There’s not a lot to round up this month on the reading front. Not only did I fail to write any book reviews (or even a TV review), I also only read two books. Unless you count books about dog care, in which case I have read (and re-read) a further two books. I guess four isn’t a terrible total.

You see, Beckett – our new dog – takes up all of our time and energy. Which we expected in the early months. She can be hilarious, frustrating, soppy and needy. We know if we put the work in now she will be the best doggy companion ever.

I also now have less time for watching films. With most nights’ sleep interrupted, I have found myself falling asleep far earlier in the evening – often during a film. I did stay awake for Breakfast With Scot, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And on our first night with Beckett we rewatched Jurassic Park, so that has a special place in our memories now. Plus I really do think it helped Beckett to cope well with the thunder and lightning storms we have had quite a lot of this month.

Yesterday, Tim and I celebrated 18 years together. We cooked and ate delicious food, played computer games and took Beckett for a long walk (in a carrier, as she isn’t fully vaccinated yet). It was pretty great, even in the midst of a scary pandemic.

I hope you have a great September.

Books read

Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena
This is the Latvia entry in my EU Reading Challenge. It’s the story of a mother and daughter feeling the restraint of Soviet rule. I really enjoyed it, but fear that reading it in short bursts in the middle of the night means I did not properly appreciate it, and writing a review will be tough. Which is fine as I have a backlog of books to review.

Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsch
Another anti-racism read. Hirsch is a British journalist and former barrister, writing here about what being mixed race means for her, and specifically how it squares with her British nationality. Her style is a little less passionate than Akala, but like him she uses her personal family history to illuminate the long vicious tail of British (and other Europeans’) colonialism. If you’re interested in that, she has a current podcast, We Need to Talk About the British Empire.