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.

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, translated by Heather Lloyd

Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan
Translated by Heather Lloyd
First published 1954
Penguin, 2013

This book came to my attention when I read Max’s wonderful review of it which inspired me to add the book to my to-read list instantly. In an attempt to lift myself from my recent reading slump I looked over my list and, remembering how I felt about the book when I added it, I reserved a copy at the library.

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The Happy Reader

I first found out about Penguin’s The Happy Reader magazine on Lucy’s blog The Literary Relish and it sounded wonderful. How could a magazine all about books not? Plus, it’s only £2 per issue. Because I couldn’t wait to delve in, I paid a little extra to receive the current issue (Spring) instead of waiting until Summer.

The Miniaturist – Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist – Jessie Burton
Picador, 2015

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton was everywhere not so long ago, winning a number of awards and receiving a lot of praise from authors and bloggers alike. As is often the case, I was quite late to the party with this book but I was waiting for some of the hype to die down before reading it.

The ongoing reading slump

I have this theory that book blogging both causes and cures my reading slumps.

This year started off as a good reading year for me – I rang in 2015 with Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk which I’m pretty sure will end up on my list of favourite books read this year. I picked up that book because of the numerous glowing reviews I read of it on book blogs; I’m really grateful to all of those bloggers that raved about it because, when I first heard about the book, I thought it was one that wouldn’t interest me (how wrong was I!) and was quite happy for it to pass me by. Since reading that book, it’s started this interest in nature and travel writing – basically, it’s made me start to read more nonfiction and has opened up this whole new avenue of reading for me.

And that’s all thanks to book blogs and the book blogging community.

Peter and Alice – John Logan

Peter and Alice – John Logan
Oberon Books, 2013

I was fortunate to see Peter and Alice at the Noel Coward theatre in London in 2013, and I can honestly say it remains one of my favourite performances and plays. Judi Dench was, as is to be expected, extraordinary and Ben Whishaw so completely embodied the character and acted with such an intensity that I just had to watch him when he was on stage. It was a powerful performance that I wish I could see again.

Academy Street – Mary Costello

Academy Street – Mary Costello
Canongate Books, 2014
image from waterstones.com

I feel I was quite late to the party with this book as I’ve seen it reviewed on many blogs with all of them saying positive things. The synopsis sounded something I would like: Academy Street follows Tess from a young girl growing up in rural Ireland in the 1940s to an old woman living in New York in the 2000s.

Y – Marjorie Celona

Y – Marjorie Celona
Faber and Faber, 2014

I found this book on the library shelf and the title really called out to me. The plot sounded interesting, and there’s a quote from one of my favourite authors, Evie Wyld, on the front. So I decided to borrow it.

Diving Belles – Lucy Wood

Diving Belles – Lucy Wood
Bloomsbury, 2013

I picked up this collection after reading a review of Lucy Wood’s new novel Weathering and, having looked into her work, was interested in her collection of short stories set along the Cornwall coast. It’s a collection which wonderfully weaves mythology, folklore, magic, and the sea into a set of stories which leave me eager to read more of her work.

Wild – Cheryl Strayed

Wild – Cheryl Strayed
Atlantic Books, 2012
This edition, 2015

It was all the positive reviews I’d read and an advert for the recent film adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon that spurred me on to read this book – not that I really needed much encouragement. Wild is Cheryl Strayed’s account of her time hiking the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) in America.