Join me and the other hosts in a ftiendly Voxer group discussion of this fascinating and influential novel from 1930. There should be a good mix of Faulkner aficionados and Faulkner newbies.
My Voxer identity is rcook2207 to ask to join.
Your hosts are below and announcement videos are popping up now. You can also expect a video or two about the book in August from most of the hosts and you could make one too if you have a channel.
Allen @bighardbooks770 Brian @BookishTexan Aaron @aaronfacer Cristina @knittingbooksetc.2810 Greg @anotherbibliophilereads Hannah @HannahsBooks Jim @JimReadsTooSlow MJ @M-J Randy Ray @LiterateTexan Una @TheCodeXCantina
As I Lay Dying #faulknerinaugust announcementScallydandling about the books2024-06-30 | As I Lay Dying is this year's William Faulkner shared read for #FaulknerinAugust2024
Join me and the other hosts in a ftiendly Voxer group discussion of this fascinating and influential novel from 1930. There should be a good mix of Faulkner aficionados and Faulkner newbies.
My Voxer identity is rcook2207 to ask to join.
Your hosts are below and announcement videos are popping up now. You can also expect a video or two about the book in August from most of the hosts and you could make one too if you have a channel.
Allen @bighardbooks770 Brian @BookishTexan Aaron @aaronfacer Cristina @knittingbooksetc.2810 Greg @anotherbibliophilereads Hannah @HannahsBooks Jim @JimReadsTooSlow MJ @M-J Randy Ray @LiterateTexan Una @TheCodeXCantinaThe colourful life of Dion Boucicault #victoberScallydandling about the books2024-10-13 | Dion Boucicault (Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot, Lee Moreton) was one of the most successful actor-playwright-theatremanagers of the Victorian age. Born in Dublin in 1820, he moved between Ireland, England and the USA making and losing fortunes, friends, wives and business partners until his death in New York in 1890.
I give a summary of his life and briefly review two of his 150+ plays: London Assurance and The Colleen Bawn as part of my focus on the Victorian theatre for Victober 2024.
Photos of Dion and Agnes courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London.A September of super shorter readsScallydandling about the books2024-10-09 | September for me had lots of rewarding shorter books.
0:00 Intro ramble 1:39 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. @tillysshelf and I recorded our discussion youtu.be/MrN8LhWZu8M?si=lhTNgiEdeIQMb534 2:36 The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández translated by Natasha Wimmer 3:53 Ru by Kim Thuy translated by Sheila Fischman 5:08 Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik translated by Martin Aitken 6:17 A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro translated by Frances Riddle 8:03 Mammoth by Eva Baltasar translated by Julia Sanches 9:19 Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason 11:42 Echoes by Evie Wyld 13:36 Fell by Sarah Moss 15:06 Quicksand by Nella Larsen 19:02 Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton 20:50 Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence 25:08 Spirit of Place by Susan Owens 26:27 In Parenthesis by David Jones
Thanks again to the various hosts of September reading events Scott @GunpowderFictionPlot for Straya September Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks Heather @heathergregg9975 Lindy @lindysmagpiereads and Hannah @HannahsBooks for Framed Bert @pastorytime2683 and Heather @TooManyHeathers for Shorty September Nora who is pear jelly on Instagram instagram.com/pear.jelly?igsh=eHBsMjg4ZGlrazR4 for Spinster SeptemberOscar Wildes plays: the famous, the infamous and the forgotten #victoberScallydandling about the books2024-10-06 | Oscar Wilde is my favourite Victorian playwright, along with many other readers and theatregoers. Here's an overview of Wilde's seven completed plays. He also left two unfinished ones which I don't cover.
Vera or the Nihilists The Duchess of Padua Salomé Lady Windermere's Fan A Woman of No Importance The Ideal Husband The Importance of Being EarnestBookTube Prize fiction final - how I cast my votes and why #booktubeprizeScallydandling about the books2024-10-05 | The BookTube Prize 2024 has reached its finale. The judges drawn from BookTube, Bookstagram and BookTok have cast their final votes and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals have been awarded for Fiction and Nonfiction. I was a fiction judge and here's my rating of the six finalists. Does it match the overall results and do you agree or disagree? For full details of the books in each round and how the prize is run visit booktubeprize.org
Thank you @Robert.Sheard for exemplary organisation of the competition and to all my fellow judges.
You could be a judge in 2025. Anyone active on bookish social media can take part if willing to commit to reading the books. Watch out for an announcement on the channel @BookTubePrizeHappy Victober and heres my TBR #victoberScallydandling about the books2024-09-30 | Victober plans fill me with joy. For more about Victober check the announcements and tbr videos of my fellow hosts @katiejlumsden @katehowereads and Marissa @BlatantlyBookish
Books mentioned The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell A Terribly Strange Bed, The Dead Hand and The Dream Woman by Wilkie Collins Study in Scarlet. The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas Salome by Oscar Wilde London Assurance by Dion Boucicault Afternoon by Ouida Alan's Wife by Florence Bell and Elizabeth Robins
The Internet Archive archive.orgMammoth by Eva Baltasar: a short and happy review #shortyseptemberScallydandling about the books2024-09-21 | Mammoth by Eva Baltasar translated from the Catalan by Julia Sanches is newly out in English in August 2024. It is book three in Baltasar's loose trilogy following Permafrost and Boulder.The Echoes: new from Australian author Evie Wyld #shortyseptember #strayaseptemberScallydandling about the books2024-09-15 | The Echoes is the brand new (August 2024) novel by Anglo-Australian author Evie Wyld. This is shorter and more intense than Bass Rock.
Thank you Scott @GunpowderFictionPlot for encouraging me to pick up Australian books this month. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is next on my list.Three superb novels by women in translation: Ti Amo, Ru and The Twilight Zone #shortyseptemberScallydandling about the books2024-09-08 | I kicked off September with: The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández translated by Natasha Wimmer Ru by Kim Thúy translated by Sheila Fischman Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik translated by Martin Aitken
Events mentioned: @BookTubePrize #FaulknerinAugust #WIT Women in Translation Month @MarilynMayaMendoza Phenomenal Women readathon
Books mentioned: North Woods by Daniel Mason The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner youtu.be/TKY2EbRTB8I Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah youtu.be/L5ui8NqWtaQ The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud youtu.be/fT734IzWf2A Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu translated by Royall Tyler The Iliad by Homer translated by Emily Wilson and by Robert FaglesVictober 2024 announcement #victoberScallydandling about the books2024-08-31 | It's always a joy to announce that Victober is coming soon. Your hosts Katie @katiejlumsden , Kate @katehowereads , Marissa @BlatantlyBookish and I invite you to join us in spending the month of October enjoying Victorian literature, that is works by British and Irish authors published or written between 1837 and 1901.
The group read is the Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Reading two chapters a day from 1st to 17th October and the last three on 18th.
The Challenges Marissa's: Read a Victorian work that was originally serialised Katie's: Read a Victorian book that plays with form in some way Kate's: Read a Victorian book where religion is a component of the story Mine: Experience Victorian drama - read, watch or listen to a Victorian play Group challenge: Read a Victorian work by Wilkie Collins (loved by @jenniferbrooks) and/or Conan Doyle (loved by @AliceandtheGiantBookshelf )
And an update thanks to the wonderful Jo Smith and Clare Potter Jo says The Internet Archive archive.org/details/texts?tab=collection has at least three plays by Victorian women writers: Afternoon by Ouida Marjorie Daw by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Alan's Wife by Florence Bell And Clare suggests Quid Pro Quo - The Day of the Dupes by Catherine Gore. It was performed at the Haymarket in 1844. There is a digitised version available on archive.org the audio is robotic but you can increase the text size.As I Lay Dying: a chat with Steve at the end of Faulkner in AugustScallydandling about the books2024-08-27 | This year's William Faulkner groupread in August was As I Lay Dying. Thanks to the crew of hosts and the wonderfully active members of the Voxer discussion group who expanded my experience of the novel. Faulkner in August founders Allen and Brian @bighardbooks770 @BookishTexan All the co-hosts: @HannahsBooks @BookChatWithPat8668 @aaronfacer @anotherbibliophilereads @RaynorReadsStuff @knittingbooksetc.2810 @JimReadsTooSlow @TheCodeXCantina @M-J
Join us next August for Go Down Moses.A September TBR with a Shorty pile of possibilitiesScallydandling about the books2024-08-25 | I've got a definite plan for things to read in September plus a reckless pile of possibilities. Blame three attractive reading events: Framed hosted by @bouquinsbooks @HannahsBooks @lindysmagpiereads @anotherbibliophilereads and I missed saying Heather @heathergregg9975 but here is her announcement video youtu.be/ps9aPbLw6Hs?si=RNqMvE2lQoxJcztx and her inspiring pile of possibilities youtu.be/4eEGgqwm-aE?si=ELNz0bIq6IOMcwlt Straya September hosted by @GunpowderFictionPlot Shorty September hosted by @pastorytime2683 and @TooManyHeathers
I don't mention Shaketember in the video as it was getting overwhelming but I hope to also dip into that by reading Shakespeare's long poem The Rape of Lucrece. Shaketember announcement by Kelly youtu.be/TeVhBpYUQhU?si=PWxtVqJFYCR-6yIx
The TBR books: There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro translated by Frances Riddle Spirit of Place by Susan Owens Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik translated by Martin Aitken Ru by Kim Thúy translated by Sheila Fischman
The POP books: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton The Stone Quartet by Alan Garner Southern Mail/Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry translated by Curtis Cate The Fell by Sarah Moss Moonraker by F. Tennyson Jesse The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman translated and edited by Melanie Magidow Yell Sam If You Still Can by Maylis Besserie translated by Clíona Ní Ríordáin The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad Quicksand by Nella Larsen
@BookwormAdventureGirl video about the best Canadian 21st century books youtu.be/wTP4ZpLsdUI?si=BqUCV5XxbzzE9mHGSmall Joys, Elvin James MensahScallydandling about the books2024-08-23 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I are reading and discussing one piece of contemporary fiction each month this year. Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah was published in 2023. It is a warm-hearted debut novel by a young author from South-East London.
Watch @shawnbreathesbooks interview the author youtu.be/ZSiLlBnQfD8?si=OK2ajZQFrHTJUHEgLost Love Songs make for a winning bookScallydandling about the books2024-08-11 | An enthusiastic review of Ingrid Persaud's second novel The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh which was published late April this year.Delightful historical fiction - The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst #montgomeryhurstScallydandling about the books2024-08-08 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I talk about the new novel by Katie of the wonderful booktube channel Books and Things. This is her second book. We loved it and so will you if you enjoy Victorian literature and smart historical fiction. Here is @katiejlumsden reading chapter one to get a taster youtu.be/IeSRPQ2t4RE?si=uJm4CV-QA0jSYtFy And that video has links about where to get hold of it. In the UK it should be in your local bookshop.
We are discussing a recent novel every month this year. Our August book will be Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah. To whet your appetite here's @shawnbreathesbooks interviewing the author youtu.be/ZSiLlBnQfD8?si=WukfXEyOTYMsj5W9Julys reading delights, Austen and otherwiseScallydandling about the books2024-08-03 | July is always #janeaustenjuly for me now so the first half of this wrap up is Austen related. starting with the new novel by @katiejlumsden
And the second half is all the other books I read ending with my favourite of the month.
0:00 Intro ramble 0:53 The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden 2:25 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 5:45 Catharine and Other Writings by Jane Austen 6:48 The Genius of Jane Austen by Paula Byrne 8:33 Who's the Dupe and The Belle's Stratagem by Hannah Cowley 11:20 trouble with the cat 11:46 BookTube Prize reading - The Reformatory by Tannarive Due and Wellness by Nathan Hill 13:18 Factory Summers by Guy Delisle translated by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall 14:42 Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller 15:49 A Time in Rome by Elizabeth Bowen 17:35 Selected Stories by Elizabeth Bowen selected by Tessa Hadley 19:13 Marzahn Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp translated by Jo Heinrich 23:00 Closing ramble
Books mentioned: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah North Woods by Daniel Mason The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder Eve: How the Female Body Shaped 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu edited and translated by Royall Tyler Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia edited by Evelyn Flores and Emelihter Kihleng The Iliad by Homer translated by Emily Wilson In Parenthesis by David Jones The Poems of Nazim Hikmet translated by Randy Blasing and Mutlu KonakTough choices in the BookTube Prize semi finals #booktubeprizeScallydandling about the books2024-08-01 | Six mini reviews of the novels in the semifinal group I judged. How did I rank them and did I pick the three that will reach the final? Thank you @Robert.Sheard for all you do to make @BookTubePrize possible. Find out more booktubeprize.org You could be a judge in 2025.Which are the authors I have read all of or think I should?Scallydandling about the books2024-07-24 | Yes that's Virginia Woolf in the thumbnail. She's one of five authors I haven’t yet "completed" by reading all their novels but will. Are you a completist? I'm not as a rule but #janeaustenjuly made me reflect that there are a few authors I do feel that way about. I thought I'd share the ones like Austen that I have already read everything by, which I won't attempt and which I will. I'd love to know yours too.
This 1912 portrait of Woolf by Vanessa Bell is in the National Portrait Gallery in London. I don't know why her sister Bell blurred out her eyes.Ros and Tilly celebrate Jane Austens comic brilliance #janeaustenjulyScallydandling about the books2024-07-20 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I share our appreciation of Jane Austen every year during Jane Austen July. This time we think about Austen's wicked wit and observational humour. We enjoy a happy ramble through some her comic writing, especially in her six major novels and reflect on how she uses humour to reveal character or progress a story.
Thank you to the #janeaustenjuly hosts for giving us the excuse to talk about her again. @katiejlumsden @SpinstersLibrary @katehowereads @BlatantlyBookishA mid year reading celebration, with a nod to the mid year freak out book tagScallydandling about the books2024-07-14 | My reading highlights from 2024 up until to the end of June. Loosely based on a venerable tag whose creator has long gone from BookTube. I talk at varying lengths about lots of books and authors. Here's a rough list in the order mentioned:
Thunderclap by Laura Cummings A Flat Place by Noreen Masud The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell The Women of Troy by Pat Barker The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector translated by Benjamin Moser Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah My Friends by Hisham Matar The Last Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud (also Love After Love) The Voyage Home by Pat Barker The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt Home Child by Liz Berry Human Acts by Han Kang translated by Deborah Smith The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Welcome to St Hell by Lewis Hancox Strong Female Character by Fern Brady Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad The Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes translated by Ann Goldstein Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (also Matrix) Not a River by Selva Almada translated by Annie McDermott (also Brickmakers) Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner Poyums by Len Pennie Happiness Falls by Angie Kim Western Lane by Chetna Maroo The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen Blossomise by Simon Armitage illustrated by Angela Harding The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel translated by Rosalind Harvey Brotherless Nights by VV Ganeshananthan After Sappho by Selby Wynn SchwartzYou Dreamed of Empires - Ros and Tilly disagree about this new novelScallydandling about the books2024-07-11 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I are reading and discussing a contemporary novel every month this year. Our June choice was You Dreamed of Empires by Mexican writer Alvaro Enrigue translated by Natasha Wimmer. Pub;ished in Spanish in 2022 and in English in early 2024.
Tilly and I are often in tune in our reactions but not this time. Expect a return to harmony with our July choice The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden @katiejlumsden . It's Katie of Books and Things second novel and comes out in the UK on 17th July. Hear Katie talk about it youtu.be/XQ78AKalOqM?si=VvfFfJCt1ncOZEFQ or hear her read the first chapter youtu.be/IeSRPQ2t4RE?si=5gQLzDxOaK4cB6dYJune is packed with books - better use the time stamps. But first a moment about AliceScallydandling about the books2024-07-06 | A long and lively June wrap up with plenty of delights and discoveries. But first a little reflection on BookTube friendship, mourning Alice and meeting Berna.
0:00 Intro. Thoughts about the loveliness that was Alice @AliceandtheGiantBookshelf. And a happy day with Berna @BernasBookishAdventures youtu.be/TUmvlz0HUME?si=-jq3PdYM8Sw3TfIu 4:04 Pyongyang by Guy Delisle translated by Helge Dascher. 7:23 Give Birth Like a Feminist by Milli Hill 8:55 The Wife of Bath: a biography by Marion Turner 11:24 Not talking about BookTube Prize semi final reading Tom Lake and Lone Women. Then ten more novels to come. 12:53 Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hossein read for #CaribAthon 16:28 Elizabeth Bowen's Eva Trout and A World of Love 18:42 Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan 21:00 The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunarilaka and Brotherless Night youtu.be/WY5aFFl5DW0?si=HWx1nc3VgQ8GUTHG 22:56 You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrigues translated by Natasha Wimmer to be a discussion soon with @tillysshelf 24:13 The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James 27:29 Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel translated by Rosalind Harvey 29:33 Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes translated by Ann Goldstein 33:10 After Sappho by Selby Wynn SchwartzDid we love Brotherless Night? Tilly and Ros on the Womens Prize and Carol Shields Prize winnerScallydandling about the books2024-06-28 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I are reading and discussing a recent novel each month in 2024. Our May choice was Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan. We didn't know then it was going to be the big prizewinner of May and June.
0:00 Intro ramble 1:00 Jane Austen July plans for 2024: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, plus her letters and juvenilia The Genius of Jane Austen, Paula Byrne. Plays by Hannah Cowley including The Belle's Stratagem, Which Is the Man? Who's the Dupe? The Runaway The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst, Katie Lumsden 12:00 other July reading plans: Wellness, Nathan Hill The Reformatory, Tannarive Due The House of Doors, Tan Twan Eng Marzahn Mon Amour, Katja Oskamp translated Jo Heinrich Elizabeth Bowen Selected Stories and A Time in Rome Factory Summers, Guy Delisle Poems of Nazim Hikmet translated Randy Blasing & Mutlu Konak, a special gift from Berna @BernasBookishAdventures Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia edited by Evelyn Flores and Emelihter Kihleng Eve: how the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution, Cat Bohannon.
Tell me if you fancy reading any plays by Hannah Cowley during Jane Austen July.
And hear a taster of @katiejlumsden's new novel youtu.be/IeSRPQ2t4RE?si=-Z6JLGFTNOvjRhefA Marvellous May packed with new fiction, golden oldies, fresh poetry and tremendous nonfictionScallydandling about the books2024-06-23 | A romp through my May reading with some positive recommendations and no disappointments. A bit late as I have been away.
0:00 Intro ramble 1:30 Of Cattle and Men, Ana Paula Maia translated by Zoe Perry youtu.be/EHhr2pkU4ho?si=SsWpkF8ZTeJh7FGe for more about this 2:08 Hagstone, Sinead Gleeson youtu.be/61dLOOPDr-s?si=Zr0bSjAppBjdY-I3 if you want to hear more 3:06 The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer 3:50 Poyums, Len Pennie 5:52 Normal Women, Phillipa Gregory 6:56 Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer 8:01 Metamorphosis :a life in pieces, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst 9:28 Of Human Bondage, William Somerset Maugham 11:58 Reading Elizabeth Bowen - The Hotel, The Last September, The House in Paris 14:21 Brotherless Night, VV Ganeshananthan 16:28 James, Percival Everett 18:49 Wandering Stars, Tommy Orange 22:52 Closing ramble
Thank you to the May reading event hosts or for inspiring many of my choices Scott @GunpowderFictionPlot and Gemma @GemofBooks @MarilynMayaMendoza and Kim @MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH Heidi @myreadinglife8816 Doris @alldbooks9165 Emma @ACupOfBooks Natalie @CuriousReader Emily @novellenovels @shawnbreathesbooks Sarah @HardcoverHeartsThe Library Book Tag #librarybooktagScallydandling about the books2024-05-28 | Thank you Charlotte @CoynieReads for tagging me and @BookBuds for creating this tag. Libraries are wonderful things that we should use and celebrate. The thumbnail images are from my wnderful local library in Brighton.
There are two sets of questions depending on whether you use libraries or not.
*If you DO go to the library… answer these: 1. How often do you go to the library? 2. Do you belong to more than one library system? 3. What percentage of books you read come from the library? 4. Do you listen to audiobooks or get e-books from the library or are you hooked on Audible or Amazon or something else? 5. Did you go to story time at the library as a kid? 6. Have you ever borrowed a movie or video game from your library? 7. Have you ever been fined for returning books late? If so, how do you feel about that? 8. Do you attend special events, groups or book sales at the library? 9. Have you ever given or taken a book from a little free library, a book box or a book swap? 10. Bonus! Does your librarian know you by name? 11. Tag some friends!
*If you DON’T go to the library… answer these: 1. Why the heck not? 2. Where do you get your books from? 3. Have you ever had a library card or do you have one now? 4. When was the last time you stepped foot in the library? 5. Have you ever gone to an event at your library? 6. Do you have little free libraries or book boxes or book swaps where you live? Show us a picture if you do. 7. Tag some friends!
I tag: @lindysmagpiereads @novellenovels @GemofBooks @spreadbookjoy @EveningReaderHagstone, Sinéad Gleeson: exciting new fiction but did I love it?Scallydandling about the books2024-05-27 | Hagstone is writer and artist Sinéad Gleeson's debut novel.
For an alternative perspective to mine watch @EricKarlAnderson youtu.be/xzpcTRzDmb0?si=gjdBqPysWTtO6Aka or @BobTheBookerer youtu.be/60H1HWCG-1s?si=3eQYr7hzdxm93Jp8Ive been feasting on South American fiction: Crooked Plow, Of Cattle and Men, Not a River & moreScallydandling about the books2024-05-19 | Readers in English are being treated at the moment to a wealth of fiction in translation from South American authors. Here are five I read in the past few weeks. What about you? Any hot tips?
Books mentioned: Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior translated by Johnny Lorenz Not a River by Selva Almada translated by Annie McDermott Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia translated by Zoe Perry Simpatia by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón translated by Noel Hernandez Gonzalez and Daniel Hahn Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener translated by Julia Sanches
Also mentioned in passing Jorge Amado and Clarice Lispector.People April: Tilly and Ros sharing our highlightsScallydandling about the books2024-05-06 | The most exciting thing that's happened to me this weekend is that Tilly @tillysshelf came to visit bringing our new cat little Loki. But of course we also found time to talk books.
This is a People April highlights conversation. A huge thank you from me to Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks who had the idea of a readathon based on life writing of all kinds. She and I have been thrilled by how booktube has embraced this and we will definitely bring it back for a third round in 2025 so even more of us can be inspired to read biographies, memoirs, letters, diaries and more. The Discord conversations have been tremendous so thanks to everyone on there, including those who expanded my experience of the groupread I Am I Am I Am by MaggieO'Farrell. I have really enjoyed watching the responses to the This or That book tag and all the other great #peopleapril content I've seen. I wish I could link to everything!
Books mentioned by Tilly or me: Strong Female Character by Fern Brady Welcome To St Hell by Lewis Hancox The Dam by David Almond and Levi Pinfold Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt A Flat Place by Noreen Masud Feral by George Monbiot Thunderclap by Laura Cummings The Midwife's Tale by Nicky Leap and Billy Hunt The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener translated by Julia Sanches Handle With Care by Rachael Hearson Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke and Hannah Chapman A Nurse in Time by Evelyn Prentis Raising Boys Who Do Better by Uju Asiha I Can Be A Brave Adventurer by Frances Lincoln Letters of Note: Mothers by Shaun Usher Missing Persons or My Grandmother's Secrets by Clair Wills Ducks by Kate BeatonA pile of plans for May inspired by annoyingly inviting BookTube reading eventsScallydandling about the books2024-05-01 | Who put so many great readathons in May and why can't I resist their attraction?
Books mentioned: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 12 Birds to Save Your Life by Charlie Corbett Poyums by Len Pennie Metamorphosis: a life in pieces by Robert Douglas Fairhurst Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange Portrait of a Lady by Henry James Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes translated by Ann Goldstein Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia translated by Zoe Perry Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunarilaka James by Percival Everett The Hotel and Last September by Elizabeth Bowen Normal Women by Philippa Gregory In Parenthesis by David Jones
Events mentioned with host's channels: Springathon @myreadinglife8816@alldbooks9165 @CuriousReader @ACupOfBooks Mental Health May @MarilynMayaMendoza @MIDDLEoftheBookMARCH Spoonies Readathon @novellenovels @BrewsandReviews Misery May @GunpowderFictionPlot @GemofBooks I accidentally said Jack who is also a wonderful booktube friend Asian Readathon @withcindyFive favourite autobiographical poems #peopleapril #poetryreadathon2024Scallydandling about the books2024-04-28 | I'm celebrating the end of People April, National Poetry Month and the Poetry Readathon with a selection of personal favourite autobiographical poems by poets writing in English. Thank you to my People April co-host Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks and the Poetry Readathon hosts @CharlieBrookReads and @CharlesHeathcote
Here's a link to hear each of the poems. It was a struggle to narrow it down to these five. There's actually a pair for Donne!
Books or authors mentioned: Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener translated by Julia Sanches PD James JM Coetzee David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham The Lover by Marguerite Duras Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson Karl Ove Knausgard Annie Ernaux Outline by Rachel Cusk The Rings of Saturn by WG Sebald
For more about People April check my cohost Elisabeth's channel @bouquinsbooks youtu.be/Gt-_GfGU4wk?si=7izPg8ncK6c-8NLaWestern Lane: Tilly and Ros enthusing about Chetna Maroos #womensprize longlisted novelScallydandling about the books2024-04-11 | Spoiler free in case you are wondering.
Tilly and I are reading and discussing a contemporary fiction book each month this year. Our April choice was Western Lane by Chetna Maroo which was published in 2023. Western Lane has had a lot of love and found its way onto the Booker and Women's Prize longlists. But there have also been some dissenting voices. We explain why it was a hit with both of us.This or That? A book tag for People April ORIGINAL version #peopleaprilScallydandling about the books2024-04-08 | The "This or That?" book tag: a new tag for People April and beyond from me and Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks
Use this tag to talk about what you like or dislike in nonfiction about people. Pick the prompts that appeal to you or allow you to enjoy being opinionated. Do mention books good and bad as you go along.
1) Big, fat and detailed biographies or short and succinct biographies? 2) Celebrity memoirs or average Joe memoirs? 3) Complete correspondence or selected letters? 4) Memoirs written when the events are fresh or memoirs written with hindsight? 5) Gossipy biographies or scholarly biographies? 6) Diaries of ordinary life or diaries of extraordinary events? 7) Arty memoirs or sporting memoirs? 8) Gritty autobiographical writing or inspirational autobiographical writing? 9) Biographies of historical figures or biographies of contemporary figures? 10) Memoirs of happy days or memoirs of tragic days?
Everyone interested in biography, memoirs, letters and diaries can consider themselves tagged. I'll tag some people I know are taking part in People April.
Books mentioned or most of them! Square Haunting by Francesca Wade The Five by Hallie Rubenhold Strong Female Character by Fern Brady None of the Above by Travis Alabanza The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley A Flat Place by Noreen Masud Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson by Susan Burch & Hannah Joyner @HannahsBooks A Woman in Berlin by Marta Hillers Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn Mountains of the Mind by Robert Macfarlane Rosie, Scenes from a Vanished Life Welcome to St Hell by Lewis Hancox A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor If This Is A Man by Primo LeviMarch wrap up - some brilliant books and a broken armScallydandling about the books2024-04-07 | March had its ups and downs for me but the books were all good or better.
0:00 Intro and personal bits. Thank you @katiejlumsden for organising the meeting youtu.be/A203etNe5R4?si=94gxdFBWwFcnFggF 2:32 Heartstopper 1 to 5 by Alice Oseman 5:03 Ness by Robert Macfarlane and Stanley Donwood 6:02 Blossomise by Simon Armitage 7:57 Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane 9:23 Happiness Falls by Angie Kim discussion with @tillysshelf youtu.be/RdtNz_q0YLU?si=LjnOTLTw2HKghTMp 11:00 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 11:57 Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson translated by Elizabeth Portch 13:08 The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope 14:45 The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa translated by Stephen Snyder 16:23 Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi 18:04 Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens 20:22 Western Lane by Chetna Maroo 22:05 Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy 25:15 The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor
Reading events mentioned and a host for each if you want to know more: March of the Mammoths @OldBluesChapterandVerse Irish Readathon @lisainbookland Fierce Reads @Shellyish Middle Grade March @BooksAndJams March Mystery Madness @MarilynMayaMendoza 24 in 24 Banned Book Challenge @M-J The BookTube Prize @BookTubePrizeWhat a stunner! The Night Alphabet by Joelle TaylorScallydandling about the books2024-04-04 | This debut novel by Joelle Taylor is pretty special. The Night Alphabet was published in the UK in February 2024.
This was my Fierce Reads choice. Fierce Reads was hosted in March by @Bookishtravels1 @MsReadsAlot @Shellyish @EntertheBook I hope they do it again next year.Tilly and Ros discuss Strong Female Character by Fern Brady #peopleaprilScallydandling about the books2024-04-03 | Strong Female Character is stand up comedian Fern Brady's memoir looking back on her childhood in the knowledge she has now about being autistic. It is both sad and funny. It was the runner up in the vote on @bouquinsbooks my co-host Elisabeth's channel for the People April group read. Thanks Tilly @tillysshelf for sharing this one with me.
Language is really important when talking about neurodivergence. Tilly and I tried to be mindful of this and apologies if we did not get this entirely right at all points.
I wanted to add two things. One is that Tilly mentions Aspergers at one point and it is worth saying that Brady does this in the book to give herself the opportunity to explain why it is no longer used as a term. I am not sure we made that clear. Also she has every right to be angry about things that happened in her childhood but I was happy she has found some understanding with her mother.BookTube Prize - my ranking and mini reviews for Fiction Group D #booktubeprizeScallydandling about the books2024-04-01 | Reading for the BookTube Prize is such fun even when I don't love every book. Thank you Robert @Robert.Sheard for amazing organisation of @BookTubePrize
Group D books alphabetically by author below. To find out my ranking you'll just have to watch! If you are not a regular viewer I should probably mention that I have a broken arm, hence the uncomfortable posture and one handed gesticulation.
Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
0:00 introductory ramble 0:40 sixth and bottom despite being fine in its way 4:18 a controversial fifth place decision. Don’t shoot me please 9:40 a mixed bag comes fourth 13:34 intense and emotional third place and without the prize I wouldn't have read it 17:17 number two, one I devoured in a blaze but may not suit everyone 21:33 top for me and a beautifully crafted, multi layered novelPeople April Plans plus a dip into #picturethis #transgirlapril #disabilityreadathon #alcottaprilScallydandling about the books2024-03-29 | Lots to type with my lefthand so will be succinct.
Picture This hosts are @spreadbookjoy and @Shellyish Check out TransGirl April with @CestKevvie Disability Readathon run by @FromErinsLibrary and @nymeria941 disabilityreadathon.com Deea's Alcott April announcement youtu.be/AXqUrX0IBgE?si=b2J_tUy1PyVP9Kz_ @novelideea The other wonderful April readathon that I don't mention in the video is hosted by @katiejlumsden (Books and Things) and is all about tackling your longterm TBR which would have been great if I wasn't buried in People April choices. The announcement youtu.be/pElOO3PrFkU?si=T9Uio_Bf9Testx0Q Other Booktubers mentioned @tillysshelf @lindysmagpiereads and @shawnbreathesbooks
The books: I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O'Farrell Missing Persons or My Grandmother's Secrets by Clair Wills Normal Women by Philippa Gregory Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris Strong Female Character by Fern Brady Thunderclap by Laura Cummings Welcome To St Hell by Lewis Hancox Ducks by Kate Beaton Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke, Hannah Chapman and Kaley Bales The Dam by David Almond and Levi Pinfold A Flat Place by Noreen Masud Letters of Note: Mothers by Shaun Usher In Parenthesis by David Jones Human Acts by Han Kang translated by Deborah Smith Of Human Bondage by William Somerset MaughamNew fiction: Parasol against the Axe, Helen OyeyemiScallydandling about the books2024-03-10 | I had a wild time reading Parasol against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi, published here on 30th January and just out stateside.The People April group read is I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie OFarrellScallydandling about the books2024-03-06 | The readers have spoken and picked Maggie O'Farrell's memoir with a difference as the group read book for #PeopleApril 2024. I hope you will want to read this and join the discussion on Discord discord.com/invite/QsTcSfpEMJ
I am thrilled as I love her fiction including the wonderful Hamnet and this memoir sounds fascinating, worrying and yet life affirming.
The schedule is a relaxed 70 to 80 pages a week: Week one - chapters 1 to 5 Week two - chapters 6 to 9 Week three - chapters 10 to 14 Week four - chapters 15 to 17
For more about People April you could check my cohost Elisabeth's channel @bouquinsbooks Or our announcement videos youtu.be/Gt-_GfGU4wk?si=PmZ52-Ws8qw75Jb4 youtu.be/C281LsPsk_c?si=gzTnS_fvxL8IRmrGThe Wren, The Wren, Anne Enright: Tilly and Ros discussing new fiction #WomensPrize for fictionScallydandling about the books2024-03-05 | SPOILER FREE Tilly @tillysshelf and I are reading and chatting about a contemporary novel each month in 2024. The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright was our February choice. It was published late August 2023 and is hitting some book prize shortlists now. In fact it is on the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist announced the same day we put this video up.
Our March book will be Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. Here’s the article I mentioned about her motivation in depicting a particular character:
Sorry about the variable lighting and the wild suggestion that's it is the end of March not the start. Working around the builders was a challenge and this was my fifth attempt at recording this.
Books I could talk about:
Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen Powell Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright Bright Fear by Mary Chan Self-portrait As Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant The Home Child by Liz Berry The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell (also The Troubles and The Siege of Krishnapur)
Booktubers mentioned: Tilly @tillysshelf Priscilla @EveningReader Sarah @sarah-roadworthyPeople April announcement - reading nonfiction about peopleScallydandling about the books2024-02-25 | Join me and Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks in a reading event all about reading nonfiction about people during April: biography, memoirs, diaries, letters and more. It's up to you whether you want to read a pile of fat biographies or one letter, but see if you can connect your choices to our two flexible prompts.
"Biography should be written by an acute enemy." Arthur Balfour "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train." Oscar Wilde
We voted on the groupread over on Elisabeth's channel Bouquins and Books. The options were: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela Strong Female Character by Fern Brady Stranger in the Shogun's City by Amy Stanley I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell OUR WINNER
Group read schedule Week one - chapters 1 to 5 Week two - chapters 6 to 9 Week three - chapters 10 to 14 Week four - chapters 15 to 17
Link for the People April Discord discord.com/invite/QsTcSfpEMJ Discord is free and is great for multiple conversations. If this link has expired leave a comment and I will update it.
Elisabeth's announcement video youtu.be/Gt-_GfGU4wk?si=8S_sMBJ19lp1Nq3-Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, a fresh voice in historical fictionScallydandling about the books2024-02-25 | Glorious Exploits was published in January 2024. It is a debut novel set in Syracuse in 412 BC by young Irish author Ferdia Lennon. Steve convinced me to read it as he enjoyed it enormously so we talk about it together here.Januarys bookish delights from Troy to Sardinia, via Palestine and YorkshireScallydandling about the books2024-02-10 | A skip through the ten books I finished in January. Thank you Berna @BernasBookishAdventures for a wonderful buddyread this month. Do investigate her channel if you don't know it. Tilly @tillysshelf and I had a zoom chat about Enter Ghost youtu.be/GlZQpg0wfEc
0:00 Intro ramble 1:35 The Skull, Jon Klassen 3:12 The Women of Troy, Pat Barker 8:13 Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammad 9:39 Hotel Savoy, Joseph Roth translated by John Hoare 13:05 Kibogo, Scholastique Mukosonga translated by Mark Polizotti 14:34 Winter People, Grainne Murphy 16:05 Remains of Elmet, Ted Hughes 18:15 The Gallows Pole, Benjamin Myers 22:18 A Shining, Jon Fosse translated by Damion Searls 24:28 The Queen of Darkness, Grazia Deledda translated by Graham Anderson 27:30 Outro rambleEnter Ghost - Tilly and Ros discuss Isabella Hammads 2023 novel of Hamlet and PalestineScallydandling about the books2024-02-05 | Tilly @tillysshelf and I both enjoyed Enter Ghost by British Palestinian author Isabella Hammad. It is a novel of ideas and emotion focused around a production of Hamlet on the West Bank.
Tilly and I are planning on reading and discussing a recent(ish) release each month in 2024. This was our January choice. Expect a video about our February book The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright in early March.Want to walk with the Brontes? Dont miss Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen PowellScallydandling about the books2024-02-03 | A lovely new novel by Karen Powell that imagines the lives of the Bronte sisters. Fifteen Wild Decembers came out in September 2023 and I nearly skipped it until I heard @BobTheBookerer describe its gentle but positive charms.