Here’s what I read in May (it was a good month):
This book, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, has been on my shelf a LONG time! It was a birthday present from my sister in the early 90s, I think. I was never actually that into Fry & Laurie (although I loved the later things they were in, especially Blackadder), which is probably why I never picked this up to read until now. The book contains the complete scripts for their very first series (which I think was broadcast in 1988, so now I feel very old!), and I think I found it much funnier now than I would have done in my early 20s, when I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t really have got the humour. Mostly though I’m amazed at just how young and fresh-faced they look on the cover! 3.5/5.
Red Sixty Seven is a beautiful coffee table book which details the 67 birds on the most recent ‘red list’ of British birds – ie the birds at highest risk of population decline. Each bird has a single page of prose (or in a couple of cases poetry) from a different writer, and a single page illustration by a different artist, all of whom gave their services for free. The book is sold in aid of the British Trust for Ornithology and the RSPB. 4.5/5.
Paul Theroux’s Deep South was the last book I got out of the local library before lockdown. Although I’m a big fan of good travel writing, and Paul Theroux is one of the most renowned travel writers of the last several decades, I hadn’t actually ever read any of his work before. I have to say, I really enjoyed this, and am keen to read more of his books now. In this one, he spends four different seasons driving around the back roads of the American Deep South, hanging out, meeting people, attending churches and gun shows, exploring the literature and culture and politics of the southern states. I gather he has a bit of a ‘grumpy old man’ reputation, but here I found him very interested in the people he met, and very respectful of them, keen to understand their perspectives. 4.5/5.
Dancing with Bees by Brigit Strawbridge Howard is a lovely nature book which focuses not only on bees, but also other insects, plants and birds that she learns about in the course of reconnecting with nature. I really liked that it’s not an expert writing, nor is it a formal reference book, but someone learning as she goes along, like we all are. This is a lovely read, and has already changed something I was thinking about for the future, namely keeping a couple of beehives. Through reading this I realise that I will be a lot more helpful to the environment and the local bee populations if instead I focus on planting flowers for the wild pollinators rather than introducing potentially non-native honeybees. And this book has made me feel very enthusiastic about doing that. 4.5/5.
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell was the first ebook I successfully checked out of the library – lockdown is finally bringing me into the 21st century! (at least for the library – I’m a big ebook fan already, I just never got round to signing up for e-library books). It does what it says on the tin – it turns out that bookshop customers, just like people everywhere, can be really really weird. 3/5.
I wanted a short read so as usual went to Asterix (I’ve only got one unread one left, so will need to augment my collection!). This time it was Asterix and the Cauldron – Asterix is entrusted with guarding a cauldron full of money by dodgy Gaulish chief Whosemoralsarelastix, but they are stolen and Asterix is banished from the village. Cue Asterix and Obelix trying all sorts of means and adventures to refill the cauldron to restore the honour of the village. It wasn’t my favourite of the Asterix stories, but it was a nice diversion. 3/5.
Sam Kean’s Caesar’s Last Breath is a popular science book looking at the science and history behind the various gases that make up the air we breathe. This is the first of his books I’ve tried and on the basis of this one I’ll definitely be looking out for the others – this guy knows how to tell a tale and keep the reader hooked, even if the subject matter is ostensibly quite dry. I don’t have a particularly scientific background, but was able to follow the science whilst enjoying the tales of the (often quite hapless) scientists discovering all these different gases. The endnotes were also entertaining and well worth a read – it was worth it just for the incidental anecdote about notorious Scottish poet William Macgonagall’s short-lived acting career. Highly recommended for all interested in science without the jargon. 4.5/5.
In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin by Lindsey Hilsum is a meticulously researched biography which was deservedly shortlisted for the Costa Biography award. Marie Colvin was for many years the foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, and she was killed while reporting in Syria in 2012. A couple of years ago I read her collected writings which revealed a passionate and exceptional reporter, and this biography, written by her friend and fellow foreign correspondent and drawing extensively on Marie’s diaries and interviews with friends, family and colleagues, fills in the life behind the reports. Marie was a very complex woman, with many failed relationships and an increasing dependence on alcohol, but shining through it all is a portrait of a woman who lived life at 150% and never gave anything but her all. 4.5/5.
Saga Land by Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason is a fascinating account of Iceland and its famous family sagas. Part travel book, part memoir, part history, the two authors (the first, an Australian broadcaster, the second a half-Australian half-Icelandic academic) introduce the reader to some of the most famous of the sagas and travel to the places where the main events of those sagas took place. At the same time though, this is the story of Kari rediscovering his own family saga (he was the result of an affair between an Australian expat and a married Icelandic man with a family of his own already), and regaining his place as a son of Iceland. I was hooked from start to finish. 4.5/5.
Jackie Kirkham 