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.