Christmas flew by so quickly that it’s all a bit confusing here at the moment. It was a lovely time in general, but there was a lot of coming and going. There were several families to consider, which I expect many of you can relate to!

The Book

Diana Gabaldon: Outlander – A woman from 1940s London visits Scotland and is whisked two hundred years in the past, a time when the Highlands was a dangerous place to be, especially if you had an English accent. A historical fantasy romance, leaning heavily on the side of the third genre.

One book is a 100% improvement on November, and I’m considering it a fair feat in other ways: 1) Outlander is 851 pages, and thus equal to a couple of regular novels in length; 2) although I didn’t love it, it was the right choice for the time. Once finished I immediately started the TV adaptation, which I’m enjoying a lot more. I’ve not yet decided whether to continue reading the books or to just keep watching the adaptation – finding out about the way the second book begins has given me pause in terms of the text. (It’s a huge spoiler so I won’t include it here – it’s on the Wikipedia page for Dragonfly In Amber.

Quotation Report

If you travel to 1740s Scotland, as one does, remember that disinfectant doesn’t yet exist. Failure to remember may result in a humorous exchange not unlike that experienced by one Claire Randall, an Outlander, whose requests for various disinfectants to clansmen resulted in blank stares until she asked for alcohol and received a jovial response.

At the time of writing this I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be reading next, but the Gabaldon has made me want to return to Du Maurier’s The House On The Strand. I may well proceed along the lines of the Long-Awaited Reads Month concept of a few years ago; the Du Maurier would meet the conditions.

I missed Christmas, but I wish you a very happy New Year! Let me know what you’re reading!

Off topic, for those asking about What’s In A Name: I’m unable to host the challenge this year and haven’t yet found someone to take it over. If you are interested please get in touch with me via email (on the Contact page). Hosting the challenge requires an initial block of time to set up one post, a second block of time to set up eight more, and all but one post require a linking system (Mr Linky is recommended and costs US $5 per year). You’ll then want a bit of time each week/fortnight to comment on posts and you may, every now and then, need to add people’s reviews to the lists yourself. The challenge sees up to 150 people signing up, so do bear that in mind if you pay for website hosting – you’ll want to either disable hotlinking or upload your challenge logo to a separate image site.

The reason my blogging has been so patchy: I got myself two furry friends of the rabbit persuasion. And rabbits, especially during the lengthy teenage months when they are chewing, thumping, and making other moves for which the politest translation is ‘voulez-vous coucher avec moi’, take up a lot of time. We’re now out the other side, and it is wonderful to be able to pick up a book again for more than a short period.

In November I didn’t finish any books but I did read a couple more chapters of Brick Lane. And I started Outlander, which I’m 200 pages into and enjoying. I may have lost the edge of Brick Lane‘s jacket to the discovery stage of A Practical Study into the Composition and Taste of Paper, a project thankfully since abandoned.

My plan for December includes finishing Outlander and watching the first TV season so long as only the first book is covered, reading at least one more Christmas book to accompany my nonseasonal (October) reading of the Jenny Colgan I’ll be reviewing in a few days, and making an hour or two to re-read a childhood favourite – Babysitter’s Club #21, which I discussed in 2016 as a book I’d like to re-read if I could find the box I’d packed it into. The box has since migrated to a spot in front of my shelves.

If there is time after the above I have an as yet unwrapped set of A Song Of Ice And Fire.

In related news, I attended the Young Writer of the Year Award ceremony yesterday evening. The prize was given to Adam Weymouth for Kings Of The Yukon. This is the first year since the relaunch that I’ve not read any of the shortlisted books, however I took home with me a copy of Fiona Mozley’s Elmet which I hope to read by February.

I’m going to use these next weeks before Christmas to get back into the swing of things. Expect a few reviews and, hopefully, a discussion post or two.

What are you planning to read during the rest of this month, and have you ever lost part (or all) of a book to a pet?

I didn’t do badly in October. Looking at this list has made me realise how long the month was, and in a good way; whilst the last week of October was very cold – in relative terms – the majority was sunny and warm and I think the number of summery days, with the change following, afforded the effect of more time. This month was also about library usage – I’ve reviewed books I’ve borrowed from the library in recent times but this time it made up almost half of my reading, and I gave the books back with the idea in mind to purchase at least one of them at some point. (It’s likely the Whitehead will be on my ‘best of’ list, and I think not having my own copy when there’s a big chance I’ll want to re-read it or think on it further would be difficult.)

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Colm Tóibín: Brooklyn – A young Irish girl is sent by her family to a growing America in the hope she’ll find a better life there. Lacks a real plot and characterisation.

Colson Whitehead: The Underground Railroad – Two slaves run away from the plantation and board an underground train to a less southerly state where life is likely better. Fantastic.

Eloisa James: A Duke Of Her Own – Villiers needs a mother for his six illegitimate children and thinks to choose between enticing Eleanor and ‘mad’ Lisette; if Eleanor has anything to do with it it’ll be she he chooses. The best of the entire series – awesome characterisation and often very funny.

Eloisa James: This Duchess Of Mine – Jemma knows it’s high time she and Elijah had an heir to the dukedom, and both husband and wife secretly hope love will blossom. Not as good as the rest of the series.

Jenny Colgan: Christmas At Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop – Despite decreasing sales at her shop, Rosie is looking forward to Christmas in a snowy village and spending it with her reluctant-to-be-a-Lord boyfriend, but her family want to come over from Australia and there’s a problem ahead for the community to deal with. Pretty fun and festive.

No contest, the Whitehead won it this month. A Duke Of Her Own was a very close second, and certainly if I hadn’t read The Underground Railroad at the 11th hour, it would have won, but Whitehead’s commentary and ending was just something else. The Colgan was a lot of fun to read.

Quotation Report

This is another occasion wherein paraphrasing the quotation just won’t work. Here it is in full, from The Underground Railroad:

Yet when his classmates put their blades to a colored cadaver, they did more for the cause of colored advancement than the most high-minded abolitionist. In death the negro became a human being. Only then was he the white man’s equal.

Finally the end of my busy period is in sight, even if it’ll soon be replaced by Christmas planning. I’m looking forward to reading (I believe the vernacular is ‘well, duh!’), evenings on the sofa listening to Eva Cassidy, and looking for gifts.

How was your October, and how is the weather where you are?

September was fairly good for reading. The weather has changed but the hours around noon, when there is sun, are hot enough to read outside. Otherwise planning is afoot, for both Christmas and autumn in general. In terms of reading, in keeping with my plans I’ve got a couple of Christmas books from the library; I found Dilly Court’s The Christmas Card and so loaned it out, and they had Jenny Colgan’s Christmas At Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop so I got that too. I’ve no idea what the Colgan is about or whether I need to read any previous books first, but the title sounds suitably warm and fuzzy. I like the idea of reading them now – well, I kind of have to, having loaned them! – and thus having reviews ready for early December. Interestingly, according to the issue slip, the copy of the Court has been issued out in the spring and summer months but never any later.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah – A Nigerian student leaves behind the love of her life to study in America, where she discovers that she is now ‘black’. This book is fairly complex, summing it up difficult, but it’s incredible, albeit that the heroine isn’t particularly great (the hero’s fine).

Özgür Mumcu: The Peace Machine – A Turkish writer of erotic fiction comes to know about a theoretical ‘peace machine’ that would eliminate hate in the world, and joins the highly political faction that is spending time with those working to assassinate the Serbian monarchs whilst working on their machine. Yep – it’s confusing all right.

Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar – A high-achiever moves to New York but starts to fall into a deep depression over various social ideals; she had had periods of mental illness before. Plath’s semi-autobiographical novel, it’s one to read and a good literary text.

I’m just over halfway through Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn which is quite enjoyable and features department store work in 50s America which I’m loving – I enjoyed reading about and watching the following TV series on Mr Selfridge, as well as the glimpses of historical department stores in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Tóibín has included the social change wherein black Americans were finally invited in to shop, too, which is both fascinating and awful – lots of staring, and only 70 years ago! After this, I’ll be picking up those Christmas books.

I’m hesitant about the next few months as I’ll miss the weather. I also can’t get my head around the fact that it’ll soon enough be time to decorate for Christmas. We’ve got a new family member this year so more planning to do.

What did you read in September?

August was pretty good. I’ve a couple of books on the go and finished a fair number, though I’m glad to have finished most of them, to have got them out of the way.

All books are works of fiction.

The Books

Glenda Young: Belle Of The Back Streets – A girl from a poor family in pre-wartime Britain takes to the streets as a rag and bone person and doesn’t follow the advice of others, instead spending time with the ‘wrong sort’. This was very much like a soap opera, with multiple people dying in quick succession just for plot points.

Hiromi Kawakami: The Nakano Thrift Shop – Hitomi relates various times at the second-hand shop in which she works, as she finds love with a co-worker and tries to figure out more about her employers. Good as an example of translated literature, but you have to be aware that not much happens.

Nick Spalding: Checking Out – A childrens’ musical creator, given a few months to live, looks to provide meaning to his life. Not bad but the comedy falls flat early on.

Rosie Travers: The Theatre Of Dreams – A recently-disgraced actress moves to the coast to manage a dance school… or at least that’s what she thought she was doing – in actual fact she’s there to help save a historical pavilion from demolition. Good stuff.

My favourite this month would be the Travers; high above the others it added much needed enjoyment and the mystery element that starts about a third of the way through really raised the bar, which was a promise kept.

Quotation Report

A thought from The Nakano Thrift Shop worth mulling over:

When it comes to old things, whether buying or selling, why is it that people act so cautious?… With something brand new, they have no problem just ordering it from a catalogue, no matter how expensive.

For September the plan is literary fiction with a book or two in different genres. Over the weekend I got back to Americanah and am a fair way towards finishing; I’d like to have done so by the end of this week.

What are you reading? And do you have plans for autumn?