February Book Summary

So, in 2018, I'm taking a slightly different approach to blogging about my reading - I'm not really worrying about the in/out balance or how many books I read each month versus how many have been removed from the list. My only goal in 2018 is to read at least 100 books (as usual), so I'll be counting towards that, and noting books I read, acquire, get rid of, etc, but only for interest. I'm tired of feeling guilty if I acquire new books!

In January:  books read: 7; books otherwise removed: 3; books in: 7; books on windowsill: 62
In February: books read: 6; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3;  books on windowsill: 61

And here's the breakdown for this month: 

• I read five books from my list (The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison, The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin, The Girl in the Blue Coat, Monica Hesse, Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor, The Wonder by Emma Donoghue)
• I read part of one book on my list and decided that I just really wasn't that into it. It was a quirky book (The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie), perhaps a little too quirky for me. There really wasn't anything wrong with it that I can put my finger on, it just didn't grab me.  Sometimes books are like that.
• I read one library book (Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon)
• I ordered a book into my local Waterstones because I couldn't NOT buy it after reading the first in the trilogy (The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin)
• And of course I bought a few more books while I was in there... (The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid)
• I added a book to the Windowsill which Geoff got for Christmas and has now finished reading (The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy) 

Here's the updated list of Books to Read in 2018. These are the books hanging out on my windowsill upstairs, waiting to be read. Or discarded. But hopefully, read. I started the year with 60 books on this list - you can see how long the books have been knocking around by the dates in brackets.

1. Ford Maddox Ford, Parade's End (Nov 2012 - birthday present - bought after the BBC adaptation - but I knew I wouldn't read it straight away as I wanted to let time pass from the adaptation.  Enough time has probably passed now...)
2. Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (2014)
3. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (would be a re-read, bought shortly after his death - spring 2014 - as I was reminded how much I enjoyed it and I didn't seem to own a copy - think my old one fell apart, probably...) 
4. Philip Baruth, The Brothers Boswell (Waterstones Canterbury bargain bin, July 2015)
5. Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman's Creek (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
6. Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
7. Alice Munro, Runaway (Waterstones Piccadilly, March 2016)
8. Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram (Abe Books, July 2016)
9. Susan Barker, The Incarnations (charity shop, July 2016)
10. Neil MacGregor, Germany: Memories of  a Nation (birthday present, Nov 2016) (This book isn't technically on my windowsill, it's downstairs because I keep thinking I might have a go at reading it, but haven't really got around to it yet...)
11. Orhan Pamuk. A Strangeness in Mind (Christmas present 2016)
12. Jessie Burton, The Muse (Waitrose, January 2017)
13. Andrew Taylor, The Ashes of London (passed to me by Geoff after he read it, April 2017)
14. Mark Haddon (Introduction), States of Mind: Experiences at the Edge of Consciousness (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
15. John Irving, Avenue of Mysteries  (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
16. Lynn Knight, The Button Box  (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017) (This book is actually not on the windowsill either, as I've started reading it, but as it's non-fiction, it may take me a while to get through it; I'm reading it in little bits...)
17. Mikhail Bulgokov, The Master and Margarita (charity shop, April 2017)
18. Peter Ackroyd, Hawksmoor (charity shop, April 2017)
19. Rachel Ward, Numbers 2: The Chaos (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
20. Rachel Ward, Numbers 3: Infinity (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
21. Jane Smiley, Early Warning (Abe Books, May 2017, after finishing the first in the series)
22. Linda Grant, The Dark Circle (Waterstones Nottingham, July 2017)
23. Siri Hustvedt, A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2017)
24. Sally Vickers, Cousins (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2017)
25. Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2017, bought with my trip to Amsterdam in mind, though not necessarily to read before or during the trip)
26. Hella Haasse, The Tea Lords (Bookhandel von Rossum, Amsterdam, August 2017)
27. Ernest van der Kwast, The Ice Cream Makers (Amsterdam, August 2017)
28. Lucy Worsley, A Very British Murder (Waterstones Oxford, August 2017)
29. Lucy Ribchester, The Hourglass Factory (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
30. Bi Fieyu, Three Sisters (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
31. Claire Fuller, Our Endless Numbered Days (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
32. Michelle Paver, Dark Matter (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
33. Ali Smith, Autumn (Waterstones Brighton, October 2017)
34. Maggie O'Farrell, This Must be the Place (Waterstones Brighton, October 2017)
35. Greg Fowler, T is for Tree (bought for Sarah, Waterstones Brighton, October 2017)
36. Ben Marcus, The Flame Alphabet (2nd Hand Shop, Brighton, October 2017)
37. Becky Chambers, A Closed and Common Orbit (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017, after finishing the first in the series)
38. Christina Henry, Lost Boy (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017)
39. Alexia Casale, The Bone Dragon (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017)
40. Sarah Pennypacker, Pax (Waterstones Kingston, October 2017)
41. Samantha Shannon, The Bone Season  (Waterstones Kingston, October 2017)
42. Ernest Cline, Ready Player One  (Waterstones Kingston, October 2017)
43. Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (November 2017, book was in the house already, added after I read Divisadero and realised I'd never actually read this one.)
44. Grayson Perry, The Descent of Man (December 2017, RA Gift Shop)
45. Sara Guen, At the Water's Edge (Christmas present, 2017)
46. Geraldine Brooks, The Secret Chord (Christmas present, 2017)
47. Sarah J Maas, Court of Thorns and Roses (Christmas present, 2017)
48. Katherine Arden, The Bear and the Nightingale (Christmas present, 2017)
49. Emery Lord, The Start of Me and You (passed to me by Sarah, December 2017)
50. Patrick Gale, A Place Called Winter (charity shop, December 2017)
51. Sebastian Barry, Days without End (Abe Books, January 2018)
52. Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders (W H Smith, January 2018)
53. Laline Paull, The Ice (W H Smith, January 2018)
54. Matt Haig, How to Stop Time (W H Smith, January 2018)
55. Bernie MacLaverty, Midwinter Break (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
56. Ursula K LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
57. Clare Vanderpool, Moon over Manifest (was in the house, moved to my shelf Feb 2018)
58. N K Jemisin, The Obelisk Gate (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
59. Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
60. Mohsin Hamid, Exit West (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
61. Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (passed to me by Geoff, Feb 2018)

Dinner, 27/2/18: Paneer Stuffed Pancakes

We've had this before and really enjoyed it - the filling is paneer (an Indian cheese, very lowfat, so excellent for cooking & holding shape), chickpeas and spinach, along with spices. Really tasty.

Dinner, 26/2/18: Vegetable Stir Fry with Cashews

Book 13: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Read this very quickly over the weekend - a great story. I was very keen to see how she was going to resolve it - so many times when a nearly impossible situation is set up in a novel, it's hard for the author to resolve it to the reader's satisfaction (or at least, to mine: I'm picky, I guess).  I thought this worked well - whew!

Dinner, 25/2/18: Chicken Soup, Bavarian Style

Slow cooked chicken soup, a la my Bavarian cookbook (a birthday present which I have yet to cook from) - not that different to regular chicken soup, though I'd never used celeriac before in it, or juniper berries in the stock. Nice.

Book 12: Three Things About Elsie, Joanna Cannon

Really enjoyed The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, so when I read a nice review of this, I ordered it from the library, and was not disappointed. Her characters are great - they feel so real - and the mystery was clever. I loved the way all the puzzle pieces fit together - some of them I saw coming, some I didn't. 

Dinner, 24/2/18: Tofu Coconut Katsu Curry (Nadiya Hussain)

Fab.  We like a katsu curry anyway, and this one used fried tofu - also a favourite in our house. The breadcrumbs didn't stick to the tofu as well as I'd like, even with egg to bind them, so I might play with that a bit, but the taste was great. I've tagged this vegan, because the only non-vegan thing in it is the egg to bind the breadcrumbs, but you could easily sub that. Served with stir-fried choi sum. 

Dinner, 23/2/18: Pizza Night

Everyone does their own thing on pizza night. This time, I forewent the tomato sauce and used some leftover pesto with mine.

Dinner, 21/2/18: Dandan Noodles

An Anglicized version from Good Food magazine, so I don't have to find the right kind of pickled vegetables, etc. It was very tasty, but a little salty. When we make it again, which I think we will, I'll try to adjust for that. 

Dinner, 20/2/18: Spaghetti with walnut & pecorino pesto (Ainsley Harriot)

Another quick supper from a "5 ingredients" type cookbook. We had it with garlic bread.

Dinner, 19/2/18: Carrot and Chickpea Stew (Rita Serano)

This was from a new cookbook called Vegan in 7 - lots of cookbooks out at the moment, aiming to show people that good cooking doesn't have to be difficult with lots of ingredients, and this one is for the vegan market. I'm not afraid of cooking things with lots of ingredients or steps, but on a weeknight, it's nice to have something really simple. Looks like a good cookbook, except that there are lots of recipes with ingredients my kids don't like (aubergine, mushrooms) or can't eat (avocado - Olivia is allergic, we think, as it makes her feel sick - as opposed to just not liking it). 

Anyway, this was not bad, but not as spicy as I would have liked (easily adjusted). It also lacked a depth of flavour you find in many hearty dishes - I appreciate this is because it's hard to get that same depth in vegan food, but I wonder if roasting the carrots first would have helped. If I make it again, I might try that.

Dinner, 18/2/18: Vegan Swede Laksa

This was excellent - Geoff saw the recipe in the Guardian, and we decided to try it. The roast swede is really wonderful in this (we all like Swede anyway, so it wasn't really an issue) and the roast shallots were a nice addition. Very tasty!

Dinner, 16/2/18: Spicy roast root vegetable soup

Alex and I have been out every night this week (since Tuesday) with the Sou'west Gang Show - he's performing and I've been supervising in the dressing rooms - tonight I am watching the show from the audience, so I am actually home to cook dinner - this is a soup made from roasted leftover root veg - mostly butternut, parsnip and sweet potatoes, which I roasted with some Indian spices before blitzing up. We had bread with it. It may not look exciting, but it tasted good. There was an optional sprinkly of feta cheese for those who like such things. I'm out again tomorrow, but from Sunday on, there will be cooking again.  Geoff's been cooking for himself (and Olivia, if she's around) in my absence, but he doesn't remember to photograph what he makes, so I have nothing to share from those evenings!

Book 11: Reservoir 13, Jon McGregor

Well, I knew I'd like this one because I enjoyed the last of his that I read (This Isn't The Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You) despite it mostly being a short story collection, which I'm not usually crazy about (these were fairly entwined) and his first novel, If No One Speaks of Remarkable Things is a truly amazing book. But what I didn't realise is how amazing and beautiful the structure would be, in addition to the writing itself. It wasn't totally what I expected (because you tend to expect books which are ostensibly about missing people to be about missing people) but that's not to say it was the worse for that - indeed, the opposite. The missing girl is the pivot point - sort of- for the rest of the action and the inaction and it's a lovely device. If you enjoy fiction, especially beautifully written fiction (and if you ever want an example of how dialogue is completely unnecessary in a book which is essentially about how people interact with one another) you really should read this. And if you aren't sure you like fiction, you should probably read this as well. Just lovely. Definitely a contender for favourite read of the year and it's only February!

Dinner, 13/2/18: Tofu with Black Bean Sauce (Geoff cooking)

This is the photo from the recipe - no photo was taken of the actual meal, which unfortunately, I didn't even get to eat, as Alex and I are out every night this week with Gang Show performances.  I am assured it was good, though, so I imagine we'll be seeing it again...

Books in

Popped into Waterstones to pick up The Obelisk Gate, which I'd ordered (it's the second in the trilogy I finished the first of the other day. I may not read it straight away, but I imagine it will be soon...)  Of course, I couldn't not browse the other books, so I've come home with a few more for the windowsill. Plus I've ordered something from the library - that one I'll have to read right when it comes in, of course.

Dinner, 12/2/18: Pasta with bacon, squash & potato

Book 10: The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Wasn't sure if this was a Young Adult novel until I read it (it is); doesn't matter of course, except that Young Adult novels are often more readable than novels aimed at adults which I think (sometimes) feel they have to be Clever or Worthy or Literary and often just end up being Tedious as a result (some, of course, succeed brilliantly, don't get me wrong).

Anyway, this is a story of the black market and the underground movement and hiding Jews in 1943 in Amsterdam. And if that sounds familiar, yes, there's a literary precedent, but there is, of course, also history to back up the validity of this story.

Having recently been to Amsterdam, it was particularly enjoyable to follow Henneke's travels through the cobbled streets to places I'd been to or been past. And it was an interesting glimpse into the lives of the sometimes extraordinary ordinary people living through the German occupation of the Netherlands.

A very good book.

Dinner, 11/2/18: Ratatouille (Yotam Ottolenghi)

This is "Tamara's Ratatouille" from Yotam Ottolenghi's first vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. I've made it once before and Geoff and I both love it, though of course the kids don't like it, due to aubergine (I let them pick it out - more for me!). The texture is fabulous, and the long cooking gives it a really nice flavour. It's not a quick assembly dish, but it's worth it.

Book 9: The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin

Well. I've read good things about this book (and the author in general) and it's nice to not only not be disappointed but to be thrilled. What an excellent book. Great writing, interesting characters, fascinating world-building. Have ordered the second one and will no doubt proceed to the third shortly thereafter. I've picked up a bunch of books recently which I really couldn't get into; this one was so gripping from the outset that I knew I would be ok. Highly recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy, especially with strong female characters and intersting world-building.

Dinner, 10/2/18: Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese

with some sauteed potatoes. Mmm, cheesy!

Dinner, 9/2/18: Jacket Potatoes with toppings

A little bit of sweet potato, as well...

Dinner, 7/2/18: Pork Mince & Kimchi Stir Fry (Geoff cooking)

A nice stir fry, with kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage), peppers, bamboo shoots in addition to the pork mince.

Dinner, 6/2/18: Springtime pasta

Not really sure why this recipe was called "Springtime" - it had kale, bacon & onions in it, with goat's cheese. But it was tasty.

Book 8: The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison

I had mixed feelings about this book, which is a combination invented memoir ("Trolley Girls") about sisters, anarchy, trolley strikes and so on in the 20s and modern (1970's forward) novel of friendship between two rather unlikely women friends, who meet in a playground. I'm still not entirely convinced about the writing style of the modern section, or indeed, either of the characters in that section; I found it hard to slip inside the head or skin of either of those women, which made their friendship harder to fathom and so on and so forth. Parts of the novel I enjoyed very much, parts were more of a struggle for me. I did, however, finish it without skipping too much. So that's something.

Dinner, 4/2/18: Spicy Bean Hotpot (Hairy Bikers)

This was very nice - like a vegetarian chili with a thin potato topping. Next time, I'd probably cook this even longer in the oven to get the potatoes even more crispy.

Dinner, 3/2/18: Roast Pork, roast potatoes, cabbage

January Round Up

WHAT WAS  FOR DINNER, JANUARY 2018

• 31st: Spaghetti with lemon and olives
• 30th: Fend for yourself Tuesday
• 29th: Bang Bang Chicken
• 28th: Cauliflower & Spinach Dhansak
• 27th: Bengali mustard fish with courgettes
• 26th: Goat's Cheese and New Potato Tart
• 25th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 24th: Beef & Tofu Stir Fry
• 23rd: Chunky potato chowder (Alex cooking)
• 22nd: Pasta with chicken, artichokes, lemon
• 21st: Roast chicken, roast potatoes, cabbage
• 20th: Enchiladas
• 19th: Parsnip, Potato & Goat Cheese Rosti
• 18th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 17th: Pasta alla Amatriciana (Alex cooking)
• 16th: Curried Potato Puffs
• 15th: Courgette & Tarragon soup (Alex & Sarah cooking)
• 14th: Cottage Pie (Geoff cooking)
• 13th: Chicken Fajitas (no photo)
• 12th: Spanakopita
• 11th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 10th: Vegetable and Tofu Stir Fry with Cashews
• 9th: Lemon & herb chicken with orzo & courgettes
• 8th: Chorizo and bean one pot
• 7th: Homemade soup for lunch
• 6th: Dinner out with John & Angela
• 5th: Pasta with chili, pancetta and lemon
• 4th: Grilled halloumi with lentil & chickpea salad
• 3rd: Cheeseburger quesadillas
• 2nd: Sausages, curly fries, peas
• 1st: Roast Duck, Roast Potatoes, Carrots