sarahmatthews

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to Pubtips

🙌Great to see the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction longlist announcement! The one I’m most likely to read is Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein, Here’s the full list #bookstodon #publishing @bookstodon | “From gripping memoirs and polemic narratives, to groundbreaking investigative journalism and revisionist history, these 16 titles will change the way you view the non-fiction section of the bookshop.
Whether you are a seasoned non-fiction reader or considering trying for the first time, with this list you have at your fingertips a breadth of titles that reflects the quality and ambition of non-fiction writing by women around the globe that spark curiosity and might just change the world.”

https://womensprize.com/announcing-the-2024-womens-prize-for-non-fiction-longlist/

ppatel, 3 months ago to random

reorganizing and downloading books from my library just made me realize that I have yet to read four of Annette Marie's books. This is a travesty. And, there's no way I'm going to be able to read all these books on my trrip. I do have other things to accomplish.

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to books

This is a great read for anyone interested in Truman Capote and late 20th century US society in general. There’s a new mini series called Feud: Capote vs. the Swans out in America which I’ve no idea if we can get in the UK yet. i loved Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott which is a novel about Capote and his high society friends and I’ve read it twice so far, it’s so good! I had to break my usual rule of not giving my email address away to read this article (used an old account I don’t check of course) and it was worth it. Thanks to @BookJotter for the tip! #bookstodon #reading #publishing @bookstodon
https://airmail.news/issues/2024-2-3/swan-song

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to random

It’s been a good day - had some great conversations and have some interesting volunteering work lined up. Also had an enquiry to teach #Braille to some #Deafblind learners in my local area who’re struggling to find anyone. I’ve no specific experience but would like to help if I possibly can as I do teach blind / partially sighted learners, so I’m now off down an internet rabbit hole to see if I can find some useful resources. Any advise from those in the know gratefully received!

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to books

#BookReview The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
Read on audio
Narrator: Colin Mace
Faber & Faber
Pub. 1950, 354pp

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This was my second go at reading this book, I got it on Audible last year but when I started it I must’ve tried to read it while doing too many other things as I was soon confused by all the characters and changes of perspective. This time I took it a little slower and made notes as new characters were introduced, soon got into the story and was gripped.
This is a morality tale, set just after the end of the Second World War, which takes place in a seaside guest house called The Pendizack Manor Hotel run by the Siddal family. The story revolves around the various guests that come to stay and is told over a period of seven days. The reason for this is revealed in the prologue in which we find out that the cliff is unstable and that the hotel will be destroyed by a dramatic landslide in which some of the characters will be buried.
I enjoyed getting to know the families as we go along with the children being just as integral to the story as the adults. Class is explored through the contrast between the poor Cove children and the well off Giffords who spent the war in the US. I thought the scene on the train where the two families meet and argue over the ownership of the seats was very entertaining.
I also enjoyed the storyline of Nancibel, Bruce and Anna who are all brilliantly drawn characters. As a reader you’re constantly assessing who you’d like to be spared from the disaster and I enjoyed this tension.
There are some great pieces of dialogue in this book, including this marvellous surprising outburst from previously timid Mrs Paley:
“You are not a whole person, nobody is. We are members, one of another.an arm has no integrity if it has been amputated. It is nothing unless it is part of a body with a heart to pump the blood through it, and a brain to guide it. You have no more integrity than a severed arm might have.’
And this stood out from a heated discussion:
“It’s not the government” said Anna, a little uncertainly “any other government would be just the same. It’s the class war, this whole country’s being bitched by anger and spite and intolerance and aggressiveness”
I’m glad I didn’t know the concept behind this novel before I read it as it was so rewarding to piece it together and start to suspect what was coming as the narrative evolved.
This edition is a recent reissue and on Audible Cathy Rentzenbrink is listed as an author so I was expecting to hear her introduction, however, when I pressed play it wasn’t there. Maybe I’m doing something wrong but I couldn’t find anywhere in the app to access it which is disappointing as I like to read the intro once I’ve finished the book.
Overall a great read full of wonderfully observed details and one I’m so pleased I went back to.
#Bookstodon #books @bookstodon @audiobooks

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to Pubtips

This is an interesting read - “Among all of the book prizes in the UK and Ireland, the Republic of Consciousness Prize is unique in foregrounding small publishers. The publishers of the books chosen for the longlist, the shortlist and the eventual winner are awarded the prize money rather than the authors. The decision about which small press should be awarded the prize is based on evaluating a single book submitted by the press. The purpose of awarding the prize money is to aid the press in continuing to publish books of great merit.” #bookstodon #publishing #IndependentPublishers @bookstodon | Choosing the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2024 longlist – The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2024/02/05/choosing-the-republic-of-consciousness-prize-2024-longlist/

purplepadma, 3 months ago to random

I’ve finished work for the day and I’m in the bath. Just after 5 I’m going to an online breathwork session, I used to go regularly but for some unknown reason I haven’t been for months. Then I guess I’ll read for a bit until dinner time, I’m working my way through a rather charming book about a feminist food writer in the 1930s. It’s called Good Taste and it’s by Caroline Scott, I hadn’t heard of it when I picked it up for 99p but I thought it could be interesting #AmReading #bookstodon

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to books

The Nero Book Awards category winners were announced yesterday and I love this quote from judge Bernardine Evaristo: “At a time when literature is under threat from the addictive distractions of social media and the internet, literary prizes not only celebrate individual writers and elevate careers, but draw attention to a beautiful art form that requires and rewards sustained concentration and engagement with words, other people’s lives, and the imagination.”
The overall winner will be announced on 14 February.
#bookstodon #books #reading #publishing @bookstodon
https://www.lovereading.co.uk/blog/nero-book-awards-announce-inaugural-category-winners-2024-9096

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to disabled

I’ve just completed this online survey set up by Connor Scott-Gardner about the availability of accessible appliances in the UK. Take a look and add your thoughts if you’re #disabled https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5SBFjjZ15TB5eKMyriU_me6jUpy6fEW_6wGXRWnbLyqUjaQ/viewform
#blind #PartiallySighted #Deafblind #Disability @disability

sarahmatthews, 3 months ago to bookstodon

This week’s Scratch Classic short story is Her Letters, 1895, by Kate Chopin. Published 5 years before her powerful novel The Awakening it was rejected from her usual editors and was eventually taken up by Vogue
#bookstodon #AmReading @bookstodon
https://www.scratch-books.co.uk/post/her-letters-by-kate-chopin

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to audiobooks

#BookReview The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Read on audio
Narrators: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles
Simon & Schuster
Pub. 2017, 385pp

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I adored Daisy Jones and the Six by this author a few years ago and have been meaning to read another of her books since, so when I was ill and needed something to get engrossed in I got it on audio. I’d seen the press around the TV version of Daisy Jones winning at the Emmy’s (which I’ve not seen yet) and that reminded me of her novels.
This was the perfect choice for me as the story follows the life of a 50s movie star, Evelyn Hugo, told in flashbacks to a journalist, Monique Grant.
I knew there was going to be a twist at the end because it’s alluded to as you go along, and I did find myself trying to figure out what it would be, but mostly I was loving the gossipy nature of the story of an actress trying to force her way into Hollywood using any underhand methods she can think of, and her beauty of course.sometimes you just need a decade spanning saga to take you away from the present and this book did that so well. Definitely a case of the right book at the right time.
i very much enjoyed all the references to fashion, popular culture, the depiction of celebrity scandals and the character of Evelyn herself. Glamourous, selfish and ruthless, she’s got that indefinable star quality.
You can tell that the author had the time of her life researching this book and I enjoyed all the fictitious news articles that popped up at intervals.
My hunch about the ending proved to be pretty much what I suspected but I didn’t mind a bit! Overall a great plot-driven read about the artificiality of fame.
This book was published a couple of years before Daisy Jones and the Six and it’s fascinating to see how her writing developed. The latter is, for me, a much more successful book but this one is a great read too.
#bookstodon @bookstodon @audiobooks

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to bookstodon

I’ve just finished The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard, 1990, a truly memorable family saga set just before the Second World War and I’m so glad it’s the first of a series of 5 books! Some more thoughts on it here #bookstodon #BookReview #Storygraph #Braille @bookstodon
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4f0860f2-821a-49e5-8741-38eb3ff6e80c

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to Pubtips

Ignore the headline (Keanu isn’t mentioned again) and read this great balanced piece on celebrity authors… I think they’ve always been part of publishing but they’re selling in bigger numbers now - “In 2023, five of the top 20 bestselling paperback fiction books were written by celebrities”. It seems the temptation to tap into a ready-made audience is taking over like it did for the UK children’s book market a few years ago
#publishing #bookstodon #writing #GhostWriters @bookstodon
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/13/keanu-and-co-how-celebrities-became-bestselling-novelists?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to bookstodon

#BookReview Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
Read on audio
Narrator: William Roberts for RNIB audiobooks
Published 1950, 281 pp

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This is my first book by this author, her debut, and it was brilliant! I read it quickly as it was so tense and I just had to know how it was all going to play out. the premise is famous as it became a Hitchcock movie very soon after publication, making it an instant classic. I knew the basic set up was that two men meet on a train and talk about people in their lives that they could do with getting rid of and one of them suggests they murder for the other as the crimes would be untraceable if done well due to there being no motive.
I found a novel with characters whose inner thoughts and motivations are so well explored (horribly unlikeable people of course!) and I was happy to be swept along even though I was mentally willing one of them, Guy, to just tell the police what was going on as it seemed he had a way out several times. I found his life as a famous architect very engaging and this, along with his relationship with Anne, meant he had so much to lose. the scenes on the train are gripping and the sense of doom is present from the start.
The depiction of unhinged Bruno was so well done with his gradual breakdown and stalkerish obsession with Guy leading to all kinds of complications.
I read it on audio, narrated by William Roberts who did a fantastic job. The many short chapters that switched perspective frequently made me keep reading and the claustrophobic atmosphere was addictive. the central idea that any ordinary person has the capacity to become a murderer given a certain set of circumstances is so fascinating. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a classic psychological thriller that’ll have you on edge but that’s more of a study of human nature rather than being full of gruesome details. I’ll definitely be reading more of Patricia Highsmith’s novels in future.
#bookstodon #AmReading @bookstodon

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to random

Waking up before 7am wasn’t my plan for Sunday morning, but I have to admit there’s something special about reading in bed before everyone’s awake! #bookstodon

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to bookstodon

You can’t fail to find something wonderful from this list by @JacquiWine to help you through January! 🌨️ 🤧 #bookstodon @bookstodon Featuring Barbara Pym, Vicki Baum, R. C. Sherriff, Sylvia Townsend Warner and more | Comfort reads – a few favourites from the shelves ~ JacquiWine's Journal https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2024/01/11/comfort-reads-a-few-favourites-from-the-shelves/

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to audiobooks

#BookReview The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark
Read on audio
Narrator: Elizabeth Proud
Published 1960, 143pp

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This is a story which really starts at the end; a young woman, Dixie, is jilted at the altar and the narrative then rewinds several months to explore the run up to that day, in Spark’s quirky and unique style. We find out that many locals blame a newcomer, Dougal Douglas, for stirring up trouble and a few believe him to be the Devil himself!
Dougal’s a Scottish arts graduate who’s moved to London to be near his girl, Ginny, taking a room in lodgings (with Humphrey, the groom from the wedding) in Peckham. He’s got a ghost-writing commission for a retired actress, but also takes a job (in fact he sneakily takes two!) at the local textiles factories who’re following the current trend to employ an “arts man” to modernise the business and increase productivity.
Dougal is a brilliant creation, someone who knows how to influence and charm others. His interviews are very entertaining as his youthful confidence and self assurance allow him to take charge:
“Dougal put Mr Druce through the process of his smile which was wide and full of white young teeth…Mr Druce couldn’t take his eyes off Dougal, as Dougal perceived. ‘I feel I’m your man” dougal said ‘something told me so when I woke first thing this morning’ …Mr Douglas leaned forward and became a television interviewer. Mr Druce stopped walking and looked at him in wonder.”
He’s told to make the job his own and proceeds to charm the factory workers into sharing personal experiences in the name of ‘human research’. he takes notes for his reports and to embellish his book for Mrs Cheeseman which is meant to be largely autobiographical, resulting in some funny conversations when she tells him off for making too much up!
Everyone around him is caught up in this chaos as he advises people to take Mondays off, allows the local gang to believe he’s working for the police and shows people the scars where he’s had his ‘Devil’s horns’ removed.
I loved the depiction of South East London, including pubs and dancehalls, the old English garden and bowling green at Peckham Rye, and One Tree Hill. At one point Dougal and Merle Coverdale, the head of the typing pool, walk through Camberwell Old Cemetery and pass through the ornate tombs:
“He posed as an angel Devil, with his humped shoulder and gleaming smile and his fingers of each hand wide spread against the sky”
There are references to the Devil throughout but it’s never clear if he’s meant to be the literal Devil or not and I liked this ambiguity.
There were also some great scenes of scuffles on the Rye, indicating the simmering violence that continually threatens to erupt in this darkly funny novella. I recommend going back and reading the first chapter again when you finish, so clever!
#Bookstodon @bookstodon @audiobooks

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to bookstodon

This has me wanting to get back to Hercule Poirot this year! Thanks @BookJotter for the tip #bookstodon @bookstodon | I read 20 Hercule Poirot mysteries and fell for Agatha Christie - Polygon https://www.polygon.com/24009421/agatha-christie-hercule-poirot-mystery-books

sarahmatthews, 4 months ago to tea

My @tea today is a Christmas gift and it’s delicious, i’m enjoying it brewed in a glass teapot and a proper tea cup and saucer cos it’s the weekend and I love the ceremony of making it 🫖
~ "Darvilles of Windsor have been blending fine tea since 1860, and remain an established family business.

EARL GREY

The classic oriental blend, light and fragrant with the distinctive flavour of the Oil of Bergamot.” #DailyTea