A Guide to Samuel Pepys' Reformation England

Pepys' Diaries have long been in my "to read" pile. I admit they have always intimidated me, for some obscure, irrational reason. Samuel Pepys was a civil servant, man about town, knowledge lover (in fact, a founding member of the Royal Society), pleasure seeker and able maneuverer of intrigues. He also kept a detailed diary through out his life, which spanned the end of Cromwell's Protectorate, the Reformation, the Great Fire of London and even saw William of Orange land in England. How is that for an accomplished and interesting man?

Geoffrey Trease writes a simple, straightforward introduction to the Diaries. He shows both the great historical events and the small, everyday situations Pepys faced, placing him both as an important public person and a petty man. Most of all, he shows us how human Pepys is and how honest his writing.

I now have a much better view of the world the Diaries fit into and a good context for Pepys and many of the people around him. I feel much more confident to tackle the Diaries themselves.

Note - you can download this book on a Kindle for free: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samuel-Pepys-World-Geoffrey-Trease/dp/0500130361 I imagine there are other free sources as well.

Samuel Pepys Diaries themselves are looong out of copyright and can be downloaded from several places.

Want to journal?

I never managed to keep a journal or diary. I always wanted to write something beautiful, profound and inspired. In other words, there were a lot of blank pages. This book caught my eye exactly because it was the opposite of all my previous attempts.

Extraordinary Ordinary Moments, by Jorey Hurley, celebrates the small things in life, those mundane but perfect moments that we often look over. Each page has a prompt, ranging from "something you carry with you" to "something with potential," and a drawing, which may or may not be relevant or inspiring. The rest of the page is left blank, to allow writing, drawing, collage or any other interpretation of the prompt. The book is large and opens flat, making it easy to use, and the pages are nice and thick.

As always, some of the prompts were interesting and relevant to me. Others, not as much, tending to the cliche and trite. Perhaps I'll see those as an interesting challenge when I get there. Perhaps I'll decide to skip that page. Hey, it's my journal, I can do what I like! Overall, I believe it will be a useful guide for my journaling experiment. The drawings, however, are somewhat too cutesy for my taste. After a while, they started to annoy me.

In exchange for an honest review, Blogging for Books had provided me with a complimentary copy of this journal.

Woohoo, a perfect little book for word lovers

This week's read was You Are Saying it Wrong, by Ross and Kathryn Petras. It is almost as though it was written with me as the target audience: a book lover, someone whose vocabulary comes from reading and fascinated by linguistic and etymology. Do I have to say I love it?

Not only does the book furnish correct pronunciation for 150 words many of us get wrong (which, to be honest, we could all look up in the dictionary if, of course, we had any clue we were saying it wrong), it also provides interesting notes on why it is said that way, the origins and usage guide. As an extra cherry on top, we also get lists covering such essentials as "How to sound like a Patron of the Arts."

I will freely admit I learned not only some pronunciation but also plenty of unusual words and stories. I am sure every reader will find a few to learn from, even if we don't like to admit it in public. 

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

I am back, this time with some Atwood mastery

If you are going to retell a classic, you have to do it boldly, with style. If there are a few too many duds out there, making people groan at the idea of another retelling, there are also a few gems. Books like Ian McEwan's Nutshell, for example, or even Bridget Jones' Diary (the original, where Pride and Prejudice can peek at the reader from between curtains, adding a backdrop to modern neurosis). I am going to add Hag-Seed to the list.

First, I will come out and say that I am huge Atwood fan. I carefully hoard the books I haven't read yet, spacing them out to enjoy over the years. You have been warned.

But what makes Hag-seed such a fantastic read? I won't bother you with a synopsis, available on Amazon, Goodreads, numerous reviews, etc. The world doesn't need someone else rehashing it, trying not to give spoilers (ok, the world doesn't need this review either, but I enjoy writing it and I wouldn't enjoy writing a synopsis). For me, it is the dance between the original play, the analysis of it by the characters and the parallel between the plot and the play, even in small details.

Of course, Atwood's brilliant mastery of language is always a treat. Combined with her wit, it creates show-pieces like the argument between prisoners forbidden to use any swearing other than what is in the play.

Combining wrong choices, bad decisions, many different kinds of prisons and, of course, a long thought out and carefully executed revenge, this is a delightful read.

I apologize for going overboard with the adjectives. I really liked this book.

I received an electronic copy of the book in return for a fair and unbiased review. Or as unbiased as I can be about Margaret Atwood but at least I am honest about my fangirling.

The Little Paris Bookshop

There are days when I, at least, want to read something light and feel good, that will leave me happier with the world. The Little Paris Bookshop is for one of those days. It is a book about books, about people and emotions.

What reader hasn't had the experience of reading just the right book at just the right time? Maybe, in some other situation, that book would seem trite, depressing or boring. But, that day, it hit the perfect note. This is the central theme of this book: that books heal and can be "prescribed", that a reader may not be at the right moment for a different one. This is the best part of The Little Paris Bookshop.

Despite that charming idea, the author can be a little heavy handed on the moral of the story. The characters are cliched and the story can drag. Rereading it in a different frame of mind, I still liked the rich descriptions but found it emotionally manipulative and I wanted to shake some sense into some of the characters.

Thanks to BlogginForBooks and Netgalley for providing an advance copy. 

God, Stuff, Life and Trivialities

As those of you who know me, I definitely fall on the minimalist side of the consumerism/minimalism spectrum. Not that I live out of a backpack or hold "no buy" month challenges. For me, it is more of a way of life. I don't shop as a distraction, I don't care for upgrading technology without need, I don't think about the Jones, let alone about keeping up with them. This is just the way I view life, not a huge insight and conscious effort. 

The minimalism movement intrigues me. On one hand, I do agree with a lot that is said, minus any radicalism (see said backpack). On the other, it seems like some people see decluttering as synonymous with minimalism and as a way of life, not as a step to a different life. As though it were an end to itself. I never went deep into the minimalism websites but even I had heard of Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist website, so I was curious about his book.

I must say I was underwhelmed by the book. Most of what he says is a repeat of things I've read before, even without a lot of effort on my part. A lot of feel good stuff about finding your true calling, meaning, etc. There isn't much new material. However, a lot of readers have called it life changing and inspiring, so it must speak out to some people.

I also hadn't expected so much religious content, citing the Christian Bible and scriptures as models. I understand that this will be helpful to some but I would have preferred that this side of it had been more obvious from the marketing and cover.

Bottom line - some people will appreciate it as an introduction to minimalism, others will prefer to get the information available online. If you are looking for a book on decluttering and organize, I would recommend getting a book specifically focused on that. If you are looking for self help and the meaning of your life, head over to that shelf.

This review was based on a copy I received from the editors, in return for my fair and unbiased opinion

Hi - long time no see. Don't you just hate it when real life gets in the way of literary life? But I am back and I have quite a backlog to post. Today's book is Eleanor, by Jason Gurley. It was first published by a small indie press and caused enough impact to be picked up by a larger publisher.

I am going to avoid talking about the plot. It is rather intricate and I don't want to spoil anything. I'll just say that it builds up slowly (too slowly for some) and there are lots of layers and links between different people and generations.

Eleanor is one of those beautifully written, almost ethereal books that are also slow. Creating that delicate atmosphere takes time and a gentle touch, both of which slows down the pacing. The story really only gets moving in the second half, which may be too late for some readers. I admit I was nearing my limit before the story started picking up on the elements I was attracted to in the blurbs (oh, I am so trying not to spoil anything). 

Perhaps I was not in the best mental state for reading it, since the gloom did eventually get to me more than the more positive side of it. There was the feeling that there was always some meaning just out of my reach, deeper down in all the layers. Rating this book was very hard. At times, I felt it was a fantastic book, at others, it felt like the characters were far away and muted, their reactions informed, instead of real.