So, I’ve been away a while

I have a collection of half-written posts on my laptop, some of which I wrote at the tail end of 2015, stating that I hadn’t posted in a while or posted regularly and how I hoped to be back. I never published them; I’m still writing them. I haven’t lost my love of blogging at all; I admit, I just haven’t made the time for it recently.

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Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
Scholastic UK, 2011

Despite having come out of the other side of a pretty hefty reading slump, when I picked up Northern Lights I was still suffering with what I’m going to call a reading slump hangover – being inspired by reading again, but still left slightly dissatisfied with reading and not finding a book I love or have been bowled over by. I was thinking that perhaps I needed to recapture my love for reading by picking up something I would have read as a child.

Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey

Dear Thief – Samantha Harvey
Vintage, 2015

I saw Samantha Harvey’s latest book in the ‘new in’ section of my local library and immediately picked it up. I’ve read The Wilderness twice (review here) and have wanted to explore more of Harvey’s writing.

A year in books: 2015

2015 wasn’t the best reading year for me. I struggled with a large and lengthy reading slump around the middle of the year, and while I think it has passed, I have to say it doesn’t necessarily feel like my reading has picked up and resumed its earlier pace.

Reading and blogging resolutions 2016

Happy New Year! As 2015 drew to a close, my thoughts turned to the year ahead and how I’d like my reading to go in 2016 so I drew up some bookish resolutions. 

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

The Art of Asking – Amanda Palmer
Little, Brown, 2014

This post is less of a review, more a personal reaction to this book, a journal entry on how it has affected me and made me look at my life. The Art of Asking had been sitting on my to-read list for a while, and I only wished I had read it sooner. But in some ways, reading it when I did felt like one of those moments when you read the right book at completely the right time.

Why I love Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A & E

I’ve been watching Channel 4’s 24 Hours in A & E for some time now, and when a new series started again recently, I was so happy to see it back on our screens. For those who have never watched it, cameras are fixed into the A&E department of a busy London hospital (this series and the last it’s been St. George’s in Tooting) and we see patients brought in after (sometimes horrific) incidents and treated by the doctors there. But the programme isn’t one that sensationalises injuries or dramatizes accidents. It’s a programme that focusses on the essence of being human. And I love it.

Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

Grief if the Thing with Feathers – Max Porter
Faber & Faber, 2015

I was still struggling through a reading slump when I read about Grief is the Thing with Feathers online. Something about the title drew me in, and reading the synopsis pulled me in even further. At the time the book hadn’t been published, but I bought it soon after its release.

Buying Books: Books and Identity

When I was a child, the primary place I found my books was the library. My parents didn’t instil in me a habit of buying books; instead, it was a treat. I think this is why I can vividly recall many of the occasions as a child when I would buy books, and I look back on them fondly. I remember the book fair coming to school and seeing bookcases being wheeled through the playground into the school hall where we’d usually have assemblies and lunch, but, for that afternoon, would be a makeshift bookshop.

June by Gerbrand Bakker & Weathering by Lucy Wood

Unfortunately the number of books I read during my reading slump/unintentional blogging break hasn’t been high, but I thought I’d write a short roundup of the two standout books I did read.