I can’t believe we are already into the second month of this new year. Time flies!  It was a busy month – I holidayed, tried to write, swam a lot, walked George, who loves his beach walks especially, spent time with family – and went back to my dayjob too.  So I am a little surprised to realise I managed to read 12 books this month, though I did read my way through three flights. I think my favourite book was Reasons Not to Worry (see below), a book I am recommending widely – even though, if I am honest, at the end of this busy month I realised I had not retained anywhere near as many of the lessons it contains as I hoped. I may need to reread it 🙂

 

Anyway, here’s what I read.

 

Books for Children

1. Trash(Random House, 2014), by Andy Mulligan. Set amongst the trash heaps and hidden world of Manila, where children subsist as best they can, by collecting trash. But Raphael, Gordo and Rat find something they shouldn’t – and it lands them in the midst of an adventure they are not sure they want to be on.
2. The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond (Walker Books, 2023). This is the third in a series – a fact I missed when I bought it. So it took a little while to get into, but did mostly stand alone as a fantasy adventure involving a travelling house filled with magical (and, in Nine’s case, human) inhabitants.
3. Ming and Flo Fight for the Future , by Jackie French (Harper Collins, 2022). The first title in the Girls Who Changed the World series, this one sees Ming, who bemoans the lack of girls in history lessons, taken back to the late 1800s where she lives the life of Flo Watson, a poor farm girl, but also witnesses the stirrings of change.
4. The Raven’s Song, by Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Two of my favourite authors coming together to write – how could I not adore this book! Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where people live low tech lives in the hopes of restoring the earth – and in the past, in the  beginnings of a terrible pandemic.
5. Runt, by Craig Silvey, illustrated by Sara Acton (Allen & Unwin, 2022). This is delightful. A little reminiscent of  stories like Babe – a clever, but slightly damaged dog, and his person, Annie, who together have the ability to save the family farm.  Touchingly whimsical, and inspired me to write a blackout poem when I found a chapter about a dog named George.
6. The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, narrated by Julia Whelan (Audible). This audio version of the classic was a Christmas bonus with membership – though not a Christmas story. It was interesting to rediscover this story, which I believe inspired the movie Frozen, though the two are very different – which is common with Disney and other modern retellings.

 

Books for Young Adults

1. The Edge of Limits, by S. J. Gervay (Flying Elephant media, 2022).  I read this book under its previous title The Cave, when it was released quite a few years ago.  But it felt like I was reading it for the first time, as I journey along with Sam on a gruelling bush camp. The topics aren’t easy – including sexual assault, violence and grief – but there are light moments, too, and the story is both well told and important. Great to see it back in print.

Books for Adults

1. 1. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus (Penguin, 2022).  Recommended somewhere, but also read because  I liked the cover, and then the idea of  a scientist ending up on a so-called cooking show in the 60s. I enjoyed this, with a combination of issues including some quite heavy ones, and a touch if whimsy, including a very clever dog.
   2. Reasons Not to Worry: How to be Stoic in chaotic times, by Brigid Delaney (Allen & Unwin, 2022).  Oh wow! This book is amazing. Or maybe it came to me at the right time. Or both. A gift from my sister for Christmas, I was initially a little wary – the title and the subject matter (stoicism) made me think it might challenge me – and it did, but in a good way. It had me thinking, and contemplating what I could learn rom this very down to earth, relatable journey through what we can learn from the ancient stoics in modern times. Thoroughly recommend – and I’ll be rereading.
   3. 

Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent’s guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after, by Chloe Hayden (Audible, 2022). I have bene doing quite a bit of reading about neuodivergence in recent months, and I found this one an excellent insight. I read the Audible version, read by the author, which was an added bonus. Hayden gives an open insight into her life with autism and adhd, but also offers help to fellow sufferers, and a helpful insight for others.

4. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frederic Gros (Verso, 2015). I do love walking, so was quite excited to read this book. It was a little different than I expected, as I soon realised that my morning walks are not necessarily what Gros would call walking, given that I do them partly for exercising and walking my dog. He might call this strolling, perhaps. That aside, it was interesting to delve into why people walk, and how great philosophers of the past used walking to think, to breathe and to travel, too.