Marina Lewycka, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

 Bought this from the National Trust Bookshop at The Vyne when we went there last Sunday for Mother's Day. It's the book I was reading when Freddie was born, so will always have a special place in my affcetions. I haven't reread it since and could remember little about it. there's much more about the tragedies of famine and war on Ukrainians in the 20th Century than I remember which is something I've read about a lot in the meantime.  Fred himself is now off up in the Peak District on his epic DofE Gold Expedition - 5 nights away, 5 days intensive hiking and wild camping. he was so nervous before going up, but hopefully he is ok. He's in a mobile blackspot so we haven't been able to track him since lunchtime yesterday, so I'm a very worried parent at the moment. He is with a good bunch of friends though and they will get each other through.

Catherine Nixey, Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God

 Enjoyed that much more than I was expecting, and Catherine Nixey seems to have had a jolly old time researching and writing the book, she revels in all the creative and crazy stories about Jesus Christ and other aspiring messiahs that  were circulating in the early centuries AD and have often been suppressed since as the Church with its single version of truth has come to dominate. I'm trying to interest Libby in reading the introduction at least, as I think she'll enjoy the challenge to orthodoxy and she wants to do RE for GCSE next year. I'll keep trying.

Kate Atkinson, Death At The Sign of The Rook

 I'm sure I've read previous works by Kate Atkinson, but there is nothing in my library so it must have been fiction that I gave away. This was a very enjoyable murder mystery, really well constructed and fun. It's one in a series of 'Jackson Brodie' mysteries, I'll keep an eye out for more.

Terry Deary, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies

 Ostensibly written for adults, unlike Terry Deary's Horrible Histories, but a very similar style - very sweeping and entertaining. He's much more critical of Britain, monarch, imperialsim and our role in the slave trade than I've picked up on before, I mistakenly had him pegged as a bit of a right-winger. I don't feel right putting it in the history bookshelves though, so it's going in the playroom, snob that I am.

Rudyard Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill

 Glad I've read it, as it fits in with my love of stories of English faerie, and Kipling's Puck is definitely in that category. Puck is a magic spirit older than Britain who is accidentally summoned by three children and conjures up figures from the past to tell them stories about these isles. It's charming, but very twee and Victorian. All the characters are bold, faithful and perfect gentlemen, and there's never anything sordid or dishonourable. Norman and Saxons have mutual respect for each other, the Romans are jolly sporting to the Britons, and even when some Saxons are captured by Danes and turned into galley-slaves, everyone gets on, they go to Africa together, kill a gorilla that is terrorising the natives, become incredibly rich when they are showered with gold, and then get dropped home on the Kent coast on the way back to enjoy their share of the spoils. 

Lucy Mangan, Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives

Lucy Mangan lives the life I want to lead and writes how I'd love to write. Funny, self-deprecating, bookish, socially anxious and just wanting to be left alone. Massive envy now for her purpose-built library and I feel better about the 2,000 book sin our house when she has 10,000 in hers Didn't get as many new book recommendations as I normally do from reading her work, but maybe, and incredibly, I have finished mining the seam of her knowledge now I've read three books of hers that are full of recommendations. IRL, I am recovering from the Chichester Harbour half marathon ten days ago, which really sapped my strength. Helen, Libby and William all have shows coming up so it's a busy time as well as it being year end at work.

Percival Everett, James

 A retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the escaped slave that accompanies Huck on his adventures, Jim. It had very good reviews and was shortlisted for the Booker, but I wasn't too enthusiastic about it as it didn't really appeal. Maybe because Huck Finn isn't a book i love (i may not even have read it, but I know the story), and I'm not a huge fan of slave stories (that's my white privilege showing). However, the book had such an impact on me and I feel so guilty now. It gave me a whole new perspective on the hopelessness of being a slave, and the way Everett turns a 2-dimensional stereotypical character into an intelligent, sensitive, thoughtful person trapped in an impossible situation and having to watch his every move and utterance while living in constant fear of death or punishment - wow. I feel admonished, but hopefully I'm a little wiser and more sensitive now.