Reviews and other ramblings
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, wherever you are and whatever you celebrate. This year we are in the Netherlands, where it has been a little grey and very chilled. I decided I wanted to do more film photography again, so I don’t have many digital photos to share, but at some unknown point in the future I’ll hopefully have some cool film photos to post.
Continue reading “Merry Christmas from Amsterdam”
Well, once again I only finished four books this month, but in my defence one of them was massive. We started November with a weekend away in London and ended it with a trip to Glastonbury. Both involved bookshops, as did the weekends in-between in Bristol. I bought far more books than I read this month and I am not sorry (about the first half of that statement; I’m a little sorry about not reading more).
Happy December!
Continue reading “November 2019 reading round-up”
This is just a quick note to say that my review of Fire, Ice and Physics: the Science of Game of Thrones by Rebecca C Thompson has been published over at Physics World.
The book is just what it sounds like: a popular-science study of the book and TV series Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire, from the materials science of an ice wall to whether an animal the size of the Game of Thrones dragons could actually fly. It’s really well written, and a fun way to approach topics from hypothermia to nonlinear dynamics.
The book also includes a foreword by physicist and science writer Sean Carroll that reminded me that I really should check out some of his books, as he’s very eloquent.
Intrigued? You can read more over at Physics World.
Not my greatest month on the reading front. I blame lupus. I’m partway through two large books, but even so I only finished one full-sized book, plus three comic trade paperbacks. It’s a poor record and means my EU Reading Challenge hasn’t progressed at all. Probably not the best reason to be glad of another Article 50 extension, but yay! We’re still in the EU (for now).
Happy November.
Continue reading “October 2019 reading round-up”
Roughly once a year I write a post about having lupus (SLE), partly to raise awareness of the disease, but also because it helps me to talk about it in a space where I’m not worried about boring the same poor people who hear about it all the time! Here in the UK, October is Lupus Awareness Month so this seems like a good time.
The symptoms of lupus that I struggle with most are fatigue and brain fog. I had a really dispiriting experience with my rheumatologist earlier this year when I asked him if there is anything I can do medically to help with this and he responded “Everyone gets tired.” That’s so incredibly unhelpful and frankly offensive, though I didn’t have the words to explain that to him at the time.
For one thing, chronic fatigue is not just “feeling tired”, it is extreme and long-term and has a lot of side-effects that can make daily life really hard. Think about the most tired you have ever been. You may have experienced headache, sore eyes, double vision, dizziness, nausea or confusion. You might find yourself unable to think clearly or concentrate. You might find lights too bright, or noises hard to distinguish. Now imagine some or all of that happening every day, no matter how much sleep you get or how careful you are to eat healthily and do regular exercise.
A medical professional should know that’s what chronic fatigue means. So did he not believe me, or was he just being glib without realising how rude and dismissive it sounded? I’m annoyed at myself for not speaking up but then one of the things that I find especially hard is conversation with strangers. I often can’t manage to say what I want to because either I can’t find the right words, or I’m too tired to judge the right moment to jump in and speak.
Continue reading “October is #LupusAwarenessMonth”
Like most years, September started with sunshine and ended with rain. Lots of it. We had another weekend in London and a week off work doing DIY, but the most book-related non-reading activity I did was going to see Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) at Bristol Old Vic. It’s an excellent production, using a small all-female cast to great effect. It made me laugh and it made me think, which isn’t bad going for a play based on a book I don’t especially like.
Happy autumn!
Continue reading “September 2019 reading round-up”
Oh dear, I bought far more books than I read this month. Too many great bookshops and publishers, too much of my time filled with stuff other than reading. Such as celebrating mine and Tim’s 17th anniversary with an awesome weekend in London, a few minutes’ walk from the British Library and Word on the Water. Or a trip to the giant secondhand bookshop Bookbarn. Or a night at the theatre to see the Malory Towers musical, which faithfully reproduces the tone and feel of the books (by which I mean it was a bit twee but still enjoyable).
I did also lose some time this month to being unwell, of the head too foggy to read variety. It always happens during summer. I try to take plenty of precautions but lupus will find a way.
I am currently halfway through two books, so hopefully my September list will look a little healthier. How was your August?
Continue reading “August 2019 reading round-up”
July was a good month in many ways, but most importantly because we saw Janelle Monáe! In the real life! We went to Manchester for the first four days of the Manchester International Festival and it was excellent. She is amazing and I love her.
I also went to see Amélie the Musical and survived the UK’s mini heatwave. In the world of books, I read 12, which is loads! Quite a variety of types of book, as well. My favourite was probably The Night Circus by Uršuľa Kovalyk.
Our August will end with a weekend away, but for now we’re going to enjoy the summer in Bristol.
Continue reading “July 2019 reading round-up”
Time just keeps on passing, huh? This month I’ve been to Lincolnshire and Cornwall, and next week I’ll be in Manchester (to see Janelle Monáe! I’m so excited!). Those trips afforded plenty of time for reading, though not as much as my overambitious packing had allowed for (four books in four days and tourist stuff? Not likely).
My favourite this month was one of the tiny Penguin Mini Classics: Of Dogs and Walls by Yuko Tsushima, a collection of short stories that has definitely got me adding more books by this Japanese author to my wishlist.
How was your June?
Continue reading “June 2019 reading round-up”
I think it might be summer. How did that suddenly happen? Lovely long evenings, feeling torn between enjoying the sun and avoiding too much of it – it’s that time of year again.
This month, we went to Bristol Old Vic to see The Remains of the Day, in an excellent production that I think might have moved me more than the book did. We also started rewatching The Sopranos to remind ourselves what truly excellent, well-written and beautifully filmed TV looks like.
We also had a really fun long weekend in the Peak District. We did archery, cycled across the moor, rode a cable car, explored caves and went to Chatsworth House, which is a pretty amazing place. They sadly seemed to downplay the Mitford sisters connection, but there was a lot of impressive art and beautiful grounds to explore.
How was your May?
Continue reading “May 2019 reading round-up”