Tag: novels

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My Pandemic Resolutions

maymargaret

I started last year with so many plans. I guess different goals to what I actually ended up doing, but still, last year could have gone a very different way. Concerts, festivals, travelling… basically everything I resolved to do, or usually do anyway, was cancelled. As a frequenter of Download Festival and person who loves to travel, last year sucked a bit on that part. My second missed opportunity to see Iron Maiden, and now I wonder whether its meant to be.

And while so many expect (an expectation fueled by wishful thinking, perhaps) to be in the midst of a moshpit during the summer months of 2021, I kind of trust that they’ll be disappointed. While so many concerts are covid safe, a festival in which communal toilets and general suspension of usual hygiene standards are perhaps a staple of the weekend experience, the pressure to lock onto the virus will inevitably lead to further cancellations. So, what to do?

I dont want to end this year disappointed, as so many have. And, usually, I dont make what might be traditionally termed as resolutions. But I do like goals. I see both sides of the coin. I like doing things there and then, but I also like putting a time stamp on achievements. I like to look back on the year and think of what I did with my 365 days, and last year was no different. There was a tremendous amount I couldn’t do, but in a way, maybe thats why I did the stuff I actually did. So this year, I want to make a point of setting goals I know will be achievable, even during these enduringly uncertain times.

1. Read more – I read a ton, but it could always be a bit more varied. I’ve recently gotten into dystopia fiction, so maybe a wider scope is on the horizon yet.

2. Learn to play guitar – this has been a goal of mine since 14, but there’s always something else to do. But I want to get out of this year with at least one song learned that isn’t Metallica related.

3. Watch more films – I love my movies. Often movie lovers (from my personal experience) have been judged as couch potatoes. But I’m the best at movie quizzes, if I do say so myself.

4. Run 15km – last year I reached 10, and kind of just stuck to 5 after that.

5. Finally achieve side splits – yoga has been a bit intermittent this year. But now I have the space to do it, so no excuses

6. The three peaks challenge – this was last year’s goal, and the one that didn’t come to fruition. Scafell, Snowdon and Ben Nevis. I’ve done the later two at very different times, so I’d like to make all three.

7. Try self publishing – gotta start somewhere right?

8. Paint more for pleasure – last year I took on a lot of commissions. So many that, while I enjoyed painting members of peoples family, it took the creativity out of me a bit.

9. More photography – I got into taking photos last year, specifically of simple pleasures. Flowers, the sky, the butterfly heading this post. I’d love to have canvases of them.

Were going into this year with a bit of an advantage, if that’s the right word. We know to treat it with caution. We know not to make plans, or at least, we know what plans not to make. This year could still pan out in so many ways, good or bad, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t count, right?

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – Why You Should Read it Now

maymargaret

I have a kind of fondness for writers who write based on themselves. There’s no pretention about the emotions described, because you get the sense that they’ve felt them, thought about them in hind sight, thought about how to project them in a way the reader will understand. The reader, such as myself, will know only too well. Nora is that kind of character. A character whose gotten in her own way, filled with potential and yet, somehow missed the boat.

I kept seeing this book trending on Twitter. I rarely go on Twitter. I only started going on when I heard about all the drama going on, some people declaring unpopular opinions and insights (some I agreed with) while others i intended to join the band of argumentative many. The only time I have done this is in fact when one particular actor decided to break lockdown rules and insult the NHS while he was at it. Anyway, I’m babbling. It was on Twitter that I learned about this book, probably the only good Twitter has done me.

Now, I knew what this book was about before I got it. Its about regrets. I neglected to read it so soon because I hadn’t finished a book in a month or so. I also had a feeling how it would end. The character lives in Bedford, and I’m hoping that’s an intentional clue (Bedford Falls is the hometown of one George Bailey). Its not a book for those who like twists and turns, or much else besides musings about inner psychologies of the average Joe. But its not trying to be anything but. Its nice, relatable, and its a believable journey. She doesn’t end up with all the answers. But its a start.

I also think this is a good book for someone who’s thinking about writing themselves, such as myself. The writing isn’t sophisticated or flowery, or at least that’s the impression I got. It was a blow by blow, some parts like a diary in how emotions were described. As I say, in a detail that suggested the writer felt them himself.

I like any writer who bases a character on themselves. There’s a line, of course (Stephanie Meyer, Twilight). But that shouldn’t discourage budding writers to use themselves too, should it? A large portion of Stephen King’s leading characters are male writers.

So why should you read this book, now? Well, because this is a time when many of us are standing still, watching time go by while others are making waves in their respective relevant fields. Some are thriving, while others are stuck at home in front of a screen wondering what happened. Social media filled with people making the best of their time while they have it. This book serves as a reminder that what ifs don’t always mean happiness, or fulfillment. It makes sense, too, in a none cheesy way.

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Escapism in the form of Books

maymargaret

Sometimes you can have too much of the real world, of whats happening, and an overload of stuff can be detrimental. This isn’t new. Even during a pandemic, I feel escapism is a wonderful thing that should be encouraged.

At the beginning of the year, I purchased a poster. I used to have my bedroom adorned in posters of my favourite bands, but this one was books to read before you die. As many readers may know, one can become routine in their reading choices of books, while many wonderful ones outside of that scope can be lost. My slump followed the completion of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, so clearly after such a chore one needs a pallet cleanser. With this poster, and a number of other means of discovery, the following books fell under my radar.

  1. Small Island by Andrea Levy – I watched the play of Small Island as part of National Theatre Live’s free streaming of past productions on YouTube, and instantly brought the book afterwards. While I knew the plot from the play, maintaining all the important parts key to the plot, the novel offers a glimpse into another time from four perspectives instead of the play’s principle three – Hortense, Gilbert and Queenie. The novel also includes Bernard’s rather reserved perspective, a foil to his wife’s outgoing and accepting attitudes, particularly in relation to race. As the character’s interact, it feels as though each is a characterisation of ideas and attitudes of the time; idealisation of England and bitterness towards a country once dreamed to be so full of hope in Hortense and Gilbert, and the two sides of racism during the time; Queenie, a open hearted and kind character at heart, makes errors in her interactions with her Jamaican lodgers, but each is innocent and well meaning. In contrast, Bernard presents the deep seated racism of the time, with little room for acceptance left. This story presents a real world view of ‘the grass isn’t always greener’ (my interpretation), and while the subject matter may deal with heavy and very relavent issues of today, it is nonetheless a story of perseverance, and making the best of what you have.
  2. The Inimitable Jeeves by P G Woodhouse – there’s something delightful about these stories – the jaunty language, the sitcom type plots that always turn out alright in the end thanks to the genius that is Jeeves. Bertie is the perfect foil for the butler, who’s naive and well mannered way of speaking makes him the typical idle gentleman, who’s time is spent helping his friends out of sticky situations, and occasionally upsetting Jeeves by growing a moustache.
  3. Les Miserable by Victor Hugo – this is probably not a very popular book to suggest, given the absolute chore this book is. I haven’t finished reading it myself yet, but I am speaking to the readers who have a bit of a bucket list, or who want to read something for the simple pleasure of bragging that they have read it. I get it. But really, this is probably the best time to tackle it. I’m personally listening to it on Audible (Unabridged, so it does count) and I listen to it during work, taking the dog a walk and while I’m knitting (I love Audible). It’s subject matter can be grim and depressing, because that is the book. If you’ve seen the play or the movies (or the TV adaptions) then you know the basics. There’s a lot of babbling and philosophising, in Usual Victor Hugo fashion, but at least you can come out and say you’ve read it.

Honorable mentions

  1. Matilda by Roald Dahl – a wonderful short read with that distinctive Dahl humour.
  2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – a story of a very different culture, informative as it is immersive with its rich descriptions.
  3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe – One of the few books to make me tear up. The acts of kindness contrast against the acts of cruelty, portraying slavery in its multifaceted reality, from the absolute inhuman treatment to those who saw the men and women they brought as part of their family, knowing that a worse fate awaited elsewhere.
  4. Shakespeare comedies – I never disliked Shakespeare, but English at school and English Literature at college developed in me a bit of reluctance to read him in my own time. Once again, National Theatre Live came into play (pun not intended but a happy accident nonetheless), and I began reading the plays a couple of days before showing to get acquainted. It’s a case of (sometimes), the more you read, the more used to the language you get.