I can’t believe we are already in July. This is meant to be the month, where work calms down and I may even take a week’s holiday. Furthermore, it’s meant to be the month, where the UK gets rid of the last restrictions such as face masks and working from home. It will be so strange to be back in the office on a more regular basis. I look forward to more interaction with colleagues, but I will miss wearing casual clothes and not having to go on the tube.
Is anyone following the European Championship in football? My two countries, Denmark and England, are playing against each other in the semi-final. Even if I see England as my proper home, I don’t suffer from any split identity: GO DENMARK! ๐โฝ๏ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ
Reading
Last Sunday, I finished The Sense of an Ending, the Booker Prize winner from 2011. Review will follow soon, but it wasn’t quite the success, I’d hoped for.
This week, I’ve been reading Chanel Miller’s memoir Know My Name about her sexual assault and the aftermath and court case. Goodness! Every time I picked it up, I was left a complete mess. Not just because of the tough subject matter, the writing was also powerful: raw, honest, beautiful, brutal, grim, heart-wrenching, hopeful. I’ve been through the full emotional register with this one. It was a tad too long, but I would still rate it 4 1/2 stars. Probably, I won’t write a review.
After finishing Know My Name, I started rereading Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for meaning. Frankl survived 3 years in concentration camp, where most of his family died. Who said summer reading is meant to be cheerful?
What’s next? The book which tempts me the most is Octavia Butler’s Kindred, which is sci-fi / historical fiction with themes such as slavery and racism. I keep seeing praise for it in the book blogging community. Also, It may be time to pick up my next chunkster. Why do I download all these long books?! John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies can almost match Crime and Punishment in length and it may be one of the books I’ve owned for the longest without reading it.
New on the Shelf
My self-imposed book buying ban has been cancelled and I now operate my TBR on a “one-in-one-out” basis. This week, I downloaded three books. I’ve already read Agatha Christie’s At Bertram’s Hotel, but wanted to reread in connection with a post I am going to write. Graeme Macrae Burnet’s His Bloody Project is a historical mystery (I think). It was downloaded on a whim. Apparently, I still can’t resist audiobooks on sale.
Finally, I’ve added Sarah Winman’s Tin Man and Frances Cha’s If I had your face to my Wish List.
Blogging
A couple of weeks ago, I ran out of reserve posts. My reserve posts are important, they allow me to blog on a weekly basis, even if I don’t manage to write a post every week. With that buffer gone, my posting may be a bit more irregular for a while.
In any case, I might want to take a break to rethink my blog content. Lately, there hasn’t been as much creativity on my blog as I would have liked and perhaps a short break can give me the chance to write some more fun and different posts.
This was all from me for now. How was your week? Have you started any new books? Or have you been out enjoying the summer weather (or depending on where you are, winter weather)?
The Sunday Post is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer.
Fingers crossed we get more normalcy on 19th July. Unfortunately, Scotland has a slightly different level 0 than England in that even then we should still work from home if possible, but being more flexible with it. Just need to fit back into my work clothes first!
Man’s Search for Meaning looks really interesting. I’ve taken a bit of interest in books about concentration camps recently so always on the look out for new books.
Well, I guess it’s impossible to know what level 0 will look like until we get there. But at least it’s going in the right direction. ๐ Oh no, I hadn’t even thought of, whether I still fit into my work clothes! I might have gained a bit of weight during lockdown. Ah well… Man’s Search for Meaning is interesting. It’s very much about existentialism and choosing your meaning in life. I read it the first time, when I was very young and it probably made bigger impression on me back then.
Like you, I canโt believe that July is here. The first six months went by super fast. Time is a strange phenomenon. Anyway, enjoy the upcoming week. August will arrive before we know it.
I know! Time is flying, when you are having fun! Hopefully, it will slow down a bit, so we have time to enjoy the summer before it’s gone. Have a great week as well!
Oh you’ve piqued my interest with Know My Name, I’m not afraid of raw books, they’re the most memorable ones to stay with you for a long time. I also like reading how people survived World War so far that I’m also interested in Man’s Search for Meaning, I haven’t heard about it till now. Also, His Bloody Project is on my list too and it’s been on it for years so I hope you can help me bump it up ;-). I hope you had a good weekend and a great week!
I will strongly recommend Know My Name. I guess her case didn’t get as much publicity here in Europe compared to the US, but it’s an intriguing story, both horrifying and hopeful. Man’s Search for Meaning is partly a survival story and partly an introduction to his views on psychotherapy. It builds 100% on existentialism, so if you are already familiar with that attitude to life, the latter part is less interesting. I read it the first time, when I was very young and it made much bigger impression on me back then. Have a great week as well!
Thank you for giving me more details about these books. Man’s Search for Meaning is a little different than I expected then. I’m more interested in the survival part to be honest. I do like Camus quote: the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. I think lots of people then held on to that!
You are welcome.๐ Sorry about the late reply, but I’ve been taking a short break from blogging. It was actually quite nice.๐ Yes, I thought the survival part was the most interesting as well, since the last part felt very familiar to me. I like the Camus quote. I haven’t heard it before, but it makes a lot sense.
I wish I could put myself on a book buying ban. I’m so bad about it. I also am missing the casual clothes since we had to go back to school in April. Now I’m home for the summer, and while usually I love it, I feel like I had almost a year off last year and don’t need this summer at home alone again. Hope you have a good week!
Lisa Loves Literature
My book buying bans don’t normally last too long, just long enough to get my TBR under control again. Yeah, I see what you mean, it feels like we all have a lot of catching up to do socially after having been in lockdown for so long. Hope you’ll get a great summer, nevertheless.
Happy Sunday! ๐ I kind of wish the working from home guidance was until end of summer so we all have more time to chill out in the sun.
Yeah, maybe that would make sense. But I think, even when we do go back to more normal conditions, many companies will allow people to work from home 1-2 days.
Kindred will be a good pick! It is pretty brutal though, so time it well ๐
I am glad you think, Kindred is a good pick. I am prepared, that it might be a tough read, but that seems to fit it well with my current reading. Maybe I should add something lighter, before I start.
It seems like going back to the workplace after so long will be like starting a new job. Hope it all goes well!
Thanks Tessa! In a way it will be like starting a new job, but I am sure it will be fine. I’ll enjoy not to have all these Zoom conference meetings anymore.
Your blog posts are always interesting. “Kindred” is very good. I think you would like “Mudbound” and “News of the World” if you haven’t already read them.
Aw thanks! ๐ Glad to hear you enjoyed Kindred, I really look forward to reading it. Thanks so much for the recommendations. I haven’t read any of them and will check them out on Goodreads.
Blog breaks are good – time to refresh and reset before it begins to feel like drudgery! I loved His Bloody Project, by the way – in fact, I’ve loved every book he’s written and am thrilled to see he has a new one coming out soon.
Yes, you are right, I probably should take a break. Especially writing the reviews has felt a bit like doing schoolwork recently. Glad to hear you loved His Bloody Project. I knew nothing about the book or the author when downloading. With me reading loads of reviews every week, obviously I have a completely random approach to book selection. ๐๐
How is it already July?! I swear March was just last week… I kinda wish we could just keep working from home. Thinking about taking public transit and commuting into work is still terrifying to me.
I know, time seems to fly… Public transport doesn’t appeal to me either. Even before Covid I hated using the London tube, which used to be so crowded that you couldn’t move your arms during rush hours. At least it is less crowded now, since many people are still working from home (or on holiday).
Go Denmark!!! I cheer for Spain and Denmark in those upcoming matches.
I’m also interested in Kindred, but it will be some time before I start it. Also, with regards to your book ban, I can’t recommend libraries enough. I know that the system where I live is probably one of the best anywhere and works seamlessly, but I have almost all the books I could wish for at the tips of my fingers (well, except the academic ones). My need to buy books has in consequence diminished to a point where I only want to buy books I absolutely love ๐
Ah well, it wasn’t meant to be. There is always next year, I suppose…
I do have a library card, but the problem is, I don’t actually read books, I only listen. And my library has a limited (and not very interesting) selection of audiobooks. It has been years since I last downloaded one. The physical library is even worse. I guess nobody in central London actually borrows physical books anymore. The exception is apparently Chinese people (the library is based close to Chinatown) and more than 50% of the books are in Mandarin. Anyway, I might try Scripd one of these days.
Maybe I shouldn’t cheer any of the teams, looks like whoever I cheer loses ๐
Ah, that sucks. The system here allows you to order a book from anywhere in the system, which is the whole of Auckland and suburbs – so even though my library doesn’t have all the books, or has only, say, the second and third installment of a series, I can order any of the books that aren’t physically here but are in the system and they will be transported to my library so that I can borrow them. Sort of an interlibrary loan.
That sounds like a very impressive library system! I did wonder, when I first looked into it, why the library where I live is so bad, but ironically, I think it’s because Westminster is a relatively wealthy borough and people simply don’t use public services, but buy their own books, send their kids to private school, use private health services, etc.
Know My Name sounds like a powerful read. I hope you enjoy your new books!
Thanks so much! Know My Name was amazing, but also tough to read. Sometimes I wanted to yell at the legal system!
I hope you enjoy your little break, Stargazer. Iโve been a lot slower with blogging this summer. Iโve been reading some great books and just enjoying even though itโs been hot here!
I am enjoying my little break very much! I think I will follow your lead and take it easy, at least over the summer, I’ve been too focused on trying to post on a weekly basis. Going forward, I will be more relaxed about it. And yeah it has been hot here as well, I am melting away…
Happy to hear that, Stargazer. Blogging should be fun, and hearing from you and other friends is always the best part. โฅ๏ธ
Yes, I agree. Blogging should be fun and it’s important to find a way to do it which fits into your lifestyle without feeling like a chore. Aww, yes chatting to other bloggers is definitely the best part!
I asked my library to get a copy of Know My Name just before Covid last year and I don’t think they’ve got a copy yet. I’d like to read it so may have to see if there’s a bargain on Kindle sometime.
Oh, really? I would have thought it is quite a popular book. I’ve heard some readers being on their library wait list forever in order to get their hands on it. Hope your library changes their mind. ๐
I hope so too might have to go in a remind them ๐
A friendly reminder never hurts! ๐
Iโd not thought about reserve posts but that sounds like a good idea.
Iโve had to start and put down Know My Name several times and wonder if Iโll ever finish!
Ah ok, I guess there is no point finishing Know My Name, if you really struggle. Was it because you didn’t enjoy the writing or just because of the subject matter?
Oh, itโs definitely the subject matter. Itโs hard knowing the indignity of what happened to her and what didnโt happen to her rapist.
Agreed. Following the court case made me so angry. And the ridiculous questions she had to answer several years after the incident like whether she walked clockwise or the other way around a building or how much she had for dinner… I would be in so much trouble, if I should ever end up in court, since I can’t even remember, what I did yesterday.
I read that Sense of Ending and I cannot remember anything about it. However, his Noise of Time was very good.
Well, it can’t have made a huge impression then! I am not in a hurry to read more of Barnes’ books, but perhapsI’ll give him another chance at a later stage. Perhaps, my expectations were too high to The Sense of an Ending, since it has received so much praise.
And yet, The Noise of Time was marvelous – I just loved it!
Good to know. That may be the one I pick up, if giving the author a second chance. ๐
I haven’t followed the football games yet … but I’m addicted to Wimbledon right now ha. Many good matches unfolding there! Tell me have you been in years past? Enjoy your reads.
I don’t watch too much sport, only on special occasions. One year I hope to get tickets to Wimbledon. Apparently, they have changed the system, so it’s a bit easier for “normal” people to get tickets. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy your summer, but please don’t stay away too long ๐
So far yes, your Summer reading are definitely not beach reads!
I’ve enjoyed my short break very much, but will hopefully be back soon with new posts. During my break, I’ve decided to be a bit more relaxed about blogging and drop any attempts of a fixed blogging schedule. So going forward, posting might be less regular, but hopefully more fun!
Feeling the same mixed vibes about going back to the office space. The newbies on your shelf look good. Enjoy.
Yeah, I don’t think the office is too bad, but going on the crowded tube (underground train) in 30 degrees during the summer is less appealing. Thanks!
I remember loving The Hearts Invisible Furies, but can’t quite remember it!
I just finished it and it took me by surprise. Not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
I have been curious about Kindred myself. The author’s work in general seem to be thought-provoking and wonderful too. As for prize winners. They often seem to turn out dull in the end. ๐ฎ I hope you have a wonderful month of July! ๐
Well, I shall let you know how I get on with Kindred (haven’t started yet). ๐ I’ve only heard good thing about the author so I really look forward to reading it. Have a wonderful July and a wonderful summer as well. And sorry about the late reply, but I’ve been taking a little break from blogging.
I hope you’ll like ‘If I Had Your Face’ ๐ No pressure about the blog content. Write what and when as you please ๐ I’m envious of the type of contents you always come up with. SO creative! Mine is just mostly book reviews LOL Here’s wishing you a great July!
I think, I will follow your advice and give up my weekly posting schedule. That will make blogging a bit more relaxed. Now we are out of lockdown, there are so many other things to do. During lockdown blogging seemed like the perfect hobby, though. Aww, that is kind of you to say about my content. For me variety is important, sometimes I just can’t face writing reviews.๐๐ I wish you a lovely summer Jee and sorry for the late reply!
Don’t worry about it stargazer. I totally understand ๐ Take your time! Sometimes I don’t post anything for two weeks (or more LOL)! Which had been like that for me lately. But I tell myself that it’s ok. Don’t put pressure on myself ๐ You shouldn’t too, ok ๐ Take care and most importantly, stay safe & well, my friend! xoxo
Thanks Jee and you too! ๐