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.
Cool! Thanks for the mention. I was delighted to find that many people share my fascination with mourning clothes
Book, link and blog – all perfect !
Thank you very much and a happy weekend to you
Andrea
Thank you very much for the stimulating reading on the weekend miscellany.
I’m sorry to hear you still have a problem with your eyes, although, praise God it is better than it was. I can imagine how frustrating an eye/vision issue is for someone who likes to read as much as you do. I was quite upset last week when I realized how much I was now struggling to read the small print in my travel Bible, even with reading glasses and I had to abandon The Road to Lichfield copy I had from the library because I couldn’t cope with the small, strangely fuzzy font. Maybe I will have to invest in a big magnifying glass!
Thanks again for all your effort in writing about your May novellas. I am busy collecting ones I particularly liked the sound of from your posts.
P.S No pressure or hassle, but is there going to be a tea or books soon to discuss Fifty Sounds and The Housekeeper and the Professor?