24) ***1/2
This Strange Eventful History (Claire Messud) (08/08/24) ***1/2
The Flemish House (Georges Simenon) (09/08/24) ***
Enter Ghost (Isabella Hammad) (14/08/24) ****
Death at the Sign of the Rook (Kate Atkinson) (27/08/24) ***1/2
The Safekeeper (Yael Van Der Wouden) (30/09/24) ****
Intermezzo (Sally Rooney) (18/10/24) ****

Non-Fiction

Enchantment: Reawakening Wonder in an Exhausted Age (Katherine May) (20/01/24) ****1/2
Lifescapes: A Biographer's Search for the Soul (Ann Wroe) (08/02/2024) ****1/2
Novelist as Vocation (Haruki Murakami) (11/02/24) ****
To Sir, With Love (E. R. Braithwaite) (14/02/24) (****)
Pure Wit (Francesca Peacock) (29/02/24 - leap year!) ****
Sara Shamma: Bold Spirits (Dulwich Picture Gallery) (02/03/24) *****
An Interrupted Life (Etty Hillisum) (April 2024) *****
Prospect House (Gilbert McCarragher) (19/04/24) *****
What There Is To Say We Have Said: Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell ed Suzanne Marrs (18/05/24) *****
The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise (Olivia Laing (31/05/24) *****
The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (George Monbiot/Peter Hutchison) (04/06/24) *****
Rural Hours: The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann (Harrier Baker) (30/06/24) ****1/2
38.An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals (Polly Toynbee) (04/07/24) ****1/2
Essays One (Lydia Davis) (27/07/24) *****
Cairn (Kathleen Jamie) (03/08/24) ***1/2
On James Baldwin (Colm Tóibín) (19/08/24) *****
Wandering Through Life (Donna Leon) (21/08/24) ****
The Uptown Local: Joy, Death and Joan Didion (Cory Leadbeater) (24/08/24) ****
On Wanting to Change (Adam Phillips (01/09/24) ****1/2
The Scent of Flowers at Night (Leïla Slimani) (01/09/24) ****
84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (Helene Hanff) (15/09/24) (*) *****
Everything I've Ever Done That Worked (Lesley Garner) (20/09/24) ****1/2
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love and Liberty (Hillary Rodham Clinton) (23/09/24) ****1/2
The Art of Power (Nancy Pelosi) (30/09/24) ****1/2
Storm Pegs: A Life Made in Shetland (Jen Hadfield) (07/10/24) ****1/2
A Beginner’s Guide to Dying (Simon Boas) (08/10/24) ****
Meditations for Mortals (Oliver Burkeman) (13/10/24) ***1/2
Uprooting (Marchelle Farrell) (25/10/24) ****
Our Malady (Timothy Snyder) (27/10/24) ****

Poetry

Four Quartets (T S Eliot) (14/01/24) twice today *****
May Day (Jackie Kay) (07/07/24) ****
'The Butterfly House' (Kathryn Bevis) no touchstone yet (27/09/24) (28/09/24) ***** (twice)
The Stone Age (Jen Hadfield) (06/10/24) ***1/2
The Butterfly Hotel (Roger Robinson) (11/10/2024) ***1/2
Selected Poems and Prose: Gerald Manley Hopkins (13/10/24) *****
Le Guin: Collected Poems (Ursula K Le Guin) (24/10/24) ****1/2

Rereads (already counted above (*))

Four Quartets (T S Eliot)
In the Summer Season (Elizabeth Taylor)
The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng)
84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (Helene Hanff)
'The Butterfly House' (Kathryn Bevis)

TOTAL: 74

Fiction: 36
Non-Fiction: 28
Poetry: 09
Female: 46
Male: 22
Non-binary/trans:
Various:

UK: 33
US: 20
US/Dutch: 01
Canada: 01
UK/American: 03
UK/Palestinian
Israel: 01
Belgium: 01
Japan: 02
Syria: 01
NZ: 01
Malaysia: 01
France: 01
Ireland: 02
Morocco/France: 01
Dutch: 01
Trinidadian/UK 01

BOOKS ACQUIRED 2024

124

08/14/11/12/16/12/12/14/13/15

(Last year's numbers: (16/14/15/11/09/14/11/10/08/13/21(oops)/21)=142



BOOKS RELEASED
1 book out for everyone in plus:

10 (4 weren't in my catalogue)

Last year 520 books went out plus 1 out for everyone in (160 in, a third of previous years, but too many). I've been abysmal at updating my catalogue though. I'm going to aim at no more than 59 73 in this year.

NMP

I passed the blue plaque that was recently placed on the library that Jimmy Baldwin visited in 1985. I was on a bus, so snaffled the photo from the internet. I will tip my figurative hat as I pass it often.

https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2024/05/14/civil-rights-icon-james-baldwin-blue...

For those not familiar, generally blue plaques mark the houses that were resided in by esteemed figures.

Welcome friends...

So many lovely images! And the blue plaques are such a fine idea.

>1 Caroline_McElwee:, >4 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely. And this August is the 100th anniversary of Baldwin's birth.

And I've "borrowed" the picture and link to post in the August Monthly Authors thread, which features James Baldwin:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/362111#n8581137

>3 Caroline_McElwee: Fessing up, I've not even managed to exit a book for everyone that has come in this year so far (only about a third as of today). I need to get my act together. And only slightly down on incoming volumes by this time last year. That said, last year I bought just over a third of the books in each of the preceding few years, so some progress. More to come.

I went to see the movie 'Kinds of Kindness', made by the 'Poor Thing' team. It was a collection of eccentric short stories. There were some interesting ideas, the first was the best I felt, though not really recommending it.

>6 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks Linda. Yes, I love seeing them.

>7 kac522: How time flies Kathy.

Happy new thread, Caroline. I love your post headings pics although, I admit, it would be difficult for me to wipe my shoes on a Van Gogh (>5 Caroline_McElwee:>) ... ;-)

>11 jessibud2: Tee hee Shelley.

I buy so few paper books these days that one in, one out would be pretty easy. On the other hand, the electronic mountain of titles keeps climbing. I do my best to read from the library, but that doesn't always work, and Joe keeps informing us about Kindle sales. Sigh.

Your toppers are lovely, Caro. Coincidentally, I had a carrot bran muffin in a coffee shop this morning. No frosting though, I'm afraid.

>13 ffortsa: When e-readers first came out I was excited at having a thousand books in my pocket Judy, but the reality was I only read a few books a year on it, I so prefer paper books. I used the library a lot as a youngster, though very little now. They are more focused on technology, and even years ago I had more books than some of them.

I was a member of The London Library for 14 years, and used it a lot at one time, but now I no longer commute for work I rarely used it, so did not resubscribe this year. But loved walking in the footsteps of many a literary hero.

>14 lauralkeet: I used to make a kind of cheese frosting Laura. As long as it tastes of carrots I'm happy. The one in the picture wasn't homemade, but was delicious.

Happy new thread, Caroline.

Lovely toppers as always.

Happy Sunday, Caroline. Happy New Thread. Love those bookish toppers.

>16 PaulCranswick: >17 msf59: Glad you are enjoying the toppers guys.

43. Where Angels Fear to Tread (E.M. Forster) (22/07/24) ***1/2



An engaging read, but not his best novel. When the widow of his brother goes to Italy and becomes embroiled in a relationship with a younger man, Philip's haughty mother dispatches him to sort out the problem.

Glad I read it (but not a keeper). I've still a couple of other Forster's to get to. Howard's End read several times is my favourite.

happy new thread.
I like the blue plaques scheme and they are making an effort to be more diverse & inclusive.

Happy new thread, Caroline! I love the first illustration, of the girl in the library.

>19 Caroline_McElwee: Pretty much how I felt about Where Angels Fear to Tread; Howards End is also my favorite. I was pleasantly surprised by his nonfiction Aspects of the Novel, too. I still need to read Passage to India and Maurice.

Happy new thread!

>20 Helenliz: I love the plaques too Helen.

>20 Helenliz: Isn't she great. Most of us have memories of being small in the library I suspect Claire.

>21 Sakerfalcon: I have read A Passage to India maybe 3 times Kathy, but Maurice is still to be read.

>22 kac522: Thanks Jim.

I thought I'd read more E.M. Forster, but a quick scan of my library says my knowledge of his work has come from dramatizations. I've seen Passage to India, Maurice, the film and TV adaptations of Howard's End, and of course the sumptuous A Room with a View. The latter is the only one I've actually read!

>25 lauralkeet: I am sure you will love Howard's End Laura, but it is impossible not to see EmmaT, Antony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter and Sam West as the characters.

>19 Caroline_McElwee: I think I've read all E.M. Forster's novels. I'd agree with you that this isn't one of the best.

>19 Caroline_McElwee: I have not yet read that one by Forster. I need to fix that although I am not running out to do so. I need to re-read Howard's End first. It has been far too long!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

I really should read something by Forster. I have two of his books on my shelf

Don't get me started on Forster, although I think the film of A Room with a View is well done. I'm amazed how often he comes up in the TLS though.

From your last thread, I'm also going to try and find a copy of the Julian of Norwich book. Stunning cover, too.

>27 SandDune: It's difficult to see why it doesn't fly as much Rhian. Characters I suspect.

>28 alcottacre: Yes Howard's End is definitely a novel I relish a reread of Stasia.

>29 figsfromthistle: I look forward to reading your thoughts when you get to them Anita.

>30 charl08: I hope I, Julian works for you Charlotte.

Not a Forster fan I see.

>30 charl08: Me three on I Julian. Currently reading her Revelations. As an agnostic, it's a very interesting reading experience. No idea how I'm going to review that one!

>32 Helenliz: Good luck with that review Helen. I still have that read ahead of me.

44. Essays One (Lydia Davis) (27/07/24) *****



I've read this 500 page volume of essays across five months, in three big bites. A wonderful volume, expansive and full of variety. There where maybe two essays that didn't engage me. There is much about writers and writing, language, words, memory, some about translation (though volume two focuses more intently on that - I shall start it in the Autumn). She may have even persuaded me to reread Madam Bovary which wasn't a hit for me when I first read it - I'll have to buy her translation I guess. And of course she has introduced me to writers I hadn't heard of.

>34 Caroline_McElwee: I didn't know she wrote such extensive essay collections. I have her short stories on Kindle, but haven't been focusing on them. It's a big book, even electronically.

>1 Caroline_McElwee: Happy new thread! A slice of carrot cake (or six) sounds excellent about now.

>35 ffortsa: I'm a big essay fan Judy, but sometimes there are gaps between reading volumes.

>36 richardderus: Sad face. Today no carrot cake RD, and because that was what I really wanted, what I got was disappointing. But as I was treated, I was gracious.

>37 Caroline_McElwee: Ah, send some graciousness my way please.

Hi Caroline. I LOVE the watercolors at the top of your new thread! As always, you have some lovely art here. And the Lydia Davis collection of essays sounds like one I would love. You got me! I am a big fan of essays in general.

>38 charl08: I am sure you have olenty to hand Charlotte.

>39 BLBera: I think you will enjoy Lydia's essays Beth.

>34 Caroline_McElwee: I have discovered through the years that I really enjoy reading essays, so I will definitely be on the hunt for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Caroline!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>42 Caroline_McElwee: I think you will like it Stasia.

Went to see 'A Chorus Line' at Sadlers Wells. I love the film, this was my first live production. It does have some cracking songs. Most of the audience were clearly long term fans of multiple productions with their clapping and yipping between each number. The finale was fine.

Adam Cooper played the director, hard not to get to dance much, though he is in his 50s now. I saw him in Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake' some years ago.

Saw this on the Penguin website and thought of you.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2024/08/why-is-james-baldwin-important?

>44 charl08: Thanks Charlotte. There are a couple of new books due, which will fall into my basket this month.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1684582474/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A3P5...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1954947097/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3P5RO...

Hi Caroline. I love the art at the top of your thread. My online sketching course included an activity drawing a stack of books. It's a good exercise in constructing volumes. Maybe I'll create a little still life and give it another go.

>43 Caroline_McElwee: What fun!!

>43 Caroline_McElwee: I saw this on Sunday. Like you, I'd only seen the film before. It was great to see it on stage, the energy of the cast was exhilarating. I first saw Adam Cooper as Romeo with the Royal Ballet, when he was probably in his 20s. I think he may have been a substitute for the actual lead dancer in that performance. What a career he's had.

Happy Wednesday, Caroline. You landed a solid BB with Essays: One. I am a fan of Davis but have only read her fiction.

>46 EBT1002: I look forward to more of your paintings Ellen.

The show was fun indeed.

>47 Sakerfalcon: Glad it was a hit for you too Claire. My sister was in London for sibs weekend and had never heard of it which is odd as we were all fans of the 80s dance films, so we streamed it on Sunday evening, and enjoyed it all over again. She enjoyed it very much.

>48 msf59: I do like buckshot that lands effectively Mark. Ha. I have yet to read her fiction, I have a volume of stories somewhere, but think it will be the other volume of essays this autumn.

>42 Caroline_McElwee: Good to know! I have found it out on Hoopla, so I am thinking I may read it in the month the Nonfiction challenge is reading essays. We will see.

45. Cairn (Kathleen Jamie) (03/08/24) ***1/2



Another collection of Jamies prose poems/mini-essays about nature and her life within it. Written as she reached 60 and reflecting on elements of her life and the world around her. As ever some thought provoking pieces.


46. This Strange Eventful History (Claire Messud) (08/08/24) ***1/2



A novel across generations, but not what I would call a saga. Quite heavily based on her family’s story, which for me is probably why I found it disappointing, I felt she was somehow working too hard to fictionalize it, and something got lost in the mix. There is very little joy or warmth. The 2 older couples (grandparents/parents) had complicated expansive stories, but not really happy ones. The younger generation are mostly presented in relation to the older generations. That said, the last 8th of the novel totally captured the disintegration that comes with old age, and the losses and pressures that entails. There were also some moments of great description throughout.

>51 Caroline_McElwee: The Messud sounds like the only book of hers I've read...not completely *there*, disconnected from me as the reader. I'm not trying again.

Better reads to come, Caro!

>51 Caroline_McElwee: Your touchstone points in another direction entirely, but the Jamie title is in the list. Not that I complain of a pointer to a mystery story, of course, but the one you meant sounds good as well.

>52 richardderus: I liked one of her earlier books RD, but this was disappointing, not sure why it is Booker Longlisted.

>53 ffortsa: Thanks Judy, put it right, for the second time!

47. The Flemish House (Georges Simenon) (09/08/24) ***



I suspect I'm in the minority, but didn't really love this. May have just picked a weaker one, but compared to Agatha Christie, was underwhelmed.

>55 Caroline_McElwee: Simenon is variable for me, too, but when one's written as many of these books as he did, kind of inevitable I suppose. Ma Christie had some, um, not-top-tier stuff, too. I really disliked Parker Pyne, f/ex.

>54 Caroline_McElwee: Here's hoping she doesn't move on to the next round.

The Jamie collection sounds like one I would like, Caroline. I will look for it.

Generally comments about the Messud book have been lukewarm. I am on the library wait list, so I will probably give it a try, but my expectations are tempered.

Hi Caroline. Like Beth, I'm tempering my expectations for the Messud book, for which I'm in the library queue. I guess I'd rather have medium expectations and really like a book than get sucked in by hype and be disappointed. We'll see how it goes when my turn comes up.

>56 richardderus: have one more Simeon somewhere RD, so he will get a second chance sometime.

>57 BLBera: >58 EBT1002: Will look out for both your comments when you get to it Beth and Ellen.

48. Enter Ghost (Isabella Hammad) (14/08/24) ****



A novel that shows the complexity of the Palestinian/Israeli situation. Couched in the attempt to put on a Palestinian production of Hamlet in a difficult location, in Arabic; and around the relationship between two sisters, one who stayed in the UK, and the other who lives in Israel, and the impacts their choices had on their lives. I understand some things I didn't, but it showed me how little I really know beyond the headlines, which I've been watching all my life.

As someone with a life-long love of theatre (despite not going so much these days), and Hamlet being a favourite play, having seen maybe 14 productions, including 2 in Japanese, I was interested in the rehearsals and exploration of the play, and how they made it relevant to their context.

I could have done without the affair in London with the director Harold, which did nothing for the story. But otherwise an interesting read, but best made in big bites.

Went with a friend to a fabulous exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery:

Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking.


By Yoshida Hiroshi

I loved so many of the pieces I indulged in the catalogue.


By Yoshida Toshi

From two generations.

https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2024/june/yoshida-...

Will be going back at the end of the month with my bro Ryan.

>61 Caroline_McElwee: Those are lovely!

While there, did you see the Tirzah Garwood exhibit? Saw something about that--I have Long Live Great Bardfield in my Persephone TBR pile.

>61 Caroline_McElwee: Wasn't it wonderful? I went to see it just after I returned from my holiday in Japan, and it made me want to go back there at once. I too indulged in the catalogue.

>62 kac522: I think the Tirzah Garwood exhibition will open after the Yoshida one closes. Long live Great Bardfield is a really good read.

>63 Sakerfalcon: Oh, you're so right! Jumping the gun....maybe I can read the book in time to *dream* about going to London to see the Garwood exhibition.

>62 kac522: >63 Sakerfalcon: >64 kac522: Not an artist I'm familiar with, so I shall look forward to making a new discovery. Taking a quick look online, some of her work puts me in mind of Dora Carrington. Thanks Kathy and Claire.

49. On James Baldwin (Colm Tóibín) (19/08/24) *****



5 insightful essays about the life and work of James Baldwin, and the impact on Tóibín that discovering Baldwin when he was 18 had on his own life.

The essays focus primarily on Baldwin's first three novels, and some of his essays. I had planned to finally get to Baldwin's late novels this year, but now I will likely start by rereading the first two again.

One of the things that came across in some of the quotes from the novels, which I can't remember if I noticed as I read them, was how often Baldwin describes his characters as being watched, or as watching. I think that encapsulates Baldwin's writing for me, he watched, and he allowed himself to be seen.

>66 Caroline_McElwee: This sounds like a Must Read, Caroline.

>51 Caroline_McElwee: which for me is probably why I found it disappointing, I felt she was somehow working too hard to fictionalize it, and something got lost in the mix Deborah and I are both on the side of 'this should have been a memoir rather than fictionalized.' I was disappointed in the book and cannot understand how it made the Booker Longlist at all.

>60 Caroline_McElwee: That one is already in the BlackHole thanks to the book being on the Booker Longlist. I just need my local library to get a copy. Thanks for the review, Caroline!

>61 Caroline_McElwee: Wow, I wish I could go to that. I very much enjoy Japanese prints.

>66 Caroline_McElwee: Adding that one to the BlackHole and really wishing my local library had a copy!

Have a terrific Tuesday, Caroline!

>61 Caroline_McElwee: You have the best art on your thread. I loved Enter Ghost as well. Soon after I read it, I went to a presentation on Gaza, and the man who spoke talked about the waits at the checkpoints, which reminded me of the book.

The Baldwin essays sound like something I would love. Got me!

>67 msf59: I think you would enjoy it Mark. Despite having read those early novels several times, I still enjoyed his thoughts.

>68 alcottacre: I have to be honest I so rarely use the library now, not least because I own so many books. But because I buy them, it is frustrating when an author disappoints Stasia, our local libraries were pretty weak (and during the pandemic turned into covid testing centres). I'm also hopeless at returning things on time!

>69 BLBera: Thanks re the art Beth. Living in London means I've been exposed to great art all my life, most of it on display for free except the special exhibitions. I was a pre-teen when I saw my first Rembrandts at Dulwich Picture Gallery, then entry was free to the main collection, though now you can only see it free if you pay for the special exhibition, unless you are a member, which I am.

Mentioning Ronald Pickup on Lauralkeet's thread, I found this little bite of him reading snippets of Dickens, a couple of years before he died. Such a great voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5WZ_YgjyKc

He often played Russian counts and the like.

>71 Caroline_McElwee: How wonderful to hear his voice again. Even if it was reading Chuckles.

50. Wandering Through Life (Donna Leon) (21/08/24) ****



An interesting and sometimes quirky collection of vignettes about Leon’s life. For those interested in creativity, it has less on her writing, but shows how her creativity expands beyond the pen/typewriter �� although there is a little about this near the end of the book in a chapter called ‘Bees’.

She is curious, in many way’s a risk taker, has primarily just said ‘yes’ without allowing her mind to sensor possibilities, so she has had a wide and various life, and made many interesting friends.

For classical music lovers, she is one of you, and shares her passion especially for Handel – I shall certainly be revisiting his work. I did once visit a private home that he had once stayed in, and where his ghost was alleged to reside! Boo.

>73 Caroline_McElwee: Adding that one to the Blackhole! Thank you for the review and recommendation, Caroline.

Every year I listen to the entirety of Handel's Messiah during the Christmas season - at least once. Many years I have listened to it multiple times because I love it so much. I am also a big fan of his Water Music.

>74 alcottacre: Always happy to add to the black hole Stasia.

Last Red Hot Poker at Chelsea Phys this year!

51. The Uptown Local: Joy, Death and Joan Didion (Cory Leadbeater) (24/08/24) ****



Definitely not enough Joan Didion, or joy, but an interesting memoir from the man who was her assistant for the last 9 years of her life.

Complicated family issues that have lead him to be someone who considers suicide on a daily basis. A friendship that grew with the poet James Fenton led him to the job with Didion. He does mention her in every chapter, and there is a little more near the end of the book, but I feel she was used as a hook to get him published.

Of 4 novels publishers showed great interest in, none have yet been published. So this memoir is his debut. He certainly writes well, and I would give a novel a go if one gets into print.

>76 Caroline_McElwee: Aren't they amazing plants, Caro?

New-week's orisons.

>79 Caroline_McElwee: My dad was an aficionado at growing RHPs RD. He used to compete with a friend of mine for who got the most blooms each year, and he always won. He grew them in partial shade under trees. The CPys ones are in the open against a wall.

52. Death at the Sign of the Rook (Kate Atkinson) (27/08/24) ***1/2



The sixth Jackson Brodie volume. I own, I only read the first many years ago. I enjoyed this volume, but found it a bit cliche and a few too many bits of lame word-play, hence wondering whether that is common in the Brodie books as opposed to her other books, so unfair to measure against the higher standard of the latter.

>4 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline! I remember that we (you, Claire, Claire's sister Karen, Bianca and I) passed in front of the C.L.R. James Library in Hackney after we saw the theatrical adaptation of The Plague at the Arcola Theatre.

Claire mentioned that you also enjoyed Orbital. Are there other novels by Samantha Harvey that you would recommend?

I went to see Jeremy O Harris's Slave Play last night. An extraordinary piece of work exploring race and identity in an original way. For the first half, you don't really know what is going on, there is humour, you don't know what era you are in, there seem to be three, and then in the second half .... but I am not going to say more on that.

That the first 3/4 were shouted was jarring, and at the time I felt unnecessary, but later wondered whether your craving for tonal variety was the point. Maybe, maybe not.

The only cast member I was familiar with was Kit Harington, but they were all very good.

Would I see it again, probably not, but there are a handful of people I would recommend it too. It was thought provoking, and a success with the audience last night.

The production got into a scrape because it was decided to have a couple of performances aimed at audiences of colour. Others were not excluded, but they felt it might offer a more comfortable environment. In the UK, still, even when a playwright or cast are of colour, probably less than 10% of the audience will be. I'd say unusually last night about 20% were.

>81 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl, yes we did pass that library. That was a nice day as we also went into the Dalston Curve Garden. There hasn't really been anything that has tempted me at the Arcola Theatre post pandemic, but I do keep my eye on what they are doing.

I really liked Samantha Harvey's Dear Thief too.

Happy Wednesday, Caroline. I like that red hot poker up there. I also like the title of Death at the Sign of the Rook but not sure I am up for a new Jackson Brodie book. I loved the early books. Her writing quality seems to have tapered off the past few years, after riding very high.

>82 Caroline_McElwee: I was intrigued by this play, I think because a couple of the cast were on Breakfast talking about it.

I love the red hot poker - mine have died, I don't think they liked the garden's claggy clay soil!

>80 Caroline_McElwee: I don't think any of Atkinson's books have been big on puns, that I recall (I haven't read this one yet). Mixed reviews mean I am trying to manage my expectations about this one.

>81 kidzdoc: Slave Play sounds very interesting, Caroline. I'll have to see if it comes back soon to NYC, Philadelphia, or the theatres in between; otherwise I'll purchase access to the recorded version of it.

Yes, I do remember that we met Bianca in the Dalston Curve Garden, and we had a very nice lunch close to the library. That was one of my favorite days in London!

Thanks for recommending Dear Thief to me; I'll add it to my library wish list.

>80 Caroline_McElwee: I've been missing Jackson Brodie...in fact I was just recently wondering if I ought to revisit the TV series with Jason Isaacs. (Yes, there's Jason Isaacs...so yes.)

>85 charl08: Oops missed you up there Charlotte.

My dad's soil was clay, and he had swathes of RHPs, they were in partial shade under a couple of trees.

I don't think this Atkinson, if it were the first I read, would draw me to more. It wasn't awful, but not up to a number of other of her books.

>87 laytonwoman3rd: Well Mr Isaacs is pleasant eye-candy indeed Linda.

Jim and I saw "Slave Play" on Broadway and were blown away. you're right - we didn't know what to make of the first half, but all was made clearer after intermission. A lot to think about.

eta: I hadn't seen that cover. wow.

>89 ffortsa: We had no intermission Judy, which ramped things up a bit.

Before the theatre on Tuesday I ducked in to the Portrait Gallery to see the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award. Here are four of my favourites:


Double Portrait of Clara by Michael Slusakowicz


Vanessa by Rosselli Del Turco


Exquisite but sad. Gerald in Hospice by Jackie Anderson. She wanted to capture how beautiful and peaceful he was, and she succeeded.


Grandmother by Zhang Yafei

One has to support real bookshops when you pass one. Damage done at Foyles Charing Cross Road on my way home today.

>92 Caroline_McElwee: One definitely does.

>91 Caroline_McElwee: I love the expression caught on the face of "Grandmother". But they are all intriguing portraits.

>93 charl08: It was known for years as the BP Portrait Prize Charlotte, but visitors complained of their sponsorship. There has been a gap of 4 years until a new sponsor was found. There are always some outstanding works.

>91 Caroline_McElwee: great portraits.

Slave Play sounds interesting.

I have enjoyed the Jackson Brodie books but think Atkinson's other work is better.

>91 Caroline_McElwee: Exquisite.

>92 Caroline_McElwee: I'm impressed at your restraint!

>95 BLBera: Agree re the Brodie books Beth. Not sure I will bother with others.

>96 richardderus: I always find amazing portraits at the annual awards RD. It really is a highlight. I don’t always spend a lot of time there, but often visit twice, it is a free exhibition. I like a breath of art, including portraits.

A lovely day out with my bro, revisiting the Japanese print exhibition in Dulwich. One from each generation:


By Yoshida Hiroshi


By Yoshida Toshi
Look closely, what do you see...


By Yoshida Fujio

On the way to a restaurant after we passed this lovely front garden.



Again I passed my favourite flower stall on the way home and indulged.


Coxcombs (or brain plant) my friend who used to do floristry tells me. The little bud vase was an acquisition at the exhibition shop.

What a lovely garden entry, Caroline! And more than the shape, I love the vibrant colour of your choice of purchase. And, it is a coincidence that all three artists are named Yoshida? In any case, all three are beautiful!

>99 jessibud2: Yes, they are a family of Japanese print makers across three generations Shelley. Japanese surnames come first.

I am a sucker for ceramics.

Oops, I think knew that about the surnames but forgot.

>98 Caroline_McElwee: Lovely paintings and photos! Bianca and I visited the Dulwich Picture Gallery a decade or so ago, and I took an old girlfriend and her son there a year or two afterward when spent Easter Sunday in London.

>98 Caroline_McElwee: Loving all the artwork and flowers here! Thanks for posting them. : )

53. On Wanting to Change (Adam Phillips (01/09/24) ****1/2



One time child psychotherapist Adam Phillips explores the concept of conversion. Using both religious and secular interpretations of the word, and the multitude of ways in which it is used. What drives us to want to change, how do we understand the changes we desire, whether true conversion (change) is possible, sustainable, repeatable.

Phillips deals in complex ideas, but makes them more intelligible to the lay reader. I am now reading the companion volume On Getting Better.

54. The Scent of Flowers at Night (Leïla Slimani) (01/09/24) ****



Slimani is commissioned to spend a night on her own in the Venetian museum the Punta de Della Dogana which houses a modern art collection (I may have seen a photography exhibition here many years ago).



Seeking solitude she accepts the commission, and revisits her life and work as inspired by the artists and creations she finds there.

Some very interesting reading and art here as always, Caroline.

Happy Sunday.

Went with a friend to see this wonderful exhibition at Tate Britain yesterday: Now You See Us women artists in Britain 1520-1920


From left each row - artist in bold: Top: Detail, The Carlile Family with Sir Justinian Isham in Richmond park (13649-50) Joan Carlile; The Music Room (1912) Ethel Wright; Dorothy Sidney, Countess of Sunderland, after Van Dyke (1675-80) Mary Beale/middle: A Modern Cinderella (1875) Louise Jopling; Self Portrait (1902) Gwen John; Elizabeth Montague (1778) Frances Reynolds/bottom: Margaret Countess of Dunfries (1770s) Anne Forbes; At The Edge of the Cliff (1917) Laura Knight; A Young Teacher (carer) (1861) Rebecca Soloman - the only person of colour represented. Soloman is believed to be the first English Jewish woman to become a professional artist.

As you can see, most are portraits, but there were a variety of others.


The Deceitfulness of Riches (1901) Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Described as a Neo-Pre-Raphaelite painting.

And this extraordinary piece:


Calling the Roll after an Engagement, Crimea (1857) Elizabeth Butler

Very few pieces with male sitters, one of those there was, was not a pleasant character so I have chosen to exclude him. He was a surgeon, so should have appreciated skill. The artist Mary Black asked 50% less for the painting than a male artist would have asked, and he tried to barter her down to asking only 25% of what a male artist would charge, saying she should be grateful to have had the opportunity of painting such a distinguished character. The artist kept the painting until her death. I hope she threw darts at it. No holes seen though.

Watching the lookers.



The woman on the left put me in mind of Virginia Woolf.

>105 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, I hope you are having a good weekend too.

Oh thanks for all the lovely art!

I just reread A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, about the lack of recognized women writers in past centuries. It's good to see women painters taking their own place in the arts.

>106 Caroline_McElwee: I've heard of Ethel Wright and Laura Knight before, the others, not so much. I'm interested in Rebecca Solomon especially because she hopped hurdles the others weren't required to.

Fascinating. Have a great week-ahead's reads!

The Tate exhibition caught my eye too. Must make time for it.
I've bumped Enter Ghost up the list and I think I'm putting my recent purchase of a Joan Didion at your door.

>109 ffortsa: I think I will squeeze in a reread of that soon myself Judy. Glad you enjoyed the art.

>110 richardderus: It really was a fine exhibition RD,

>111 Helenliz: The exhibition is on to 13 October Helen. The shop is very dangerous, luckily I actually had quite a few of the books on sale, but I did some damage with the catalogue and the new biography of Gwen John. Thames and Hudson do such great quality art books.

I bope the Didion works for you.

55. March (Geraldine Brooks) (09/09/24) ****



An imagining of Father's life away from Marmee and the little women. I found the war parts both moving and authentic. For some reason was less interested in his letters home. Not sure why. A good read however.

>106 Caroline_McElwee: That was a very good exhibition, Caroline. Great to see that women were able to work as professional artists far earlier than we are generally aware, despite the many hurdles in their way. I also enjoyed the Expressionists exhibition at Tate Modern, which includes a lot of female artists. It's about time we saw their work alongside that of their male counterparts.

>114 Sakerfalcon: Amen to that, Claire!
Thanks for sharing the exhibit with us, Caro.

>114 Sakerfalcon: >115 lauralkeet: It was definitely a worthy exhibition Claire and Laura. Wonder how long it will be before 1920 to date appears. I agree, it is time it isn't necessary for women artists to be exhibited separately. We are getting there, but suspect there is still the odd hurdle.

We went to an exhibit I was anxious to see before the museum closed:
Vivian Maier photographs and film at the Fotografiska NYC.

here's a link

Maier spent decades as a nanny in Chicago and New York, and shot a huge trove of street photography which she kept in a storage locker not opened until after she died. The black and white pictures in particular are amazing and moving.

The museum in closing at the end of the month, and is looking for another home in NYC, but has not located one yet. Sob.

>117 ffortsa: I love Maier's work Judy, I have several books of her photographs. Glad you got to see the exhibition. I hope the museum finds a new home.

There is a fine documentary called 'Finding Vivienne Maier', maybe 6 or so years ago.

The Tate exhibition looks great, Caroline. You are a wonderful ambassador for art.

>119 BLBera: I love visiting galleries Beth, but now so many are heaving with people, so I time visits carefully.

Visiting Broadstairs with a friend. The tallest building is now called Bleak House, but was originally Fort House when Charles Dickens used it as a holiday home.



A little pick me up!

Beautiful!

>121 Caroline_McElwee: What a lovely venue, on what looks to be a perfect day for it.

>121 Caroline_McElwee: Strange coincidence - I visited Broadstairs this Saturday just past. Great minds think alike! We walked around to Bleak House, and the wall is randomly embedded with seashells, a lovely detail.

>124 Sakerfalcon: I come here with a friend for a few days occasionally. Head home tomorrow Claire. It’s lovely and restful. Ice cream at Morelli’s later.

>125 Caroline_McElwee: Ohhhh! We had ice cream there and it was amazing! I had the arancia varigata.

That exhibition at the Tate looks interesting Caroline. We are going into London tomorrow to see a Van Gogh exhibition.

>127 SandDune: I’m planning to see that after the initial rush Rhian, look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Broadstairs (and the galleries) looks lovely Caroline. I am sorely tempted by the exhibition catalogue for >106 Caroline_McElwee:. I heard some radio discussion about the selection of paintings (as in critical of the broad period chosen given the limitations on who could be included). Really (as with the feminist exhibit at the Tate) so glad they ae showing women's work.

>129 charl08: Broadstairs was lovely Charlotte. Listening to the sea slows my heart rate.

I will get back to reading the catalogue now I'm home. It is very good so far. Certainly having a little about each woman artist is a start to finding out more about favourites.

Broadstairs Coast by Turkish-British artist Yesim Begem.

I bought this print from the artist, who was selling her work from a little stall on the front (forgot to take a photograph).

https://www.yesimbegen.com/

>131 Caroline_McElwee: What an evocative work! From browsing her website, it's clear that clouds are her signature.

It certainly is Linda. It was a treat to meet her and see her work. A young woman in her mid-late 30s I guess.

>131 Caroline_McElwee: Oh, that is lovely indeed! Thank you for including the link, as well.

>131 Caroline_McElwee: That is lovely!

Beautiful print. I am tempted by the lighthouse bookmarks!

>134 richardderus: Pleasure RD.

>135 BLBera: I'm very pleased with it Beth.

>136 charl08: I bought a couple of the other bookmarks Charlotte. Never canhave too many bookmarks.

I don't think that I have ever been to Broadstairs but I must!

>131 Caroline_McElwee: That is lovely and very atmospheric.

>138 PaulCranswick: It's a quaint seaside town Paul. A restful place for a few days. Good eateries, some Dickens connections.

Booker Shortlist

Read (in order of preference)

Held (Anne Michaels)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/356305#8397439

Orbital (Samantha Harvey)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/356305#8355769

The Safekeep (Yael Van der Wouden)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/362160#8635709

Stone Yard Devotional (Charlotte Wood)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/359011#8494091

Not yet read:

Creation Lake (Rachel Kushner) (ordered)
James (Percival Everett) (May not read this year)

Based on LT reviews I suspect James will win.

About the six shortlisted books:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/16/each-of-the-six-booker-novels-does...

56&57 84 Charing Cross Road & The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (Helene Hanff) (15/09/24) *****


The little Slightly Foxed edition, one of three editions I own.

What more can be said about these little gems. Probably the 7th time of reading and it is never less than a pleasure. I love Hanff's wise-cracking letters to sometimes droll Mr Doel.

>141 Caroline_McElwee: - Some of my all-time favourites, Caroline and 2 of only a handful of books I have reread more than once. I am generally not a re-reader but these are my exceptions. Please tell me you have seen the film made from these 2 books. Rarely is a film adaptation worthy of my raving but this one was. Absolutely perfect casting (Anne Bancroft as Helene and Anthony Hopkins as Frank) and so well done, and true to the texts. Simply titled after the first book, it is actually based on both.

>142 jessibud2: I have indeed seen the film Shelley (and own a copy), I agree they were perfectly cast.

>143 Caroline_McElwee: - I own a copy, too.

>141 Caroline_McElwee: In the past few years I've made it a New Year's tradition to read 84, Charing Cross Road. It helps me kick off my New Year of reading.

>145 kac522: A lovely start to the year Kathy, I probably read it about every 7 years, 2016 was the last time.

>146 Caroline_McElwee: Looks like a lovely edition you have, too. Always makes the reading experience just that more special.

>140 Caroline_McElwee: The only one that I have read thus far is James. I am hoping to get to at least another couple of them soon: I can get Creation Lake through my local library, which just acquired it, and Orbital through Hoopla. Beyond those, I am just out of luck.

>141 Caroline_McElwee: Yay for another Helene Hanff fan! I love her books. 84, Charing Cross Road is one of my all-time favorite books.

>140 Caroline_McElwee: It would be a little ironic if the one man on the list wins...

>149 BLBera: I know Beth. I am currently reading The Safekeep and liking.

I went to see see 'Lee' earlier in the week which was a hard watch, but a fine film.



Highly recommended.

I saw a documentary a few years back about 3 women and Lee Miller was one of them. At that time, I had not heard of her but was intrigued. I know I reviewed it on my thread but I am completely blanking on the title at the moment. If I can remember, I will look it up and edit it in. Was this one a documentary as well, or a fictionalized account of her life?

>151 Caroline_McElwee: Looks good Caroline. I was reminded on the plane how many films just pass me by completely. Watched a beautiful Hong Kong film about a teacher and depression, which I'd not come across at all before.

ETA I didn't recognise Kate Winslet either!

>151 Caroline_McElwee: I watch almost no films these days, but I will keep that one in mind. It looks like a movie I might enjoy.

Have a fantastic Friday, Caroline!

>152 jessibud2: It is a fictionalisation of her life based on a book by her son Shelley. After the war she lived in the UK until her death. Her home is a museum now. I have seen exhibitions of her work.

>153 charl08: I am so glad to have my local cinema back after 2 years of the previous one closing Charlotte. It's not possible to see or know of everything, I am resigned to that, it's a bit like those books we harbour.

>154 alcottacre: I would definitely say its one for you Stasia.

Ian McKellen plays a real ogre in 'The Critic', bet he relished doing that.

In spite of a goodly number of film houses in NYC, we also don't make a practice of going to the movies. We try to catch the 'Contenders' series at the Museum of Modern Art in the fall, but we also have missed many worthwhile films. I'll keep 'Lee' in mind.

>156 Caroline_McElwee: We are going to see that one tomorrow.

58. Everything I've Ever Done That Worked (Lesley Garner) (20/09/24) ****1/2



In many respects this is as much autobiography as anything else, and not everything will work for everyone. This was my third reading (the first in 2005) and rereading it reminded me how much I had taken on board and was using even now in some cases. So now I made a short list of other things I might find useful at my current time of life.

>157 ffortsa: I don't think you will be disappointed Judy.

>158 SandDune: Did you enjoy it Rhian?

>159 Caroline_McElwee: I will have to check that one out. Thanks for the recommendation, Caroline!

>159 Caroline_McElwee: - This is one of many that is on my shelf, as yet unread.

>161 alcottacre: >162 jessibud2: I think you will both enjoy it. Wisdom that someone has test-driven is often valuable.

59. Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love and Liberty (Hillary Rodham Clinton) (23/09/24) ****1/2



One of the things I always love in Hillary’s books is she tells you about all the women especially who she has worked with, or who have shared their stories with her. There may be a fair bit of ‘I told you so’ (not surprising across 50+ years of service), but there is never any suggestion that she achieved things alone. It not only takes a village to raise a child, it takes a wealth of varied experience and intention to understand how to change a situation for the better.

This is not the full list of subjects and people, but for a relatively short volume it speaks to: US, politics, memoir, autobiography, friendship, Afghanistan,First Ladies, India’s women salt farmers, Elaben ‘Ela’ Bhatt (SEWA), Carers, abortion, The Vote, democracy, education, teaching, Gaza, Israel, technology and youth, loneliness, mental health, body image, Republicans, Ukraine, Russia, Putin, WWII, antisemitism, Charles Lindbergh, Isolationists, American Nazi’s, the Marshall Plan, China, Mrs Rodham (Hillary’s mom), Trump, Yulia Navalnaya, Sviatlana Tsikhhanouskaya, Belarus, Leymah Gobowee, Liberia, Rigoberto Menchú, Guatamala, Zin Mar Aung, Mysnmar, Maria Ressa, Philippines, Mahsa Amini, Iran, LGBTQ+, Faith, love, marriage, the Clinton Foundation, AIDS/HIV, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, theatre

If there is a problem, it is on the whole the book will be preaching to the converted because a lot of Americans, including Democrats, don’t seem to like Hillary. She may not quite be Marmite, but because she has never tried to conform to expectations many have taken against her; not to mention the lies that have been spread about her across the years. She's not perfect by any means, but the world is certainly a better place because she is in it.

This volume is rich soil, and she has so much to share. I do hope young women especially find this volume. Gift it to the young women in your life.

I went to see the Iranian film 'My Favourite Cake' this evening. In the subtlest way a look at the lives of women under the current regime. Amusing, charming and sad. Banned in its country of origin, who attempted to obstruct it getting out into the world and fortunately failed.

Happy Monday, Caroline. Very slowly trying to catch up around here, after my trip. I am interested in seeing the film "Lee". How was Held? It looks like I missed your review.

>166 msf59: here’s my review of Held Mark:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356305#8397439

>164 Caroline_McElwee: I'm looking forward to that one.

>168 laytonwoman3rd: I don't doubt you will enjoy it Linda. Among other reading thought I'd stay with US politics and have started Nancy Pelosi's political memoir The Art of Power.

Hi Caroline, this time you got me with films and books. The Garner book sounds interesting, as does the Clinton memoir. Both films sound great.

>156 Caroline_McElwee: That is calling to me, Caroline. What a great looking cast.

>165 Caroline_McElwee: that looks like an interesting film.

Happy rest of the week

>171 PaulCranswick: I think you would enjoy it Paul.

>172 figsfromthistle: It was Anita. It had mussed my radar, but my bro had noticed it and I'm glad we saw it. I used to watch a lot of World Cinema at the cinema, but you generally have to schlep into town for it, it's not often shown locally unless you have an arthouse cinema nearby.

60 &61 'The Butterfly House' (Kathryn Bevis) no touchstone yet (27/09/24) (29/09/24) *****



An extraordinary debut volume. Kathryn Bevis, among other things explores her inoperable cancer diagnosis. Sadly she died in May this year. A 'never to be parted with' volume for me, that will get a reread this weekend.

My body tells me that she’s filing for divorce
by Kathryn Bevis

She’s taken a good, hard look at the state
of our relationship. She knows it’s not
for her. The worst thing is, she doesn’t tell
me this straight up or even to my face. No.
She books us appointments with specialists
in strip-lit rooms. They peer at us over paper
masks with eyes whose kindness I can’t bear.

They speak of our marriage in images:
a pint of milk that’s on the turn, an egg
whose yolk is punctured, leaking through
the rest, a tree whose one, rotten root
is poisoning the leaves. I try to understand
how much of us is sick. I want to know
what they can do to put us right. She,

whose soft shape I have lain with every night,
who’s roamed with me in rooky woods, round
rocky heads. She, who’s witnessed the rain
pattering on the reedbed, the cut-glass chitter
of long-tailed tits, the woodpecker rehearsing
her single, high syllable. How have we become
this bitter pill whose name I can’t pronounce?

Soon, she’ll sleep in a bed that isn’t mine.
That’s why, these nights, we perform our trial
separations. She, buried in blankets, eyelids
flickering fast. Me, up there on, no — wait —
through the ceiling, attic, roof. I’m flying, crying,
looking down. Too soon, I whisper to her warm
and sleeping form. Not yet. Too soon. Too soon.

first published in Poetry Wales, Vol. 58/1, Summer 2022.



Not a dud poem in this volume, which is rare.

https://poetryschool.com/articles/kathryn-bevis-how-i-did-it-my-body-tells-me-th...

I learned of this book from Pat Barker's The Books of My Life piece:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/20/pat-barker-when-i-first-read-pride...

Also love the cover painting by 'Heartfelt Thoughts' by Catrin Welz-Stein

>174 Caroline_McElwee: Wow.

>175 ffortsa: Wow indeed Judy. I know I will return to this volume often.

My next step after visiting here will be to scurry over to order this book. Another *wow* from across the Atlantic.

>177 tiffin: I have just reread it Tui, and like most good poetry it gets better and better. I hope it works for you too. Cx

It won't arrive until late October, early November, but I am really looking forward to it. Thanks, Caro.

It's always a joy to come visit your thread, Caroline because it's filled with beautiful art. Such a treat!

I'm glad you liked Lee - I was thinking of going to see it (maybe Friday if I can).

>163 Caroline_McElwee: Wisdom that someone has test-driven is often valuable. Absolutely!

I hope you have a marvelous Monday, Caroline!

>180 PawsforThought: Always good to see you peak round the door Paws. I hope the film hits the spot for you.

>181 alcottacre: It was a very pleasant Monday Stasia (I don't work Mondays, and Tuesday's never became Monday's if you get my drift!).

62. The Art of Power (Nancy Pelosi) (30/09/24) ****1/2



Focusing mostly on the most epic aspects of her political career, this is an extraordinary incite into the world of a woman in power. So many aspects of US and international affairs in such a short volume. And for a non-US citizen, an understanding of how the political system in America is meant to function.

Leadership means never being content with history, when you can and must make progress. (Nancy Pelosi) The Art of Power p303

Written on a wall in a hospital in Sierra Leone, noted by Sister Joyce Weller of the Daughters of Charity:

When I die and happily meet my Creator, He will ask me to show Him my wounds. If I tell Him that I have no wounds, my Creator will ask: was nothing worth fighting for?
(Unknown). (Nancy Pelosi) The Art of Power p308

63. The Safekeeper (Yael Van Der Wouden) (30/09/24) ****



Set in the 1960s Netherlands, Isabel is still living in the family home alone, her two brothers living nearby. A young woman, Eva, inveigles her way into her life via one of the brothers, and a taut emotional dance evolves. Is everything quite what it seems?

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024.

64. The Stone Age (Jen Hadfield) (06/10/24) ***1/2


Book cover painting by Kristi Tait

Poet Jen Hadfield has lived on Shetland for 20 years. Her poems are chiseled out of the rock, and her fascination with stone and language, or I should say languages. I am currently reading her memoir of Shetland life Storm Pegs.

Limpet
By Jen Hadfield



Stop, now you're
home, and consider
what that feels like -
don't stop, continue

to whirl, an introvert
tornado, across the
flooded rockpool
in an ease of gypsy

skirts - cyclonic,
high and wet. This
is not a thing
to sit tight upon -

locked to your home-
scar against the
migraine of the waves -
this rebait will wait

that you can spin home to
like cup to saucer -
matching every chip
in your shell to its

own rocky rostrum
Clamp down -
turn the key of
yourself in the lock

of yourself, fasten -
with a hundred
infinitismal
mortices -

>184 Caroline_McElwee: The images are really interesting, and I like the cover painting a lot.

Lovely week-ahead's reads, Caro.

The Outrun is a heartbreaking, disturbing, yet ultimately optimistic film because she survived. The power of nature. An alcoholic daughter of a bi-polar father destroys everything as she never feels happy sober. An Orkedian who bases herself in London eventually moves herself onto a remote Orkney island and lives in the stormy natural world which begins heal her. I've had the book for a while, time to read it soon.

>185 richardderus: Limpets are amazing RD.

I like the Hadfield poem. I may have to request that collection.

I have "The Outrun" on my Watchlist. I heard Ronan is wonderful in the film.

>184 Caroline_McElwee:: I had no idea that limpets have shells like that!

>188 msf59: Ronan is indeed fine Mark.

>189 tiffin: I love them Tui. There is a wonderful chapter about them in her Shetland memoir (review soon).

>184 Caroline_McElwee: Love this.

When I was away my cousin was talking about visiting Scottish islands, we've talked about a trip in a few years. I guess I've got some time to get the prep reading in! The shell pictures are so striking.

65. Storm Pegs: A Life Made in Shetland (Jen Hadfield) (07/10/24) ****1/2



I really enjoyed this memoir from poet Jen Hadfield who has lived in Shetland for almost 20 years now – she gives us an insight from the vantage point of the sooth-moother, the incomer to Shetland, and as an islander, although no incomer is ever totally an insider, no matter how long you are there. Using the words from Shaetlan as chapter headings, she leads us around this wonderful landscape and its communities, characters, mythologies, evolutions, while still reminding us that nothing and nowhere is free from change.

66. A Beginner’s Guide to Dying (Simon Boas) (08/10/24) ****




Another valuable addition to the attempt at understanding the only thing that we can all guarantee in our lives, we will vacate them, we will die. More humour than in many such volume, and it is perhaps this initially that took me a while to get used to. But this is ultimately a memoir of the final chapters of a younger life coming to an end (Boas was 47 when he died). As the author reminds us, in this area we will all be ‘beginners’. This is well trodden ground in the literary sense, but we are reminded that many people truly do not want to think/talk/acknowledge our finiteness, and the author believes this is to our detriment (in another context Oliver Burkeman explores this in his recent volume Meditations for Mortals which I will finish this week). I found the final third of this short book reminding me of the great advances as humans we have made especially valuable – and he discusses these having spent much of his life working in overseas development and within war zones – seeing not only the worst but the best of human nature/experience. I note I have read or own many of the books on his short reading list at the end.

>191 charl08: Sadly those more rugged places are beyond my fitness, so I have to be an armchair visitor. I am sure you will enjoy Storm Pegs in >192 Caroline_McElwee: Charlotte.

>193 Caroline_McElwee: Who knows if I will ever get there? Nice to dream though.

Saw this and thought of you. It is definitely a good year to be a Baldwin fan! (Although £17 for an online event seems a bit steep to me...)
https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/events/the-life-writing-legacy-of-jame...

>194 charl08: Thanks for the link, I might go for a livestream ticket Charlotte.

It has been so lovely seeing Baldwin so fully back in the world, and spoken about by so many as an inspiration.

Updated: >140 Caroline_McElwee: re the Booker shortlist.

>183 Caroline_McElwee: The Safekeep is already in the BlackHole due to its presence on the Booker Short List, but I am adding the Pelosi book there. Thanks for that recommendation, Caroline!

Have a great day!

>197 alcottacre: I thought the Pelosi very interesting Stasia, in a different way perhaps to HillaryC's but both adding to my knowledge in many aspects re US politics especially, and other areas too. I have Molly Ball's biography of Pelosi in my Black Hole, and will probably pick that up over the winter. It won't cover more recent events, but will tell me about her earlier life.

The Hadfield poetry is lovely, Caroline. I will look for her.

>174 Caroline_McElwee: Wow! This is so sad.

The Nancy Pelosi book also looks interesting.

>199 BLBera: Glad to be adding to your wishlist Beth.

You are doing a lot of damage to my wishlist, Caroline. I certainly want to read *Nancy Pelosi's book; had not heard of Hadfield, and now want to read both her poetry and her memoir; and the Dutch novel sounds intriguing. In marvelous coincidence, Nancy Pelosi will be in town to attend a funeral this week (one of the former owners of the Scranton Times/Tribune, Cecelia Lynett Haggerty, was a friend of hers) AND I've recently met a woman born in the Netherlands, and have had a couple lovely conversations with her. Love when those things happen.

* Just put it on hold at the library...it will be a while. Sadly, they haven't heard of Hadfield.

>201 laytonwoman3rd: I don't doubt you will find the Pelosi book interesting (and painful at times too) Linda.

Shame about the Hadfield, but so many books don't get published both sides of the pond.

67. An Interrupted Life (Etty Hillisum) (April 2024) *****



I realise I didn't add this reread, done as a coread with Stasia across March and April. (Even though I only reread the diaries - 2/3rds of the volume they count).

My thoughts are pretty much what they were on original reading, which can be found when requoted here earlier in the year:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356305#8344830

68. The Butterfly Hotel (Roger Robinson) (11/10/2024) ****



It's a while since I read Robinson's A Portable Paradise, and time to read one of his earlier volumes. Some very fine poems, and a view from a very different experience to my own, especially in my introduction to the Trinidadian life of a young man.





My favourite poem was a longer poem 'A Meditation on Portrait of a Trinidadian Woman'. I'll try and make time to type it up.

69. Meditations for Mortals (Oliver Burkeman) (13/10/24) ***1/2



A companion to his Four Thousand Weeks. Read as intended, a short 6 page chapter each day for 4 weeks. It's main focus is on the benefits of admitting and accepting the finiteness of life and the liberation you may reap from doing so.

Among the suggestions:

Ch3

‘There are no solutions, only trade-offs’ (Thomas Sowell).

By facing the consequences of a choice you are enjoying the freedom in limitation.

Because a choice may not be feasible for the underprivileged it is not a reason you should not choose it (some use this excuse not to act).

*

Ch5: Too much information: on the art of reading and not reading. Treat your ‘to read’ pile like a river not a bucket.

*

Ch8: Decision hunting (taking action). The art of taking imperfect action. A decision doesn’t get to count as a decision until you’ve done something about it in reality. So as to put some of your discarded alternatives beyond reach. The decision can be as tiny as you like. Grand gestures not required.

“Like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way”. (E L Doctorow).

As is obvious, I've finally got back to reading some poetry each day. It is the first thing I do before breakfast on working days, but generally meanders through the day on non-working days - I read the Robertson on an afternoon out and about, mostly sitting outside a cafe with a coffee waiting for a dental appointment, great distraction.

70. Selected Poems and Prose: Gerald Manley Hopkins (13/10/24) *****


Folio Society edition.

A revisit with an old favourite, it isn't necessary to hold a faith to find something deep and moving in Hopkins's work. Nature, and the deep darkness of the human condition are among his subjects.





A beautiful rendition of 'No worst, there is None' read by David Bankole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBgq822LfEE


This edition exquisitely illustrated by Elizabeth McGill.
https://www.elizabethmagill.com/paintings/2023

And here Richard Burton reading 'The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhQwFf6Qb9U

***
On to the prose next.

Don't panic, those of you for whom poetry doesn't speak (you know who you are!), I'm either returning to the collected works of Ursula Le Guin (400 pages left to go) or starting Margaret Atwood's Paper Boat: New and Selected poems, either will take me to year's end, so other than report of the odd short volume, your eyes will not be disturbed :-) .

I don't read much poetry, to be honest, but I do love the cover in >204 Caroline_McElwee: and >207 Caroline_McElwee:! ;-)

>208 Caroline_McElwee: oh thank All those useless gods

>209 jessibud2: I do like a good cover Shelley.

>210 richardderus: Ha!

Thanks for posting the poetry, lovely especially to see the Hopkins. One of my A level teachers loved him, and he could recite beautifully: it's Mr K I hear for "pitched past pitch of grief" and "like shining from shook foil". I don't share GMH's beliefs by any means, but appreciate his sincerity and the beauty of the sound of the words.

>212 charl08: I'm so delighted you had a teacher who taught poetry well Charlotte, and Hopkins. I was just grateful not to have one who tried, as all those I know who hate poetry blame it on the teacher.

I was lucky, poetry was read out loud at home at celebratory days especially, we took turns. My parents were working class, but Shakespeare and poetry lived with us (and my dad's love of Samurai movies) all of which I retain.

I can't remember when I came to Hopkins, but like you I don't share his faith. 'No Worst, There is None' has been my favourite of his for so long. It is the sound as well as the content with him too as you say. And Hamlet (of those I've read or seen) is my favourite Shakespeare and was Hopkins' too apparently. Should pull the biography off the shelf.

>203 Caroline_McElwee: I am glad to see that you enjoyed the re-read so much!

>208 Caroline_McElwee: As one of 'those people,' I am glad to see it.

Have a marvelous Monday!

I too enjoy G.M.H. and like you, don't share his beliefs. I just delight in his imagery:
"For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim."

>215 tiffin: Gorgeous isn't it Tui.

>215 tiffin: oh me too. I once wrote a term final about his rhythms and how they affect me physically.

>217 ffortsa: Nice to find other fans Judy.

71. Intermezzo (Sally Rooney) (18/10/24) ****



Another fine novel by Sally Rooney. She is an old soul for sure. Continuing wielding her gifted pen to explore the complexities of relationships between family, lovers and friends. In this case the impact of the loss of a father to two brothers born ten or so years apart. The older, Peter, a lawyer, and the younger, Ivan, a chess player. As we join their lives the brothers are relatively estranged, and we explore their story in relation to each other, and the women in their lives.

A quirk I noticed, which is about me rather than the book, or rather about life. There is much talk of older women. At 64 I am an older woman, but the older woman in the story is 36 heading towards 40, which of course, if you are in your early 20s is an older woman, but I couldn't shake Margaret being in her 50s at least in my imagination!

>219 Caroline_McElwee: Older at 36? Ouch!

I just wanted to thank you for mentioning Oliver Burkeman's new work on audiobook. I've listened to a couple of chapters via Spotify as I have that already. I have one of his earlier books but found this format so much easier. The one about reading really made me think. Although I'm not sure why the metaphor isn't a perfect library rather than a river?!! (I do like the idea, still)

>219 Caroline_McElwee: I don't know Sally Rooney's work at all. But oddly enough, I received a copy of Intermezzo in error yesterday as part of an order through Bookshop.org. (They also sent me another title I didn't order, as well as duplicating the two volumes I DID order!) Having been told I could keep all the extras, as it was their distributor's error, I intended to donate them to the library book sale, but I may just hang on to the Rooney, and see what I think of it.

>220 charl08: Happy to be of service Charlotte.

>221 laytonwoman3rd: Her books are pretty plotless Linda, but for a 33 year old I find her quite extraordinary on relationships of all kinds.

Nice to get an unexpected book haul. Unfortunately when I was delivered someone else groceries a few weeks back and was gifted them, they were all meat (I am a vegetarian mostly, who eats a little fish!), so a neighbour got the benefit of that.

A short way into Timothy Snyder's Our Malady and am horrified at his medical experiences. If you read this note Darryl, I don't recommend you read this book (I checked it isn't in your library) - you will blow a gasket as we say here.

>223 Caroline_McElwee: - I read that one a few years ago. I was also appalled. It's amazing he survived. His newest book, On Freedom, is a tome, however. I saw it in the bookstore and it's hardcover and huge. I will either wait for the paperback or get it from the library. He is very articulate and I wish more people read him - and learn from him.

>224 jessibud2: Yes, I have the new one, which made me realise I hadn't yet read Our Malady Shelley. It will probably get read this year too.c

I am reading Intermezzo right now, Caroline, and am loving it. She does such a fine job with her characters, especially Ivan. I think her style has evolved and I am enjoying the stream of consciousness.

>226 BLBera: Glad it is hitting the spot for you too Beth.

>219 Caroline_McElwee: I have only read one of Rooney's books to date, Beautiful World, Where Are You?, which I did not enjoy all that much - I only gave it 3 stars - but I am willing to try her again based on your recommendation. Thanks, Caroline!

Have a fantastic Friday!

72. Le Guin: Collected Poems (Ursula K Le Guin) (24/10/24) ****1/2



Although I have read much of the volume of work from a few poets, I think this is the first time I have read the collected works when no more will be added. I started this 740 page collection almost exactly a year ago, read just under half, and returned to it this month, so two large bites. Wonderful to read the breadth of a writers poetical output (as of course there are novels - probably what she is most known for - and essays in her gift).

I would say she travelled a persistent path, nature always having a firm position as subject. The exploration of the human condition, creativity. The weakest section was the uncollected pieces, which is self explanatory, but interesting to see.


From Le Guin's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, which I love. Note 'interpretation', not 'translation'. A clean, uncluttered rendering.

And a couple of other, of my many favourites:





The last 40 pages are introductory essays about poetry from some of the collections. It was interesting to learn that she could never write poetry in the science fiction genre, it just never worked for her, although there are some mythological subjects in there.

>228 alcottacre: I actually liked Beautiful World, Where are you? more than you Stasia, and slightly more than this, so not sure if this will appeal, but it might.

>230 Caroline_McElwee: OK, thanks for the input. We shall see :)

>73 Caroline_McElwee:. Uprooting (Marchelle Farrell) (25/10/24) ****



I have to admit this lovely cover drew me to this book in a 'real bookshop'.

Marchelle had moved to the UK from Trinidad to study, and has lived here for 20 years. In search of a home with a garden, she and her family land in a village in Somerset. The memoir explores the complexities of being the only woman of colour in the village, and through plants, colonialism and the concept for her of home. There are unsettling surprises. Most of the plants she remembers and pines for from Trinidad were not actually native to the island, another colonial trick!.

As well as this, the family move in just as the pandemic hits.

>229 Caroline_McElwee: Love this poetry. Thanks for sharing it!

>233 charl08: Glad it hit the spot Charlotte. There were maybe 200 I liked in the volume.

Went to see Almodovar's latest film, the first he has done in English, so a bit disorientating in the first few minutes, despite knowing.

Extraordinary, heartbreaking but beautiful. Two friends in their sixties who have not been in touch for years, until one is being treated for cancer. They reignite their friendship, and when all treatment is exhausted the dying woman asks her friend to be in the room next door - to be the one who finds her - when she takes her own life.

We were decanted from the bus on the way home as a man with mental health issues was getting very threatening. Its not uncommon to come across people suffering, but I've only once seen someone this out of control before in public.

74. Our Malady (Timothy Snyder) (27/10/24) ****



A horrifying look at the US health system, via Snyder's own awful experience. Admittedly things had been missed by hospitals in other countries too, but in comparison to that in the US hospitals, the care he got in Vienna for example (and during his wife's pregnancy when they lived there), painful, and he had reasonable insurance, so for those who don't, life expectancy is much lower. Hopefully Obama care has improved this some, but as commercial businesses, he doesn't believe the patient is ever the priority.

I should say that he has nothing but gratitude for the healthcare workers who did their best despite the serious limitations.

He also talks about how T'rump mishandled the pandemic, leaving everyone hanging in the wind. Boris wasn't much better, and definitely too many lives were lost by his lack of early response despite advice.

I'm sure some of you will have experiences that either support or challenge this. Our own system is crumbling, with over 60,000 healthcare professionals in counselling post the pandemic. For the first time in decades our life expectancy has stopped increasing, and may be going in the other direction.

>237 Caroline_McElwee: Nice review of Our Malady, Caroline. It's not surprising that many of the socioeconomic disparities in the United States are reflected in our "healthcare system", a misnomer if there ever was one. I just ordered this from the Free Library of Philadelphia, and hopefully I'll get to read and comment about it next month.

>237 Caroline_McElwee: I read this back 2021 and I think his experience is not atypical. But I know the UK is suffering; my son in Sheffield has been waiting since last December for eye surgery. It just finally got scheduled for November 14.

Anything by Snyder is outstanding. His On Tyranny is important, and I've just put in a request at my library for his new one, On Freedom. And he's considered an expert on Ukraine and Eastern Europe in general.

>238 kidzdoc: I look forward to reading your thoughts Darryl, I suspect it will make an uncomfortable read for you.

>239 kac522: I agree re On Tyranny Kathy, a fine book. I have the new one in the tbr mountain and plan to read it over the winter.

>219 Caroline_McElwee: sounds like a great read. I will see if my library has that one.

The Snyder and Uprooting have caught my eye, Caroline. Great comments, as usual. I do have On Tyranny on my shelf. Maybe I'll have the fortitude to read it after the election if the orange man doesn't win.

>214 alcottacre: I hope you can find it Anita.

>215 tiffin: I have everything crossed for you all Beth.