Book: Running like a Girl, Alexandra Heminsley

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. Having recently joined a running group to improve my running pace, one of my fellow runners gifted this book to us. 

It is lovely to follow Alexandra's journey of not being a runner at all, to becoming a marathon runner.

It has such good tips and tricks from selecting shoes, to keeping your head up. She also includes things like make up and false eye lashes. Although, I have never been big on make-up, it is very unlikely to change now :) mind you, maybe that's the trick I need to get faster :D

4/5

Audiobook: This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, Adam Kay

 

Wonderfully entertaining, really enjoyed listening to Adam Kay share his experiences as a Doctor in the UK. He has a marvellous wit!

Audiobook: Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir, Jennifer McGaha

It's an ok read. After the exhilarating Bad Blood by John Carreyrou this was very 'meh'. 

Audiobook The Secrets We Kept, Lara Prescott

Throughout the book I was wondering whether it was based on a true story. Google has let me know that the book is 'semi-autobiographical'; the upcoming movie, not. 

The world of  spies has always been fascinating. A golden thread throughout is Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, which is a movie / book that I would now like read too. 

People who read the physical book (The Secrets we Kept) said it was brilliant, for me, the audiobook albeit interesting and I enjoyed the different voices, was ok. 

Audiobook: Untamed, Glennon Doyle

When I read reviews of this book, they were all incredibly positive. Personally I struggled to get through it. I just didn’t really resonate with it. Perhaps it's because the author constantly reminds us that she is gay and married. But, I do appreciate and respect that that is her journey. I had the choice to not listen to it; but I had downloaded it and didn't want to feel that I had wasted a credit. 

At times it did feel a bit like a sermon, but then there would be an interesting or funny part, which would get me to continue listening.

I think Glennon Doyle and I are about the same age, this is exactly how I also feel about phone calls: 

I will never understand why people insist upon calling my cell phone. It's such an aggressive action to take: calling someone.

Some of the other bits and pieces that I made notes about:

Our minds are excuse makers; our imagination story tellers.

“When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves.  What we need right now is more women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of only herself no longer internalizes the world's memos and expectations. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done, and lets the rest burn.

Glennon describes a decision-making process where she tries to feel each option instead of weighing them in her mind. Whichever option feels warm and pleasant is the one that she picks, ignoring the one that feels cold.

I had never heard this quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu before, and I really like it:

“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.” Desmond Tutu

One last one from Glennon: "Life is brutal. But it's also beautiful. It’s brutiful.

 

Audiobook: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman

This was another book on the ‘recommended’ list on the Audiobooks app. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Not being completely sold after listening to the sample, I noticed all the awards and recognitions and decided to download it anyway. I’ve become so fond of all the characters (except the mother). It’s one of those books that you want to finish, but also don’t want to finish. Cathleen McCarron, who read the book was great with her beautiful Scottish accents.

The premise is about Eleanor who is an accountant at a design firm, everything seems pretty normal; she has her routine and way of doing things. Very set in her ways and opinionated about how things should be, we start seeing that things may not be as ‘fine’ as it all first appears. We get to see glimpses into her past and the puzzle pieces slowly fall into place. It’s a marvellous book and highly recommendable. 

Audiobook: Educated, Tara Westover

I stumbled across the “Audiobooks” app when I was looking for the audiobook Sapiens. Even though I have a list as long as my arm of books that I want to read, I couldn’t make up my mind what to use my second ‘Audiobook’ credit on. 

When I saw ‘Educated’ by Tara Westover, I didn’t think too much of it. What I quite like about the app is that is allows you to listen between three and five minutes of a book and you can then decide whether you want to download and listen to the rest of it. Every time I opened the app, ‘Educated’ popped up. Reluctantly, I decided to listen to the first few minutes to get an understanding of what it’s about. It was intriguing!

It’s about Tara Westover who grows up in a Mormon culture. I didn’t (still don’t really), know too much about Mormonism. It was absolutely fascinating, and very soon I was hooked, and every opportunity I  got, I would listen a bit more.

Her father was against relying on the government in any way, so did not register his children when they were born. He only believed in home remedies; so no going to hospital if you’ve seriously injured yourself. And all the education you needed you got at home. The fact that Tara was able to move out and get educated, is incredible.

I didn’t take too many notes while listening, but I really like this:

 “You are not fool's gold, shining only under a particular light. Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were. Even gold appears dull in some lighting—but that is the illusion. ... It was not that I had done something wrong so much as that I existed in the wrong way.

Highly recommendable. 

BOOK: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

What a beautifully written book! 

Whenever I read, I generally capture phrases or sections that are written incredibly well that I like to refer back to at a later stage. 

In the event of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I would have ended up copying the whole book as Rachel Joyce is an incredibly talented author. She manages to capture the most mundane things incredibly beautifully, e.g. 

Harold woke with an intense need to be back outside. Bright daylight frilled the curtains as if straining to get at him.

The book follows Harold Fry on his journey after he receives a letter from an old friend. Harold is pretty fed up with his relationship with his wife, and decides to write his friend a letter and goes to post it. When he gets to the postbox, he decides to rather go to the next post box to post it, then the next.

I was veeeery worried that this book would turn out to be another 'The Goldfinch' [by Donna Tartt]. Which, I initially absolutely loved. But the end was incredibly disappointing. It was such a let down after investing so much time in reading it. So, I was very wary about liking the story of Harold Fry too much. 

But, I am elated to say that it is highly recommendable!

Some wisdom from Harold Fry: ‘Nobody is so frightening once you stop and listen’.

Do yourself a favour and enjoy this beautifully written book. 

Play: The Importance of Being Ernest, Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. What a fun play!

I am a bit frustrated with myself…the version that I downloaded to listen to was not great. It was a group of American actors trying to sound British. The male characters were ok, but the female characters were rather monotonous and stumbled over a few of the words. It came across as if they were just reading the piece for the sake of getting through it. So that was a bit disappointing, but I take full responsibility as I could have looked for another version, but had already downloaded this one.

Here are some wonderful quotes from the play:

‘The Amount of Women in London who flirt with their own husbands is perfectly scandalous. It looks so bad. It is simply washing one’s clean linen in public.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.

Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us.

Audiobook: Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions, Frank Harris

Oscar Wilde by Frank Harris has been keeping me company while I worked in the garden for the past few weeks. I must admit that I knew absolutely nothing about him, except that he might have written 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' which I have also not read. 

I enjoyed the beginning part of the book of when he was young. Rather fascinating! He really enjoyed the good life, and he enjoyed talking much more than writing. 

I will be honest I did not know that he was gay. It's quite shocking that he was thrown into jail for two years because of this! It was also rather sad to learn about all the little children that were jailed at that time and the very cruel circumstances. I am very grateful for how things have changed. 

He sounded like a horrendous friend in his later life, constantly borrowing money so that he could pay off debt. But then, instead of paying off his debt, he would buy a bicycle for a boy that he liked. It was also interesting to learn that he was married and had children, but he really didn't think much of women. 

Here are some of the quotes from the book that I liked:

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds (William Shakespeare)

Sickness is a symptom of weakness (Oscar Wilde)

Strong men are made by opposition; like kites they go up against the wind  (Frank Harris)

Creation is the first condition of art (Oscar Wilde)

Book: Teacher Man, Frank McCourt

Years ago I was enthralled with Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, it was a magical read. His next book 'Tis, I didn't enjoy as much. But, Teacher Man, was an absolute delight to read. Not as good as Angela's Ashes, but a good read nonetheless. He has a wonderful sense of humour and I just really appreciate the way that he describes things. 

Call it synchronicity, random, a fluke; regardless of how different the books are that I am reading, there is always something somewhere that relates back to the previous book I read or am reading. I am currently also audio-booking the biography of Oscar Wilde. He was also a teacher, also Irish. And, both books are written by Franks. 

Four things that I found particularly interesting in Teacher Man:

1. He loved the creativity of the sick notes that he received. 

So what are we supposed to do with these excuse notes? We'll read them aloud. I want you to realize that this is the first class in the world ever to study the art of the excuse note, the first class ever to practice writing them...

2. Instead of reading the prescribed textbooks, he thought out of the box and got the students to read recipe books and put it to music.

3. I learnt what Pedagogical Paydirt means. I will admit that I had to Google it, but, now I know:

pedagogical = relating to teaching.

Paydirt = a useful or remunerative discovery or object.

The fourth was a reminder:

“Language reveals the man. Speak that I may see thee.” Ben Johnson

The above quote reminded me of Jim Rohn's good advice when it comes to language. 

He believes in broadening your vocabulary; words impact your success. "Vocabulary enables us to interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future."  If you do not have words to express yourself you will end up expressing yourself poorly, and you will make poor decisions.

Looping back to the book, it's an easy, light read 4/5

Book: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dates with Death, Tales from a Month of Mystery

Alfred Hitchcock is an author that I have not read yet (and too much of a wimp to watch his movies!). But, I have wanted to read one of his books for some time, so was thrilled when I found this one on my Mom’s bookshelf. I must admit that I borrowed it ages ago, but just never got into it. While I was reading it on the aeroplane the other day, I realised that it is not his work, but rather a compilation of his favourite short stories. I have never been a massive fan of short stories; my preference is to dig my teeth into a novel or biography.

With that said the selection of stories were entertaining.

I particularly enjoyed the writing of Ross McDonald, The Singing Pigeon. Here are a few of my favourite lines from his story:

“…the words blurred by distance...”

“More than ever he resembled a dilapidated boy whose growing pains had never paid off in manhood.”

“Under her mounds of flesh she had a personality as thin and hard and abrasive as a rasp.”

[My favourite line: ->] “I could smell the fear on Donny: there’s an unexplained trace of canine in my chromosomes…

3/5