Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead, John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez

 I'd not read anything by Barbara Kingsolver before, but a retelling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia really appealed. I'm not sure what it is about the hillbilly culture of the mountains that appeals so much to me, but I find it all so fascinating - the language, the music, the hard-scrabble way of life. . . I think i'm going to be about the Blue Ridge Mountains for a while. the Log from the Sea of Cortez is non-fiction, and as with so much of Steinbeck's non-fiction, I enjoyed his wry humour and story telling while finding the bits about marine life intensely boring. 

Demon Copperhead was mostly read in a caravan in Burnham-on-Sea, within smelling distance of the mudflats and able to hear the wind clanking the masts. The weather was good and we had a fun holiday, despite so many complaints at being made to walk or be outside. I got a few runs in though after my injury which is good, and it's nice that we can go away as a family still despite the bickering

Felicity Cloake, One More Croissant for The Road

Bought this as I enjoyed her cycling odyssey around the UK in search of breakfast so much. More of the same, she is such an engaging and funny writer with a passion for cycling, France and food that make it so enjoyable. There's a little bit of wish-fulfilment going on, as I'd love to embark on such a tour, but I'm not nearly foodie enough or language competent enough. To cycle round France sampling local delicacies and plonk though . . . wonderful. IRL, we have lost another prime minister, as the inadequate and entirely unsuitable Liz Truss has resigned. What an absolute shitshow. there's even talk of Johnson coming back. in the meantime, Labour are polling above 50% but doing all they can to sideline the left, and there are rumours of some left wing challengers to Labour. I sympathise as Labour as they exist are just a bunch of careerist managerial centrists with tory-lite policies, but I cannot see it coming to anything

John Steinbeck, The Long Valley

 A collection of short stories including The Red Pony, and like Jarvis Cocker and Zoe Gilbert before I struggled. Some of the stories went past me without me noticing, my mind on other things. It's not that I'm particularly worried about something else, I just couldn't get into them sadly. I injured my calf last weekend running, and had to miss the GSR this year. i tried a run the day before, but didn't even make it a mile until the pain kicked in. I can still cycle, so I can get exercise at least, but I may have to cut back the running for a bit. I would have had to do so anyway as it is getting dark, but I've been spending too much time on the bike in the garage and need to vary things more. It does have the advantage of being dry with no cars to worry about, and mean I can drink coffee and watch tv while cycling, but it's just spinning once or twice a day and it's not enough

Jarvis Cocker, Good Pop Bad Pop: An Inventory

 Not the book I thought it would be or what it purported to be really. I thought it would be about Jarvis cocker's love of pop music and the artists he liked, and it started off as him using the device of cleaning out his loft to talk about the objects he found and what they meant to him. really it was just a memoir of his pre-Britpop days though, which I didn't find all that interesting

Zoe Gilbert, Folk

 I bought this quite recently and I can't remember why, but it did have a lovely cover. It's a collection of Folk Tales from the Isle of Man, and I didn't get in to them at all. I thought it might be similar to the Faerie of Susanna Clarke, but no such luck. I pulled a muscle running on saturday and have been limping around complaining ever since. It's the GSR at the weekend, and I was hoping for a good time (for me), but I've been putting on weight recently and not running as fluidly as I can, or as often. Let's see what happens.

Anne Applebaum, Between East And West: Across The Borderlands of Europe

 I read this some years ago, and it had a massive impact on me in terms of my thinking about Europe and the differences between the West - of clear boundaries and settled nations (even those that have been invented) compared to the fluid identities of central Europe, where language, ethnicity, religion all mix up and provide no clear boundaries. It was written just after the collapse of communism and Anne Applebaum was still able to find and talk to people who remember the days of the Habsburgs or Tsarist rule. Adam Mickiewicz appealed to me too - a nationalist poet claimed by three nations, a polish hero whose most famous work refers to his fatherland as Lithuania and who grew up in what is now Belarus and wrote much of his work while living in what is now Ukraine. It was still fresh to read and i enjoyed it just as much, although I was a bit worried it wouldn't hold up as Anne Applebaum seems to be quite a Tory these days and writes for The Spectator. I'd love to travel in this region, or at least those parts now in the EU that would be relatively safe. Belarus and Kaliningrad ain't gonna happen in the near future. 

Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains Of The Day

 Very lovely, although having seen the film helped given the wonderful performances by Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Another incredibly empathetic book by Kazuo Ishiguro after Never Let Me Go and Klara And The Sun, and what they all seem to have in common is being written from the POV of a selfless person for whom the happiness and comfort of others comes first, whether that is as a body donor, an artificial companion or a dedicated butler. Absolutely heartbreaking that someone would subordinate their own happiness, feelings, family relationships  and chance of a family life/companionship in the service of another who may not give two hoots about them.  Rea;;y punched me in the gut that one (in a good way).

Nick Offerman, Where The Deer And The Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations Of One Ignorant American Who Loves To Walk Outside

 A faux-modest title from the excellent Nick Offerman, whose measured and sensible opinions on an matter are worth listening to. All the same it does have the sense of a book put together to meet a publisher's deadline, and a collection of thoughts rather than something with an over-arching narrative. Fine though, it's a humorous book by a humorist and I enjoyed it. Yesterday I ran my first 'official' marathon, even if it was virtual, and trudged up and down the Basingstoke Canal. I was done for by 18 miles, but managed to trudge on and feeling very proud of myself even if I cannot stand up without help now.