A Year in Books - May

I had a pretty good reading month in April, helped by being able to have a few lie ins during the Easter holidays and managed to finish reading 3 books and start on a fourth.  The month began as I was getting to the end of this book by Margaret Atwood.  This was a good read.   Acutely observed as always, it made an interesting change from the usual lighter fiction that I have been reading of late.

I followed it with by this book written by Amy Tan of The Joy Luck Club fame.  I loved this book too.  It  kept my interest right to the very end unlike the one that followed.  The ending quite surprised me too, might I add, but made sense in retrospect.  The Chinese beliefs about living beings living more than one life, is a major theme that runs through this book, which totally fascinated me.

The third book I read this month was this book by Sarah Tucker.  I decided to read this book as my daughter's time at primary school is fast coming to an end, as are my days at the school gates.  They have already virtually finished, as she now makes her own way to and from school, so I wanted to read this before it became virtually irrelevant to my life.  Having said this, it is never quite irrelevant, as you never forget that school gate experience.  Mine wasn't the most positive phase of my life in many respects, but I learnt to handle it in my own way.  As a consequence, I could relate to much of the plot which propelled me along with this read until the last chapter or two when it seemed to run out of steam.  Don't be put off by this comment though, as it was still a very entertaining read and had lots of twists and turns in the plot to help keep your interest.

My final read in April and the one I am taking into May, is this book by Stuart Maconie, writer, music journalist and currently a Radio 6 DJ.

It is an amusing journey through 'Middle England' visiting many different towns and villages en route, with many interesting historical, geographical and social facts and amusing anecdotes from the journey.  The laconic style of this book was a bit of a shock to the system after the previous read, which I rattled through very quickly, but I have since begun to slow down in my reading and savour this book.

I like the fact that he is not gratuitously negative and cynical about the places he visits on the journey and always tries to find something positive to say about them.  I am interested to read other titles he has written, particularly Pies and Prejudice about life in the North of England, where I myself was brought up.

In May I am aiming to read the following:

I've read and delighted in several Joanne Harris' books, particularly the ones set in France. This is one of a couple I haven't yet read and is set in Yorkshire where I believe she lives.  I am looking forward to immersing myself once again in her wonderful storytelling.

I intend to follow this with a lighter read by Stephanie Calman.  I've read another of her Confessions books before, probably the one mentioned on the cover, and can vaguely remember enjoying it, hence why I bought this book.  This one sounds like it might be fun too.

If I manage to finish both of the above books, I will then attempt to read this book by Helena Frith Powell.  As with the previous book, I have read one of her books before, one she wrote about living in France with her French husband called  'Two Lipsticks and a Lover' which I enjoyed.

Joining in with Laura at A Circle of Pine Trees in trying to read more this year.