Category: Blog

Taking a break from it all

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Hugil-Fell-family-photo-by-Tim

Toward the end of last year I was drawing up my 2022 work schedule and I made sure to give myself a two-week break in September so that Tim and I could go on a nice holiday to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We spent the next 8 months dithering over where to go, and eventually settled on the Lake District as it ticks all the boxes: accessible by train (in less than five hours, our estimate at the dog’s maximum patience); dog-friendly accommodation; mountains; bike hire; at least one pub, shop and cafe within a mile. We didn’t think these were grand demands but they narrowed the search a lot.

We were very happy with where we ended up – a holiday cottage in Staveley, a village halfway between Kendal and Windermere. We rented bikes for a week, giving us car-free means of getting about and Beckett vastly increased her time spent in the doggy backpack. But she also got a lot of walking (and running alongside our bikes on the two days we were cycling in suitable off-road places) and was very tired every day so we think she appreciated being carried sometimes!

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August 2022 reading round-up

Well, August was a bit full. I’ve done some long bike rides, hung out with friends, eaten good food. Plus Tim and I celebrated 20 years together. Twenty years!

August was Women in Translation Month and I read 3.5 books by women in translation. In fact, I’m currently halfway through three different books.

My top films this month were The French Dispatch (the latest Wes Andersen), and Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt) – a sweet Australian teen romance.

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July 2022 reading round-up

Summer reading spot

Well, July was a bit full. We went on holiday to South Wales with my whole family. We had a record-breaking heatwave that’s an ominous sign of things to come. Beckett nearly had to have surgery but then didn’t. I took myself on lots of solo bike rides for the fun of cycling.

I’ve been taking advantage of the (non-extreme) good weather by taking myself into the garden after work most days with a blanket, a book and the dog. Sometimes there is also wine.

Just over a week ago I went to theatre for the first time since 2019, to see Les Miserables with my Mum. I loved it, just as I did the first time I watched it on stage when I was 18. And Mum loved it just as much as when she last saw it at least a decade before that even. As I expected, it made me cry, but not just because it’s such a moving storyline with music and lyrics designed to give the tear ducts a workout. The first couple of big rousing numbers made me cry from the sheer weight of the experience of being in a theatre filled with a couple of thousand people listening to incredible singers. I suspect I’d have a similar reaction if I went to a gig right now.

Mum reminded me that after she first saw Les Mis, Dad bought her the book – in two volumes because it’s so long – and she ploughed her way through it increasingly slowly. I can’t say her lukewarm reaction to it is very enticing, but on the other hand she did stick with it, so maybe I should give it a go sometime?

What I did read this month was six novels, a couple of which were not what I expected. The Glass Hotel is by Emily St John Mandel, who previously wrote the excellent sci-fi Station Eleven. Even though I knew when I bought it that The Glass Hotel isn’t sci-fi, part of me kept expecting a sci-fi twist and I think that stopped me from appreciating it for what it was. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, on the other hand, I expected to be more biting on the matter of racism in small-town America. That was part of it, but it was much more about different approaches to motherhood, and how our circumstances are so much of who we are.

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June 2022 reading round-up

Summer arrived! And then left again? I’ve done some lovely walks and bike rides but this week has been a washout.

Three of this month’s books were memoirs, including my favourite read One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake. I was genuinely inspired by it.

This month’s films haven’t been top tier but there’s still so much great TV to make up for that. We watched the third and final season of Derry Girls, which was of course amazing (and has the best soundtrack). We’ve also been watching What They Do in the Shadows and have just started Only Murders in the Building. And my list of TV shows to watch just keeps getting longer.

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May 2022 reading round-up

Reading in the garden

I would say May has overall been a positive month. The weather has been largely good, we’ve spent more time with friends than we had for two years, we had two long weekends away (including one without the dog – shock!). I finished six books, all of them good.

I’ve started a new K-drama, so look out for my review of that soon. And I’ve rediscovered the Indian TV show Little Things, which is a gorgeous look at the minutiae of one Mumbai couple’s relationship. Film-wise, my top hits were Turning Red and Definition Please, though I also very much enjoyed finally watching Johnny Mnemonic.

Here’s to an equally excellent June. Happy reading!

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April 2022 reading round-up

Easter weekend pleasures

Happy International Workers Day! April was super cold and then gorgeously warm and dry, so it feels appropriate that May has begun with grey drizzle.

Last month I finished four books but it felt like I read non-stop. I am more than halfway through three books at the moment, so I guess that’s related. And all our weekends have been busy, so I’ve had very few long stretches of reading time.

Anyway, the four books I read were all great but I especially loved The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe and co-authors. I love everything Monáe does, including the album Dirty Computer and its accompanying “emotion picture”, which is the origin of this book, so I am unsurprised but also relieved to have loved the book as well. I had pre-ordered a copy of this book for a friend’s birthday and was delighted to have two copies show up in the post because Tim had pre-ordered one for me as a surprise. What an excellent partner.

Last month we had friends and family come to visit; we went to the beach; and I went on a day trip to the Cotswolds for a friend’s birthday. This coming month we have our first holiday of the year, which we have barely started to plan, so let’s hope that comes together!

My top films watched last month would be Spider-Man: No Way Home, Wadja, Hello My Name is Doris and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. My top TV is a very close tie between season two of Russian Doll and season one of Heartstopper. The latter is based on the web comic by Alice Oseman, which I’ve discussed here before, adapted for TV by Oseman herself. It is a perfect adaptation – a mostly gentle and sweet (but sometimes dealing with serious issues) school drama about two boys falling in love (and their diverse group of friends). I know the web comic gets a little more serious over time, so I expect season two will be less light and fluffy. Assuming it’s renewed, but the ecstatic reception of season one hopefully means it will be.

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March 2022 reading round-up

Sick day company

Well, Tim and I have both now had COVID and survived, which makes the world feel a bit less scary. Obviously we know we can be re-infected, and it wouldn’t necessarily be the same a second time round, but for now we’re enjoying the higher level of immune protection and the psychological relief of our worst fears not being realised.

I read four books this month, which is a big drop from Jan and Feb, but three of them were science fiction and two of those I found pretty challenging. Plus I had COVID and then the weather got glorious and I mostly wanted to be outside.

My favourite book this month was The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (see below for a brief summary), which I liked so much that even when I felt absolutely awful on my first day of having COVID, I avidly read for the majority of the day. Usually when I’m sick I struggle to read and turn to TV instead. Not sure if it’s because COVID is a different kind of sick to my usual, or if I’m turning to the wrong kinds of books at those times.

I did also watch a lot of TV as per usual, don’t get me wrong. This month I discovered Man Like Mobeen, This Way Up and The Woman Across the Street From the Girl in the Window – which are all ideal if you need to laugh. And as for films, even just the really good ones make for a long list. I can recommend Mixtape, A Quiet Place, Columbus, Encanto, Colombiana and Tick Tick Boom.

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February 2022 reading round-up

Valentine's

Oh dear. I had grand plans for an LGBT+ History Month reading summary, with slightly longer than usual descriptions of what I’d read. But then for complicated reasons I didn’t have access to my laptop for a week and a half and suddenly it’s 11 March. Ah well.

I did read a lot again in February (right now it is not looking like March will be so successful) and most of the books were excellent. I think my favourite read was Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis, so I will definitely be looking out for more books by the Uruguayan author.

I seem to have watched an even greater than usual roster of films old and new, including Blade Runner, Last Night in Soho, Lady Macbeth, Aliens and Passing. And in-between the grey drizzly days there was some glorious sunshine for dog walks. We even went out for a super fancy meal at an actual indoor restaurant.

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January 2022 reading round-up

Reading snuggle

Well, January has been a bit grey and cold-but-not-snow-cold, but on the plus side I have torn through books this month. I finished 10 books – four of them in the first week. A lot of them were good but I think my favourite was Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram.

As has become habit now, we watched a lot of films. I’d say the best were Don’t Look Up (the recent big budget sci-fi film on Netflix) and Only Yesterday (an old Studio Ghibli film about a city woman who takes a holiday to the countryside and reminisces about her youth).

I also turned 41, went on a lot of dog walks and finally, after a few months’ break, started watching another K-drama (Cinderella and the Four Knights), which was…fine.

Maybe next month we’ll actually leave the city at some point. Who knows?

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Top reads of 2021

It’s a few days late, but I have finally picked my favourite books from the last year. They include the second book I read in 2021 and the last one I read, so it’s a good thing I did wait until the year was well and truly over!

In total I read 67 books last year. Only 8 were in translation and, despite good intentions, only 4 were by African authors, so I will try to improve on those stats this year. That said, 17 were non-fiction, including several that I loved, so working towards that has been positive for me.

But the real question is: which were my favourites? I tried really hard to whittle it down to a top five, but just couldn’t so here are my top six reads of 2021, in no particular order.

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