Out with the Old, in with the New!

It wasn’t all bad but for various personal reasons, 2022 has been one of the most stressful years of my life with more sadness than joy. So, along with the healing power of nature, books were a much-needed escape and respite from reality. At particularly low points, it was hard to concentrate, and longer books were more of a challenge to get through. But I hit my goal of 50+ books which included a few non-fiction titles and a selection of memoirs.

As always, because I mainly read books recommended by those whose opinion I value, there’s not many I didn’t really enjoy, and I didn’t abandon any of the 52 books I chose. Likely an unpopular opinon coming up… the one disappointment though was by one of my favourite writers. I’ve always been a big fan of Maggie O’Farrell’s work and I enjoyed seeing her at the Edinburgh Book Festival in the summer. But her latest novel, The Marriage Portrait, didn’t engage me as much as I’d hoped. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction and my brain at the time of reading wasn’t at peace so that might explain why it didn’t grab me.  

Thankfully, another favourite writer of mine, Elizabeth Strout, did live up to my high expectations and I devoured Lucy by the Sea.. As thought-provoking as ever, I love Elizabeth Strout’s writing. But now one of my favourite fictional characters from her novels, Olive Kitteridge, has a new rival in Elizabeth Zott, a feminist icon from Lessons in Chemisty by Bonnie Garmus.

It’s always easier to remember the impact of books I read later in the year (must make notes next year!) but one of my final reads of 2022 would have a lasting impression whenever I’d read it. The old cliche, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ nearly put me off Lessons in Chemistry. It struck me as looking a bit like a ‘chick lit‘ novel and might be too lightweight for my tastes. How wrong I was as there’s plenty of darkness woven within this very tight plot. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It made me laugh out loud and sniff back tears – that’s quite an achievement within the pages of a single story. It’s funny, sad, interesting and ultimately inspiring – lessons for life scatter its pages!

Other standout fiction titles included: –

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

Paper Cup by Karen Campbell

Ginger and Me by Elissa Soave

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

Becoming Strangers by Louise Dean

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan

Memorable memoirs I read were One Body by Catherine Simpson, This Much is True by Miriam Margoles and Ready for Absolutely Nothing by Susannah Constantine. I had a fangirl moment when I met Susannah recently at the Bookface Sip and Swap book event in Glasgow and she was fabulous – funny, sharp and glam!

 

My top non-fiction reads were Tomb with a View by Peter Ross and Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh. Two thoroughly fascinating reads which were the right mix of interesting and entertaining.

If you struggled too this year, then all the very best for 2023 and to spending many more hours between the pages!

 

 

 

 

Crowd Pleasers

After the festive season, it always seems to take ages before literary events get going again. So, it was great to finally get back out to book events this month. My first two events of 2020 were very different and yet quite similar in that both authors managed to take serious topics and deliver very entertaining evenings.

In 2018, This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay was one of my favourite reads and I’m not alone in loving this memoir of the author’s previous career as a doctor. The memoir is an international bestseller, so it was no surprise that the Kings Theatre in Glasgow was packed. I was intrigued to see how Adam would turn his book of diary entries into a show. I’d read an article he’d written in the Society of Authors magazine about how he’d learnt the hard way at the start of his book tour days that often he’d appear at a library or bookstore for no fee simply to get exposure for his book. This isn’t uncommon for new authors to agree to deliver an event for free and I know from personal experience that I’ve ended up out of pocket after covering my travel costs as the percentage of royalties from each book sale amounts to pennies rather than pounds!

Adam Kay is a smart man. He decided to create a different approach for his book promo tour and turned the event into a theatre show. At £25 per ticket he’s making a LOT of money on top of the millions of copies his book has sold. I wouldn’t attempt to charge readers to hear me talk about my novels but I’m not a bestselling author! Also, I’ve not got Adam Kay’s talent to entertain an audience with anecdotes that are funny and moving in equal measure. To break up sections of him reading aloud he even played a keyboard and sang medical themed songs which involved audience participation. It might have been cheesy but it worked and reminded me of Victoria Wood’s style of comedy. The most impressive aspect of the show was that he made serious political points about protecting the NHS but delivered his agenda with a perfect mix of humour and pathos.

Politics was the key theme too when I was back in Glasgow a few days later at the Mitchell Library to hear John Bercow discuss his autobiography, Unspeakable. It was another full house event with a lively audience keen to hear his life story and of course some juicy gossip about his time in the hot seat as the Speaker in the House of Commons. I don’t share his party politics but that aside, he’s a very interesting man and a true performer! There was no music this time, he didn’t need any props. He barely drew breath as he showcased his talent for sharing political anecdotes. The journalist, Ruth Wishart, attempted to chair the event but despite her many years of experience interviewing high profile figures she hardly got a word in edgeways. There was no shortage of hands in the air for the Q&A and I’m sure that John Bercow, who clearly loves the attention, would have talked for hours on end and the audience would’ve lapped it up. He ended the event with a ‘party piece’ of him performing a monologue whilst impersonating Tony Benn. My only tiny disappointment was that he didn’t treat us to his famous roar of “OORDEEEEERRRRR!” I haven’t read the book yet but after listening to this witty and clever man it’s sure to be a great read.