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.