Beth Revis, Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel

I bought this for Helen as a Valentine's present, it's the story of Han and Leia after they marry. It's just what you expect - they go off on honeymoon but are torn between duty and love as Leia negotiates with interplanetary diplomats, Han gets sucked into a gambling den and then it turns out the idyllic plant they visit has a secret imperial base that they have to destroy. Another undemanding, pleasant read, it's going to be tough to get back into things that require some work in the new year!

Pete Jordan, In the City of Bikes: The Story of Amsterdam Cyclists, Janice Hallett, The Christmas Appeal, Katherine Rundell, The Golden Mole

 My Christmas reading, and all nice easy reads. A history of bikes and cycling in Amsterdam by an American cyclophile who moved to Amsterdam and has a great love of cycling, Janice Hallett's latest is exactly what you'd expect, but a fun couple of hours turning pages and the Golden Mole was a series of short chapters about interesting animals species, all of which are endangered of course. Christmas was very quiet, lots of sitting round, eating and watching TV. Today is my first day back at work, but for only two days and it should be very quiet. We're planning on travelling up to Derby to see Helen's folks tomorrow after work. Hopefully we'll be able to get into the Peaks so Fred can scratch off a few more of his places on his Peak District Map.

Antal Szerb, The Pendragon Legend

I picked this up in the Hungarian section in Daunt Books assuming that something called 'The Pendragon Legend' had been put in the wrong place. Very glad I did because I took a look at the blurb and it was straight into my shopping bag. It's written by a Hungarian Jew born at the end of the 19th century who fell in love with England and the English. Parts of it read as a parody of Buchan, some of Wodehouse, some of Agatha Christie and some of Wilkie Collins. a really enjoyable adventure. apparently his masterpiece is more serious, so maybe not such a rollicking read, but it's on my list now.

Matthew Green, Shadowlands: A Journey Through Lost Britain

 A travelogue through abandoned places in Britain - Skara Brae, Dunwich, the villages lost to the Ministry of War during the world wars and so on. Pleasant enough and encouraged me to visit some of these places myself, but no great revelations or new knowledge. The kids have now broken up for Christmas so we have to try and keep them entertained. I have to work most of this week so it is all on Helen - I can just shut myself away and get on with work, emerging briefly for biscuits and twixes.

Flann O'Brien, The Third Policeman

 Second reading of this, as it is so well spoken about and considered by so many to be incredibly funny. But I just don't get it. It's brimful of ideas and strangeness and surreal images, but I just don't find it funny. On paper I should love it, particularly as bicycles feature so heavily. I just don't seem to get Flann O'Brien though. I'll keep trying. Apart from that, I wanted to record Libby's never-unfunny habit of referring to people as 'humans'. She's done it for years and I'm not sure where it came from, but rather than say 'Guys' or 'people' when referring to others she will proclaim 'Humans!'. It's very odd and alien sounding, it marks Libby out as the extraordinary person we know she is. The extraordinary human, I suppose.

Iain Sinclair, London Orbital

 'I've shied away from Iain Sinclair for along time, as I read something of his (Downriver?) that I remembered as being impenetrable, full of mysticism, strange leaps of logics and long words I didn't understand. There's a germ of truth in all of that, but I wonder if I may have confused Sinclair with Iain Nairn and/or Will Self, as London Orbital was a great read, really enjoyable and with much more bonhomie than I was expecting. I'd love to go walking in the company of Iain Sinclair, which was not my recollection at all. Maybe I've changed. Maybe the concept of psychogeography has seeped into me as I've learnt to walk and think and appreciate my surroundings.  It helped that I'm so familiar with many of the areas he explores, having lived my whole life within a few miles of the M25 (or the future location of the M25 until it was constructed), always between the M4 and the A3 junctions. It was thrilling to read his thoughtful description and musings on the future of doomed Harmondsworth, on the Runnymede bridge and the Siebel offices, and excursions to Royal Holloway College. He was walking through my life

Michael Frayn, Towards The End of the Morning

 As has happened to me before with Michael Frayn, as I read through this I realised I had read it before. Still very funny, but it's strange that I seem to have a mental blank over an apparent Frayn period in my life. I'm sure I've never seen 'Noises Off', but now I'm thinking that if I do go and watch it 5 minutes in to Act I I'll realise I performed in it once or some such. I can't imagine when I went through this Frayn phase. I started recording the books I read way back in March 2011 and I don't think it's on the list (it's a faff to search).

Henrik Meinander, Mannerheim: Marshal of Finland

 I didn't know a great deal about Mannerheim before this, but was intrigued why someone with a German name was the hero of Finnish independence. His story was even more intriguing - a german descended, Swedish-speaking member of the Finnish aristocracy whose first loyalty was to Tsarist Russia. He never learn to speak Finnish properly and was primarily motivated by restoring the Tsar and fighting communism - Finnish independence seems to have been an incidental by-product for him, however airbrushed this was later to present him as a Finnish patriot. An incredible figure though  - a spy in central Asia, the last of the great cavalry officers, a cunning geopolitician and the shaper of the Finnish state. I bored Helen by talking about him until she made me stop.

Andrew Barrow, The Tap Dancer

 Alan Bennett's favourite novel apparently, and it is difficult to think of higher praise than that. It was a very funny book with absolutely no plot dominated by the father of the family, and presumably autobiographical. The family were so incredibly posh, with the most wastrel of the 5 sons getting a job at Harrod's seen as the last resort of a man who has failed at everything. Very sweet and affectionate drawing of a family happy to bicker and snipe but who still love each other.

Eric Foner: The Story of American Freedom

 A superb review of the changing and conflicting meaning of 'freedom' to Americans since independence. I was wondering why I hadn't read it when I was studying the history of the USA, but then realised it was written in 1994 after I finished my course. I think at the time I would have found it a bit to intellectual and conceptual, but Charlie Bourne must have loved it

Julian Rathbone, A Very English Agent

 I've really enjoyed previous books by Julian Rathbone, and not sure why this one passed me by - it's 20 years old now. It's right up my street - a historical novel with a sense of humour, with an unreliable narrator inserted into and influencing major historical events, similar to Flashman. I think many of the nods to history may have passed me by, I don't know the intricacies of the Cato Street Conspiracy or the death of Shelley, and  sometimes I got a little lost, but still enjoyable. today I am back at work following a few days off when the weather has been too miserable to do much. the car is being repaired and is going to cost me a fortune, just waiting to hear back from the garage. got to help out at Forest School with William at least (crikey it was cold), but missed my works Xmas do in Newbury. This meant I could see Libby's musical theatre performance though, so it all worked out well and at least I wasn't one of the parents who got dragged up for the improv bit. Fred had his interview with Woking College yesterday and all seemed to go well - looks like it will be his first choice.

Italo Calvino, Why Read The Classics?

 I've really enjoyed things I've read by Calvino, particularly 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller. . . ', but he obviously had a brain the size of the planet and this was too much for me. He writes making no allowances for ignorance (and why not?) and assumes his audience has a similar knowledge of literature. At one point he says about Raymond Queneau, who could be completely made up as far as I know, 'the image of this writer is well known to anyone with any knowledge of twentieth-century literature, and of French literature in particular.' I still enjoyed reading it as he is a compelling, whirlwind story teller, but each of the writers and books he is discussing could be as imaginary as his cities in 'Invisible Cities' . I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't all a work of fiction!

Jessie Burton, Medusa

 A retelling of a Greek Myth, which appears to be all the rage at the moment. There was even another version of Medusa in Waterstones when I was browsing there yesterday. A nice short read, not too demanding and lovely Greek island scenery. Fred had his 16th birthday party yesterday, and took 5 friends bowling. I made myself scarce so they could have fun. They are in the middle of their mocks at the moment and looking for colleges for next year. All seems a lot more pressure and stress than when I did it, not sure if that's good or not.

Orlando Figes, The Story of Russia

 Not really a history of Russia, more a history of the story of Russia, and how the myths of the past have been used to construct the world view of Putin and other russian nationalists. The idea of a Greater Russia including all they consider russians, and wider than that a Slavic union dominated by Russia, Russia as defender of the true faith, Russia as the defender of the west against the barbarian east, Russia as the defender of tradition against malign western influence. Even Stalin gets rehabilitated in this version of Russian history as a patriot strongman defending his people from invasion. Very chilling and very timely

Hilary Mantel, Fludd

A book for cleverer people than me, and much funnier and wittier that other books by Hilary Mantel, wonderful though they are. It had a spirit of playfulness and affectionately mocked the 1950s northern catholic setting with its absurd and arbitrary rules on lent and when it is ok to use beef dripping and when not. The leaves are nearly all fallen from the trees now, with some last gasps of vivid colours. it's getting colder and darker, and talk of Christmas is increasing. I'll be glad when Advent starts and we can look forward to the end of the drawing in of the nights.

Jonathan Coe, Bournville, Heather Cox Richardson, West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War

 Two books by authors I really like, and while 'Bournville' was enjoyable, it didn't carry the scathing critiques of other books by Jonathan Coe like 'What a Carve-Up!' and it all felt a bit cosy, although as a state-of-the-nation book it was very good. HCR's book was very in-depth and I ended up skimming a lot of it. The conflicts and crossovers between North, south and West in America helped form the modern state though, and many of the issues we see now go back to the period after the civil war - is America a place for a wealthy white elite or a land of opportunity? How far should government intervene to regulate market and societal failures? Even who should get to participate in a democracy

Richard Cockett, Vienna: How The City of Ideas Created the Modern World

 I'd happily read a history of Vienna, but I'm not sure I would have picked up a book about how Viennese intellectuals have influenced the modern world if it hadn't been written by one of my old history tutors. As I read it I realised how influential his style had been on me, even if it did take four years before I finally understood and put away the journalese and glib comments. He manages to get plenty of mentions in football in though, which I'm sure he used to castigate me for. 

Laurent Binet, Civilisations: A Novel

 An alternative history where the Inca and Aztecs get access to horses and iron via the Vikings and then invade and conquer Europe in the sixteenth century. Very entertaining, and Binet's HhHH is raved about so that has gone on to my list.

Anna Reid, Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine

There's been a lot of books on the topic since the invasion last year, but I picked this one as it was originally written in the 1990s and later updated. I enjoyed the later chapters more that I expected, as it seems far to soon to write meaningful analysis about the situation. what I really wanted to read about was the early days of Kievan Rus, and Galicia under the Habsburgs - there was some of this, but not much. I've finally made it to L60, the top level, in Zwift. After 31,801km cycled over 1179 hours and 235km climbed since COVID hit and I got an exercise bike, it's done. I've had a couple of rides since and it feels a bit emptier but still good, convenient exercise and sooner or later Zwift will introduce new levels.

Charles Portis, True Grit

 Really enjoyed that, and much more humour and wryness than either film (from what I can remember). Mattie Ross is a wonderful character, and a fine narrator. Kids have gone back to school today after a long half-term. Fred is about to start his mocks and has been applying to colleges for his A levels next year. Libby went to see a Taylor Swift concert at the cinema with her friends at the weekend, it is so sweet how excited she gets and how long they take to pick their costumes. I had to walk 20 metres behind her and not acknowledge her when we dropped her off, of course.

Jody Rosen, Two Wheels Good - The History and Mystery of the Bicycle

A book about bicycles written by an American! As a consequence it is very geared towards the US, which has a very different cycling culture and experience than Europe. He must have had great fun writing and researching it though, and veers away from cycling very easily to discuss the history of the kingdom of Bhutan, crackpot American entrepreneurs or Mao's cultural revolution.

Raymond Williams, People of the Black Mountains

More holiday reading about the mountains of Wales - and a book I should have paid more attention to, as it covers the whole prehistory of the region in a series of short stories showing the changes in the inhabitants of the hills from the retreat of the glaciers through the move to pastoralism and then the arrival of the Romans. it's the first of an unfinished trilogy that was meant to bring the story up to modern times, part 2 has been added to my wishlist. The kids are off school today but I am working, so all i can hear are shrieks and yelps as they have fun carving pumpkins

Alan Partridge, Big Beacon, Bruce Chatwin, On The Black Hill, Asterix and the White Iris

 'The law of diminishing returns with Alan Partridge - this is the third book now and after the incredibly funny autobiography and the very funny nomad, they're running low on ideas a little. Apparently the 'From The Oasthouse' podcast is very funny. Asterix is also a shadow of its former self, and still has Goscinny & Uderzo's name on the front even though it's now written and illustrated by different people. Have to buy and read each new one of course, but it's not the same. In between, 'On The Black Hill' was read on our half-term holiday in Wales and I loved it. It's the story of a Welsh faming community with that strange mix of baptist hellfire and pagan superstition which was just perfect for the cottage we stayed in. Helen couldn't come, so it was just me and the kids. there was a fair bit of bickering, but we got out for lots of walks and they seemed to enjoy it.

John Le Carre, The Naïve and Sentimental Lover

 Not an espionage thriller, this was a tale of a middle-aged man and his relationships with others. It was at its best when describing the social niceties and descriptions of 60s England, but it still jars with me that people who went to elite public schools, are fabulously wealthy, have aristocratic connections and their own ski lodges are described as 'middle-class'. David Cameron and Boris Johnson are often described as middle-class, when they are the elite of the elite. Grr. Outside of books, I did the GSR yesterday and made it round despite a bit of a cold. I dosed myself up but am feeling the after effects today. Just a week until we go on a little holiday to Wales so lots to do.

Paul Theroux, Deep South

'Enjoyed that, a really interesting study of poverty and culture in the Deep South. Paul Theroux seems to have a deep-seated hatred of Bill Clinton and his tolerance of bigotry as a necessity to getting elected in the south

Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

 That was quite a sweet piece of fluff, you can imagine it being westernised and turned into a rom-com (although not so much com) for bibliophiles. Perfect for a book club read. It's my ignorance, but it's strange to think of a Japan of dusty bookshelves and slacker waitresses and shop assistants. the image of Japan we get presented is dedicated salarymen sleeping at their desks and working themselves to death, not people pottering round bookshops in the extended lunch-breaks and spending the rest of the time mooching in cafes. I like the sound of that Japan far more 

Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin

 Not sure why this is so famous, it's an autobiographical tale of someone having a fun time in Berlin, but it's not at all got the dark sinister forebodings of the Nazi takeover that's coming. There's mentions of it, but no-one seems to mind that much and just gets on enjoying themselves. Maybe that's the horror of it, but it just seemed like a tale of hedonism and high living to me. I have actually started reorganising my bookshelves now, there are books everywhere but I finally feel motivated. I've vowed to catalogue them too. Let's see. . . 

M. John Harrison, The Sunken Land Begins To Rise

 This got some fabulous reviews, but mainly from other writers, and looking now I can see that he appeals to professional writers who can admire his technique and structure. For a layperson like me it seemed like not much was happening. I still enjoyed it though, all the way through there was a dark melancholy just outside of the characters' consciousness, trying to seep in. Very dark and foreboding and large parts set in Mortlake, so it seemed very familiar, particularly the psychogeographic walks along the Thames and the Brent.

John Williams, Stoner

 A great novel, the story of one man's stoic, uncelebrated life, very touching and poignant, a life of 'if only. . . ' too. Not at all the 'slacker' book I had always assumed from the title. 

Tom Cox, Bad Witch

 I enjoyed Tom Cox's 'Villager' so sought this out, a crowd-funded, experimental collection of short stories. The author was obviously enjoying himself, and it is the same blend of english folk, landscape and modern intrusions, but the stories didn't really go anywhere. Lovely cover art though. Autumn seems to have arrived, the mornings are mistier and the nights are drawing in, and the house is full of apples after the kids harvested a load yesterday. we took next door's dog out for a couple of walks yesterday too, Libby in particular enjoying it. She is still canvassing for a dog, which I'm sympathetic to, but Fred is against it sadly. Helen spends a lot of time window shopping for dogs that need rehoming, but it's not going to happen without unanimity

Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety

What an epic, the entire progress of the French Revolution from the point of view of Desmoulins, Danton and Robespierre. It had a cast of thousands and I really struggled to follow who was who and what was happening, but the wit and the explanation of events and motive was masterful. Still a slog though, but you can see the seeds of the style used for her masterpieces about Cromwell. I need some light reading for a bit now though. We've just booked a few days away in Wales in October half term, so i'm already getting excited about that. I don't think Helen will be able to come with us, but hopefully we'll do some walking in the hills and see a few castles.

Christopher Isherwood, Mr Norris Changes Trains

 Never really got into this, but needed to read it as the prelude to 'Goodbye to Berlin'. It didn't help that I put it down halfway through to pick up Hilary Mantel's 'A Place of Greater Safety' as I wanted to take something substantial to Scotland for Duncan's 50th as there would be a lot of time for reading. Looking back at my last comment I was rather uncharitable in not looking forward to it. Dunc and his family had gone to incredible efforts to put together a very memorable weekend full of booze, activities and exploring the estate. the house was really impressive, the 12,000 acres even more so. I really enjoyed it, but there were times when I was exhausted of small talk and hungover and needed time to myself. Other than Duncan, I only really knew Clayton there, and couldn't really hang on his coat tails all weekend. Most of the people there were from Rochdale Rugby club and that dominated conversation. Those of us from elsewhere were out on a limb a little, but I could and should have made more of an effort. Clay and I managed to get lost on the first night walking back from the lock, despite the house being visible. We took a wrong turn, started heading uphill to the moor and had to stop at a little cottage (which would have been the last building for about 6 miles) for help getting back. Duncan had a fantastic time though, which is what matters!

Mick Herron, Bad Actors

I always enjoy a Slough House novel, but they do appear to be subject to the Law of Diminishing Returns and it is a very similar story each time. I like the wit and the put-downs, but as the action accelerates towards the end and there are multiple fights and chases in multiple locations I struggle to follow what is happening. Mick Herron has just released a non-Slough House novel, I'll be checking out to see if it any fresher. Tomorrow I'm heading up to Inverness for Duncan's 50th. not sure what to expect, who will be there, what we'll be doing, and to be honest I could do without it, but I want to be there for Dunc.

Tim Marshall, The Future of Geography, Willem Elsschot, Cheese. Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck, Hakan Nesser, The Mind's Eye, John Williams, Butcher's Crossing, Volker Weidermann, Summer Before The Dark, Antony Beevor, Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921

 The accumulated reading on our wonderful holiday to the Netherlands and Belgium. We arrived back a few days ago and I'm in the post-holiday blues period, so while the memories are still fresh I should get them all down! It seems like we were away for ages, maybe that's because we stayed in two places, so already the first week at Duinrell seems distant, and the trip to get there, stopping at some little french village for breakfast from the patisserie and lunch in Middelburg underneath a deafening clock seems even longer ago. Fred navigated, and he's much better at it than me or Helen. We've come to rely on him for so much, he's very practical which we need in our family. He's also just learnt to solve a rubik's cube, and is patiently trying to explain it to us, but it is not going in to our old heads. Duinrell cost an absolute fortune, but it was perfect. we had a lovely 'duingalow' with 4 big bedrooms and with the theme park and water park onsite the kids were able to spend the days on rides and would happily never have left the site.  We did make it out once or twice and dragged them on a cycle ride to Leiden, Fred and I went out to explore a bit and i managed to get some long runs and cycles in by myself. The second week in Belgium was at a Center Parcs in the Ardennes, and being in the forested hills was fantastic, again I managed a few runs and a cycle to the 'three frontiers' of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, but it was so hilly that long distance cycles weren't on the agenda. Fred and I also headed out to the Col de Stockau nearby which had a tribute to Eddy Merckx at the top. We had to walk up, it was an absolute killer.  I also cut my head open exiting a very spooky cave after finding a geocache. Luckily Fred was with me to make sure I was ok. The kids actually got on quite well together, although there was a little bickering occasionally. The holiday seems to have tired out William completely, and he missed his first football training on Saturday. He showed up for the friendly match on sunday, but wasn't himself and after a few minutes on the pitch asked to be subbed off, bless him. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. Yesterday was Mum's 75th so we went over to Harmondsworth to see her. Jo and Vicki were there too, so we had a lovely afternoon. We got the spirit level out and Libby isn't quite as tall as Helen yet despite a recent growth spurt. It'll be soon though.

'The Future of Geography' wasn't a book I'd normally read, but I've enjoyed previous books by Tim Marshall so thought I'd give it a whirl. It was about the geopolitics of space, which I cannot get my head round. I can't see how the material benefits of mineral extractoin or whatever from space can possibly justify the expense of retrieving it, but maybe I don't have the necessary vision to see what humanity is capable of. It is quite disorienting to consider that Elon Musk, who otherwise appears to be an egocentric spoilt trolling buffoon may actually be a genuinely visionary pioneer when it comes to space. Let's see. Willem Elsschot's 'Cheese' was the result of wanting to read something of Dutch literature, and it was very funny indeed, a scathing satire of the world of work and the boredom, pettiness and pointlessness of office life. I'd love to read more, but it seems this is the only book of his that has been translated into english. 'The Mind's Eye' was another 'Dutch' read, even if set in the deliberately vague northern european Maardam of Inspector Van Veeteren. An enjoyable procedural, I'll try and read some more and get back into the habit. I seem to enjoy fiction much more than non-fiction at the moment, there's no books in my non-fiction pile that I'm excited about reading at the moment, but that's bound to change. 'Butcher's Crossing' was superb, a revisionist western that I preferred to the later works of Cormac McCarthy which cover similar, but more visceral and hallucinatory territory. I've never bothered with John Williams as I assumed 'Stoner' was about some slacker bumming around, but that's not the case at all, and I'll read it asap. Nora Ephron's collection of witty articles was a really nice read between courses - I'm hardly the target audience and I'll give it to Helen to read as I'm sure she'll love it. It was light, funny and self-deprecating, I'll look out for more. 'Summer Before The Dark' could have been written for me, a fictionalised account of Stefan Zweig and Joseph Roth expatting in Ostend, exiled from their homeland and lamenting a lost world while the storm clouds gather over europe. Finally, Antony Beevor's new book on the Russian Revolution and Civil War which went into great depth. whenever I read about the Revolution, I wonder where my sympathies would have been, as on both sides there was such inhumanity, terror and atrocity. Maybe I once thought that the bolsheviks had the advantage of doing it in the interests of the workers and peasants, but Lenin and Trotsky didn't give a fig for them. I wonder when I would have figured it out and what I would have done. I'd like to think I'd have fought back (although not with the Whites), but I think the reality is I would have been meekly arrested for counter-revolutionary democratic tendencies without putting up a fight. 

I've just had a quick look through the photos of our holiday to try and note down any other memories. on the way down to Belgium we stopped off at a town called Lier, which looked awful when we pulled into the underground car park, but which turned out (like so many towns we saw)to have a fantastic medieval square, wonderful clock tower and a special treat for Libby, a cat cafe. After that we broke the journey again at the Netherlands' highest point, which is also where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. For a few seconds the kids were all in different countries, but they still managed to wind each other up. I laughed when I saw 'ski resort' marked on the map, but it turns out the Ardennes were actually a very hilly (if not quite mountainous) area. We also explored some huge cave (this time with a proper guide so I didn't bash my head) at Han, which also had a land-train ride round a wildlife park which played a very jaunty dutch pop tune which the kids (and Helen) loved. 

Max Porter, Shy

 I've snapped up new Max Porter books whenever they've come out, I've really enjoyed the three that I've read so far. Short, experimental, no plot to speak of, but explorations of human emotion and characters that you can relate to, feel their vulnerabilities and anxieties. Not the most appropriate reading for a sunny august just before i go on holiday, but still lovely. Have added it to Helen's 'to read' pile, which is my seal of approval I guess. 

Desmond Seward, The Hundred Years War

 I bought this at Bodiam Castle when I took the kids there last week. We took cousin Jack with us, and the kids all got along well, it was lovely to just go out with no time pressure. We go on holiday in 2 days and my brain has checked out already, it's very hard to get motivated at work. 2 days to get through yet though. . . 

Dylan Jones, The Wichita Lineman: Searching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song, H.G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance

'Jones' book read like an extended article for GQ, which is not all that surprising. He must have really enjoyed it, meeting lots of interesting people to interview, anecdotes from his showbiz mates and not really needing to do any academic research. It would have made a better article than a book - wonderful as the song is, there is only so much that can be said about it. 'The Wheels of Change' fell out of the bookshelf when I was looking for something else, and I don't think I've read it since the '90s. there was a slip of paper inside from Eleanor & Dan Whitehead's wedding, which would date it to 2003-ish, but I seem to remember last reading it before Alastair Briggs set off to cycle around the world after we all graduated - so 1998ish. I remember at the time I thought Wells was very earnest and took the whole cycling adventure and saving a young woman's virtue very seriously, but now it reads very tongue-in-cheek, and young Hoopdriver's low social status and opinion of himself comes to the fore more. There is the bonus of their escapades occurring on cycling routes to the southwest of London that I cycle on myself these days - Putney, Ripley, Guildford, Godalming, Chichester. . . we are getting ready to go on holiday to the Netherlands and Belgium on Friday (today is monday), hopefully lots of cycling there too.

Ann Patchett, The Magician's Assistant

 This was recommended on 'A Good Read', and it was pleasant enough, but not really my thing. A domestic drama concerning love, loss and grieving. Maybe it is because I am incredibly lucky to come from a stable family where people love each other and are nice to each other, but books involving family tragedies and how people overcome them doesn't really speak to me. As I write this news is breaking that THFC have accepted a bid from Bayern for Harry Kane. Let's see what happens, but I still haven't processed Glenn Hoddle leaving in 1987, I've no idea how I will cope with this

James G Clark, The Dissolution of the Monasteries: A New History

 I'm very interested in the period, and this was reviewed as the most important contribution to the subject since 'the Stripping of the Altars', and Eamonn Duffy himself has some nice things to say about it, but it was so in-depth that it was impossible to read straight - it's all-encompassing and incredibly valuable to scholars of the period but not to be read for fun by the likes of me. I've finished putting all the badges on the kids' campfire blankets (except William's), next job is a scrapbook of Cubjam for William. we went to Hampton court on Sunday and after some bickering in the car we had a nice day as a family, bodes well for the holiday in a couple of weeks.

George Orwell, Coming Up For Air

I thought I'd read this 33 years ago for my GCSE English Lit project on Orwell, but it didn't seem at all familiar. I know I read Burmese Days, maybe it was Keep The Aspidistra Flying. I've always preferred Orwell's essays and reportage to his novels though, and even Animal Farm and 1984 I don't think I've read since I was a teenager. It was much more nostalgic than I expected, not overly-sentimental, harking back to a simpler, Edwardian England of certainty and continuity rather than the late 1930's world of travelling salesmen, mock tudor bars and mechanised warfare Orwell bemoans. 

Sam Moorhead & David Stuttard, The Romans Who Shaped Britain

 That was a nice easy read, a really interesting way to see Roman Britain through the lens of some of the principal characters connected with Roman Britain. Lots of 'maybe's and 'perhaps' where evidence is missing, but still ok and mostly read in the garden between showers. We go on holiday in 2.5 weeks but my brain appears to have left already, I'm spending a lot of time looking at cycling routes in Benelux and things to do there. some new running shows have just arrived, so lots of running and cycling through tulip fields hopefully. Other projects that I want to do are finishing off the badges on the kids' campfire blankets, a Cubjam scrapbook for William and then (the big one) cataloguing all the books in the house. I should get the first two done before I start work on the last one as it could take a long time

Linda Colley, The Gun, The Ship & The Pen: Warfare, Constitutions and the Making of the Modern Worls, Magnus Mills, Mistaken for Sunbathers

 Colley's book was a history of constitutions more than anything else and consequently a bit dry. I remember being very impressed with her 'Britons' back when I was a student, and it changed the way I thought about Britishness and seeing it as an 18th century invention that along with empire has passed it's sell-by date. Magnus Mills is on autopilot, more of the same, but I still enjoy the formula. The kids are on holiday now, Libby is in theatre cams each week putting on productions at the end, which I took Fred, William and cousin Jack to see on Friday (I have 3 day weekends throughout august, wonderful). It was a production of Matilda, and she played Bruce Bogtrotter, who steals  cake and does a gigantic burp. she was a little nervous, bless her, but it all came off and she does seem to enjoy performing. William has been gettting more and more into football and has signed up for GPR next year - let's see how it goes.

Helen and I went to see The Proclaimers on saturday - they were marvellous and finished with Joyful Kilmarnock Blues, so I was very happy.

John Steinbeck, The Pearl

A later work, and more of a dark parable, this time set further south on the Gulf of California. Very bleak and not sure what the moral really is! Don't be greedy, don't try and improve your lot in life? There's no escape from the drudgery of daily life? Everyone is out to screw you? I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as those books set in the Salina Valley or on cannery Row where at least there is a love of the landscape and making it bloom or some humour. None of that in The Pearl.

Andy Friend, Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship

 Not a lot of the detail went in, but it was nice to know more about an artist who is having a bit of a moment. I'm one of the herd, with a Ravilious calendar on my left and a print of his 'Chalk Figure near Weymouth' on my right. It was nice to read about a bohemian group and their lifestyle between the wars, a gentler England of train journeys, tumbledown cottages and telegrams. It would have been lovely to have been well-connected, well-educated and independently wealthy in those days, but then again I guess that's true of any era.

Geert Mak, The Dream of Europe: Travels in a Troubled Continent, Celia Fremlin, Uncle Paul

 A sequel to Mak's book on Europe on the 20th century, and despite being mostly written before COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine, thoroughly depressing about the current state and future prospects for the continent. Maybe we can yet pull through, but the decent into intolerance, protectionism, right-wing politics and curtailing liberty, democracy and freedoms is frightening and disheartening. it's nice to take refuge in the simpler world of a caravanning holiday in the 'fifties in 'Uncle Paul', even if it is build on an escalating psychodrama ending in an attempted murder in a holiday cottage. First day of the school holidays today. Helen doesn't work mondays so we are ok for today, and I've taken fridays off this month, but how we will cope Tues-Thurs I dunno yet.

Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

 A strange disjointed mangling , but full of witty and biting commentary on the United States and the hypocrisy on which it is founded. Written when the Vietnam war was raging and the place of America in the world and whether it was the force for good it considered itself to be were being discussed. Read this while i should have been packing up the big tent (I got it done with Fred's help).

Carolyne Larrington, The Norse Myths That Shape The Way We Think

 'Not the book I was expecting, much more about pop culture that normal in these books, and I can't help but think the author was picking things they enjoyed rather than going for a complete overview if the impact of the Norse Myths. Lots about  Game Of Thrones and The Vikings, but to be fair Wagner was in there too. I went for a cycle down to Littlehampton yesterday, through Petworth and Arundel, two of my favourite places. I had to get up and walk up two hills, which were 20%, so i need to find another route with a gap to get to the south coast! The big tent has been taken down as high winds were forecast for this weekend, but Libby is now camped out in our small festival tent which I took to cub camp last weekend. It's very nice, but it's not going to last in inclement conditions. this is the last week of term so the kids are a bit demob happy, will need to keep them busy during the holidays. William and Libby are in clubs for at least some of the time, but Freddie will just mooch around if we are not careful

Magnus Mills, Sunbathers in a Bottle

 The second of three by one of my favourite authors, but it appears to have been self-published, I don't understand why he isn't more popular. I've been trying to work out what I like so much about his books. They tend to share a first person narrative by an anonymous narrator who despite doubts about where things are headed goes with the flow to get into increasingly bizarre situations. They also appear to be a commentary on the world of work and the pointless tasks we do to tick boxes or because we are told to do them, or because we just want to be busy.

Anthony Sattin: Nomads: the Wanderers Who Shaped Our World

 'A revisionist view of nomads, seeing them as catalysts for change and symbiotically linked to settled communities rather than as primitive, barbaric outsiders to be tamed, exterminated or converted. A vast, wide-ranging topic which was fun to read, although as you would expect there is much concentration on central Asia and sources are very sparse other than what settled communities thought or their nomadic contemporaries, which is hardly objective. William and I are going away camping with the cubs tomorrow, we really should get packing. Helen is off at Wimbledon today though and we are all going to Fred's school this evening to watch a DofE presentation

Elizabeth Strout, My Name is Lucy Barton

 'I read 'Oh William!' by Elizabeth Strout not realising it was 3 in a series of 4, this one being the first. I don't remember much about it, I even had to look up the title. I do remember enjoying it though, and this is more of the same, an author who (apparently) bares all without shame or mercy about their characters' lives (which are presumably autobiographical). It's a book for writers. like so many highly-praised books. I'm not sure I appreciate all the technique and sentence structure but it kept me reading anyway.

David Grann, The Wager: A tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

 'Lots of hype around this and it is on all the 'Best Summer Reads' lists. A grisly tale of a disastrous seafaring expedition in the 18th Century reconstructed in incredible detail and dramatised. Would probably be best read in a lighthouse or a cabin by the sea with the waves crashing and storms blowing rather than in a deckchair under the apple tree in the garden on a balmy July afternoon. Libby and Freddie both survived their camps this weekend, and Libby in particular really enjoyed it, which is great as she was reluctant to go for so long. I think she has the makings of a great scout, i hope she keeps it up. the fact that she is already helping out with the cubs is brilliant. While they were away, Helen and William came to Bentley Copse with me to scout the route for the hike next week when I'm taking the cubs away. William volunteered to come, which also made me very happy! A few things remain to get sorted for next week, but hopefully all will be ok. William is also really getting into playing football, we might need to look for a club for him for next year.

Willa Cather, O Pioneers!

 I read 'Death Comes for the Archbishop' a few years ago as part of the 100 Essential Reads, and it's one of the few I have positive memories of. I'd never head of Willa Cather before, and enjoyed the book, and this is more of the same - brave moral people confronting their own failings and making the desert bloom. I think I preferred 'O Pioneers' of the two. I'm just back from a trip to the NHS drop-in centre where they took a ceramic shard out of my foot that had been causing me a lot of pain since tuesday. We think it was from Libby's moneybox. I feel a lot better now it is out and in the urine sample jar the nurse gave it to me in to keep as a souvenir! Libby is off camping with the scouts later today, Fred with the explorers tomorrow, and me and William next week with the cubs.

Tom Nancollas, The Ship Asunder: A Maritime History of Britain in Seven Vessels

 A sort-of history and tour of Britain's maritime locations and artefacts, with lots of stories and asides, it'd make a great series on BBC4. Fred is now three days into work experience, and has been sick every morning with nerves, bless him. I hope underneath he's enjoying it, but he just seems a very negative, quiet teenager about it all at the moment. I remember my work experience though and how shy and self-conscious I was. I still have strong memories though, of the bits I enjoyed (being brave enough to talk to others, going out and about looking at houses and showing them to people) and the bits i hated (photocopying, filing, and sitting with the chain-smoking mortgage adviser).  Libby and I are still sleeping out in the tent each night, it must be nearly a month now, but it's so cool out there, it's far too hot in the house and it's lovely to hear the birdsong each morning.

J.G. Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur, Paul Thompson & John Watterson, Beware of the Bull: The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray, Magnus Mills, The Trouble with Sunbathers

 'A big glut of reading, it's too hot to do anything else really so most of these were read in a chair in the garden in the shade trying to cool down. The Siege of Krishnapur is very highly regarded, but I found it a bit of a slog. The book on Jake Thackray was very interesting, such a reluctant performed who met a sad end, but he had a wonderful way with words. I'll read anything by Magnus Mills, and though this one was v short it's the first in a trilogy so there' s more to follow. Fred had gone into town with Helen today for his first day of Work Experience. He's very nervous, bless him, and having only just got back from his DofE expedition on Saturday, which followed on from his first GCSE it's an active time for him. I hope he gets on well, Helen has already sent a picture of him on the commuter train looking bored out of his mind

Stuart Stevens, It Was All A Lie: How The Republican Party became Donald Trump

 Incredibly and presciently written before the Jan 6th insurrection, and a fantastic analysis of the poison of Trump, what he represents and how he has been able to dominate the Republican party, even while they know him to be a dishonest, stoopid, adulterous charlatan. Stevens makes the point that Trump is not an anomaly, he is the logical result of the way the Republican Party has been heading since Goldwater by concentrating on retaining power and the loyalty of white protestant voters. How will this end? Either the Republican party out of power for a generation while a new democrat majority coalition  of ethnic voters, the young and the educated holds sway or the attempts to retain power by any means, including gerrymandering, voter suppression and intimidation etc will lead to a Republican anti-democracy keeping power.

Max Porter, Lanny

 'More english folk tales in a modern rural setting, but just like Max Porter's 'Grief is  the thing with feathers' I really enjoyed this, and it hit like a gut punch at the end when the wee lad Lanny at the centre of the story got trapped in a storm drain. He was saved by the spirit of the forest, which sounds twee, but wow, it was really well done.

Christian Wolmar, British Rail:The Making and Breaking of our Trains

 Christian Wolmar crops up a lot as a transport journalist who really knows his stuff, and a rail enthusiast. He sets the record straight on BR, which while very far from perfect, did some things right and was certainly a lot better than the current mess we have. Labour are still committed to bringing rail back into public ownership if they win the election, but so many other pledges have been jettisoned it's hard to know what the next Labour governement will do. they are riding high in the polls at the moment due to the abject failings of the other lot, but I'm still not sure that being better managers than the Tories of the current economy is enough to get the party elected. There are millions like me that need more and want a reason to vote that goes beyond being a bit better than the conservatives at doing conservative things

Tom Cox, Villager

Really enjoyed that - characters I could relate to and tales I enjoyed - ordinary life in a village in a valley on Dartmoor. More a collection of short stories than a novel, but it kept me reading and wanting to read more of Tom Cox's work

Judith Green, The Normans: Power, Conquest and Culture in 11th Century Europe

 'Been on the shelves a while, and not really new ground for me as I've read plenty in the past on the Normans and their various escapades.an interesting study on how exceptional the Normans were, and how widespread their impact was - after all, they were few in number and only at the elite level in most cases, and other than in England didn't hang around for too long.

Libby came home two days ago asking if I had any books on Eleanor of Aquitaine, which of course is the sort of thing I have waited my whole life to hear. so I went straight to the shelves, found her some suitable books, told her to watch the Lion In Winter and found some podcasts she could listen to, which is obviously complete overkill for a year 7 assignment, but I can't help myself. She is determined not to listen to the podcast, bless her.

Rebecca F Kuang, Yellowface

 Rattled through that and thoroughly enjoyed it, although it didn't have the twist I was expecting and the ending felt a little flat. A satire of the publishing industry, of writers, their insecurities, bluff and plagiarism as well as cultural appropriation and racism. I loved Huang's 'Babel' too, which was a very different book. She's a fantastic writer, looking forward to her next book and I may have to read her YA fiction. 

Ryszard Kapuscinski, Shah of Shahs

 A very interesting study of the last days of the Shah, and how his extreme autocracy and misunderstanding of his people led to revolution. What followed was also hideous of course, but life under his police state and with grinding poverty was going to blow up sooner or later. It's monday morning at the moment, and after a lot of exercise this weekend (and sleeping in a tent for two weeks) my muscles are aching and tired. Things are quiet at work though so hopefully can recover.

Alex Preston, Winchelsea

 A Moonfleet for adults, which is a nice thing to read and a more accurate description than the 'imagine Daphne du Maurier crossed with Quentin Tarantino' quote from Tom Holland on the back cover. I enjoyed it, although was slightly perturbed that it was a much, much better version of the book I started to write when studying English A Level, 'the King Over the Water', which was also about jacobite smugglers. It's been 20 years, maybe i should start on the second page. . .  This week I took William to Legoland, it's great to spend time with him and get him away from the screen. he's getting a little into football too, and tonight ay cubs he is going to teach the other cubs some campfire songs. Libby is trying out athletics as her teacher said she had a talent for the Long jump, let's see. Freddie meanwhile is in a shooting competition for the Explorers this weekend. . . 

J.L. Carr, A Month In The Country

 A warm, nostalgic novella detailing a veteran's summer spent restoring a medieval fresco in a village church. Time is fleeting, he remembers how it was long ago in another time and place. Very lovely.

Martyn Rady, The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe

 Spent a week without picking this up due to attending Cubjam, which I am just now recovering from. It was a lot of work and very exhausting, but it was good to spend time with William and see him cope with challenges. He got very homesick while he was there, but made new friends, tried scary things like caving  and new foods and since he got back he has only been talking about the happy times and singing the songs we learnt. It's an inset day tomorrow so we are off to Legoland together. I have a strong bond with his brother and sister, but I need to find a hook with William to build a stronger relationship. we both want it (I think), so we will be ok. He is still calling me 'Baloo' rather than 'Dad' following the camp, which is sweet. The book was an epic, about the loosely defined Central Europe - the lands between the Rhine and  Russia, the Baltic and the Adriatic/Balkans. Very enjoyable and easy to read until the painful and harrowing 20th and 21st centuries.

Simon Kuper, Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK

 Have been looking forward to reading this for a while, as Simon Kuper's 'Football Against The Enemy' had such a profound effect on me as a teenager. It brought together politics and football in a way that had never occurred to me, at a time when I was being politicised myself . 'Chums' was preaching to the converted, but enjoyable all the same, as the sheer ineptitude, ambition, and entitlement of the group that have been running the country was laid bare

R.F.Kuang, Babel

 'Very good, and the thing most like JS&MN I have read in a long time, which is fine praise. Set in an alternative Oxford run on the magical and mystical properties of silver and arcane languages, underpinning the British Empire. Really enjoyed reading it, have put Huang's other books on my list, although they appear to have been Young Adult fiction up until now. Today I went in to Newbury for the first time since COVID, and the transformation was incredible, It was absolutely deserted, I arrived quite early but even so it could have been the weekend. What a change from the bustle and buzz before COVID. It was like Ratingen, long corridors and vast areas with no-one there. Further redundancies have been announced, it feels like this could be it for those of us left in the UK. Let's see, I've had a good run.

B.A. Ayomaya, Data Center For Beginners, Christopher Hadley. The Road: A Story of Romans and Ways to the Past

 First one read on my company's Spirit Day, an attempt to understand more about the industry I work in. I feel more and more the technology side of things slipping away from me. I still think what I does add value, and I get good ratings and feedback, but so much seems beyond me and I'm very much a generalist now rather than an expert. My value seems to come in my approach and attitude rather than deep knowledge of any technology. I'm thinking more and more about the future though and whether I want to be working in this role or change career. now the mortgage is paid off and we are relatively financially secure, I could do something else - maybe teaching or working in a library. Is this just idle wish fulfillment though? It would also mean a big comedown in salary, so I guess I'll keep doing what I am doing until redundancy comes around, which I think may be inevitable. Then I can take the payout and have a think about what I really want to do. 'The Road' was a micro-study tracing and tracking the course of a section of Roman Road in Cambridgeshire. Very interesting, and how incredible to be able to go out tramping and recognise old bits of pottery and metal and be able to reconstruct a history from it. Libby is at home today as she was very sick following her show. It could be something she has eaten, it could be the comedown from the ballet show she was in last week (it really took it out of her - nerves, late nights, etc), but hopefully she will feel better soon. Already today she seems more chipper

Paul Harding, Tinkers

Aa short book that received a lot of praise and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The story of a dying man, his life and his father's life. Very gentle, beautiful language, but not a lot happens (or at least nothing I registered) so it didn't really grab me. I finished reading it on one of my company's Spirit Days, a regular day they give us for personal growth. This is an idea I applaud in theory but struggle with in practice as I'm just not sure what to do. a bot of training, a bit of reading, a bit of thinking. the downside is that all the work I could have done today will now be crammed in to tomorrow

Kurt Andersen, The Fantasy Land: How America Weny Haywire: A 500-Year History

 An amusing pop-history about the exceptionalism of America and the ingrained right to believe what the hell you want to believe, regardless of facts and how this has both always been present in American culture, and how it has gotten out of control with regards to contemporary American politics, where what you believe is more important than reality. Slightly scary and of course we have our own version with Tony Blair. It was the King's coronation on Saturday, and, far more importantly, William's 9th birthday. He had a party with his lunatic friends and they had a wonderful time causing chaos. We went as a family to Paultons Park the day after which he also loved. He's been cycling to school recently as well, things are going ok, although he still is sooo picky about what he eats and he still can't pronounce certain words, eg 'God' and 'dog' both come out as 'dod'. Libby starts dress rehearsals for her ballet show today and is a little nervous.

Kapka Kassabova, Elixir: In The Valley At The End of Time

 'I really enjoyed her previous book about the borderlands of Eastern Europe, and she is an engaging writer on the Balkans, geography, folklore and now nature writing too. A lot of it was the normal wish -fulfilment for us townies that dream of a rural, simple idyll communing with nature and picking herbs in the morning mist, but that's the demographic.  I'm not really doing the author justice, as she undoubtedly knows her stuff and has access to areas through her multilingualism that wouldn't be possible for the vast majority of us. Writing this on the Tuesday after a bank holiday weekend, the first two days of which was spent putting together IKEA furniture for Libby's room ( the wardrobe was bowing in the middle and the only solution I could come up with was to gaffer tape the backboard. it's under a lot of pressure so sooner or later it's going to explode and send leggings and crop tops flying over half of GU21. I slept out on Wheatsheaf Rec on sunday night to guard the marquee before the Grand May Fayre. a job no-one wants apparently, but I rather enjoyed it, maybe will make it an annual event. I got to meet Dangerous Steve too, who showed up in a minivan which somehow contained him and all his bikes, flamethrowers and indian bats.

Muriel Spark, The Ballad of Peckham Rye

 This is what I read while out on Wheatsheaf Rec guarding the marquees against a midnight attack by the  local ragamuffins and ne'er-do-wells. I didn't get into it at all unfortunately, and couldn't even work out whether it was pre or post war (it was postwar).

Noah Hawley, Anthem

 'A Great American Novel for these tumultuous times' is the quote on the front, and it lives up to that. An epic set in a crumbling world, divided between the supporters of the truth party and the supporters of the liars party (both think the others are the liars). mass suicides, roaming militias, unconstrained billionaires, natural disasters and through it all a small group of people trying to navigate through and make sense of the new reality. I really enjoyed it, but blimey it was bleak. Libby and I have finished watching 'Superstore' a so-so ensemble sitcom which meant we spent some time together at least - we need to find something new to do together - I suspect something similar as our interests sadly don't overlap much beyond that and cubs. I'm so pleased we have cubs though, time we spend together each week - she will make a wonderful leader one day

Alan Palmer, Twilight of the Habsburgs: The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph

 'Quirkily he was 'Francis Joseph' throughout rather than 'Franz Josef', but I guess that might be the best, most neutral, name  for the ruler of a multilingual empire. It gave me a greater appreciation of the dutiful but limited emperor, and provokes the thought of how long the empire would have stayed together without him - would it have disintegrated after 1848 and reshaped Europe completely before the golden period for the Habsburgs? What would this have meant for Italian and German unification? It was my birthday two days ago and I ran to Mum and Dads and back (well not quite back, I got as far as The Kingfisher in Chertsey and then Dad gave me a lift home). Gave me time to think and get out which was needed, and was nice to see Harmondsworth again. I stopped at Gable Stores for a Yorkie and a Tizer too. Mum's dementia is not improving and she doesn't know what is going on most of the time and is completely reliant on Dad, but she seems happy at least pottering about. she enjoys sweeping and making patterns with stones and flowers. Freddie is off in Dorset on his Silver DoE Expedition at the moment, and I miss him very much. The weather hasn't been good, but hopefully he is ok. He'll be back tomorrow

Zoe Gilbert, Mischief Acts

 I read a previous book by Zoe Gilbert, Folk, but it didn't really register. This book had very good reviews though, and the idea of a retelling of the myths of Herne the Hunter throughout the ages was irresistible. Similar to Cuddy, a series of poems and short stories though time held together by a supernatural thread, in this case the mischievous woodland spirit of Herne the Hunter. reminded me very much of Jez Butterworth's 'Jerusalem' too, with the encroachment of society both physically and morally on the free-spirited, free-ranging creatures of the woodlands and their resistance to that encroachment. Helen and I went to see ABBA Voyage last night, a technological marvel in which a youthful ABBA genuinely appear to be on stage in front of you. It was quite a sight and Helen loved it, but I'm not the biggest ABBA fan. I was hoping she'd take a friend! She's not keen to go to see Lloyd Cole in October though, but we compromise 'cause we love each other

Benjamin Myers, Cuddy, Ben Robinson, England's Villages: an Extraordinary Journey Through Time

 'wo books I really enjoyed, although this was probably helped by them being my holiday reading on a very nice break in the Peak District. We stayed in an Airbnb in Hollinsclough, the wing of the old Vicarage which was very cosy and higgledy-piggledy it looked out on Chrome Hill and we were able to walk around the valley from the doorstep, and just had a lovely time. Cuddy is the story of the bones of Saint Cuthbert, and his influence throughout time on a number of people in Durham. In effect a series of linked short stories with a supernatural element. Nice to get immersed in reading again

Geert Mak, In Europe: Travels Through The Twentieth Century

 'That got me back into reading, an incredible interesting and well-written book by a clever, thoughtful writer. At the turn of the century Mak set off to explore Europe, exploring the events of the twentieth century broadly chronologically if he went. A reminder of the horrors Europe has faced, but delivered compassionately and articulately. i really enjoyed Mak's travels around America too, so am now looking for other things in translation by him. we are off to the Peak District tomorrow for a holiday, I really need it, but lots of work to do first

Samuel Fisher, Wivenhoe

 Set in an alternative England which has suffered an ecological catastrophe and is being abandoned by the population. Fascinating to read as those remaining in a small Essex town by the sea are not panicking, they have adjusted to life under several feet of snow and are going about life in an orderly way trying to make sense of the surroundings and stick to established social norms - very difficult when there has been a murder. Nice to enjoy a book again. The clocks have just come back and Spring may be here, although the weather has been rotten. I need to get out running more but lack the motivation in the mornings. I've started doing yoga which helps me with my flexibility at least. THFC sacked Conte yesterday and it looks as if the NEC will ban Corbyn standing as a Labour candidate

Malcolm Gaskill, Between Two Worlds: How The English Became Americans

 A social and cultural history of Britain's American colonies in the 17th Century. Very in-depth and copious use of contemporary records, and very good at tying in events to what was happening back home with the civil way and religious conflicts. Still I struggled to concentrate and slogged through it. Work is very busy and stressful as it is the financial year end, but hey. William has been off on his first residential with the school this week and arrives back this afternoon. He's been excited for ages, but got a little worries leading up to it. Hopefully he will have enjoyed it and it will help make him more independent. At home he still has help getting dressed and eating his tea. He can do both, but without chivvying and cajoling it doesn't get done. He's coming to Cubjam in May so needs to get used to looking after himself!

Sara Penny Packer, Pax

 'A children's book about the relationship between a fox and a young boy who finds and adopts him as a cub. I bought this years ago based on very good reviews, and have tried with all our children to read it to them, but they've never been interested, so finally I read it to myself. It could all be tosh, but it appears to be a wonderful insight into the mind of a fox, how they think and react, and also the strong bond between the boy and Pax. It ends with Peter realising that Pax is now with a new family of foxes where he belongs, very sweet. I'm aching a but writing this as I completed the Surrey Half yesterday and every year it gets tougher. I'm a lot heavier than last year and nowhere near my PB, but it was good to get out running again, I need to get back to running most days now it is a bit lighter in the mornings

Paul Lendvai, The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory In Defeat

 Took a long time to get through that, I need to find more time to read! Nice to get lost in the Habsburgs and mitteleuropa again though. While reading it, I met up with old friends from school who are planning on going to Budapest in the autumn and Vegas in the spring for our 50th birthdays. Vegas sounds like hell on earth for me, and while I'd love to go back to Budapest, I'd be there for the architecture, museums and cakes, which I suspect is not the reason the Townmead Jolly Boys are off on their hols together

Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest

 Aargghh I read that as I was hoping for a light, gripping read as I've been struggling with my reading recently. Unfortunately though I couldn't follow the plot convolutions and who was who at all. My eyes scanned the words, but nothing went in.  Libby went back to the hospital yesterday for a check and they are very happy with the progress. no gymnastics or contact sports for a month, but no need to wear the protective cast anymore. Libby is a bit miffed though as she has had to hand back her 'green card' which got her out of lessons 5 minutes early and meant she missed the queue for lunch. Tonight, Helen, Freddie and I are going to see I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue in Woking, which Fred is not looking forward too at all. I hope he enjoys it

Cal Flynn, Islands of Abandonment: Life in the post-human landscape

 I enjoyed that, but it got very dark and thought-provoking! Started by taking about places 'in absentia' that humans had previously occupied, but abandoned - quarried out areas, islands that no longer have the resources that brought humans there, areas like Chernobyl that have been contaminated. In each case the story was fairly rosy from an eco-perspective - nature has returned, adapted and often flourished without humans. However as the book went on and started looking into the future and how seismic events could cause humanity to perish as has happened to so many dominant species before it caused me to puff my cheeks a bit. Also got my thinking about whether humanity on the whole is a good thing! For all our technological achievements and ingenuity, would the world be better off without us?

Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle

 I read it, but it didn't really go in, to the extent that it has got me worried about whether I am losing my ability to absorb information and follow a narrative. It wasn't a challenging read or a complex narratie, there weren't that many characters, but it just passed me by. Let's see what happens with the next few reads. . . 

Henrik Kniberg, Scrum and XP from the trenches

 Read on my company's 'Spirit Day' for personal development. Was recommended by a colleague and I actually found it quite useful and interesting on how a team should operate. I really like the idea of agile and the Agile principles, but it seems to be being twisted into a rigid framework in practice. am currently trying to persuade any member of my family to come and see the local G&S Society's performance of 'Iolanthe', but there are no takers. . . 

Oliver Rackham, The History of the Countryside: The classic history of Britain's landscape, flora and fauna

 'A classic, and an absolutely exhaustive study. I did find myself skipping over the more in-depth investigations into the distribution of peatbogs in East Anglia, but was still very interesting in how the landscape has been shaped, how much is genuinely natural and regional differences. I'm trying to get hold of the Fracture clinic and St Peter's at the moment, as they haven't called back following Libby's referral. Yet again, like when she broke her elbow and had appendicitis, she complained of pain, we left it because she's a tough little nut, and in the end it turned out she'd broken two bones in her hand. the medical officer at school told us to go to the walk-in centre and the X-ray showed it up. she was strapped up by the nurse and is fine, but it would be good to get the fracture clinic to confirm, but they just don't answer. the number the walk in centre gave me was wrong, but I found the number on google. It's valentine's day today, and I'm taking Helen to the ballet. It's lovely to be going out with her, Fred is going to babysit so we will see how that goes. At least we are only a few minutes away if anything goes wrong. . . 

Charles Bukowski, Post Office

 I must have read this over 25 years ago, and have a different perspective now that I am a stodgy old prosperous pillar of the community. At the time I remember cheering the writer's attitude of hating his boring job and only doing it to survive and have enough money to get drunk and gamble on the horses. I was never that nihilistic or hedonistic obviously, but it appealed at the time when I was first in the world of work. Now he seems a lot more tragic and lost. Haven't had any exercise for 4 days as I've had a stinking cold, but have a 10k race on Saturday so need to pull myself together. I've been neglecting running and getting slower and slower, in part because I've had a lot of pain in my hips, but also laziness and not liking running in the cold and dark. Will see how I get on.

D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Jeremy Harte, Cloven Country: The Devil and the English Landscape

Have been feeling under the weather for the past few days, and as I write this my joints are starting to ache and my head get muzzy as the Lemsip wears off. It's just a cold but I'm feeling very sorry for myself. 'Sons and Lovers' was a bit weird,  very autobiographical and Lawrence is very open about his over-riding love for his mother and how it ruins all his relationships with other women. Very honest, but blimey. The depiction of a mining family's life and the landscape of Nottinghamshire made it vivid and kept me reading. 'Cloven Country' must have been fun to write, an encyclopedia of all the places in England with connections to the Devil and the stories behind it. Interesting how many are due to the Victorians taking the devil on to an existing folk tale

Nicholas Jubber, Epic Continent: Adventures in the Great Stories of Europe

 A great idea, to travel round Europe tracing the locations associated with the great epics of Europe - the Odyssey, the Kosovo Cycle, The Song of Roland, Siegfried, Beowulf and the Icelandic Sagas, I was interested in some of the places he visited, but the discussions about the sagas themselves washed on me. I found it very funny that early on the limits of the author's own epic journey were shown up when he was on a greek island he'd flown to for a few days away and he met some sailors who were retracing Odysseus' actual journey around the Med, taking months to make it to Ithaca rather than an EasyJet flight. Not exactly Patrick Leigh Fermor

W.E. Bowman, The Ascent of Rum Doodle

 That was marvellous. A forgotten, hilarious tale of intrepid and incompetent explorers that only seems to have come back into print because Bill Bryson has been championing it ever since picking up a forgotten copy. It's on a par with Three Men in a Boat with which it shares many similarities. Just very very funny, and apparently beloved of polar scientists, so I need to check with Helen's uncle Ray if he is familiar with it.

William Davies, This is Not Normal: The Collapse of Liberal Britain

 'A series of articles and essays written between 2016-2019, so between the referendum and the Brexit election, and already seems like a piece of history. Nothing new learnt about the cynical, anti-democratic nature of how the right have been operating politically in this period, but very well-balanced. Maybe we are seeing a return to liberal values in Britain with the popularity of Starmer's Labour at the moment, but to me it all seems so hollow. Liberal values aren't all that popular, look at Change UL, and a populist leftist party, could emerge to challenge Labour from the left, if they're canny and can find a unifying narrative - save the NHS/public services etc. Let's see. With a different leader the Conservatives could also push the scrounger/immigrant rhetoric and play on people's fears to get back in. The last sentence of the book begins  is 'this book is dedicated to my mum', which makes my like the author very much.

Thomas Williams, Lost Realms: Histories of Britain from the Romans to the Vikings, Janice Hallett, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels

 'Lost Realms' was a popular history and concentrated on the 'failed states' of post-Roman Britain that didn't make it to the heptarchy or just disappeared from view unlike their more famous and successful neighbours like Wessex and Mercia. Very interesting on forgotten corners of these islands, like the kingdom of Sussex and the Picts in NE Scotland. 'Alperton Angels' was released on Thursday, and having enjoyed 'The Appeal' so much I was really looking forward to it. I read it yesterday, starting in Gail's at about 1pm while William was at a birthday party in the Woking Superbowl and continuing when I got home, neglecting familial duties. Like 'The Appeal' the story plays out in a series of emails and WhatsApp messages that aren't always entirely reliable. It kept me gripped and at the end I was swept away with it all. It's only later when I stop to think about it that I realise how much of it was hocum, but it fooled me and engrossed me while  was reading it. I'm very glad it didn't turn out to have a supernatural outcome as was hinted throughout the book. The deep-state conspiracy that it ended up being is much more realistic. . . 

Elizabeth Strout, Oh William!

 I'm not quite sure why I bought this. Maybe the title had something to do with it, maybe it was because it was in the Waterstone's buy one get one half price deal, or maybe it was because it had a sticker saying 'Booker Prize nominated'. Probably a bit of all three. I knew nothing about the book or the author, but I've already put some of her other books on my wishlist. It's a story of relationships and seems quite autobiographical - or if not the author has a tremendous sense of empathy an ability to  construct believable characters and relationships. Not much happens in terms of plot, it's not my normal read at all, but I kept reading as i was there with the characters as they discover more about secrets from the past

Sinclair Lewis, Main Street, Frances Spalding, The Real And The Romantic: English Art Between Two World Wars

 I struggled, with Main Street, although that might be partly because I bought a cheap unwieldy copy that was difficult to hold and read. It was very thought provoking though, particularly concerning the shortness of american small-town culture. It is such a stable, conservative, entrenched thing that it is strange to think that at it's height in the 50s there would still be people living in the town that had come as settlers to a hard-scrabble, remote life under the threat of attack from Indians. the main thrust of the novel is about one woman's quest to modernise, liberalise and beautify the small town she has ended up in, and how she is thwarted by the innate conservatism of the townspeople. in the end she comes to appreciate some of their values, or at least tolerate them. I'm not doing it justice, and the book is at its best giving wry satirical comments on small-town life. 'The Real And The Romantic' I ready like a book at university, skimming through sections that I didn't find interesting. I don't know w a whole lot about art, like poetry and classical music I just seem to be missing that part of my soul that can be elevated by such things. I like the landscapes of Ravilious though, and the response of the artists to the horrors of WWI by retreating into bucolic idylls in their art interests me. In the meantime, we paid off our mortgage on Friday, which feels like a burden lifted. We are free now and if sensible will be able to save up a lot more for a rainy day. we're in a much better position than most financially, but with everything that is happening it is difficult not to worry and I selfishly want to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for the rest of my life.

Egidio Ivetic, History of the Adriatic: A Sea and Its Civilisation

 A mini-Braudel, who gets referenced a lot. I didn't realise Braudel wrote most of 'The Mediterranean World' in the archives in Dubrovnik (referred to throughout Ivetic's book as 'Ragusa'), and I'm hankering to go back now, particularly to the Montenegrin coast. I have such vivid memories of cycling over the hills from Cavtat into Montenegro, through a scary border-post in the dingy mist and then emerging into the sunlight, and the most beautiful, perfect bay I'd ever seen, a mediterranean paradise. I'm sure my memory is exaggerating, but it would be wonderful to see again. As I write this, the sun has come out after some miserable weather and there is a hint of spring in the air, even as the NHS collapses and the country continues its journey to a neo-liberal two-tier proto-Hunger Games society

Richard Fidler, The Golden Maze. Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, The Rose And The Yew Tree

 'Read over the last few very wet days, which coupled with my very painful hips has limited the options for activities and meant a lot of reading. 'The Golden Maze' was a history of Prague, although as often turns out the case it was less of a history of the city's development and more of a collection of stories about notable inhabitants (Emperor Rudolph, the golem, John Dee) and a general history of that part of Europe, particularly the 20th century where the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the rise of Nazism and communism and then the fall of the communism didn't really say anything specific about Prague. Still an entertaining read though. I'm not sure what to make of The Rose and The Yew Tree, which had me absorbed all the way through until the end, which made no sense at all to me. An excellent novel skewering class towards the end of WWII was ruined for me with one of the main characters making a completely illogical choice and ruining so many lives. I went back to listen to 'A Good Read' which put me on to the book in the first place to try and understand, but the line they are going with was that sexual attraction surpassed all, even when one is attracted to one utterly repulsive and unsuitable. Not sure I buy that, but maybe that's just unromantic me. 

Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain

The Odyssey, but set in the Appalachians during the Civil War. A confederate deserter tries to get home to his intended and encounters trials, obstacles and strange characters along the way. In parallel, and unlike The Odyssey (I think, I haven't read it), the story of his intended is told and how she too struggles and tries to cope with the deprivations, fear and uncertainty. All very bleak and very beautiful with a heart-breaking ending. First read of the new year, and now back at work, which is very quiet at the moment. I'm in a bit of pain at the moment as I've been overdoing the static cycling and I don't stretch properly. Looking for a Pilates class or similar that I can do to learn better habits, but it's tough to find a time I can do with Helen's working hours and the kids' existing commitment. But I guess that's my resolution for 2023