Most recent reads

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers. If you make a purchase through the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not impact the price of items, and it does not influence the content of this blog. 

In today's post, I am reflecting on my most recent reads. That pile of books which waits not to be read, but to go back on the shelves. The last pages have been turned, the final sentences read, and that wistful feeling has been felt . . .

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

A deserved winner of the BookBrowse Best Debut Award, 2020.

Hà Nội, 1972. Twelve year old Huong clings to her grandmother as they navigate war torn Việt Nam. As Huong comes of age in a land scarred by war, she must do as her grandmother has done before her; hold her family together as war tears everything else apart.

You can purchase The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quể Mai here.

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's famous little Belgian detective, with his little grey cells and handsome moustaches, triumphs in another case. This time, as he weaves through red herrings, he must solve the murder of a young girl at a Halloween party. A young girl that claimed to have seen a murder herself.

You can purchase Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie here.

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch

A mutilated body in Crawley.

Robert Weil is the prime suspect, but it must be discerned whether or not he is just an average serial killer or whether he has links to things more powerful. 

And, as if that isn't enough, London always has a lot more to throw at PC Peter Grant.

Grant navigates a weird world and must connect dots everywhere he goes . . .

You can purchase Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch here.

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by PG Wodehouse 

A novel starring perhaps Wodehouse's most famous pair – Jeeves and Wooster.

'Stilton' Cheesewright would very much like to beat poor Bertie Wooster to a pulp – thankfully, for Bertie, Cheesewright has money on Wooster's performance in the Drones Club annual darts tournament. 

And poor put-upon Bertie is upsetting others too . . . with an offensive moustache. How will he survive a world this much against him?

You can purchase Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by PG Wodehouse here.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The beautiful Countess Olenska returns to rigidly conventional New York society, sending reverberations throughout its upper reaches. 

The Countess brings with her sophistication and a hint of scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. 

A passionate bond develops between her and Newland Archer, a man about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a beautiful young woman. 

You can purchase The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton here.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

An excellent novel.

Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works a houseboy for a university professor. Richard is a shy Englishman enraptured to Olanna's twin sister. Olanna being a young woman from Lagos who has given up her life of privilege to live with the university professor, her lover.

You can purchase Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie here.

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The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths – review

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers. If you make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. This does not affect the cost of any items, and it does not influence the content of this blog. 

There is a quote on the cover of this book taken from the Sunday Mirror. A love letter to murder mysteries. And it certainly feels as though Elly Griffiths was having fun when she wrote this book.

In The Postscript Murders, we are invited into the world of crime authors, where sometimes they become the victims at the centre of a murder mystery themselves.

DS Harbinder Kaur investigates the death of ninety-year-old Peggy Smith, a 'murder consultant' who plotted deaths for authors. At first DS Kaur is little concerned by the case, but when Peggy's carer, Natalka, reports being held at gunpoint whilst cleaning out Peggy's flat, that soon changes.

By turning her lens onto the world of crime writing, Griffiths has been able to have a little fun with her own profession, and share its best aspects. For a start, there's Peggy, the victim herself, whose job it is to devise interesting ways to murder people. Not real people, mind you. Still, inventing ways in which to commit murder is still inventing ways in which to commit murder. 

And from Peggy, inventing murders and people-watching, and her death, there is born a mystery solving gang, almost à la Scooby Doo. Natalka, Peggy's carer leads the way, a strong and determined young woman from Ukraine with a past that's home to shadowy figures; Benedict is a mindful coffee shop owner – The Shack – who used to be a monk, and he is measured, but also uncertain when it comes to the ways of the world; Edwin is an elderly gentleman, a real gentleman, who used to work at the BBC, and who knew Peggy because they lived in the same building. Together this gang make it their mission to find the answers to the questions around Peggy's death. 

DS Kaur works with the gang to solve the case, whilst also navigating the struggles of having to live at home with mum and dad. Whereas other fictional coppers might hit the bottle for relief from the pressures of the job, DS Kaur is addicted to the games on her phone. 

Along the way, we traverse the world of the crime novelists, and even get to poke a little fun at elements of that world. Such as the slightly pretentious writer who insists their work is more literary than crime fiction – genres such as crime, horror, and romance all have to put up with their snooty detractors, sometimes from within.

Yes, it definitely feels as though Elly Griffiths was having some fun when she wrote this one. 

And, I had fun reading it. In particular, following the amateur sleuths, Natalka, Edwin, and Benedict. To be honest, I found each of these characters more interesting than the detective of the novel. If Elly Griffiths ever feels the need to return to this world, I hope it is to revisit the gang rather than the detective. 

In this novel, Griffiths presents each chapter from the point of view of each character. Apart from giving the reader the chance to see the mystery of the book from different points of view, the chance consider the problem from different angles, it is a useful device for getting to know each of the characters better. And I very much enjoyed getting to know the characters.

Though it is useful to have a detective in the novel, able as they are to go places an amateur sleuth would find it difficult to gain access, I did find those chapters with DS Kaur the least enjoyable of the book. I found her to be the least likeable character. She seems to have a problem with absolutely everyone and everything else – her brothers, her partner at work, the family dog. To be mildly annoyed seemed to be her default setting. 

However, of course, liking or disliking a character is all very subjective. It could be that I am in the minority and others will completely and utterly despise Natalka, probably my favourite character of the novel. 

Yes, I very much enjoyed this crime novel set in the world of crime novelists. I don't know that I have read a crime novel quite like it before. 

You can purchase a copy of The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths here.

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Thank you for reading!

Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins by Rupert Everett – review

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers. If you make a purchase through the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. This does not affect the prices, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

Ah. The showbiz autobiography. When done well, an insightful piece of work, an enjoyable and interesting peek into the mansions, the studios, and VIP sections . . .  And the personalities of the people that populate them.

When done badly, thinly veiled, empty self-celebration, and/or an attempt at raising one's profile. Like perfumes and fashion lines, just something every celebrity does because . . . Well, it's just what's done, dahling. A nice bit of passive income too, sweetie.

Anyone with just a whiff of fame's toxic scent can get an autobiography on bookshop shelves. From the awfully vacuous to the splendidly soulful . . . 

I am referring to the biographies, of course, not the celebrities. I swear. 

But, after all, Rupert Everett's Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins is a showbiz autobiography done well. Very well.

This account of his life and career begins with a scene at an Essex farmhouse, slap-bang right in the middle of the 1960s, surrounded by burning fields; a scene of high domestic drama. And, from there, to cinema screens and beyond. From the seedy to the showbiz. The reader follows the progress of Mr. Everett's life from sixties England, through Parisian nightclubs, to early 2000s America.

The writing is witty, and ranks with the very best, having been compared to Evelyn Waugh and the Byronic. It does what all good writing ought to – it scrapes away the bullshit to get at the truth. Oh, and it entertains.

This book, though filled with dramatic scenes, populated with extraordinary people, and recounting fantastic events, is human and soulful. Alongside the champagne scenes, there are accounts of vulnerability. Death and sadness happens even amongst the stars.

But, fear not, there is no performative victimhood or self-pity here, only a disarming honesty.

Rupert Everett's career as an actor, for me, has always existed on the periphery of the cultural landscape. I have been aware of his work, but I have felt no strong feelings about it one way or the other.

I am no avid follower of celebrity lives either, so many of the people in this book I was only vaguely familiar with. Some I recognised not at all.

I tell you this because I want to assure you that this book is not just showbiz and celebrity. Indeed, the showbiz and the celebrity is incidental. It is the humanity and soul on every page that makes this telling worth the read, it is this that kept me reading.

I might not have been paying much attention to Everett's work as an actor. But as for his work as a writer, I am ready for more.

You can purchase a copy of Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins by Rupert Everett here.

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Surrounded by Psychopaths by Thomas Erikson – review

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers. If you make a purchase through links in this blog, the blogger might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not influence the content, and it does not impact upon the price of the items.

Following the success of Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson has had published a series of books about how we interact with our fellow human beings. Whereas the first was a general look at how we might communicate better with the people in our lives, this one specifically casts its eye on the "psychopaths" we might encounter. 

The use of this word, psychopath, has drawn some criticism, with some readers feeling that the word is used too freely. And the reader does wonder if it is not used to sensationalise, as a sales tactic, rather than because the book deals with genuine psychopathy.

The title, and the book throughout, might have been criticised less, had the word "psychopath" been replaced with "self-serving manipulators". But, as I say, that's not quite as saleable a title.

The cold manipulator is not necessarily a psychopath. And this book does have some thought provoking points when it comes to spotting and handling manipulators.

As far as I can tell, Thomas Erikson, works in fields concerned with communication and behaviour. He is not a psychologist. So, yes, there are points worth paying attention too as he writes about communicating with people who will manipulate and exploit to get what they want. But his assertions about psychopathy should probably be questioned by the reader.

As a simple guide to spotting and handling manipulators, this is worth a read. If it's a study of psychopathy you're after, you will need to do some further reading.

There is value in the book. As I read, I found myself considering an unhealthy relationship of my own. Wishing I had had some of the words that I found in this book. Some of the responses the author suggests for manipulative and controlling behaviour. I am not sure she is a psychopath, but the manipulative behaviour described rang true to some experiences, and I think I might have been better equipped had I read a book like this then. So, yes, there is value in the book, in my opinion. It does provoke thought.

Then, of course, I was occupying a completely different space, mentally and emotionally, when I was in that relationship. So, I might still have fumbled with the tools provided by this book, and failed . . .

I would say, if you are in a miserable situation, with someone whom you fear is using you for their own benefit, do not turn to this book as an instruction on how to escape that. There isn't really anything more practical than suggested responses to the manipulator's words and behaviours. There are no resources listed for the victim concerned for their safety. 

If you are that person, seek out better resources than this book.

Would I recommend this book? Hmm. As I say, it depends what you are looking for. Do not let this be the book that shapes your idea of psychopathy, and bear in mind the author's experience. But there are some valid points and descriptions of red flags, and tools suggested in dealing with exploitative  and manipulative behaviour. This is where the book's worth can be found.

I am a little back and forth with my feelings on this one, I'm afraid. There are valid criticisms to be levelled at the book. But that doesn't mean it is without worth. 

Anyway, with those cold hearted manipulators in mind . . .

Keep your eyes open, watch out for those red flags, don't get caught up in charm and excitement. Go at your own pace, and if it looks like a bad situation, if you can, reach out and get out.

And, if I might be allowed to offer some further advice, don't concern yourself so much with chemistry, but look for compatibility instead.

You can purchase Surrounded by Psychopaths by Thomas Erikson here.

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Out of Love by Hazel Hayes – review

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers. If you make a purchase through any links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the cost. And it does not influence the content of this blog.

Out of Love is one of those novels that has the power to blow away all the other books on your TBR pile. A headlining act.


The main themes with which it is concerned are nothing new – love and heartbreak. However, Hazel Hayes has written with an honesty and wisdom that is fresh and insightful.


After a break up, a young woman considers the relationship that led to her broken heart. Anyone who has been through a painful break up will know the time spent turning over the good times and the bad, trying to figure out exactly when things went rotten. Was it ever right? When did they stop loving me? And though Hayes is not the first author to consider love lost – far from it! – she has demonstrated a rare gift. She has written on love and heartbreak in such a way that it feels almost as though it had never been written about before.

Artists of all sorts have been inspired by heartbreak. We have the novels, songs, poems, paintings, and films to prove that. But when we must experience it for ourselves, it still feels gigantic, profound, and lonely.

And so, we turn to those works. For me, during my own last heartbreak, I remember playing a lot of Jeff Buckley. For others, you could do a lot worse than Out of Love.

Though, it is not only the heartbroken that might find something wonderful here . . .

In telling this story from the end of the relationship to the beginning, Hazel Hayes leaves the reader with all the hope and healing with which we begin romantic relationships. If it had been told the other way, we might be left feeling that it is a story of tragedy, of love turned foul. But there is healing and hope there in the relationship. Though it might not last, and though the ultimate destination might be painful, the journey was full of value.

In the end, it turns out, this is not a book about broken hearts, not entirely, but a book about the value of love. It is a book about what love can teach us, how it can heal. And why we ought to be open to it, despite past pains and losses.



My advice? At the risk of this posting being a tad to heavy on praise – though I think this novel is worthy – I will just say, read this book!

You can purchase a copy of Out of Love by Hazel Hayes here.

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A Room With A View by E. M. Forster – analysis and review

 Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party sellers, and if you make a purchase through links in this blog I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not impact the cost of any items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

E. M. Forster was known for writing on the theme of hypocrisy. And he did so wonderfully in this 1908 novel, a sunny story about love and social convention – this has been called the most readable of Forster's novels. This is a critique of Edwardian restraint. It is also a consideration of expectation and propriety, and how they stand up to genuine feeling and truth. Though the Edwardian era may be an alien world to many modern readers, these themes are everlasting. Do we not still live in a world of people torn between expectation and genuine feelings?

Lucy Honeychurch is visiting Italy, with her prim and proper cousin Charlotte acting as chaperone. And this is the beginning of things. Between the unconventional Emersons – Mr Emerson and his son, George – and her family, Lucy is pulled between social expectation and what stirs in her own heart. Confused by her feelings, she begins to wander down the path that she believes she ought to travel. But signs that this is not the way of greatest fulfillment and happiness reveal themselves.

The heart and truth must win out . . .

At 114 years old, the conventions and hypocrosies that Forster critiqued here might seem dated to the modern reader. But what does not date or become irrelevant is the struggle of trying to bridge the gap between one's inner and outer life. That is something that many a reader can understand. The question of being true to oneself when that might just upset your whole world. 

Forster though, a gay man who lived in a time and place when it was criminal to be so, knew that the heart must win. That truth and real feeling should rise. A world without these, a world of empty ceremony and loveless engagements, is a confusing and suffocating world.

You can purchase a copy of E. M. Forster's A Room With A View here.

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Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson (and what I learned about myself)

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with third party retailers. If you should make a purchase through links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the cost of the books, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

I am a smidge of yellow, green, and blue. Though there is not much red in me, if any at all, that I can see. Though I was in a relationship with a red and I did not enjoy that very much at all.

By this, I mean that I am optimistic, creative, and easygoing (yellow); considerate, thoughtful, and a good listener (green); cautious, methodical, and unassuming (blue).

My ex was ambitious, impatient, and controlling (red). 

But, enough of all that . . .

Surrounded by Idiots is a method for assessing everyone that we communicate with, and how to communicate more effectively. The book uses the DISC method  of describing human communication and behaviour, and from there discusses and explores better means of how to understand, and be understood by, the people we meet. 

Erikson points out that, as we communicate with others, whatever our intentions, the people to whom we are speaking or writing will always receive what we say through their own lens. We all have our own points of reference, our own experiences, and our own individual levels of intelligence through which we filter the information we receive. So, communication depends very much upon the recipient. 

Erikson posits that once the reader understands this the easier they will be able to express themselves to others, and that the communicator will be able to adapt their message to the recipient.

The book also makes an effort to point out that all colours, all behaviour types are needed, and are of value. Because, as it turns out, we are not surrounded by idiots, just people who are reading a different map than our own.

I began this post with a little tongue-in-cheek revelation about myself and an ex-partner. Well, sort of lighthearted. 

This book reminds the reader to consider themselves and how they relate with others. The relationship between two people depends upon the effort that each makes to understand the other. If you cannot meet the listener, the person you are trying to reach, if you cannot make the effort, at least, then the breakdown in communication is the responsibility of each of you.

But this is not a blame game. This is about getting better. And that always has value, and is worth a try. For that reason alone, this book is worth a read, and worthy of its popularity. 

You can purchase a copy of Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson here

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Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge - analysis and review

 

Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge (Photo from personal collection)

Disclaimer: This blog is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sellers. However, this does not affect the price of the books, and it does not influence the content of the blog.

The central theme of Eeny Meeny is a dark and terrible question - how much could you endure before you would commit a horrible act? 

A killer is abducting people in pairs, holding them captive, and forcing them to choose which of them lives and which of them dies. And, on the hunt for this monster, is DI Helen Grace, and her team, a DI who has her own demons, which she manages in her own way - the infliction of pain.

Throughout the novel runs a theme of people trying to cope with their demons. From the victims of the killer, to the killer too, who has taken the darkest of routes. But there are also the members of DI Grace's team, with their own pains and losses they are trying to navigate. DS Mark Fuller's problems with his ex-partner have seen him falling into a bottle. And then there is Helen Grace, dealing with emotional pains through the infliction of physical pain upon herself.

Yes, this novel could be considered an exploration into the ways which people further their own misery, through the unhealthy ways in which they manage troubles and pains.

This novel, Eeny Meeny, was the first Helen Grace novel, and it spawned a successful series. And, as I found out, back in March, when I had a little Q&A exchange with the author, M. J. Arlidge actively enjoys exploring those dark corners of what it is to be human. You can read that interview here.

In Helen Grace, Arlidge has created a unique and fascinating character. She does not turn to drink or drugs, like other fictional detectives before her, to deal with the darkness in her life. She controls inner torment with physical torment. She is a matter-of-fact woman, devoted to her work. But, though she gives little away to her colleagues, there are signs of a deeper and richer inner life to DI Grace. Signs of a good and caring heart.

She is a character I find myself wanting to know better.

The book is fast-paced, with chapters short and delivering only what is necessary to tell the story - there is little fat here on this lean tale. I used to read quite a lot of crime fiction when I was younger, and this novel reminded me of why. I really enjoyed Eeny Meeny and, since I read the book, other novels in the DI Helen Grace series have been added to my bookshelves.

You can purchase Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge here

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Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann - analysis and review

 

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not impact upon the price of the items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

Oscar Wilde's life was lived in two parts. In the first part, a famous literary man, celebrated and satirised in almost equal measure, an outrageous figure, but a respected author and playwright of Victorian London. In the second part, he was an exiled man, nearly broken by two years of prison and hard labour, fated to die lonely, scraping by on donations from the few still willing to give.

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Richard Ellmann brought the subject's life into sharp focus, from Wilde's fame and flamboyance, to his pain and depressions. Wilde is brought to life here.

It has been said that Wilde almost lived his life as though he were planning to be the ideal subject for a biographer, and it is hard to disagree with that assertion when you have finished the final page of Ellmann's work. 

The best biographies strip away at time and space, and make the subject more than just a sample of a life, something studied in cold analyses. The best biographers bring their subjects, regardless of the time or place in which they lived, to life, and that is what Ellmann did here. We find Wilde as a kind, innocent, and generous man. We find him as a man broken and pained by prison and exile, by the cold cuts from past friends, because of his homosexuality. We find Wilde as a man brought down by love and cruelty.

If you've any interest in literary history at all, or if you just have an appreciation for well written biographies, biographies written with real care and consideration, then you should know that this is a charming and captivating read. A truly excellent biography of a truly excellent man!

I have discovered that this biography can be somewhat tricky to track down, but if you should come across this book, be sure to snap it up! However, a more recently published biography of Wilde, Oscar: A Life by Matthew Sturgis, has received very favourable reviews that compare it to Ellmann's work, and this book is available here.

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I resist ad space here as much as possible, preferring to generate conversation rather than sales and clicks. This allows me to write unrestrained, unbound by any commercial influence. Writing like this, done with care, is important in a world of advertisements disguised as articles and content created just to make a sale.

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Interview: Creating Detective Inspector Helen Grace

 

M. J. Arlidge, author of the DI Helen Grace series. (Image source: penguin.co.uk)

Disclaimer: this blog is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the price of the items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

A kick ass female Detective Inspector and exploring darkness inspired a successful series of crime thrillers for M. J. Arlidge, author of the DI Helen Grace series.

M. J. Arlidge, successful novelist, screenwriter, and producer, allowed Monsta Reader the opportunity to ask some questions recently - with the new Helen Grace thriller, Cat and Mouse, due for publication on 9 June 2022, I thought it might be a good time to look back to where it all started. In 2014, readers were introduced to DI Helen Grace in the first thrilling novel of the series, Eeny Meeny, and I was curious as to how it all started and where Helen Grace came from . . .

Monsta Reader: Crime fiction has given us many iconic fictional detectives. Were you inspired by any of them in your creation of Detective Inspector Helen Grace? Or did she come from somewhere else entirely?

M. J. Arlidge: The key thing for me when creating Helen was not to make her boring. Like many others, I always love the bad guys and girls, but sometimes find fictional heroes and heroines too straight, too nutritional. I wanted my protagonist to be different and I enjoy writing female characters more than men, so it was no accident that my hero was a woman. I also knew I wanted to avoid the clichés of failing marriages, drink problems etc., so I decided to opt for pain as my hero's emotional crutch. I was reading a lot of Stieg Larsson at the time and think I was influenced by him too. The unconventional, kick ass spirit of Lisbeth Salander is very present in Helen Grace.

First Helen Grace thriller, Eeny Meeny. (Photo from personal collection)

MR: For how long was DI Helen Grace a part of your life before readers met her in her first novel, Eeny Meeny, in 2014?

MJA: Not that long actually. I knew I had a concept I liked - a serial killer abducting people in pairs and forcing one to kill the other in order to gain their freedom - so then it was a question of populating this wicked world with interesting characters. That said, I started writing her in 2012 and she wasn't unleashed on the world until 2014, so I had her to myself for a couple of years!

MR: Did you always intend for Eeny Meeny to be the first in a series of novels? Did you suspect it would be as successful as it was?

MJA: When I first sat down with Penguin, I pitched them the first seven Helen Grace novels! I was showing off, I guess, but I was also showing that I wanted Helen to be a long running character. I was fortunate that my debut Eeny Meeny did really well, launching the series round the world. I have Richard and Judy to thank for picking it for their book club and getting the word out there.

MR: In DI Helen Grace's world, there is a lot of darkness. In the people that she is tasked with hunting down, but in her own life, and amongst her team too, there are demons being fought. Is it a struggle tackling such dark themes? How do you unwind from them?

MJA: No, it's not a struggle at all. I actively enjoy going into the dark corner of human experiences and finding out what makes people tick. My own life is completely different - safe, happy, chilled - so it's not hard to extract myself. Sometimes my research is dark and upsetting, so then it's great to be able to step away from it and spend time with family, or play tennis or, of course, read a good book!

MR: How do you think you would fare in that world? Hunting down killers?

MJA: I think I would be pretty bad, as I come from a family of cowards. I suspect I would probably hide in the cupboard until it was all over and hope to be the last man standing.

Thank you to Matthew Arlidge for taking the time to answer these questions. You can find Matthew on Instagram and Twitter, and new Helen Grace thriller, Cat and Mouse, is due for release on 9 June 2022.

You can purchase Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge here.

You can pre-order Cat and Mouse by M. J. Arlidge here.

Thank you for reading. Before you go, can I ask that you please consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me asking questions and turning pages!

I resist ad space, wanting to generate more than sales here. With writerly ambitions, I throw myself on the kindness of readers to support the blog and the time that goes into maintaining its presence.

If you can, please visit ko-fi.com, where you will also find links to other blog posts and other of my writing. 

Want to travel in your armchair?

 Disclaimer: Monsta Reader is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the prices of items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

With sunnier months on the horizon, minds turn to travel and holidays. And so, in this post, I am pulling five great pieces of travel writing from my bookshelves and considering what lies between the covers.

Come with me, armchair adventurers!

1. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

A very funny book.

At the age of forty-four, with his friend, Stephen Katz, Bill Bryson set off to hike the longest continuous footpath in the world; the Appalachian Trail. 

With brutal weather, insects seemingly striving to make the trek unbearable, unreliable maps and probably one of the least reliable hiking companions anyone could ask for, Bryson struggled on to achieve his ambition of hiking the trail, and not die in the process!

You can purchase A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson here.

2. The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Another Bryson because, well, he's one of the best travel writers to ever put fingers to a keyboard, not to mention one of the funniest.

This is Bryson's follow-up to Notes From a Small Island, his book about travels he took around Britain twenty-five years ago. To mark the twentieth anniversary of that best-seller, Bryson took another trip around this island and noted, once again, what he saw and experienced. Another humorous read from one of the masters of travel writing!

You can purchase The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson here.

3. Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw: Excursions in the Great Weird North by Will Ferguson

As all the best travel writing does, expect to be left with a desire to go wandering!

Will Ferguson spent three years travelling across Canada and back again. From seaplanes to canoes and many other modes of transport in between.

Along the way, the writer delves into Canada's history and landscape, explored here in this excellent book.

You can purchase Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw by Will Ferguson here.

4. Red Dust: A Path Through China by Ma Jian

An acclaimed and award-winning travel book from Ma Jian!

1983; a time of economic reform and youthful rebellion in Deng Xiaoping. Ma Jian's ex-wife was seeking custody of their daughter and his girlfriend was sleeping with another man. At a point of personal and wider upheavals, one day he bought a train ticket to the westernmost border of China and began a journey to find himself.

This is a piece of travel-writing written by an author that can call their subject home, but who was also an outsider; it reveals China as a land of contradictions.

You can purchase Red Dust by Ma Jian here.

5. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

'The stooping figure of my mother, waist-deep in the grass and caught there like a piece of sheep's wool, was the last I saw of my country home as I left it to discover the world'

In London, a young Laurie Lee made a living as a labourer and playing the violin. But, desiring further adventure, and with just a blanket and a violin, he spent a year crossing Spain, from north to south. I discovered Laurie Lee only recently, I am ashamed to say, but fell for his beautiful and lyrical writing immediately.

Laurie Lee's writing is just wonderful.

You can purchase As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee here.

Just before you go, can I ask that you please consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me following in the footsteps of the great travel-writers, if only only from the comfort of home . . .

Coveted remunerations from writing . . .

 

Disclaimer: Monsta Reader is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the prices of the items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

I harbour hopes and dreams of making money from my writing. Not just that, but making a career out of it too.

In my teens, I was racked with anxiety and, perhaps consequently, an almost complete lack of confidence and self-esteem. And I didn't even begin to make sense of that until I was in my twenties, so I was kind of distracted in my younger years. I didn't figure out what I wanted from life, including the career path I wanted to take. So, in adulthood, I drifted into jobs that meant very little to me, and I never found myself at the bottom of any ladders that I wanted to climb.

From my youngest years, I had been an avid reader, but I didn't know how to do anything with that. The thought of being a writer didn't even occur to me; books were magic things, created by otherworldly beings, a sort of divine thing that I could never hope to touch! In my council house home, hand-me-down world, such hopes and dreams weren't even considered.

It's no coincidence that this blog concerns itself with books. It is driven by a love for the written word; my love for writing is an extension of my love for reading. And I am addicted!

When I started this blog, I had very few motivating factors, just that I wanted to write and a blog seemed an avenue wide open for exploration. There was, in the back of my mind, thoughts of how I might exploit an online presence in the future, but they were the vaguest of thoughts, not even half-formed. They were but wisps of mist, hanging over the main body of the idea - to write!

This blog, this space, is where I come most to write. I also write poems and little stories, but none have gotten me recognition or remuneration yet. There have been a few filler pieces in magazines published but, overall, in terms of money and recognition, it has to be said, I am a rather unsuccessful writer!

Now, partly, I must shoulder some of the blame for this. Like many writers before me, both great and mediocre, I am prone to procrastination - the great enemy of every writer! And, I am an embarrassingly ineffective self-marketer. Rather than striving to understand algorithms and all that jazz, I have been immersing myself into "How to write . . ." books, and trying to perfect technique and style. I research, write, proofread, edit, rewrite . . . and by the time I get to the marketing, sharing all over social media, and whatnot, I am ready for coffee, cake, and not much else.

Here's the problem - I am a writer, and so, I am trying to perfect my writing. And, as much as I read all about how one can go about being a more effective creator of content for social media, and improve chances of being found through online searches, my heart is only half in all that stuff. The problem is, I don't want to sell, I want to engage. But, we live in a world of CEOs and influencers, I suppose . . . One has to diversify to be successful, don't ya know.

I enjoy writing. It exorcises, it invigorates, it quiets the ego, feeds the soul . . . And I will continue to write, despite the lack of money and recognition. I will write because of all that deeper and richer stuff, and I will write just because I enjoy writing. But I will also continue to hope for, and work towards, a career as a writer. I think I deserve it. I think I am a good writer. Not the best - though I certainly see others whose work I could surpass getting the recognition that I covet - but I am getting better.

Will you do me a favour? If you read a piece, and if it's well written, and well researched, will you share that piece with your friends on social media? If the writer asks for a donation, and you are able to do so, will you give that donation? If you are able to offer a little time, effort, or money to support their efforts, will you do so?

Because, here's the thing; if that piece is well written, and well researched, it might have taken you minutes to read, but it has probably taken that writer hours of their time and effort. And you know, I look around, and I see the articles and the headlines that are obviously just there to get clicks - we all resent them! - but they exist because they work. Because they get the clicks and the support. Like I said, it's a world of CEOs and influencers, and the quality of the writing takes a backseat. But, if we support the good writers (and I don't know if I can lay claim to that title, that's up to you to decide), they rise - when you pay for good writing, you get good writing.

Anyway, if you do that, I swear that I shall try to be a better writer, worthy of the hopes and dreams I hold to me.

Thank you.

Just before you go, can I ask that you please consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me getting better . . .

Though I am affiliated with booksellers, I resist ad space where it is unnecessary because I would prefer to generate conversation and engagement, rather than sales. Plus, them ads are annoying! Disrupting the flow and what have you . . . !

With writerly ambitions, I throw myself on the support of readers for this blog, and so, if you can, please visit ko-fi.com, where you can offer support, find links to other blog posts, and read other writing efforts.

And, thank you again, readers and supporters!

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - analysis and review

 

Disclaimer: Monsta Reader is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the price of any items, and it does not influence the content of the blog.

Patrick Bateman is twenty-six years old and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, charming and intelligent. But, Bateman lives a dual life that takes in both the American dream, and its worst nightmare. 

Patrick is one of literatures most monstrous creations. He is almost entirely devoid of all human emotions, caring for the material and the fashionable only. To the point that even other lives are but a source of entertainment and amusement.

This novel is brutal, and bleak.

American Psycho is the dream of wealth, the desire for the material and status symbols, taken to its conclusion - a gigantic and unquenchable desire for more. Nothing is ever going to be enough, because the fashions and the technologies that Mr. Bateman chases are ever updating and improving. And so, the protagonist is left with nothing more than an emptiness that can never be filled. His nightmare world is a reflection of the dream.

I think that this is why Ellis decided to make the character - the successful Wall Street man - an unfeeling and violent killer; it truly is the extreme conclusion of anyone whose dreams and pursuits are made of surface stuff and status symbols. People become objects of pleasure and amusement too, and sometimes, Bateman literally turns people into objects. 

Bateman's world is all surface. With the right haircut, the right clothing, the right music, you are beautiful, but the beauty is only skin deep. And underneath there is something toxic. Indeed, this book is a warning; beware of the dreams that are made of flashing lights and pretty faces, because the bright colours and smiles might just be a distraction, a lure to draw you into a trap.

This really is a shocking novel, and not for the squeamish or easily offended, but a very good book that is well worth a read. A clever book that draws the readers attention to just how easily we can be distracted, from the profound and meaningful, by societies obsessions with the bland and vapid.

You can purchase American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis here.

Thank you for reading. And, just before you go, can I ask that you please consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me turning pages!

I resist ad space here, wishing to generate more than just sales in this blog. But, with writerly ambitions, I throw myself on the kindness of my readers to support this blog.

So, if you can, support the blog here. And, thank you, every reader and supporter!