Kingsolver, Barbara "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"

Kingsolver, Barbara, Steven L. Hopp, Camille Kingsolver "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" - 1990

Live the year with Barbara Kingsolver and her family on their farm.

I grew up like this. My parents didn't own a farm but they rented a house with a large garden, quite normal at the time in the countryside. We would grow everything, really everything the family need during the year. Except for the potatoes, the garden was not large enough, especially since we hardly ever had rice or pasta. But my uncle was a farmer and he would come by once a year and fill half of our little cellar room with potatoes. The other half would be harvested in a nearby apple orchard. We also had chickens, rabbits (which I still refuse to eat to this day) and even a pig from time to time. Fresh milk would be fetched from the next farmer, the one who also owned our house.

So, I read this book with a laughing and a crying eye. Too many memories of a hard childhood. But also so much that sounded familiar. Not just the planting and harvesting of the veggies, the washing of the preserving jars and then the processing and the cooking. A lot of work. In the end, I was happy I don't have to do that anymore.

What I liked about the book was the togetherness of the family, the will to stick together and live off the land for a whole year. Of course, not everyone would be able to do that. We all have to go out and earn a living, there is not that much time left to grow everything we want to eat. Also, most people don't have the money to have land so large that they can live from the proceeds any longer.

Mind you, a lot of her findings about food you can buy and probably shouldn't, are about the US American market but we all have to find what is good food and what isn't

So, I understand people who didn't like the book because of that. But we can all learn from the author and buy more local food, buy more stuff that is in season and didn't have to be shipped all over the world until we get it.

I also loved her remark to lactose intolerance. I belong to the (large) group of people inflicted with it and often have to hear snide remarks. I should take an excerpt from her book along with me in future:

"This is not an allergy or even, technically, a disorder. Physical anthropologists tell us that age four, when lactose intolerance typically starts, is about when nature intended for our kind to be wholly weaned onto solid food; in other words, a gradual cessation of milk digestions is norma. In all other mammals, the milk-digesting enzyme shuts down soon after weaning. So, when people refer to this as an illness, I'm inclined to point out we L.I's can very well digest the sugar in grown-up human foods like fruits and vegetables, thank, we just can't nurse. From a cow. Okay?"

As a big fan of gatherings by family and friends, I also loved her accounts of those. She obviously has more space than we do but even in our smaller apartments, we often had several dozens of visitors to our parties.

There are also contributions by her husband and her daughter Camille who includes a lot of recipes that you can download here: AnimalVegetableMiracle.

Does Barbara Kingsolver still belong to my favourite authors? But, of course. All her books are great!

Book Description:

"Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they'd only buy food raised in their own neighbourhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat."

Ephron, Nora "Scribble Scribble"

Ephron, Nora "Scribble Scribble. Notes on the Media" - 1978 

I love Nora Ephron and must have read every novel she ever wrote. And some of her non-fiction publications. A while ago, I read "Crazy salad. Some things about women" which was written in the Seventies, at a time where we had no internet and not as much information about what was going on across the pond as it is now.

Same as in that book, we find articles she wrote for a magazine, this time Esquire. I have never seen that publication and I didn't know many of the celebrities or newspapers or events she writes about. But she has such a lovely way of writing, you want to dig into all those stories and find out what the background was, though she does give quite some information about that already.

So, if you like Nora Ephron, you might want to pick up this book. If you haven't read anything by her, I suggest you start with one of her wonderful novels (see here).

There would be a lot of quotes I could put here, but I just leave it with three:

About "People" magazine:
"A celebrity is anyone People writes about; I know the magazine is filling some nameless, bottomless pit of need for gossip and names but I haven't got room in my life for so many lights."
Nothing seems to have changed here.

About two of my least favourite authors (Capote and Kerouac)
"Russell Baker: Capote's famous comment on Kerouac - that's not writing, it's typing."
I could say that for both of them but I will remember this quote the next time I come across a book like this.

About "Gourmet" magazine:
"I don't actually read it. I sort of look at it in a fairly ritualistc manner." 
I love cook books and cooking and baking magazines. And I think it's that same for me, I just love looking at the recipes and imagine I would make them all. Mind you, I usually try a few of the recipes

Book Description:

"Twenty-five tussles with the American media and its various faults and glories reveal an incisive journalist's dislike of such episodes as Haldeman on CBS and the New York Magazine takeover and her passion for such gifts as Upstairs, Downstairs and the Double-Crostic.

This volume is a collection of the columns the author wrote for Esquire magazine from 1975 to 1977. Her subject was the media, especially print journalism."

Steinbeck, John "Travels with Charley"

Steinbeck, John "Travels with Charley. In Search of America" - 1962

I have always loved the books by John Steinbeck. Until I read "Cannery Row". But that didn't keep me from reading more books by him and when our 1961 Club came up and I found there was one book by him, I chose that immediately. Unfortunately, I had just finished it when I found out that this book was published in 1962 (although it was probably written in 1961). Well, I couldn't finish another one in a day or two, so this will have to do with my contribution to this challenge (but I will read another one later and put a link here).

But I am more than happy that I read this book because it brought back John Steinbeck to me and the way I have always loved his literature.

While I am not a big fan of campervans or camping as such, I enjoyed following the author and his dog Charley through the United States. I doubt I will ever get there but in a way, I have the feeling I have now. He says himself towards the end that "… I have not intended to present, nor think I have presented, any kind of cross-section so that a reader can say, 'He thinks he has presented a true picture …' I  don't. I've only told what a few people said to me and what I saw. I don't know whether they were typical or whether any conclusion can be drawn." I think that is the best anyone can try to do and I am glad we could accompany him on this trip.

He also mentions "I like weather rather than climate." That is one great quote and I couldn't agree more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

And if you think there are better books about travels through the USA, please, let me know.

Book Description:

"To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers."

John Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception".

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

O'Farrell, Maggie "Hamnet"

O'Farrell, Maggie "Hamnet" - 2020

Somebody talked to me about this book. Someone who likes Maggie O'Farrell. I have a vague recollection of who it was but I can't find it again. So, maybe it was someone else. Sorry, whoever you are.

Anyway, it was nice to read about a part of Shakespeare's life that is not so well known. We know that his son died young. That his name was Hamnet and that his father wrote a play called Hamlet. As to the book, the spelling of the name is interchangeable, so it is more or less the same. I mean, Shakespeare himself had about 27 varieties of is last name. Or something like that.

The author mentions that this is a piece of fiction based on only the few facts I mentioned above. So, she lets us know her imagination and we can add to that.

But I still learned about Shakespeare and especially his wife, Anne Hathaway, who is called Agnes in the novel. Because I like to search for more information elsewhere whenever I read a book. Sometimes, you need a starter for that.

And what was also excellent is the description of the grief parents go through when losing a child. That was heartbreaking.

Maggie O'Farrell received several prizes for this book, i.a. the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020.

We discussed this book in our local book club in April 2026.

A few comments from our book club members:

• Shakespeare's life in London wasn't given enough attention.
• How is it that such a strong woman suffers so much from the death of her child?
• We liked the way the transmission of the plague was described.

From the back cover:

"On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.

Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker's son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written."

Harris, Kamala "107 Days"

Harris, Kamala "107 Days" - 2025

This is one of the great women of our time, the great people of our time. If she were a man, she would have won, I am sure of that.

Whenever I see an article of Kamala Harris or see her on TV or on the internet, she always has something important to say. She is so smart and caring.

What a shame she came against such an ignoramus, someone who isn't just uneducated and, well, everything but smart. He said it himself, he loves the uneducated. And he does everything so that the rest of the nation stays like that so they will carry on voting for him.

Obviously, you can get really mad when you learn about the tactics with which he convinced uninformed people.

Well, enough about that guy. Let's get on to the subject of this book, Kamala Harris.

I just imagine what this world would have looked like if they had real elections in the States and nothing of this gerrymandering and "popular" votes etc. If she had won fair and square.

One thing is sure: this world would be such a better place if there were more Kamalas and fewer Donalds. I hope many young women will read this and find encouragement and inspiration in her doings.

Book Description:

"For the first time, and with surprising and revealing insights, Kamala Harris tells the story of one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history.

Your Secret Service code name is Pioneer.

You are the first woman in history to be elected vice president of the United States.

On July 21, 2024, your running mate, Joe Biden, announces that he will not be seeking reelection.

The presidential election will occur on November 5, 2024.

You have 107 days.

Written with candor, a unique perspective, and the pace of a page-turning novel, 107 Days takes you inside the race for the presidency as no one has ever done before."

This was a present from my son who knows how much I love her.

Deresiewicz, William "A Jane Austen Education"

Deresiewicz, William "A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter" - 2011

I have read quite a few books about Jane Austen as part of the #Reading Austen project this year. And this one will be quite on top of my favourites of the year and of the books I read for the project - besides all of Jane Austen's books, of course.

What I really liked was the author linking his life to all of Jane Austen's books. It starts when he is 26 and reads his first one: Emma and ends with Sense & Sensibility when he finally meets his wife, after having told himself all the time that he would never marry.

He also didn't want to read Jane Austen, thought it would just be something like a chick lit with no content whatsoever. But he had to read the first one for a class and then found that Jane Austen has a lot to tell and to teach us.

How he develops from a conceited, big-headed young student into a decent human being, that is the background to this book. Something we can all learn from.

From the back cover:

"Before Jane Austen, William Deresiewicz was a very different young man. A sullen and arrogant graduate student, he never thought Austen would have anything to offer him. Then he read Emma — and everything changed.

In this unique and lyrical book, Deresiewicz weaves the misadventures of Austen’s characters with his own youthful follies, demonstrating the power of the great novelist’s teachings — and how, for Austen, growing up and making mistakes are one and the same. Honest, erudite, and deeply moving, A Jane Austen Education is the story of one man’s discovery of the world outside himself."

Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England"

Adkins, Roy & Lesley "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago" (aka "Jane Austen's England) - 2013

Part of my #Reading Austen project is to read a book by the author in the uneven months and a book about the author and/or her books in the even ones. This is my October read.

And it was a very interesting and detailed book. We get several maps right at the beginning where we cannot just see where Jane Austen lived during her lifetime but also some other contemporary characters with a similar background. Something that always adds to the explanations in any book, fiction or non-fiction.

But it's not only that. They explain how the pounds, shillings and pennies were divided, how the weights and measurements were calculated, all those nitty-gritty bits that are in the books of that time but not explained because the readers would have known what it was. The same as what it meant when someone had £10,000 pounds a year. 

They tell us everything about weddings at the time, about the aristocracy and who was who, education was as much talked about as what was going on in home and kitchen. The fashion of the time (of which we read a lot in Jane's books) is described, the religion, work and hobbies, crimes, illnesses, just everything that was important to the people of the 19th century.

So, if you want to know more about Jane's life, this is the book for you.

From the back cover:

"Jane Austen, arguably the greatest novelist of the English language, lived from 1775 to 1817. Her fiction focuses on the gentry and aristocracy, and her heroines are young women looking for love. Yet the comfortable, tranquil country that she brilliantly devised is a complete contrast to the England in which she actually lived. For twenty-nine of Jane Austen's forty-one years, the country was embroiled in war.

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England explores the real England of that time. Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly portray fascinating aspects of the daily lives of ordinary people, from forced marriages and the sale of wives in marketplaces to boys and girls working down mines or as chimney sweeps, this book eavesdrops on the daily chore of fetching water, the horror of ghosts and witches, Saint Monday, bull baiting, sedan chairs, highwaymen, the stench of corpses swinging on roadside gibbets and the horrors of surgery without anaesthetics.

Giving a voice to these forgotten people and revealing how they worked, played and struggled to survive, Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England is an authoritative and gripping account that is sometimes humorous, often shocking, but always entertaining."

Hammond, Richard "As You Do"

Hammond, Richard "As You Do: Adventures With Evil, Oliver And The Vice President Of Botswana" - 2008

I have always loved Top Gear and especially Richard Hammond, "The Hamster" (see his book On the Edge). The adventures the guys had in their show, they were always hilarious albeit very scary.

Here, Richard Hammond has written about his race to the North Pole with a dog-driven sled against his friends in a car - with a lot of preparation beforehand (Polar Special, also known as the Polar Challenge). And about his trip through Africa in a car that he bought right there and kept later on because he had named it (Ollie) and you cannot sell a car with a name. LOL.

And there are other stories in the book, how he rescued some friends who were stuck in their house in the flood in Gloucestershire. And how he met Eviel Knievel, a guy I never was interested in and am even less after reading about him, even though he was one of the author's heroes.

In any case, this was a very interesting book with lots of funny scenes, almost like watching Top Gear. And it was an easy yet still worthy book to read.

From the back cover:

"The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of a very brave and clever TV presenter, Arctic Explorer and general drawer of the Short Straw. 

As one third of the BBC's Top Gear team, Richard Hammond's year since his near-fatal accident has been full of stunts and drama. From a race to the North Pole (with skis and dog-sled) to a journey through Botswana in a car named Oliver, and a seventeen-mile run through floods to his Gloucestershire home, in order to get to his daughter's birthday party, the year has been eventful, to say the least . . .

With his boundless optimism in the face of certain failure, Richard Hammond has become one of our funniest writers about a life (and a job) which constantly present a challenge."

Ephron, Nora "Crazy Salad"

Ephron, Nora "Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women" - 1975

I absolutely love Nora Ephron. Shes was a fantastic author as well as a fantastic human being. Everything she says is close to my heart and I felt nodding along, no matter what I was reading about. If you ever felt like the odd one out, as if nothing you did would be acknowledged by others and they would always find a new excuse why, this is the book for you.

Of course, this book was written in the Seventies, at a time where we had no internet and not as much information about what was going on across the pond as it is now. I remember a game I played with some American friends  about thirty years ago where we had to guess celebrities and I had never heard of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She just wasn't in our news until then. Neither were many of the women in Nora Ephron's book, some of them I read about in the meantime (Gloria Steinem, for example) but others I had never heard about. So, I had a lot of extra reading to do but that was alright because it gave me a larger insight into the US of A of the time.

So, whether you are American or not, if you are a fan of "When Harry Met Sally", you would want to read this.

Book Description:

"The classic Crazy Salad by screenwriting legend and novelist Nora Ephron, is an extremely funny, deceptively light look at a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now. In this distinctive, engaging, and simply hilarious view of a period of great upheaval in America, Ephron turns her keen eye and wonderful sense of humor to the media, politics, beauty products, and women's bodies. In the famous A Few Words About Breasts, for example, she tells us: 'If I had had them, I would have been a completely different person. I honestly believe that.' Ephron brings her sharp pen to bear on the notable women of the time, and to a series of events ranging from Watergate to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. When it first appeared in 1975, Crazy Salad helped to illuminate a new American era - and helped us to laugh at our times and ourselves. This new edition will delight a fresh generation of readers."

Michell, Tom "The Penguin Lessons"

Michell, Tom "The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird" - 2015

I discussed this with my German book club in August 2025.

I'm not an animal person. I don't mean to say I'm totally against animals, but they don't particularly interest me.

The book was quite nicely written. I also found the accounts of the school where the author taught and his travels through South America very interesting. But the relationship with the penguin, well, okay. As I said, I'm probably the wrong person to describe this book. It just wasn't really my cup of tea.

The only thing that was interesting to me was the description of the people the author met, the anthropological aspect.

The other members, however, found the book very readable. Here are a few quotes:

• I learned a lot about a species of animal I didn't really know much about.
• I found the description of how he travels through the countries with youthful carefreeness and enthusiasm, and even saves the penguin, refreshing.
• The parts where he describes how the school outcast can show off his talent were touching.
• I particularly liked the scene in the swimming pool.
• Mir hat das Buch gut gefallen. Interessant und klug geschrieben und oft sehr berührend, aber ohne Pathos.
• I liked the book. It's interestingly and cleverly written, and often very touching, but without pathos.

From the back cover:

"'I was hoping against hope that the penguin would survive because as of that instant he had a name, and with his name came the beginning of a bond which would last a life-time.'

Set against Argentina's turbulent years following the collapse of the corrupt Peronist regime, this is the story of Juan Salvador the penguin, rescued by English schoolteacher Tom Michell from an oil slick in Uruguay just days before a new term. When the bird refuses to leave Tom's side, the young teacher has no choice but to take it with him and look after it. This is their story."

Rushdie, Salman "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder"

Rushdie, Salman "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder" - 2024

This was my third book by Salman Rushdie. I have enjoyed them all but this one was probably the most personal and therefore very special and highly impressive.

He doesn't just tell us about the attack and its consequences, both physically and mentally, he also recounts the problems he had during and with the fatwa. How can people go and attack someone who has a different opinion? We don't go and attack those that attack him. If their God was the most important one of all the Gods, he would probably not tell them to kill everyone who is against him.

The whole book is quotable, therefore you should absolutely read it. But here are some very quotable thoughts:

"Chance determines our fates at least as profoundly as choice, or those nonexistent notions karma, qismat, 'destiny'".

"… we would not think in the long term. We would be grateful for each day … and live it as fully as we could."

"I understand that for many people religion provides a moral anchor and seems essential. And in my view, the private faith of anyone is nobody's business except that of the individual concerned. I have no issue with religion when it occupies this private space and doesn't seek to impose its values on others. But when religion becomes politicized, even weaponized, then it's everybody's business, because of its capacity for harm."

"When the faithful believe that what they believe must be forced upon others who do not believe it, or when they believe that nonbelievers should be prevented from the robust or humorous expression of their nonbelief, then there's a problem."

I think if this story teaches us anything, it's that you cannot kill people's opinions. There will always be supporters who will continue; now more than ever. Therefore, whoever supports terrorists, know that you might kill people but will never be able to kill an idea.

As an old German song says: Thoughts are free!

From the back cover:

"From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him

On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey toward physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his community of readers worldwide.

Knife is Rushdie at the peak of his powers, writing with urgency, with gravity, with unflinching honesty. It is also a deeply moving reminder of literature’s capacity to make sense of the unthinkable, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art—and finding the strength to stand up again."

Salman Rushdie received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 2023.

Sullivan, Margaret C. "The Jane Austen Handbook"

Sullivan, Margaret C. "The Jane Austen Handbook. A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World" - 2007

Part of my #Reading Austen project is to read a book by the author in the uneven months and a book about the author and/or her books in the even ones. This month, it was a book about her time with a lot of background information to why some characters acted the way they did. There were a lot of lovely illustrations and even more funny allusions to the novels.

I can heartily recommend this little book to any Jane Austen fan. Whether you have read her books or watched them on TV or in the cinemas (hopefully both), you will be delighted by this. And if time travelling was a thing, you could even learn how to behave in Regency times without anyone noticing you're from the future.

From the back cover:

"Jane Austen published her first novel in 1811, but today she's more popular than ever. Film adaptations of her books are nominated for Academy Awards. Chick lit bestsellers are based on her plots. And a new biopic of Austen herself Becoming Jane arrives in theaters this spring.

For all those readers who dream about living in Regency England, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early nineteenth century. You'll discover:

How to Become an Accomplished Lady
How to Run a Great House
How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
How to Throw a Dinner Party
How to Choose and Buy Clothing

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living."

Pierce, Patricia "Jurassic Mary"

Pierce, Patricia "Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the primeval monsters" - 2006

Ever since I read "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier, I've been interested in the life of Mary Anning who lived from 1799 to 1847 and was the first person who discovered dinosaur bones.

And this was on my wishlist, so my son bought it for me. It was just as nice as I had hoped.

A thorough account of the life of a young girl who would become one of the most important figure in discovering dinosaurs. But, because she was only a woman, she didn't have a lot to say. Even though there were some men who acknowledged her, most of them only used her findings for their won. She didn't really get any recognition. What else is new?

From the back cover:

"Spinster Mary Anning, uneducated and poor, was of the wrong sex, wrong class and wrong religion, but fate decreed that she was exactly the right person in the right place and time to pioneer the emerging science of palaeontology, the study of fossils. Born in Lyme Regis in 1799, Mary learned to collect fossils with her cabinet-maker father. The unstable cliffs and stealthy sea made the task dangerous but after her father died the sale of fossils sustained her family. Mary’s fame started as an infant when she survived a lightning strike that killed the three adults around her. Then, aged twelve, she caught the public’s attention when she unearthed the skeleton of a ‘fish lizard’ or Ichthyosaurus. She later found the first Plesiosaurus giganteus, with its extraordinary long neck associated with the Loch Ness monster, and, dramatically, she unearthed the first, still rare, Dimorphodon macronyx, a frightening ‘flying dragon’ with hand claws and teeth.Yet her many discoveries were announced to the world by male geologists like the irrepressible William Buckland and Sir Henry De La Beche and they often received the credit. In Jurassic Mary Patricia Pierce redresses this imbalance, bringing to life the extraordinary, little-known story of this determined and pioneering woman."

McCourt, Malachy "A Monk Swimming"

McCourt, Malachy "A Monk Swimming" - 1998

The name McCourt is well known in reading circles, almost everyone knows Frank McCourt and his stories about his family. And he has mentioned his siblings. Well, Malachy is one of them. 

Same as his brother, this family member talks about his family. It is interesting to compare the experiences both brothers had with an alcoholic father in a dead-poor family. And how they both turned out in later life.

This story is a lot more negative than the "Angela's Ashes"-series. But also much funnier. The author comes across as the stereptypical Irish guy who likes drinking, singing etc. But he also shows that he has a heart. And after everything he went through as a child, we know he could have been a lot different.

One funny thing I have to tell. The weird title comes from his misunderstanding of a line in the Hail Mary when he was a child: "Blessed Art Though Among Women." He thought it meant "A Monk Swimming".

From the back cover:

"Slapped with a libel suit after an appearance on a talk show, Malachy McCourt crows, 'If they could only see me now in the slums of Limerick, a big shot, sued for a million. Bejesus, isn't America a great and wonderful country?' His older brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes, took its somber tone from the bleak atmosphere of those slums, while Malachy's boisterous recollections are fueled by his zestful appreciation for the opportunities and oddities of his native land.

He and Frank were born in Brooklyn, moved with their parents to Ireland as children, then returned to the States as adults. This book covers the decade 1952-63, when Malachy roistered across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, but spent most of his time in New York City. There his ready wit and quick tongue won him an acting job with the Irish Players, a semiregular stint on The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar, and friendships with some well-heeled, well-born types who shared his fondness for saloon life and bankrolled him in an East Side saloon that may have been the first singles bar. He chronicles those events--and many others--with back-slapping bonhomie.

Although McCourt acknowledges the personal demons that pursued him from his poverty-stricken childhood and destroyed his first marriage, this is on the whole an exuberant autobiography that pays tribute to the joys of a freewheeling life."

Hornby, Gill "Miss Austen"

Hornby, Gill "Miss Austen" - 2020

As I mentioned before, as part of the commemoration of Jane Austen's 250th birthday, the Classics Club has started a #Reading Austen project. We are reading a book by her every other month, and I want to do read something Austen-related by her in between.

In April, I read a German book by Catherine Bell, "Jane Austen und die Kunst der Worte" [Jane Austen and the Art of Words].  I was not impressed, I probably read too much about Jane Austen before and this one could have been written by any Jane Austen fan without doing any more research. Such a pity.

Mind you, "Miss Austen" wasn't all that much better, only a little. The Miss Austen mentioned in the title is not Jane but her sister Cassandra. We hear about her last self-given task, the intention to destroy the letters her sister had written that contained something Cassandra didn't want anyone to know, that would look bad on her sister's legacy. But, since those letters were destroyed, we don't know what it contained and the author just invented them.

I don't like people writing a sequel to a book where the original author died. I never did and I doubt I ever will. So, I guess my next book about Jane Austen (in August) will be a non-fiction again.

From the back cover:

"1840 : Cassandra Austen returns to the village of Kintbury.

She knows that, in some corner of the vicarage where she is staying, there is a cache of letters written by her sister Jane.

As Cassandra recalls her youth, she pieces together buried truths about Jane's history - and her own ; secrets which should not be revealed.

And she faces a stark choice : should she act to protect Jane's reputation?

Or leave the letters unguarded to shape her legacy..."

Weir, Alison "Katharine Parr. The Sixth Wife"

Weir, Alison "Katharine Parr. The Sixth Wife" (Six Tudor Queens #6) - 2021

The sixth wife of Henry VIII. And the sixth book in the Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir.

I think I knew far too little about Katharine Parr. She was Henry's last wife. She survived him. She had two husbands before him. She married again when he died only to die herself in childbed. That's about all I knew.

Of course, this is a novel based on the life of the queens. However, there is a lot in it that is history and where we can learn about that time in England.

We see through the eyes of Katharine Parr that women were just a commodity, and not worth a lot for that. At her first marriage, she doesn't even know the husband. Then she has to look for another one because otherwise a woman has no means to live. When she falls in love with Thomas Seymour, she has to marry the king who also wants her. What a life!

In any case, Alison Weir has brought the Tudor queens to life in a way no history book could ever have done. For that, I thank her profoundly.

From the back cover:

"Two husbands dead; a life marred by sadness. And now Katharine is in love for the first time in her life.

The eye of an ageing and dangerous king falls upon her. She cannot refuse him. She must stifle her feelings and never betray that she wanted another.

And now she is the sixth wife. Her queenship is a holy mission yet, fearfully, she dreams of the tragic parade of women who went before her. She cherishes the secret beliefs that could send her to the fire. And still the King loves and trusts her.

Now her enemies are closing in. She must fight for her very life.

KATHARINE PARR – the last of Henry’s queens.

Alison Weir recounts the extraordinary story of a woman forced into a perilous situation and rising heroically to the challenge. Katharine is a delightful woman, a warm and kindly heroine – and yet she will be betrayed by those she loves and trusts most.

Too late, the truth will dawn on her."

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden"

Thoreau, Henry David "Walden; or, Life in the Woods" - 1854

Everyone told me I should read the book. I like to think about and speak about philosophy. But this was not for me. I saw it as the ramblings of a guy who thinks the world of himself. He reminded me of a certain president of these days ….

Yes, he had the idea to live on his own with no support from anyone. But he met people all the time, didn't live far from civilization where he could get help if he needed it. And - he didn't just live of nothing. He had a house to live in, albeit a cabin that was small and had just the bare essentials, but many, many people had to live with less than that. And still have. Not exactly the heroism he likes to portray.

I thought maybe it would get better and I could learn something in the end. I didn't.

Book Description:

"Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature. This new paperback edition-introduced by noted American writer John Updike-celebrates the 150th anniversary of this classic work. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as 'Reading' and 'The Pond in the Winter' 

Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden - as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows. For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent."

Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home"

Worsley, Lucy "Jane Austen at Home" - 2017

My favourite book of the month. As part of the commemoration of Jane Austen's 250th birthday, the Classics Club has started a #Reading Austen project. We are reading a book by her every other month, last month it was "Pride & Prejudice", next month will be "Sense & Sensibility". When it fits in with my other reading "duties" (book clubs and challenges), I want to do read something Austen-related by her in between.

This was a fabulous biography. Lucy Worsley really "visited" Jane Austen at home and accompanied her on all her visits to friends and family. It was so nice to read what she and her family, especially her sister Cassandra had been up to. You hear about the relationship between them and also any other person of their lifetime. Also, the way they lived. We all know that they had money problems but it is different today, at least in our countries. Also, the things Jane did for female authors and women in general are not to be underestimated.

After reading this book, I feel I got to know Jane Austen better, almost personally. I would love to have all biographies written like this. I think I love the author even more than I did before.

There are so many quotes I could mention but I leave it at this one  about my favourite novel: "Persuasion was … set precisely in the period of peace between the months June 1814 and February 1815, when Britian's naval officers were on shore leave." It shows how her novels relate to the time she lived in.

From the back cover:

"Historian Lucy Worsley visits Jane Austen at home, exploring the author's life through the places which meant the most to her.

On the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death, historian Lucy Worsley leads us into the rooms from which our best-loved novelist quietly changed the world.

This new telling of the story of Jane's life shows us how and why she lived as she did, examining the places and spaces that mattered to her. It wasn't all country houses and ballrooms, but a life that was often a painful struggle. Jane famously lived a 'life without incident', but with new research and insights Lucy Worsley reveals a passionate woman who fought for her freedom. A woman who far from being a lonely spinster in fact had at least five marriage prospects, but who in the end refused to settle for anything less than Mr Darcy."

The book also contains some interesting pictures that relate to Jane Austen's life.

Oates, Joyce Carol "Blonde"

Oates, Joyce Carol "Blonde" - 2000

I find it hard to write this review. I love books by Joyce Carol Oates, I think she deserves the Nobel Prize. I am intrigued by the figure of Marilyn Monroe, I read the book "Marilyn" (Goodreads) by Norman Mailer ages ago. I think I was expecting something along that line.

What I got was a description of a child who didn't stand a chance in the world. How she became one of the greatest icons in the film industry? That was a long and arduous way and it didn't bring her any joy.

I had to remind myself often that this was just a book based on the real life story of the film star, even though most of the facts were true.

It was a long and heavy read. Did I enjoy it as much as the other JCO books? I'm not sure but I'm glad I read it.

From the back cover:

"In 'Blonde' we are given an intimate, unsparing vision of the woman who became Marilyn Monroe like no other: the child who visits the cinema with her mother; the orphan whose mother is declared mad; the woman who changes her name to become an actress; the fated celebrity, lover, comedienne, muse and icon. Joyce Carol Oates tells an epic American story of how a fragile, gifted young woman makes and remakes her identity, surviving against crushing odds, perpetually in conflict and intensely driven. Here is the very essence of the individual hungry and needy for love: from an elusive mother; from a mysterious, distant father and from a succession of lovers and husbands. Joyce Carol Oates sympathetically explores the inner life of the woman destined to become Hollywood’s most compelling legend. 'Blonde' is a brilliant and deeply moving portrait of a culture hypnotised by its own myths and the shattering reality of the personal effects it had on the woman who became Marilyn Monroe."

Bythell, Shaun "Remainders of the Day"

Bythell, Shaun "Remainders of the Day: More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown" - 2022

I absolutely love Shaun Bythell's books about his shop and his customers, his clients and his friends. I had already read his former ones and this is just as great.

So, this is certainly one of the best books I read this year. Shaun Bythell's humour is one of the greatest. I hope he will write a new book soon.

Here are some examples:

"Some people (so we're told) don't read. What unfulfilling lives they lead."
I couldn't agree more.

And his favourite from the book "Nil Desperandum, a Dictionary of Latin Tags and Phrases":
"Timeo hominem unius libri." - "I fear the man of one book!"
We definitely should!

A sixteenth century Spanish curse:
"For him that stealeth this book, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him."

Book description:

"After twenty years running The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, Shaun Bythell's life has settled into a mostly comfortable routine; days spent roaming between the shelves, poetry nights by the fire, frequent drop-ins from friends with gossip.

But while customers come and go - whether or not they’ve paid - there’s never a quiet moment in The Bookshop. Apart from the usual stream of die-hard trainspotters, antiquarian porn collectors and toddlers looking for somewhere cosy to urinate, Shaun still must contend with his employees’ increasingly eccentric habits, the mayhem of the Wigtown Book Festival and the shock of the town’s pub changing hands.

Warm and witty, with Shaun’s iconic mix of deadpan humour and grouchy charm, Remainders of the Day is the latest in his bestselling diary series."