What I read in June…

Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith – the most recent addition to the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, where Mr Polopetsi gets into some difficult bother for being too trusting and Mma Ramotswe goes in search in someone’s childhood to some unexpected results, and a dog doesn’t seem to want to leave Mr J.L.B. Matekoni’s apprentice, Fanwell. As always the book is full of wise ponderings of Mma Ramotswe and reasons to rage against Violet Sepotho. I love that Mr Polopetsi is back in the series again and very excited to find out what will be happening in Gaborone when we go to the book festival in August!

The Complaints by Ian Rankin – Another Edinburgh author, but with a far more macabre view on things! I read the sequel to this years ago when I went on spa day with my friend Carrie, and didn’t know you sat next swimming pools and read at spa days. I borrowed the book she had brought while she was getting a spa treatment and got hooked. Of course then I had to go and read the first book. I really love the character of Malcolm Fox, and the conspiracy theory elements to these books. I really am hoping for a third…please Mr Rankin?!

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Well this is basically exactly what it says in the title. A friend of Chimamanda asked for advice on raising their daughter to know her gender shouldn’t make her unequal to others. This is a simple and thought provoking read that I think is worth everyone taking time to meditate on…not just parents. And let’s not go into the fact I didn’t manage to get a ticket to see Ms Adichie at the book festival this year. *shakes angry fist at Nicola Sturgeon*

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult – It’s rare that I read so much fiction in such a short space of time, but with some unexpected time off and the fact I was still reading Between the World And Me, and a couple of other non-fiction books I felt I needed to keep a fiction book in my Currently Reading pile. Only problem was that I started reading and had to find out what had happened. The story really focuses on a mother and daughter, and a night when a woman was found dead, and the mother found injured at the elephant sanctuary where they worked and lived. As always with Jodi’s books, the different chapters tell different elements of the story from perspective of different characters – their present thoughts, past thoughts and memories.  It’s not quite the ‘real life’ feel of her other novels. The twist at the end was not what I expected, and was saddened by how it ended. But I guess it wouldn’t be a Jodi Picoult novel if I didn’t finish a book without that feeling!

BK’s Book Pouch: What I’ve finished reading…

At the start of the year, I was reading lots but then I lost my energy. In the last week though, I’ve felt able to pick up a book and focus on it and I’m now trying to catch up on the reading challenge I set for myself this year. I’ve finished a couple of books that I’d been trying to read for a while, and hopefully close to finishing a third.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher – This has been on my ‘I better check out’ list for a while as some of the young women I work with through Girlguiding had mentioned this book to me a few times as one that had really made them think. They recently started a library of books to share, and this was one of the first books they requested for the shelf. Of course then the netflix series based on the book aired during the Easter Holidays, and I was more than slightly concerned about what I watched. So the girls allowed me to borrow a copy and I was relieved to find it a lot less dramatic and more realistic than the TV series. (The TV series has added A LOT of extra stories). Mental health is one of the biggest taboos and issues facing young people I work with today, and I don’t think any book, film or TV show will portray issues perfectly, but hopefully these forms of art can help bring taboo subjects into the open and discuss them in a way that leads to people being more aware and better supported.

Happy Mum Happy Baby by Giovanna Fletcher – A strange one to be on my list as I’m not a parent, but lots of my friends are and I’ve spent a lot of years of my life supporting women through pregnancy, pregnancy loss and parenting. I’ve followed Giovanna Fletcher, her husband, Tom’s and his sister Carrie’s vlogs on YouTube for a while. I really enjoyed the read, and appreciated the honesty and oversharing! I’m sure it’s a book that will encourage lots of parents and I’d love to see a similar book written by a Dad.

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking – I was slightly dubious about the tables full of ‘hygge’ books I’d seen in the bookshops, especially with the following of people posting about their ‘hygge’ on instagram and facebook all.the.time… I was concerned about the cultural appropriation, how authentic the books claiming to be experts on this thing called ‘hygge’, and what the Danish thought ‘hygge’ was (because if I’m to believe Sandi Toksvig, who is actually Danish, it just means going round to someone’s house and drinking wine and chilling out). However, a certain blogger convinced me to try it out, and I trust her book recommendations. I also appreciated that the book was written by someone who was Danish and lived in Denmark as opposed to someone who had visited Denmark a few times! I still think his idea of living hygge on a ‘budget’ shows the privileged position he talks from, but it was an interesting read and echoed some of my beliefs about community.

Is there anything you’ve been reading recently that you’ve enjoyed?

Quote of the Week: The Power of Books and their Readers

Some terrible things are happening this week. I, and many others around the world, have watched some pretty incredible things being said on social media by two very racist, bigoted men residing in the USA. I won’t name them, because you may know who they are, and I fear that giving them more attention is the opposite of what is needed. But when someone says that a man like John Lewis is “all talk and no action” or that “all Rosa Parks did was refuse to sit at the back of the bus” it’s pretty mind boggling for those of us who…like…read. And know a little history.

The sad thing is these men are using their keyboards on their devices to try and rewrite history with their propaganda. I wonder what books they read as children and adults. Did they read at all?

For sure the people I come across in everyday life who are very narrow minded seem to be into censoring what they and others consume in terms of art. It can’t have the wrong language. It features people who look like them. Who live in the same (or a similar) country as them. It enforces a particular belief system. They consider anything that portrays anything else dangerous.

Ever since going to South Africa, I have become overwhelmed with the frustration of the single stories. I’m fed up that when I walk into a book shop all I find in the picture book section is white blonde/brunette children from traditional families. I know that other stories exist, but you have to go off the beaten track to find them. The same goes for the other sections of bookstores. The majority of the books on my shelves are written by caucasian westerners from English speaking countries. I have a book by an Iraqi woman, a book by a Black South African, books by a Nigerian woman, a book by an Asian-Australian and a couple of books by Scandinavians. It’s not that there is anything wrong with the books that I have, it’s just that they lack diversity and a true reflection of all the stories to be heard in the world. How can I possibly start to understand other cultures unless I either travel and spend time with strangers who are native to that land or read about the stories of their experiences?

And so I’m challenging myself to find and read books written by women and men of varying cultures, ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations. I hope that over time our cinemas, libraries, bookshops, museums, theatres, art galleries start to reflect all the stories of the world. All the history.

Because I agree with Nina. From there we learn compassion. We start to gain understanding. And from there we see things said by bigots, bullies and fascists and recognise their propaganda for what it is. And we get angry. We love. And we take action to make this world a better, more peaceful, complex place.

What I’m currently reading: New Year edition

I love that in the last few weeks people have been messaging me on this blog, facebook and even instagram about books! With the end of the Christmas upon us today (Happy Three Kings Day by the way) and work looking to get less next week, I’m now starting to wrap those final presents* and feel like maybe I can be a human being again. Rather than this weird robot that battles public transport, works with lots of people who like to bring in their children to buy stuff when they are ill, battles more public transport and sleeps as her main defence of public transport/snotty and possibly been puking children germs.

That means…ooh! Books! And we all know that I’ve already added to more to my ‘To Read’ pile than I’ve taken off it. Leading up to Christmas I read the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them screenplay, The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher and just before Hogmanay I managed to finish The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig.

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg – This book was a gift from my lovely friend Kathy (my friends Kathy and Vicky always seem to know exactly what books and food I will like. They both have a special gift for gifting!). And it says a lot about my book pile that this was from TWO Christmases ago. I love it so far and it’s made me giggle out loud. It focuses on Martha who is living in a very corruptly run old aged pensioner care home in Sweden, and her rallying her friends to rebel against the people who run it to escape and have a more enjoyable life. I fear that there’s a lot of similarities between myself and Martha, so um…let’s hope for the sake of others that I don’t grow too old! ha ha!

Library Cat: The Observations of a Thinking Cat by Alex Howard – Poor Library Cat. He was being read, and then got bumped for books I was trying to read before I met their authors at the Edinburgh Book Festival last summer. Then he got bumped again at Christmas time so I could get through some new Christmas books in preparation for my Christmas BookPouch post! So I really need to knuckle down and finish this. The book was written by a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh as a creative pondering of what the cat who lived in the university library thought of all the conversations and sightings around the university campus at George Square. The chapters are quite short so it’s a lovely light read and (apparently too) easy to put down and pick back up again. Sadly Library Cat went missing about the same time this book was published. Really miss him as my friends who were at Edinburgh would always report to me when they caught sight of him in the library.

Talking As Fast As I can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls by Lauren Graham – my lovely sister got me this for Christmas, which is great as it was sold out for a while in December. Really it should be close to the bottom of the pile to get in the proper queue, but I don’t think I can wait to read this. I love Lauren Graham, and I’ve loved both Gilmore Girls and was working my way through Parenthood (as it stopped showing on free TV here in the UK after the ?first? season) before Christmas madness hit. I have a good collection of autobiographies, and I think the reason I love ‘old fashioned blogging’ is because I just like to hear people’s stories and about their lives. So it’s one I plan to start reading tomorrow on my day off.

Oh, and because people have asked…it wasn’t me who left a copy of Murder At Christmas on a bus for a stranger to pick up. My friend from high school tagged me in facebook post about it saying ‘This sounds like something you would do’. Truth is…yes, I have anonymously sent books to people before. And  I have left things at bus stops and cafes for people to ‘find’ before. I just find it fun. There is a great charity in Edinburgh called Streetreads** that I would love to get involved with (at the moment I’ve not been able to due to other commitments) that provides a library service to the homeless in our city. My Senior Section girls also love reading and last year started a sort of feminist library of DVDs and books to share. So if there are any people wanting to give books…

 

*yes, Christmas presents. I’m a procrastinator, and I hate wrapping presents. I’m now trying to find the ones I bought for friends I’ve not yet seen to exchange gifts that are still to be wrapped. Just about all my friends can testify to my terrible habit of forgetting to take presents with me/post cards and presents even though I’ll have bought them sometimes months in advance because I’ll have seen something I think they’d like and got it in preparation for Christmas/a birthday.

** As a wee thought, I do believe Streetreads may still be looking for people to give short book reviews (i.e. a short synopsis of a book and what they liked about it), I think to give readers choosing books a better idea of what each books is about. If you go to the website, there’s an e-mail address you can contact. Maybe you could donate a book and put a short 200 word review in with it they can use?

And of course…please do feel free to share what you are currently reading, or perhaps what you have just finished reading in the comments. 🙂

The one where I confess I’m indoctrinating my friends kids…

…because it’s true. I really am.

Those who don’t share my faith beliefs may think I’m about to confess to forcing them to read the bible, go to church, Sunday school, bible camp!

Nope.

It’s in a different way. I’m encouraging them into becoming fully fledged bookworms.

Granted, I’m not around them as much as their parents and teachers. So you know, my influence is fairly minimal. But yesterday I was thinking about my two awesome godsons – the eldest of which will be NINE (yes, I’m freaking out about that) next year. The other will turn 1. Elastaboy loves a book, and though it’s tough to tell at 4 months old, it seems the Grand Duke is heading in the same direction.

A day out so their Mum could pack for surf camp in 2014 without ‘help’ from their youngest son (out of shot climbing on a wall). “Don’t let them buy anything” said their Mum. “Ummm….books don’t count right?” said I. (You can’t go through life without having read Charlotte’s Web in my opinion).

One of my favourite things to do with all my friends kids is read with them. It is by far my favourite part of babysitting getting to do the storytime part of the bedtime routine. I did this with my little sister who I also created stories for, and my little brother, who was so good at memorising every.single.word of his favourite books he would correct you if you didn’t get those bedtime stories word perfect. Then I had about a 10 year gap before I really got to do it again, and that was for Miss Sweetroot. It’s no secret that I was overjoyed when she fell in love with the books of Jacqueline Wilson – my favourite author as a kid. Through Miss Sweetroot I fell back in love with Children’s Literature, and took no shame in borrowing her books after she’d finished them. Because quite frankly I wanted to find out how they ended (this is the problem of only doing some bedtime routines – you miss bits of the story!). Every time I visited Elastaboy and Mr Teapot they would drag out books for me to read. And pretty much every Christmas and Birthday my friends’ kids get a book from me. As I mentioned the other week, I read to my newest godson (the Duke) and as he sat peacefully and didn’t cry I’m going to take that as a good sign.

Miss Sweetroot, now a high school student has developed the same tendencies of being found to be reading way past her bedtime, and having a constant stack of unread books because she buys more than she has time to read. Can’t think where she’s learned those bad habits from, but I fear calling her out on this would be hypocritical. Last few times I’ve seen Elastaboy, he’s opened up the book I’ve given him and completely ignored well…everyone…as he immediately started reading it. Last time I saw him in October, he got told off by his Dad for reading a book while we were sitting in a restaurant. I used to do exactly the same thing when I went shopping with my Mum – I would end up doing things like finding a spot underneath a rack of clothes or some other random corner where I could cosy up and just start reading. She also had to curtail my book buying for holidays because we

1) couldn’t afford all the books I could get through in a 2 week holiday

2) needed space in our luggage for clean clothes and beach towels.

And I’m pretty sure when I was his age, I probably got bored halfway through the meal and pulled out a book too, and hoped that by sitting at the end of a table no one would notice that I’d checked out of the grown up’s conversations.

So beware if you let your child communicate with me. They just may need a bigger bookshelf soon…

🙂

 

 

BK’s Book Pouch: A Christmas Edition

Yes, I’m a terrible video maker and editor. Yes, I used my webcam because it was easier and I don’t have a tripod for my camera. No, I don’t get paid by Waterstone’s to promote the books they sell. Or any of the authors whose books are featured!

But hopefully you will survive my rambling and I’ve cut out my rant about nativity books, nativity scenes and nativity plays…

Here is me with Eliza, Olaf, Piecrust Bear and the Reindeer with No Name introducing you to my favourite Christmas reads.

The one when I wish I had my own literary apothecary…

Today I finished reading The Little Paris Bookshop. What an incredible piece of literature, how uplifting and not at all surprised that the author gave a wee shout out to Harold Fry in her acknowledgements.

The last few days as I’ve been bored, fed up and just tired of being fed up and terrified that the best years of my life finished at 23 and it’s just going to continue to be this – reflecting on the friendships I used to have, the travelling I once did, the life I used to blog about. Reading the book made me think that actually, I’m most tired of trying to please people and be like everybody else.

My friends are forever saying that they wish I could catch a break, or wondering how I didn’t end up on drink, drugs or hanging from a tree. My whole life has often felt like one long fight, and one wise woman told me that I needed to stop fighting and let others have my back.

During this month as I spend my days wearing one of my three yellow tops (it was only two, thankfully the Myers clan sent me a fantastic t-shirt which I am today wearing proudly, so I’m less likely to be wearing stinky unwashed clothes!) or creatively coming up with ways to sneak in some yellow or gold when I’m working at my paid and unpaid jobs which require uniform, I’m thinking of all the people whose lives have ended prematurely because of cancer. Today, one of my friends, a wonderful woman who is the epitomy of what it means to be an encourager is in hospital isolation and is getting her stem cell transplant in the hope that it will rid her body of cancer once and for all. There are days when I wish I could swap places, because I have survivors guilt. How come these amazing people who do amazing things didn’t get to continue a life here on earth, and I’m still here?

It needs to be for more than just living every day being miserable and purposeless.

It’s two years since I stopped working in the field of non-profit management. I really miss it – not the crappy pay, but the people and the purpose. I honestly don’t know what I’d have done the last two years without having Girlguiding in my life to fill a little of that void. I guess I’m just someone who has to be giving…because I feel like without giving my life is completely worthless. And giving my time to captialism makes me feel icky inside.

There are so many things I’d like to do but at this point do not see a way for any of them to happen. Mostly at the moment I wish with all my heart for a job that enables me to have a car and travel again.

I miss my friends.

But also, I hate not being able to be there for the important stuff.

I want to be able to drive after work to do the barefoot beach cleans, and deliver books to people with no access, I want to go to support fundraisers and rally for childhood cancer research funding. I want to be able to go over to Italy and just wander continental Europe to be inspired to write and perhaps as a side note turn up on a beach in a Burkini to make a point.

I also want to know that I can travel to watch friends get married, or hop in my car and drive to keep a friend company if she ends up having to have emergency dialysis treatment for days on end. I want to go snuggle my friend’s newborn baby. I want to throw my friend the birthday party that I missed.

I don’t want to be sitting at my computer screen angry at people who (seem to) have better lives than me, who are getting to eat meals with the people that I love spending time with as I sit alone choosing between cooking a proper meal or being able to afford to buy a yellow cardigan in a sale. I don’t want to be grouchy with the friend who turned down work because they couldn’t be bothered because last year I chose working over losing a day’s pay to go to a party…and it ended up that I missed out on meeting my friends’ baby before he died a few weeks later as a result. But those are the decisions you have to make when you are on zero hour contracts.

Bottom line is that I’m tempted to one day just leave it all behind like Monsieur Perdu did. Mind you I don’t have a boat full of books to exchange for food so it might be an issue. But either way, I want something to change.

I’m in need of the sunshine, sea, books and an awesome Italian cook…! 🙂

BK’s BookPouch: The Tsundoku Issue

My friend tagged me in a facebook post this morning while I was at work, explaining the word ‘Tsundoku’, which is according to a facebook page, the Japanese word for “leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books”.

I’ll have to ask Kamsin if this really is Japanese or just made up for the banter of facebook, but either way, I need this word in my life. I love buying books, and am forever buying more than I have time to read. I’m also bad for ‘saving’ books (because there are those I know as soon as I read them, I won’t want them to end – Alexander McCall Smith’s Ladies Detective Agency novels come under this category, so the book he gifted to me last August will likely not be read until an appropriately summery day off). And I’m terrible for seeing books on one of my ‘the bus isn’t here yet, so I’ll just pop in to Waterstone’s for a wee wander…’ trips and then read the newer book and bump the book I bought a few weeks before.

I don’t want to be that woman who has books on her shelf that she hasn’t read, so in March I took ALL  my unread books of my bookshelf and put them in a pile in the middle of my bedroom floor to deliberately annoy myself so I would read them. Preferably before I buy any more books.

In the spirit of honesty that I like to keep on this blog, I can tell you I have already failed on this front because I bought a book today that I spotted on one of those ‘the bus isn’t here yet, so I’ll just pop in to Waterstone’s for a wee wander…’ trips I mentioned. It is not good for my bank balance (though great for my loyalty card one) that I discovered Waterstone’s ‘click and collect’ scheme. In my defence, the book was on sale, so it made financial sense to buy it now and add it to my Tsundoku.

I can however, triumphantly tell you that the upside to some drier weather, fewer shifts at work this month and my masters research being halted as I await for all the paperwork needed for ethical approval…is that I finished two books in the last week. That means, there is space for two more books from the Tsundoku pile to move to the space between my pillow and bedside drawers used for my ‘currently reading pile’. (I wonder if there is a Japanese word for ‘Pile of books you have started reading and not finished yet, commonly found in your various handbags’).

I loved Caitlin Moran’s How To Build A Woman – I was nervous about reading about her views on pornography and abortion because I agree with her on so many things, I didn’t want to be angry with what she said. But actually as it turned out, I think we agree on more than I realised, and her thoughts and opinions really made me think about these issues in a different way. I also found Matt Haig’s Reasons To Stay Alive hugely encouraging – although it simultaneously made me feel like a complete failure because Matt seems to have used his struggle and turned it into something amazing. I’ve yet to accomplish anything! And I’m loving Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. I can’t believe I waited this long to read it, but again, I love it so much that I’m glad I saved it!

So what two books pictured above should I start reading? My instagram friends seem to have voted for Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me to be one of them (and if it’s short essay style like her other book was, that would work very well). But I’ve still to choose a second book…

What do you think it should be?

What I’m Currently Reading…

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem – As previously mentioned, my fellow Guide leader and I decided to join Emma Watson’s bookclub as it seemed like a path we were already on. I am supposed to have finished this book by now, but as per usual have been distracted by work, sleeping, Girlguiding prep and got a little sucked into re-watching Season 1 of Gilmore Girls when I was too cold to do anything but wrap myself like Lenny Kravitz in multiple blankets. But oh.my.word. This book. The stories. The reflections. Gloria is a community organiser, journalist and traveller and just has so much wisdom that she has gained from just being in the moment and meeting everyday ordinary people that politicians often ignore. So much of what I’ve read so far has matched up with my own frustrations and discoveries in my years of Community development work. Basically you need to all read this book.

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan – A collection of short stories and non-fiction essays from a Yale student. Tragically Marina died in a car accident shortly after her graduation, but what has come out of that is her friends, mentors and teachers putting together this collection of her writing pieces. It is worth reading, especially if you are a young single woman trying to navigate life and discover your purpose. Marina writes in such a real and authentic way, not trying to be older than she is – which is refreshing.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler – I didn’t really know who Amy was until she voiced the lead character of Joy in Inside Out. Since then I’ve watched more interviews she has done and I know that Mindy Kaling (whose first book of memoirs/essays I read last year) is a fan of hers. So I figured it was worth a read. I’ve only read one chapter (sorry Amy, you did get put the side so I could attempt to finish Gloria’s book in time for the bookclub discussion) but I like it so far and will definitely be picking it back up again.

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai – I started this book when it first came out in paperback, and it is an incredible story. The only issue I’ve had is that is seems very badly edited so you have to really concentrate to follow some sections of her story (just basic grammar and sentence flow that has not been picked up on so you sometimes have to read a paragraph a couple of times to work out what they meant to say). Unfortunately, the book was in my handbag and a bottle of water I was carrying leaked and totally ruined my copy thus halting my reading of it. I now have a new copy and am continuing on from where I left off.

BK’s Book Pouch: Refuge

Despite the fact that most of the kids in my life are getting bears for Christmas this year (because that’s what happens when I work in a shop where I stuff a lot of bears), that hasn’t stopped me from perusing and purchasing books from my favourite shop in the world.

I was on the lookout for some new Christmas books, and for many years have been frustrated about the lack of books that tell the Christmas story in a real way. Every nativity book is white-washed with blue nun Mary, pristine mansion stables, white blonde baby Jesus, white Magii wearing crowns that look like the metal versions of the ones you get in Christmas crackers…

…it drives me nuts. If I’m going to share with children the story of Jesus’ birth, I want them to get an impression of the real thing.

Then on a table next to the original Christmas book from the Mog the cat series was a book called Refuge that was published this year by one of my favourite publishers – Nosy Crow (I had the pleasure of meeting someone who works for Nosy Crow last year at University of Glasgow’s Picturebook conference).

The story tells the story of Jesus birth and the family’s escape to Egypt all from the point of view of the donkey. It is a moving and poignant telling, and I have bought a copy (pictured above) and was most upset today when I went to buy another that I couldn’t find one in either of the city centre Waterstone’s booksellers in Edinburgh.

Given everything going on in the Middle East right now, the place where most of the bible’s stories happened…I couldn’t think of a more apt book to be taking down from your bookshelf to read this December.

I do know that Hive, John Lewis and Waterstone’s (and hopefully your local independent bookshops) are selling copies. And it has my stamp of approval!