I didn’t quite hit my Goodreads goal for 2019 – 100 books – I only made it to 98. So close but yet so far. Mostly because my reading time has been significantly impacted by my doing a PGCE. So my 2020 goal is slightly more restrained -75 books.
You can follow along with my progress on Goodreads.
Reading Lately:
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
I feel a bit guilty disliking a book that everyone else seemed to enjoy but… Nothing really happened and the characters weren’t developed particularly well.
2 stars
Midwinter Day by Bernadette Mayer
I picked this up because one of my favourite poets, Alice Notley, recommended it. It’s a whole collection centered around one normal day in a woman’s life. Parts of it did not land with me, but others (especially towards the end) were truly special.
3 stars
The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks by Gwendolyn Brooks
knew the Brooks poem ‘We Real Cool’ but I hadn’t read any other her others. I’m so glad I’ve remedied that; it’s a powerful collection of social upheaval.
4 stars
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
It’s a story of divorce, gender-dynamics and money in America. I liked the story of Toby and Rachel but I didn’t like the narrative construct and framing.
3 stars
Educated by Tara Westover
This story of Westover’s time indoctrinated in a religious, cult-like family was fascinating and terrifying. I was thoroughly griped!
5 stars
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
I re-read the book to teach it to A- Level students. Atwood is so clever – I pick up new meanings and depth to the novel every time that I read it and it never gets old.
4 stars
Disobedience by Alice Notley
This is a defiant collection of poetry and some of my favourite of Notley’s work.
4 stars
Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
This book was beautiful. I’m not sure I understood 100% of it and it definitely deserves to be re-read. Fox had compelling and heartbreaking insights into love and marriage.
4 stars
Never Greener by Ruth Jones
The writing was fluffy and shallow, and the main characters were unlikeable. The last 1/4 of the book was better than the first 3/4ths but not by much.
2 stars
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
This was an engrossing read. It completely de-romances the Greco-Trojan War and puts women at the forefront. The horror running through this retelling is palpable, but anyone who has read the Iliad and the Song of Achilles will know there’s no real happy ending. It’s a very provoking read about our ideas of what makes a classic “hero”. Trigger-warning for graphic violence, rape, abuse and sexual assault.
4 stars
The Wicked King by Holly Black
The second in the YA series about mortals who have been raised in the deadly work of the fae, I actually enjoyed this more than the first in the series and the third is on my to-read list!
4 stars
The Descent of Alette by Alice Notley
This is a poetry collection inspired by Orpheus and Persephone and their trips to Hades but set in the New York metro to examine ideas of sexuality and sexual politics.
3 stars
Live for a Living by Buddy Wakefield
I’ve read other Wakefield before, and this was my preferred collection of his. There are some poems that crackle with energy and excitement in this collection.
4 stars
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I finally managed to nab Obama’s record breaking autobiography at my local library after having been on the waiting list for nearly a year. I found the entire book fascinating, though I would have preferred a bit more to have been set during the presidential years.
5 stars
Mortal Engines #1 by Philip Reeve
Yet another YA series that passed me by. There’s a lot of world-building that goes on in this first instalment, and there’s also a lot of terminology to grasp, but I found the story really interesting. Skip the film adaptation though.
4 stars
Love Looks Pretty on You by Lang Leav
I’ve read other poetry by Leav, but I just found this one a bit shallow and disappointing.
2 stars
Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
It took me a little while to get into this story of a semi-magical realism eqsue setting along a river village in Southern England. The story centers around the people who live along the river and a little girl who is mysteriously fished out of it one night, seemingly dead. It reminded me a bit of ‘The Essex Serpent’.
3 stars
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
I read this so that I could have a full grasp of the GCSE English curriculum and I found myself pleasantly surprised. This play about class and social responsibility was thoroughly exciting.
3 stars
Three Days in the Country: After Turgenev by Patrick Marber
Marber’s adaptation of the Russian classic of unrequited love, missed-opportunity love, and all other types of love. Touching, sad but enjoyable.
3 stars
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol
This Russian comedy is bleakly funny and fairly easily lends itself to imagining it off the page. It’s not my favourite play, but it’s solid.
3 stars
The Dispute by Pierre de Marivaux
Who is more unfaithful? Men or women? That’s the crux of this classic French play. It’s witty and fun, though dense to read. I’d like to see it live.
3 stars
The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkin’s Photographs
This was a biography accompanied by photographs that the poet Philip Larkin took himself. I found the whole thing fascinating and I keep recommending it to anyone with an interest in poetry.
5 stars
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Don’t get me wrong. I love reading classic literature. I just couldn’t get myself interested in this in the slightest. It’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to giving up on a book.
1 star
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
I really disliked this young YA novel about the Holocaust. I found it derivative to the point of potentially being insulting and the plot is paper thin. The novel is trying to make you cry but it is paper thin.
2 stars
Fleabag: Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
If you love Fleabag, you’ll love owning your own copy of the Scriptures. It’s scripts for the programme and it’s absolutely fun for any super-fan to read. Waller-Bridge is such a talent. I cried and laughed several times, despite having seen both the television show and the play.
5 stars
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I re-read Macbeth both in preparation to teach it and due to the fact that I will be playing Lady Macbeth this spring. One of Shakespeare best and bloodiest plays!
4 stars
The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Milwood Hargrave
This book was incredibly dull. It’s a YA novel, and it’s basically a poor adaptation of Moana. I read it because I was due to teach it, but I suspect it was chosen for the curriculum because of its female heroine and not other reason. The plot is terrible, the characters flimsy and there is little to note positively.
1 star
Antigone by Roy Williams
This is a modern, urban re-telling of the classic Greek tragedy. It just really didn’t come alive off of the page, but I can see it’s potential to be an interesting adaptation when live.
2 stars
I am Heathcliff: Stories Inspired by Wuthering Heights by Kate Mosse
This was a collection of short-stories all inspired by Wuthering Heights and by the character of Heathcliff more specifically. A few of the stories were quite good but you had to wade through a lot that were really naff as well.
2 stars
The Deathless Girls by Kiran Milwood Hargrave
After not enjoying ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’ I decided that Hargrave perhaps deserved a second chance, if only to read something aimed at an older audience. This story of the Brides of Dracula was infinitely more engaging but it lacked heart.
3 stars
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
Another YA novel that had passed me by. Again, I was due to teach Morpurgo’s (the author of ‘War Horse’) other famous WWI novel. Keep the tissues at the ready for this tale of brotherly love in the trenches.
4 stars
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This novel is set in the American South and it’s about wrongful imprisonment, social justice, the American incarceration system, the institution of marriage and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cried and my heart ached for pretty much every character in it.
4 stars
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
I knew the story of ACC thanks to the muppets but I had never actually read it before until I realised that I had to teach it. It’s simplistic in it’s morality but its a short and lasting yarn.
3 stars
Sabriel by Garth Nix
This YA series passed me by as a kid and I was absolutely gripped by the first in the series. I will definitely read the others!
4 stars
Mysteries of Small Houses by Alice Notley
I enjoyed this collection of poetry from Notley but I didn’t find it as visceral as some of her other collections.
3 stars
It by Stephen King
I enjoyed this King book despite my gut constantly telling me that King has a disrespectful attitude towards women. Famous child orgy aside (I still can’t make that plot point make sense) the novel was gripping.
3 stars
You by Caroline Kepnes
I read the book because I’ve watched seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix drama. The best part of either the books or the telly programme is Penn Badgley pleading with us all not to romanticise Joe Goldberg. Amen, Penn.
2 stars
The Woman in the Window by A J Finn
This is a psychological thriller about a woman with agoraphobia and alcoholism who used to be a psychiatrist herself. I found the twist rather disappointing but I can see why the book was so popular.
2 stars
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
I think I must just not enjoy Haig as much as everyone else does. It was a touching tale of a rare genetic predisposition to living for 100s of year, but I just didn’t find the story engaging enough.
3 stars
My top suggestions: ‘Becoming’, ‘Educated’ and ‘An American Marriage’
Have you read anything great that you can recommend to me lately?
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
What I’ve Been Reading (July 2019)
What I’ve Been Reading (Feb 2019)
What I’ve Been Reading (Oct 2018)
What I’ve Been Reading (Apr 2018)
What I’ve Been Reading (Feb 2018)
What I’ve Been Reading (Jul 2017)
What I’ve Been Reading (Mar 2017)
What I’ve Been Reading (Jan 2017)
What I’ve Been Reading (Oct 2016)
What I’ve Been Reading (June 2016)
What I’ve Been Reading (Nov 2015)
What I’ve Been Reading (July 2015)
What I’ve Been Reading (May 2015)
What I’ve Been Reading (Feb 2015)
