Things have been kind of busy, kind of quiet, tiring and restful around here. Having a lot of full days to entertain a toddler takes some energy, and the lack of uni deadlines has left me without the need to procrastinate by blogging! On the summer list I mentioned I wanted to read a book a week; here’s my reads so far.
1. A Piano in the Pyranees– Tony Hawks
A comic dip into what’s classed as travel writing, this was a nice read especially as we were staying in France at the time. It has since been accosted by my parents and lent to their friends to read; so let that recommend it to you.
2. God on Mute – Pete Grieg
Because of the serious topic of this book I found it best to break up into bits and avoid my usual tactics of steaming through a book. With really good insights into why God might not appear to be answering prayers, and honest personal experience it was a hard yet worthwhile read.
3. To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
I hadn’t read any of Woolf’s novels before, only a short collection of stories Monday and Tuesday. I loved this book. Her style and poetic language was really evocative, and although I don’t necessarily agree with all of her reflections upon the nature of life I really enjoyed this read. I’ve since tried reading Jacob’s Room and struggled to get going with it, so hopefully I’ll get further into it soon.
4. How to survive the Titanic/ the Sinking of Bruce Ismay – Frances Wilson
Actually this one belongs to Josh, and he took it on holiday but I was flicking through to see what it was like and ended up reading it. A fascinating view of one man’s experience on the Titanic, his family history and the doubt surrounding the various accounts of how and when he got off the ship, and why. There were a few strange chapters which concentrated more on Conrad the author than on the Titanic or Bruce, but overall an interesting book.
5. One Hundred Names – Cecilia Ahern
I have read a lot of Ahern’s books in the past and enjoyed their tales and reflectios. This one was about a journalist who loses her mentor, and decides to finish the story she never got to write. I have enjoyed others more but nevertheless the ending was a nice one.
6. Frankenstein– Mary Shelley
I was shocked how much Frankenstein has changed in popular culture from the original in the book, and found this a really interesting read, as I have other course books such as Dracula. It’s one of my required texts for Romantic and Victorian Prose but it wasn’t an ordeal like some others can be, in fact the tale was engaging and interestingly written.
Others on my uni list include Persuasion, the Mill on the Floss, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Alice in Wonderland. I’m reading Loving the Way Jesus Loves for my gospel team and books I’ve already got which I’m waiting to read are The Hobbit, A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Time Traveller’s Wife, among others.
Have you been doing any reading over the summer?
Butterflies & Roses 