Reading Roundup for March 2024

 

Here we are, almost at the end of March and spring is in the air.

I am a little early with my reading roundup for March but I prefer to be early than late with things. I am one of those people that arrive everywhere half an hour before I need to be there!

Have you read anything good that you think I might like this month?

Books I Have Read

In Sickness and in Health/Yom Kippur in Gym by Nora Gold - This is a flip book of two novellas. Both were five star reads for me. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Shadow Network by Deborah Swift - An excellent book set during WWII. I was gripped by this. You can read my review by clicking here.

Dark Clouds Bring Waters by I. R. Ridley - A short book which made for beautiful reading. You can read my review by clicking here.

A Swift Return by Fiona Barker - A picture book for children with a strong ecological message. You can read my review by clicking here.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor - This modern classic was my favourite book this month. 

Newborn by Kerry Hudson - Such a good memoir about life as an expat during pregnancy and illness during the pandemic. You can read my review by clicking here.

At the Stroke of Midnight by Jenni Keer - An excellent book with a time travel element. Well worth reading. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Teacher Who Knew Too Much by Rob Keeley - A lovely book for middle grade children. You can read my review by clicking here.

And Now There's Zelda by Carolyn Clarke - I loved this book which is being published in May. My review will not be published until then.

Wuthering Heights - by Emily Bronte - I have read this a few times already. It was chosen by my book group so read it again. It is not my favourite of the Bronte novels.

Counting Sheep: A Farmyard Counting Book by Michelle Robinson - This is a wonderful picture book for little ones and well worth reading. You can read my review by clicking here.

The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W. by Cate Green - This was another five star read for me. My review will be up later this week.

The Mistress by Valerie Keogh - I love her books. You can read my review clicking here.

The Complete Stories of A. A. Milne by A. A. Milne - A lovely and varied collection of stories from the creator of Winnie the Pooh. My review will be up tomorrow as part of the blog tour.

The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh - Beautifully written fiction about a soldier during the Vietnam War.

Books I Am Currently Reading

Does My Dog Love Me? by Graeme Hall

From Crime to Crime by Richard Henriques

Murder on the Dance Floor by Katie Marsh

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

Newborn: Running Away, Breaking From the Past, Building a New Family by Kerry Hudson - #bookreview

 

When I go back into the bathroom there it is. No more than a whisper, a shadow of a second line. A life changed in a 1mm by 2mm blush of pink. I call Peter in and we stare, shining a phone torch light on it. I laugh and cry all at once...

***

In Newborn, prizewinning writer Kerry Hudson navigates trying to build a nourishing, safe and loving family - without a blueprint to work from

Kerry Hudson is celebrated for her emotionally and politically powerful writing about growing up in poverty. Her books and journalism have changed the conversation and touched countless lives.

In this new book she asks: what next, after a childhood like hers? What hope is there of creating a different life for herself, let alone future generations? We see how Kerry found love, what it took to decide to start a family of her own and how fragile every step of the journey towards parenthood was. All along the way, she faces obstacles that would test the strongest foundations, from struggles with fertility to being locked down in a Prague maternity hospital to a marriage in crisis. But over and over again, her love, hope, fight -- and determination to break patterns and give her son a different life -- win through and light her path.

Newborn is a beautiful, empowering memoir about creating a family in the midst of chaos, and learning new ways to find happiness. It continues the journey Kerry started in her bestselling memoir Lowborn, illuminating her experiences of becoming a mother, reshaping her future and reclaiming her identity.

***

I have not read the author's previous book, Lowborn, but there was sufficient reference to it during this book for me to pick up the gist. Having now read Newborn I would definitely like to go back and read her earlier work.

Kerry Hudson is a remarkable woman who has overcome great difficulties in her life. This is a brilliantly honest memoir. Not many of us would be brave enough to share our vulnerabilities in the way that she has and she is to be admired for it.

In Newborn, she has written a candid and authentic account of the challenges of pregnancy and new motherhood whilst trying to deal with personal illness in a foreign country. In fact, her descriptions of living in Prague are vibrant and imbue the book with life and colour. The difficulties of living as an expat whilst pregnant and during the pandemic were not insignificant as Ms. Hudson describes her experience extremely well.

She is an excellent writer and has honed her skill as a journalist. She tells her story succinctly and without sentimentality. She writes with intelligence and integrity and I highly recommend this book.

ISBN:  978 1784744991

Publisher:  Chatto & Windus

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages:  272 (hardback)

About the Author:

Kerry Hudson was born in Aberdeen. Her first novel, TONY HOGAN BOUGHT ME AN ICE-CREAM FLOAT BEFORE HE STOLE MY MA was published in 2012 by Chatto & Windus (Penguin Random House) and was the winner of the Scottish First Book Award while also being shortlisted for the Southbank Sky Arts Literature Award, Guardian First Book Award, Green Carnation Prize, Author’s Club First Novel Prize and the Polari First Book Award. Kerry’s second novel, THIRST, was published in 2014 by Chatto & Windus and won France’s most prestigious award for foreign fiction the Prix Femina Étranger. It was also shortlisted for the European Premio Strega in Italy. Her books are also available in the US (Penguin), France (Editions Philippe Rey), Italy (Minimum Fax) and Turkey.

Her book and memoir, LOWBORN, takes her back to the towns of her childhood as she investigates her own past and what it means to be poor in Britain today. It was a Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Guardian and Independent Book of the Year. It was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Portico Prize and shortlisted in the National Book Token, Books Are My Bag Reader’s Awards and the Saltire Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

#Living the Dream: Expat life stripped bare - Edited by Carrie Frais - Commentry by Leigh Matthews - #BookReview

From Calling 'Time' on Drinking Culture

In 2012 my husband, David, and I divulged to our friends that we were relocating from the UK to Hong Kong. The riposte from one of my cousins etched itself uncomforably into my mind. "You'll fit perfectly into the expat lifestyle", she said. The inference, that I was a 'seasoned lush', jarred. However, despite feeling judged, I knew she was probably right. My husband and I were party people, who rarely survived a weekend without an accompanying hangover and we were more often than not, the last ones to leave any party...

***

Returning from foreign holidays or watching TV's 'A Place in the Sun', who hasn't dreamt of moving abroad to settle in paradise? Be careful what you wish for...

Nine women share the emotional and practical realities of life away from 'home'.

Grief, loneliness, Brexit, motherhood, identity, belonging, rootlessness, drinking culture and integration are just some of the issues tackled in a series of powerful stories written by nine women on the challenges of expat life. In one of the first books of its kind, these women reveal some of the emotional upheavals and struggles that go hand-in-hand with moving away from their native ‘home’, which have, until now, remained largely untold.

***

I suspect that at some point in our lives most of us have toyed with the idea of moving somewhere warm and sunny. If it is something that you are considering you might well want to read this book first.

It is a collection of  nine essays written by women who have done just that, and it makes for insightful reading. Each section tells of the experience of these individual women and is followed by their reflections, as well as a commentary by psychologist, Leigh Matthews. 

It is not designed to deter anyone from following this dream, but it highlights the drama, culture shock and loneliness that can exist following a move to another part of the world. It showcases the courage, honesty and resilience needed to move abroad and it was inspiring to read how each of these women dealt with the challenges accompanying such a move.

The editor, Carrie Frais, writes of her experiences as an expat living in Barcelona, Spain. She provides her personal account of grieving her parents from a distance. Adrienne Walder writes of how she dealt with the drinking culture surrounding expats in Hong Kong and Avivit Delgoshen tells of how she dealt with pregnancy, childbirth and the lack of familial support when she had her four children during the period when she moved from Israel to London via spells in Belgium and France. These are just a few of the inspiring accounts contained in this short book. 

Personally, I am far too much of a home bird to have ever seriously considered such a move. However, it was extremely interesting to read of the experiences of this group of women who Carrie Frais has brought together within the pages of this book.

ISBN:  978 1838174675

Publisher:  Springtime Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  202 (paperback)

About the Author:

Carrie is a British born TV & radio journalist, podcaster, events host, moderator. writer, blogger, content creator and entrepreneur based in Barcelona and London. During her time working for some of the world’s leading broadcasters she has covered a number of major global news and sports events.  

About the Psychologist:

Leigh Matthews moved from Brisbane, Australia (where she had a successful private practice) to Barcelona in 2011 (to marry a local man). She leads the Therapy in Barcelona Centre, an international team of therapists who specialise in the complexities that expat life can bring to adults, couples, kids, teens and families.

(book courtesy of the publicist) 

(all opinions are my own)