Weekend Miscellany

We’re having some lovely weather in the UK this weekend, and the roses in my garden are in full bloom, so I can temporarily forget about the world out there with a book and a cuppa. I hope your weekend is going well – let me help it along with a book, a blog post, and a link.

1.) The link – the Hay Festival kicks off in a couple of days! Obviously it’s not happening in real life, but lots of events are happening online – and, even better, the tickets are free. I’ve signed up to see James Shapiro and Jon Sopel. I’m not sure what tickets are left, but check them out!

2.) The book – my friend Matthew recommended The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos – or, rather, heard about it and thought I’d like it. Someone unearths an amazing novel in a library of rejected manuscripts, which starts a publicity hunt for the author. Sounds very up my street – read more.

3.) The blog post – I loved the book recommendations – and the paintings – in the latest round-up over at Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

It’s been a while since I did one of these – but also, time no longer has any meaning. April has finished, apparently? What a strange, strange year. I am grateful that my reading abilities came back, though, and I certainly got through a lot of books in April – though I’m not doing so well at writing about them.

I hope you and the people you love are doing well. Stay safe, and enjoy a book, a blog post, and a link.

1.) The book – Chatteron Square by E.H. Young is now out in the British Library Women Writers series! It’s the first one that I chose myself, and it’s great. I had fun reading about 1930s divorce law while writing the afterword, which hopefully adds a layer of interest to the novel – but obviously it’s a wonderful novel without a word from me alongside it.

2.) The link – if you’re in the UK and looking for vegan and gluten-free cakes during the lockdown, I can recommend my friend Amy’s bakery. I’ve received, given, and bought for myself boxes from them during quarantine – check out Brutally Honest Bakery.

3.) The blog post – I always love when Claire at The Captive Reader reads A.A. Milne, it fills me with such joy – and she has made me want to go back and re-read The Romantic Age soon.

Haven’t had one of these for a while, but I think we need some things to cheer us up. Here are three that have caught my attention recently…

1.) The link – is to the site of Simon Palmer, an artist whose work I saw shared on Twitter. They’re country scenes that combine a sense of the magical with a firm understanding of nature. If I saw any of them on the cover of a novel, I’d want to read the novel.

2.) The book – it might seem like an odd time to read about a serial killer, but Dean Street Press have recently reissued Israel Rank by Roy Horniman – under the title of the more-famous film it became, Kind Hearts and Coronets. I’ve not started it yet, but I loved the film many years ago so am looking forward to exploring.

3.) The blog post – I was part of a little group encouraging Ali to try the wonderful Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. And, hurrah, she did!

Happy weekend! Even happier for me, because I’m off work for a week – and off on holiday with my brother. We tend to go away this time of year, because it’s coming up to our birthday, so we always get to enjoy places that are cold and wet. Hurrah! A couple years ago we went to Canada, last year was Northern Ireland, and this year it’s Yorkshire. If there are any bookshops near Harrogate that I mustn’t miss, let me know.

Luckily Hargreaves isn’t being abandoned – Mum is coming up to look after him, with Dad popping in occasionally. They were known as Our Vicar and Our Vicar’s Wife here for many years – and those of you who’ve just read The Diary of a Provincial Lady for the 1930 Club will now know why – but since they’re retired now, what should their nicknames be??

I’m going to be taking a blogging break while I’m away, but I’ll leave you with a book, a link (or two), and a blog post.

1.) The link – I read an interesting take on that Booker prize and its rule-breaking double win, from one of the judges – and then I read an even more interesting take from one of the not-super-pleased publishers with a novel on the shortlist. I have to say, I ended up #TeamPublisher.

2.) The book – Of the making of books about books there is no end, and thank goodness say I. The Secret Life of Books by Tom Mole came through my letterbox recently, and you can colour me intrigued.

3.) The blog post – Scott is running a ‘Possibly Furrowed Middlebrow?‘ event – a virtual one, anyone. Are there books that you’d long to see back in print? There are a few other criteria but that’s the main one.

Happy weekend, y’all! My bro is coming to visit, and one of my besties is having a leaving do, so it’s a weekend of ups and downs… I’m hoping to get some reading in there, and have picked up something for Women in Translation Month. More on that below, with the link, book, and blog post.

1.) The link – is a fun profile with Nina Stibbe in the New York Times that was doing the rounds on Twitter recently. She talks about Persephone and Backlisted, so we like her. AND she talks about Lolly Willowes, though I would dispute that it is a book “nobody reads anymore”…

2.) The blog post – is Paula at Book Jotter and her plan to read more books by and about Tove Jansson. Jansson is one of my all-time faves, and the Women in Translation Month choice I’ve made is Tove Jansson: Work and Love by Tuula Karjalaninen. I’ve had it for a few years, and it’s now been long enough since I read Boel Westin’s biography of Jansson that I fancy reading another.

3.) The book – lots of us loved Shaun Bythell’s The Diary of a Bookseller – well, I’m really excited to read Confessions of a Bookseller. And a review copy arrived this week, hurrah!

It’s sunny! I don’t have a cold! All the ingredients for a nice weekend are there. I hope your weekend is looking similarly nice, and that you have a nice pile of books ready to go. I’m finishing off a doorstopper for book group (note: set up a page limit for book club). Here’s your usual weekend miscellany trio:

1.) The book – The Remarkable Life of the Skin by Monty Lyman has just come out – it looks like a really interesting and accessible look at all the scientific and sociological implications of our skin. And, sidenote, Monty is a friend of mine. I’m gearing myself up to read it and hope that it isn’t too much for my squeamish soul.

2.) The link – is a month old now, but it’s a fun and encouraging look at the booksellers who are refusing to be beaten by Amazon.

3.) The blog post – is a follow up to a previous one – a round up of Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week. Lots of great links to reviews to hunt out!

Apologies for a very quiet week on the blog – consider it the reaction to 25 Books in 25 Days! It’s also because I’ve come down with a horrible cold. Which I also did last time I read 25 Books in 25 Days… coincidence?! So, despite the sunny weather forecast this weekend, I’ll probably be spending my time inside feeling sorry for myself. Though, tbh, that’s what I’d be doing during hot weather even if I didn’t have a cold. Hope you’re having a good one, though!

1.) The blog post – is really a reminder, that Sylvia Townsend Warner Reading Week is kicking off in a couple of days! At the time of writing, I haven’t quite picked what I’ll be reading. But I think it’s going to be one of her collections of short stories. More info here – let me and Helen know if you’ll be joining in!

2.) The book – my friend Claire is a fantastic writer, and I really liked her novel The Runaway. Her next novel, A Map of the Sky, isn’t out yet – but I’m excited for when it will be. There’s more info on her website.

3.) The link – I’m excited about the film Vita and Virginia coming out, and I’m even more excited after reading this interview with its two stars. And it turns out the director studied English at Oxford at the same time as me.

Happy weekend! Apparently it’s going to be very warm here in the UK, though hopefully not too warm to be sitting on a train to London, which I’ll be doing at some point. I’ll feed back on that in due course. For now, a book, a blog post, a link!

1.) The blog post – is Sheree’s very interesting discussion about what makes a book a classic. This is the perennial question, of course, but I really like how she goes about exploring it.

2.) The link – is another interesting discussion, this time from the Hay festival. Deborah Moggach was in conversation with Tracey Chevalier about having their novels adapted into films and Moggach has some very intriguing things to say.

3.) The book – there keep being new “Oliver Sack’s last ever book”, which can feel a little callous – but I know that I’ll need to get my hands on Everything In Its Place, which is a collection of essays that have appeared in various places online and in periodicals. Let’s face it, I can never get enough Sacks.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone – back late today with whatever I’m reading for 25 Books in 25 Days!

I hope you have good weekend plans – I’m seeing various friends, including a picnic, so fingers crossed for nice weather. I’ll also be making a baked cheesecake, so it’s ALL GO chez Simon. Anyway, whatever you have planed, here’s a book, a blog post, and a link to take you into it.

1.) The book – you KNOW I’m always happy to read books about reading, and Tim Parks’ Pen in Hand is right up my street. In fact, I’ve already read a few of the essays, and they’re really interesting – a little more academic than other titles in this sphere, but certainly not in a way to alienate the ‘common reader’, to sue Johnson’s/Woolf’s phrase.

2.) The link – I often enjoy the Guardian‘s ‘Experience’ column, and this one about managing the world’s last Blockbuster store is good fun.

3.) The blog post – is more of an entire blog, I think: ‘Reading Africa‘ is a project where Muthoni is trying to read at least one book from every country in Africa. There are loads of great suggestions in there, and it’s a very interesting challenge.

I hope you’re having a wonderful Easter weekend. It’s beautiful weather here as I write this, on Good Friday, and I’ve spent a happy hour or so reading The Hours while pulling out weeds. More exciting plans to follow during the rest of the weekend! For now, the usual miscellany.

1.) The link – is a wonderful article about Persephone Books in the New York Times magazine, including some really beautiful photographs of the shop. It probably won’t tell you anything you don’t already know, if you’re a Persephone devotee, but it’s lovely to read nonetheless. And, as a bonus, here’s a video for a pilot of ‘Fran’s Book Shop’, featuring bookish interviews in the Persephone shop.

2.) The blog post – another reading week opportunity! In the first week of July, Helen from A Gallimaufry will be running a Sylvia Townsend Warner reading week. I’ll certainly be joining in, probably with some more of STW’s exceptional short stories.

3.) The book – The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr. It’s another of those books I’ve seen mentioned on Twitter and can’t remember who by – but lots of people are saying that it’s already one of the best books about how to write. “If you want to write a novel, read this book,” say the Sunday Times, and reader, I do want to write a novel.