‘The Marriage Book’ by Nicky and Sila Lee

Title: The Marriage Book

Author: Nicky and Sila Lee

Genre: Self-help

Rating: 4/5

How I’m doing: 37 to go.

‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ by Haruki Murakami

Title: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Author: Haruki Murakami

Genre: Novel

Rating: 3/5

How I’m doing: 38 to go.

‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman

Title: Neverwhere

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy novel

Rating: 5/5

How I’m doing: 38 to go.

The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold

Title: The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Genre: Novel

Rating: 3/5

How I’m doing: 38 to go.

‘Her Fearful Symmetry’ by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: Her Fearful Symmetry

Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Genre: Novel

Rating: 5/5

How I’m doing: 39 to go.

‘You Don’t Have to be Famous to Have Manic Depression’ by Jeremy Thomas and Dr Tony Hughes

Title: You Don’t Have to be Famous to Have Manic Depression

Author: Jeremy Thomas and Dr Tony Hughes

Genre: Self-help

Rating: 3/5

How I’m doing: 40 to go.

‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ by Susanna Clarke

Title: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke

Genre: Fantasy novel

Rating: 5/5

How I’m doing: 41 to go.

‘The Grasmere Journals’ by Dorothy Wordsworth

Title: The Grasmere Journals

Author: Dorothy Wordsworth

Published: 1991

Genre: Journal

Blurb: ‘I went &sate with W & walked backwards & forwards in the Orchard till dinner time – he read me his poem. I broiled Beefsteaks.’

Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals are a unique record of her life with her brother William, at time time when he was at the height of his poetic powers. Invaluable for the insight they give into the daily life of the poet and his friendship with Coleridge, they are also remarkable for their spontaneity and immediacy, and for the vivid descriptions of people, places, and incidents that inspired some of Wordsworth’s best-loved poems.

The Grasmere Journal was begun at Dove Cottage in May 1800 and kept for three years. Dorothy notes  the walks and the weather, the friends, country neighbours and beggars on the road; she sets down accounts of the garden, of Wordsworth’s marriage, their concern for Coleridge, the composition of poetry.

How I came to own it: I bought this from Gower St. Waterstone’s after we decided to read it for book group.

What I thought: Two things in particular struck me about this journal. The first was the lack of introspection. Dorothy’s gaze is fixed firmly on the outside world, on nature and on other people. The second is the contrast between the mundane details recorded, quite unconcerned in the lack of interest – “It rained today,” that sort of thing – with the flashes of brilliant poetic, evocative description that recreates her world so vividly. The two, side by side, combined with the divisive nature of a series of short, daily journal entries, made the book very difficult to ‘get into’ and I struggled to keep attention.

Rating: 3.5/5

How I’m doing: 41 to go.

‘The Dean’s Watch’ by Elizabeth Goudge

Title: The Dean’s Watch

Author: Elizabeth Goudge

Published: Hodder and Stoughton, 1960

Genre: Novel

How I came to own it: I bought this online as a teenager after, on my English teacher’s recommendation, I had read and loved the copy in the school library.

What I thought: I read this book a few times a year, usually when I’m ill or depressed. It’s the only book that I keep rereading like this. It’s like… hot chocolate. Everything is bathed in a rosy glow. Not everything that happens in nice, and not all the characters are nice, and yet all are loved and lovable: there is ample sympathy, understanding and redemption for everyone. Every detail of the city is described in such loving detail. It’s an explicitly Christian book, and yet never didactic or preachy. There is the occasional moment where I think something has been laid on a bit thick but I can forgive this book anything because it’s so forgiving.

Rating: 5/5

How I’m doing: 4Still 42 to go.

‘North and South’ by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Victorian Literature Challenge. My pre-challenge post is here.

Title: North and South

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Published: Penguin, 1986 (originally 1854-5)

Genre: Novel

How I came to own it: I bought it in the world’s most fantastic bookshop, an old train station in Alnwick, Northumberland.

What I thought: I was thoroughly enjoying this and then I went sneakily and watched the BBC adaptation. When I came back to the book, the story was just too fresh in my mind and it was spoiled. So I will read the whole thing again later (after the TBR pile is vanquished), when I have forgotten all the details, and I shall review then.

Rating: 4.5/5

How I’m doing: 42 to go.