What I've been reading

The Well of Loneliness
by Radclyffe Hall

narrated by Cecilia Fage

"Stephen Gordon (named by a father desperate for a son) is not like other girls: she hunts, she fences, she reads books, wears trousers, and longs to cut her hair. As she grows up amidst the stifling grandeur of Morton Hall, the locals begin to draw away from her, aware of some indefinable thing that sets her apart."

A story that revolves around the lives of gay people, named 'Inverts' in the text, just over a hundred years ago. They were treated very badly in society but managed a bit better by banding together, and yet the final act of the story is that Stephen has to force her lover Mary to leave her so that Mary has a chance of a happy life. It's all a bit depressing, but interesting, and well written and narrated.

The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah

"France, 1939. In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth."

It was a good book but very graphic in its recounting of the conditions of occupation and resistance in Second World War France. I wouldn't read it again, so it is the first on the shelf at Maternal Manor of books to be given away.

Ten Things I Love About You
by Julia Quinn

"Annabel Winslow, a country girl through and through, has received an offer to go to London for the season. The eldest of a family of eight, she knows that a good marriage might be the only thing that will save her family from ruin."

I picked this up as something easy to read while all the house removal was going on, and it was a perfect choice. Regency romance with straightforward characters having a lovely time, enter the villain who gets his comeuppance in an unpredictable way and all ends delightfully. It's now second on the shelf of books to be given away.

Kitchen Confidential
by Anthony Bourdain

"From his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown; from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop the Rockefeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable, as shocking as they are funny. "

After I went to the recent screening of a film about his early career, I thought I'd re-read his first memoir which covers that time and much more. He writes well, and I first read it at a time when there weren't wall-to-wall TV programmes about chefs and restaurants and the catering trade, so a glimpse into this strange world was relatively new. Now I just hope that kitchens are no longer run in the way that he describes them back then: a crucible of bullying, drug abuse, overwork, misogyny and racism. I am also continuing to fulfil my obsessive need to get rid of everything I own because it too has been consigned to the shelf of books that will be given away.

Black Tag
by Simon Mayo

"When the West End Gallery in London's fashionable Coal Drops Yard is set alight, the fire service must use the list of paintings lodged with it - a grab list - to snatch the key pieces of art from the flames."

I picked this up from the library on impulse because I'm a big fan of Simon Mayo as a broadcaster ever since I was a teenager and he was on Capital Radio, and wondered what sort of author he is. Luckily he's a good one and it's a thrilling and suspenseful read, to the extent that I stayed up much, much too late to get to the end. That said, it's not without its flaws - it's about 10% too complicated, but that may be because I know nothing about art, journalism, far right politics and its opponents.

John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs
by Ian Leslie

"At the centre of The Beatles was the volatile, madly creative chemistry between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This is the story of how two young men merged their souls and multiplied their talents to produce one of the greatest bodies of music in history."

I was slightly hesitant about reading this. On one hand I've wanted to read it ever since it came out; on the other hand the last time I immersed myself in the world of the Beatles I came a bit unstuck - somewhat overemotional and tearful. This time I've been fine, and it was a particularly wonderful experience because he writes their story using the songs they wrote, both together and separately, and I could listen to the music as it was being described. The author picked out meaningful lyrics and included information about how, where and when the songs were written and recorded, as well what was going on at the time. I'm just in awe of their talent and creativity.

What I've been reading

The Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"A scientist theorizes that if a person's refractive index is changed to exactly that of air his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will not be visible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but cannot become visible again."

Obviously everybody knows about this story, but how many people actually know what's in it? I was completely unprepared for such a dark and violent tale, and have to conclude that this is the first time I have read it, which is very surprising indeed. Given the opportunities that invisibility might present, the author chooses to go nowhere near what I would have expected.

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales
by P. D. James

narrated by Daniel Weyman

"It's not always a question of "whodunit?" Sometimes there's more mystery in the why or how. And although we usually know the unhealthy fates of both victim and perpetrator, what of those clever few who plan and carry out the perfect crime?"

A perfect book of short stories of murder that manage to be utterly different from each other. Sometimes the murderer and/or the murdered are introduced right at the start, sometimes they pitch up towards the end of the tale, and sometimes they aren't who you think they are. I really enjoyed this book.

Spider's Web
by Agatha Christie

narrated by Hugh Fraser

"‘Supposing I were to come down one morning and find a dead body in the library, what should I do?’ she muses. Clarissa has her chance to find out when she discovers a body in her drawing-room. Desperate to dispose of the body before her husband comes home with an important foreign politician, Clarissa persuades her three house guests to become accessories and accomplices."

I was surprised to find this in the audio book library because I thought I knew a lot of Agatha Christie's work, but after I'd listened I found out it's an adaptation of a play she wrote. It's pretty good, and avoids many of the outdated tropes of her work, but that may be due to the work of the 'novelization'. Looking at the library again, there seem to be quite a number of her books that I haven't yet read...

Independence Day
by Richard Ford

"After the disintegration of his family, the ruin of his career and an affair with a much younger woman, Frank Bascombe decides that the surest route to a 'normal' American life is to become an estate agent in Haddam, New Jersey. Frank avoids engaging in life until the sudden, cataclysmic events of a Fourth-of-July weekend with his son jolt him back. "

For most of the book I really wasn't bothered. I didn't hate it, but wasn't engaged enough to care what happened next, which is why it's taken a long time to finish it. When I was about 90% of the way through it started to grow on me, and I've ended up thinking it's actually rather good. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and I'm starting to get a feel for what that is all about - literary excellence without necessarily being a page-turner.

The Eternal Legacy
by Sangharakshita

"An introduction to the vast range of Buddhist canonical literature. It covers all major sacred texts, summarizes their essential teachings and places them in their doctrinal and historical context."

This is an incredible resource that I couldn't have appreciated before now. Unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam which only have a book or two of source material, Buddhism has a library of works describing the Buddha's life and teachings. Being originally an oral tradition and spreading throughout South East Asia, there are versions of the same books in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese so additions and losses can be tracked and some idea of authenticity is available. It is also an incredible scholarly achievement.

What I've been reading

Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson

narrated by B. J. Harrison

"Orphaned and penniless, young David Balfour sets out to find his last living relative. But in doing so he will become caught up in the greatest and most frightening adventure of his life, involving kidnap, shipwreck, murder and a dramatic flight across the Scottish highlands with the fiery, sword-fighting fugitive, Alan Breck Stuart."

This reminded me of The 39 Steps (in a good way) with a rattling narrative and a satisfactory outcome. My only reservation is that it relies a good deal on knowledge of Scottish history and geography, which are not among my strengths.

The Reason I Jump
by Naoki Higashida

narrated by David Mitchell

"This remarkable book provides a rare insight into the behaviour of autistic children. Using a question and answer format, Naoki explains why he talks loudly or repeats the same questions, and why he likes to jump."

This short book is written by a 13 year-old autistic Japanese boy in the form of questions and answers. He often speaks for all people with autism, and sometimes doesn't have answers to his own questions, but it's a remarkable book given his age and the fact that he is barely able to communicate by speaking. (N.B. the narrator is the author not the comedian of the same name).

Precious Teachers: Indian Memoirs of an English Buddhist
by Sangharakshita

"It is 1950, and Tibetan Buddhism has begun its exodus into India, with Kalimpong as a gateway. Urgyen Sangharakshita shares his recollections of those Tibetan gurus and traveling academics who lived in and passed through Kalimpong, a hill station at the foot of the Himalayas."

On the reading list for my retreat but not one of the primary texts, this is a memoir covering the period that the author lived in Kalimpong, India, within sight of Mount Kachenjunga in the Eastern Himalayas. There, at the junction of India, Nepal and Tibet, he met many spiritual Buddhist teachers who influenced his thinking, writing and teaching in the years to come. I've read his three other memoirs and not sure how I missed this one. It's not a beginner's book but I've now got enough of the basics to make sense of all the characters involved, and their place in the subsequent story of Western Buddhism.

The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047
by Lionel Shriver

"It is 2029. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their 97-year-old patriarch dies, but now their inheritance is turned to ash. Each family member must contend with disappointment, but also — as the effects of the downturn start to hit — the challenge of sheer survival."

This author wrote a (different) book that was made into a film that sounded much too challenging for me to watch or read. But a friend loaned me this book so I though it was worth a try. Some parts were simply boring (a dinner party where they talked about economic policy for a whole chapter), some traumatic (the description of a society breaking down into anarchy) but by the end I was glad I read it. I really won't try any more of her books though.

Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides

"The story of Calliope Stephanides and her truly unique family secret, born on the slopes of Mount Olympus and passed on through three generations. Growing up in 70s Michigan, Calliope’s special inheritance will turn her into Cal, the narrator of this intersex, inter-generational epic of immigrant life in 20th century America."

I love a good family saga, and this tells the story of three generations of a Greek immigrant family, culminating in the birth of a baby with a chromosomal disorder that results in genital characteristics of both sexes. And that's it really, but the story of her progress to manhood is told alongside that of her parents and aunt and grandparents. I enjoyed it more than most of the other books I've read from the Classics list.

Living Together
by Sanghadevi

"For many of us, living with others offers both the greatest challenge and the greatest joy. We would all like to have a harmonious life, feeling connected to those with whom we live. Here we can discover how friendliness, co-operation, simplicity, meaningful communication and mutual vision can build fulfilling relationships."

With four days left on retreat I started to worry that the worst may happen and I might finish all the books I brought, or would be left only with a dry textbook, or even start a book from the Centre library and not have time to finish it. So I took a break from my own books and found a couple of suitable ones in the library. This one was so small I finished it in less than a day. The idea of living in communally in a Buddhist context has occurred to me as an option so it was interesting to read about what this author sees as important in making such an enterprise a success. This would be worth returning to if community living becomes a more solid ambition.

Ordination
by Moksananda

"Ordination: a spiritual journey, a noble quest, a lived myth, a rite of passage. Finding something of true value that evokes our faith and commitment is rare indeed, especially in a time when positive myths are in danger of disappearing."

Another short book that attracted me in the retreat centre library - I've asked for ordination, so might this book tell me about it? Luckily, nothing that was unexpected but a deepening of my understanding of what all this might mean. What it will actually mean will have to wait until it happens.

The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese

"At the turn of the twentieth century a twelve-year-old girl is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this poignant beginning, the young girl and future matriarch will witness unthinkable changes of the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss."

Another family saga which also happens to include a hereditary transmissible chromosomal disorder, but one which results in fear of water and deafness. It's set in southern India rather than America so there's a very different tone to the story, but it's well written and I was always hoping that the threads running through the book would be brought together satisfactorily at the end. And they were.

What I've been reading

Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

narrated by Miranda Raison

"Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality."

This is what I'm looking for, a well written story with believable characters who aren't stupid and follow a realistic trajectory through the book. And, as a delightful bonus, I hadn't anticipated the ending and it was wonderful.

Teachers of Enlightenment
by Kulananda

"Out of the depths of a clear blue sky emerges a beautiful tree of white lotus flowers. On it appear many teachers of Enlightenment - historical, mythical and transcendental. Here are explained the significance of the figures on the Refuge Tree of the Triratna Buddhist Order."

This is the required reading for my next big retreat in June, and it's actually a book I've been meaning to read for a while now. In easily digestible form it contains all the background that I need (at the moment) about some of the most important mythical and historical figures within all branches of ancient Buddhism (Indian, Japanese, Tibetan and Chinese), as well as more recent teachers.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
by John Le Carré

narrated by Michael Jayston

"The man he knew as Control is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn't quite ready for retirement - especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence."

I don't get on with John Le Carré's spy novels. I knew this before I borrowed this one, but I thought with time maybe things have changed. No, they haven't. I don't understand his plots or characters, and when the reveal of the spy came at the end I didn't have any particular thrill of recognition or interest in how it had come about. He's just not for me.

Everything I Never Told You
by Celeste Ng

narrated by Cassandra Campbell

"When Lydia's body is found in a lake, her father is consumed by guilt and sets out on a reckless path. Her mother, devastated and vengeful, is determined to make someone accountable. Lydia's brother, Nathan, is convinced that local bad boy Jack is involved. But it's the youngest in the family - Hannah - who may be the only one who knows what really happened."

This was a beautifully constructed story, with the death of sixteen year old Lydia as the central point while we find out piecemeal what led up to her death and the subsequent consequences. The relationships within the family felt so real, and despite the sadness inherent in almost every chapter, somehow it wasn't depressing. Not uplifting either, maybe poignant is the right word.

What I've been reading

Dr Zhivago
by Boris Paternak

narrated by Phillip Madoc

"The epic story of the life and loves of a poet-physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to shelter in the Ural Mountains, Yuri Zhivago finds himself embroiled in a battle between the Whites and the Reds, and in love with the beautiful nurse Lara."

I just keep trying with these Russian authors but I don't get on with them (with the notable exception of Tolstoy). Maybe it's because I get confused with the names, maybe it's the unfamiliar context, maybe the Russian style of writing or the quality of the translation. The narration was not great either; none of the characters was distinguishable by their voice beyond 'male' or 'female'. The book seemed to go on and on, without me sympathising, liking or even disliking any of the characters; I couldn't tell you who lived and who died or any of the key points of the story, and it's only been a few days since I finished it.

Stone Blind
by Natalie Haynes

narrated by The Author

"When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone."

What a contrast to the previous book! Obviously the context of Ancient Greece and its mythic inhabitants, both divine and corporeal, is not familiar to me, but this author and her narration were stunning. I knew about as much about the story of Medusa as I did about the Russian revolution, but despite the Greek names I could tell you what was done by whom, to whom and why. I adore Natalie Haynes comedy on BBC Sounds  (11 series so far, go and listen to a few episodes why don't you) and it seems her books are just as good. Makes me want to learn more about Ancient Greece, and there's no higher praise than that.

Breathing Lessons
by Anne Tyler

narrated by Suzanne Toren

"Maggie and her husband Ira drive from Baltimore to Deer Lick to attend the funeral of the husband of Serena, Maggie's childhood friend. During the course of the journey we are shown all there is to know about a marriage: the expectations; the disappointments; the way children can create storms in a family."

This whole book covers just one day in the life of a married couple, with context added via flashbacks. I enjoyed it despite the main female character being incredibly annoying, but I got a sense of how her husband loved her anyway. The narration was good and the whole experience very satisfying.

The Prince
by Niccolò Machiavelli

"The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its advocacy of ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality."

A very interesting read of a really good translation that brings alive the scale and reality of warfare, the cheapness of lives, and the price of power in Machiavelli's world. He draws on historical accounts of Greeks and Romans as well as more recent history of Italy to illustrate why particular leaders succeeded or failed in taking power and holding on to it. "Is it better to be feared or loved?" he asks, and the answer is argued with evidence for and against. "The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them both, it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both."

What I've been reading

Helgoland
by Carlo Rovelli

"In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, had retreated to the treeless, wind-battered island of Helgoland in the North Sea in order to think. Walking all night, by dawn he had wrestled with an idea that would transform the whole of science and our very conception of the world."

Another by this great science author, this time comparing observations and theories about quantum physics with Buddhist, Roman and Greek philosophy. Given the level of scientific knowledge that has been pieced together about the nature of space, time, consciousness and reality, the philosophy of those ancient civilisations is actually helpful in suggesting ways to interpret some of our modern ideas. It supports what I have found about the lack of any conflict between my belief in both science and Buddhism.

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens
by Eddie Izzard

narrated by the Author

"Writing with the same candour and insight evident in his comedy, he reflects on a childhood marked by the loss of his mother, boarding school, and alternative sexuality, as well as a life in comedy, film, politics, running and philanthropy."

This is an audiobook like no other because of his narration. He has dyslexia, which he does mention quite a lot (only slightly less than the assertion that God doesn't exist) so he clearly finds reading a bit challenging, and he can't resist adding extra comments, including real time asides, looking things up and even talking with the producer while he's recording. I'd only recommend listening if you like his style because if it annoys you then you won't get past the first chapter. There's a lot about his childhood and career, only a small amount about his alternative sexuality and nothing about his politics - I was hoping to hear a bit more about that.

God Knows

by Joseph Heller

"You already know David as the legendary warrior king of Israel, husband of Bathsheba, and father of Solomon; now meet David as he really the cocky Jewish kid, the plagiarized poet, and the Jewish father."

I was taught something about the history of Kings Saul, David and Solomon but it was 50 years ago and I don't remember much, although some memory cells stirred when Jonathan and Absalom were mentioned. I'm in two minds about the book, though - while I was reading it I wasn't that keen, but now I've finished it I think it was quite good. It would have been better if I'd known my Bible stories, though.

Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End
by Atul Gawande

"What happens to people's teeth as they get old?  Why do the aged so dread nursing homes and hospitals? How should someone give another person the dreadful news that they will die? A surgeon confronts the realities of aging and dying in his patients and in his family, as well as the limits of what he can do."

A serious but dry book, lifted slightly by accounts of people's experience of diagnosis, disease progression and death. Hospice care, assisted living, palliative care and the slow descent to the end are explored in the many ways they unfold in society, showing the difficulties inherent in holding conversations not only with people who are dying, but more especially with their families.

Fry's Ties
by Stephen Fry

"Every single one of Stephen Fry's ties - whether floral, fluorescent, football themed; striped or spotty, outrageous or simply debonair - tells an intimate tale about a moment in Stephen's life."

I picked this up from a railway station book swap shelf simply because it's Stephen Fry, and it was surprisingly engaging. I won't say interesting - it hasn't made me want to know more about ties, or about Mr Fry, but I can now appreciate them as small pieces of wearable art. And some of them are really beautiful.

What I've been reading

A Voice in the Night
by Andrea Camilleri

"Feeling his age, as his birthday rolls round once again, Inspector Montalbano decides to cheer himself up by dealing with a young driver's road rage in his own unique way. Back at police headquarters he receives an angry phone call from a supermarket boss; there's been a robbery at his store and Montalbano's colleague is treating him as a suspect."

The previous book I read, by Carlo Rovelli, was written in Italian and translated to English just like this one. But despite its challenging scientific material, that was a better translation and far easier to read than this rubbish. I'm aware that this series now features on TV, and I'm prepared to believe it might be quite good in that medium. But in print, apart from enjoying a large amount of seafood there's nothing that gives any insight into what the Inspector is like, and I didn't care in the least about him or any of the other characters either. And they are all men except his housekeeper, some unexplained woman he occasionally talks to on the phone, and a (naked) corpse. Absolutely not recommended.

Parade's End
by Ford Madox Ford

narrated by Bill Nighy

"The story of aristocrat Christopher Tietjens as his world is shattered by the First World War. It traces the psychological damage inflicted by battle, and the collapse of England's secure Edwardian values - embodied in Christopher's wife, the beautiful, cruel socialite Sylvia."

A very long audiobook that comprises four print books, so it was good value but needed quite a bit of commitment to get through. It was saved by the wonderful Bill Nighy, who is a terrific narrator and fits the material perfectly with his world-weary beaten down voice. The story meanders about among the different settings of England and the trenches, but the theme seems to be that everyone around him, led by his despicable wife, are liars intent on getting what they want at Tietjens' expense - in money or even at the cost of his life. It ends relatively well but I would have liked his wife to get her just deserts.

The Forgotten Waltz
by Anne Enright

"In Terenure, a pleasant suburb of Dublin, it has snowed. Gina Moynihan recalls the trail of lust and happenstance that brought her to fall for "the love of her life," Seán Vallely. As the city outside comes to a halt, Gina remembers their affair: long afternoons made blank by bliss and denial."

I have a problem saying no when offered a book to read even when I think it won't be much good, and this was one of those cases. Because the author features on my list of Classic books and I seemed to remember liking (or at least not disliking) that book, I thought it would be OK, but it wasn't. Nothing objectionable, just an account of an affair between two people who eventually left their spouses, and not much else. Like going on a walk in a demolition site - it's a walk, so that's good, but nothing attractive to see. I enjoy both walking and reading but if there's nothing of interest it's just an empty experience.

Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial
by Peter Stott

"Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn't a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change."

I know the author because he and his wife are friends of Lola II. It's not only well written, especially given the fairly statistics-led nature of the narrative, but tells the fascinating story of climate change from the point of view of the scientists striving to find the facts, whatever they may be. The book was written before the resurgence of President Trump and the reversal of many positive steps towards slowing or halting humanity's descent into irreversible extinction. Obviously I can't predict what will happen but my best guess is that we're all doomed.

After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
by Stephen Batchelor

"What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? This book is the culmination of four decades of study and practice in the Tibetan, Zen, and Theravada traditions, and an attempt to set the record straight about who the Buddha was and what he was trying to teach."

I read every word, understood not more than half, and I'm not really sure what the point of the book is. I was given the book by a friend who I'm going to have to talk to about it, and have no idea what to say. Maybe he will explain. [Update - he did explain and it makes a bit more sense now. The author is probably trying to make the point that the Buddha was not a god, which confused me because I have never been asked to believe that he was.]

Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer

narrated by Gerry O'Brien

"Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit."

After the huge effort of the last audio book I thought I'd choose something much easier, a young adult book with a child protagonist set in a magical world. It was certainly a much easier read and had some nice ideas, but I won't be reading any more in the series.

What I've been reading

Guilty Creatures: a menagerie of mysteries
by Martin Edwards (editor)

"Animals of all kinds have played a memorable part in countless mysteries, and in a variety of roles: the perpetrator, the key witness, the sleuth’s trusted companion."

A selection of short stories mostly by authors I don't know, with mysteries and detection of the kind that I very much enjoy. Just a random pick from the library that was good fun to read.

The Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens

"The irrepressible Mr. Pickwick and his fellow Pickwick Club members travel around the English countryside getting into all kinds of scrapes and adventures."

It's a very long book and started by introducing too many characters for me to follow, but once I got into it and began to remember who was who it improved. I reckon it would be an excellent choice for an audio book, particularly to hear Sam Weller and his father's voices.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
by Carlo Rovelli

"These seven short lessons guide us, with simplicity and clarity, through Einstein's theory of general relativity, quantum mechanics, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, elementary particles, gravity, and the nature of the mind."

Such a good book that I had to tell the person I was sitting next to going to France on the Eurostar train about it. Just seven short chapters but so magical, explaining concepts of physics so that you can't help but understand them. Skiing companion JD read it on the way back, and then passed it on to other skiing companion JW. What's more, I'll probably read it again when I get it back.

How Late It Was, How Late

by James Kelman

"One Sunday morning in Glasgow, Sammy awakens in an alley, wearing another man's shoes and trying to remember his two-day drinking binge. He gets in a scrap and wakes up in a jail cell, badly beaten and, he slowly discovers, completely blind."

This is written in Glasgow vernacular from the point of view of Sammy, a wrong 'un who has been trying to straighten out his life when he has a big unspecified row with his girlfriend, goes on a bender, loses his memory, gets beaten up by the police and wakes up blind. And that's all in the first few pages. What he does next is what the rest of the book is about, and despite having absolutely no common experiences to draw upon, I found it engrossing and extraordinary. It ends with him leaving his home to go south, and I for one want to find out what happens next. I hope he's all right.

Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity
by Carlo Rovelli

"Our understanding of reality has changed throughout centuries, from Democritus to loop quantum gravity. On a wondrous journey we are invited us to imagine a whole new world where black holes are waiting to explode, spacetime is made up of grains, and infinity does not exist."

My second time through this book, and I'm absolutely sure I can grasp some of the concepts if I give it another two or three goes. Given the truly mind blowing material, he explains it so well that for a minute or two I really thought I understood the ideas behind quantum gravity. Wonderful stuff.

What I've been reading

Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype in Science
by Stuart Ritchie

"Bias, careless mistakes and even outright forgery influence everything from austerity economics to the anti-vaccination movement. There are disturbing flaws in today's science that undermine our understanding of the world and threaten human lives."

Very interesting, if a little depressing to think that how many current scientific ideas may be built on sand. He does have some great ideas for how the situation might be improved towards the end of the book, but I'm not sure whether scientists and their publications are actually looking for something to increase the reliability of their results.

Thinking in Numbers: How Maths Illuminates Our Lives
by Daniel Tammet

"In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes and everyday examples, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions and equations underpin all our lives."

He writes very well, and introduces numbers in a more sophisticated way into lived examples. For example, working through his particular mental process of finding factors of a number - not that I would or could do it that way, but it's fascinating to imagine. But it's not all numbers - there's poetry, history and more.

Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle
by Manda Scott

narrated by Philip Stevens, Jerome Flynn, Liza Goddard

"In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome. It was the culmination of nearly twenty years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant, complex civilization and replace it with the laws, taxes and slavery of the Roman Empire."

A very long book, but well narrated and went along at the right pace. A good sign was the fact that I could (mostly) tell all the characters apart, although hearing their strange ancient British names meant that I didn't have the same recall as I would if I saw them written down. I think there are more in the series; if they weren't so long I might read another.

After the festivities, retreat

Wales, September 2025

Another year gone by, and for me the overall flavour is that it was a good one. This was helped, no doubt about it, by my withdrawal from accessing any form of news except local news and other specific topics - assisted dying and films being the main ones. 

My book log for the year says I read 66 books, of which 19 were audio books. Only 8 of them gained my top rating, and 3 of those were books I'd read before. This is probably because I'm still obsessively churning through the list of literary classics like a gambler hoping for a big win, because very occasionally I've come across an absolute masterpiece which raises my hopes that it will happen again.

Volunteering went well last year - the international badminton, several Buddhist roles and the Warwick Folk Festival. After a difficult period where I recognised I'd overcommitted my time, I have been much more diligent about not doing too much, and it's paying off with more time to focus on important stuff and generally ending up in a much better mental state.

After the quiet Christmas I embarked on a home online retreat led by good friends, which extended over New Year. I don't find it easy to set up retreat conditions at home - I have to use the laptop to access the retreat so it can't be put in a cupboard and forgotten. Nor, on this occasion, could I turn off the phone. An interesting point to note was that the WiFi signal kept dropping out despite the router being in the room next door. I managed to resolve this by opening the wardrobe door... This morning when the retreat had ended I realised quite how much I had benefitted from pausing most everyday activities. 

So all is well at Lola Towers, and the flavour of coming year is set to be the taste of potential: big changes that are just peeking over the horizon.

What I've been reading

Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum
by Richard Fortey

"An intimate biography of the Natural History Museum, celebrating the eccentric personalities who have peopled it and capturing the wonders of scientific endeavour, academic rigour and imagination."

It was a great coincidence that I happened to pick this up at the library and was almost immediately invited to lunch at the Natural History Museum with Mr MXF and BL2. I really enjoyed the book, which takes you behind the scenes and introduces some of the characters who have worked there, or collected for the museum, or directed operations. It also provides background on the politics of running an enterprise that was originally focussed on research and has now had to change its approach in order to encourage visitors.

Cold Comfort Farm
by Stella Gibbons

"When the recently orphaned socialite Flora Poste descends on her relatives at the aptly named Cold Comfort Farm in deepest Sussex, she finds a singularly miserable group in dire need of her particular talent: organization."

I re-read this favourite because I was thinking of lending it to Lola II and Mr M, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, this time was better because I was looking for the humour rather than not quite knowing how to handle it - it's very dry indeed. And not a single unnecessary word. I think the Gulloebls will enjoy it.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady
by E. M. Delafield

narrated by Kirsty Besterman

"It's not easy being a Provincial Lady in Devonshire in the 1920s, juggling a grumpy husband, mischievous children and a host of domestic dilemmas - from rice mould to a petulant cook. But this Provincial Lady will not be defeated; not by wayward flower bulbs, not by unexpected houseguests, not even by the Blitz."

The Bridget Jones of its day (which was 1930-40). I disliked Bridget Jones when the book first came out - I found her attitude of victimhood and passivity annoying and end up shouting "Stop whining and take control of your life!" at the page, which on reflection is pretty rich knowing what I now know about myself. Anyway, this provincial lady is made of much sterner stuff than BJ, and the book is actually four books, including her book tour of America and her attempts to find something useful to do when war is declared. She has her weaknesses - overspending on clothes and hats - and a fairly sentimental approach to her two children, but I liked her and hope that she subsequently did well in life.

Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand: Fifty Wonders That Reveal an Extraordinary Universe
by Marcus Chown

"Our adventures in space, our deepening understanding of the quantum world and huge leaps in technology over the last century have revealed a universe far stranger than we could ever have imagined."

Interesting snippets of popular science including a bit of biology but mostly at the quantum or astronomical scale. It reawakened my curiosity about some stuff and, maybe because of something going on for me at a moment, made me think deeply about the hugeness of the universe and the baffling contemplation of infinity.

The Wall
by John Lanchester

narrated by Will Poulter

"Ravaged by the Change, an island nation in a time very like our own has built the Wall - an enormous concrete barrier around its entire coastline. Joseph Kavanagh, a new Defender, has one task: to protect his section of the Wall from the Others, the desperate souls who are trapped amid the rising seas outside and are a constant threat."

I definitely wanted to know what happened next throughout this book, and it didn't disappoint. The author seemed to think the ending was a happy one, but I'm still not sure if it actually was.

Christopher Nolan: The Complete Unofficial Guide
by Dan Jolin

"Few filmmakers have made such a seismic impact on Hollywood during the past two decades as Christopher Nolan. Whether mind-twisting crime thrillers or vast sci-fi epics, his films are consistently huge crowd pleasers, despite his bold and complex visions never being compromised."

I came across this book while browsing in the library, and being a fan of the director I found it very interesting (others might not!) Aside from the three Batman films that I'm not interested in and two early films that I haven't seen, the rest are outstanding: Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet and Oppenheimer. Well, maybe not Tenet, which I found unnecessarily complicated and too long, but I liked the premise of time running both ways. It seems he is working on filming a version of the Odyssey next.

The Kellerby Code
by Jonny Sweet

narrated by Jack Davenport

"Edward is living in a world he can't afford and to which he doesn't belong. To camouflage himself, he has catered to his friends' needs – fetching dry-cleaning, sorting flowers for premieres. It's a noble effort, really – anything to keep his best pals Robert and Stanza happy."

It wasn't bad, and it was well written and narrated, but ultimately I didn't find the personalities and relationships completely plausible. So, a little unsatisfactory altogether.

The Children of Jocasta
by Natalie Haynes

"Jocasta is just fifteen when she is told that she must marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. Her life has never been her own, and nor will it be, unless she outlives her strange, absent husband."

The author is a brilliant combination of classical scholar and stand-up comedian - I can thoroughly recommend her Radio 4 series. This book is great too. I've just had a look in the library catalogue and very unusually I've found more of her books. This almost never happens - Leamington library doesn't usually have the same preferences as I do.