March 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
In March: books read: 8; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 5;  books on windowsill: 60

And here's the breakdown for this month: 

• I read one book which is part of a series I'm re-reading my way through, but which isn't on my windowsill (Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon)
• I read fivebooks from my windowsill (The Obelisk Gate by N K Jemisin, The Start of Me & You by Emery Lord, Lost Boy by Christina Henry,  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline,  The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks)
• I read about half of another book from the windowsill, but it just didn't grip me (T is for Tree by Greg Fowler)
• I read a book which Sarah had in her room (When we Collided by Emery Lord)
• I read a book I was planning to take into my classroom, just to check it was suitable for Year 6 kids (and because I've read good things about it) (Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli)
• I bought a few books from Waterstones online to get the last in a trilogy I've been waiting for (Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton,  Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, Reader I Married Him ed. by Tracy Chevalier)
• I picked up a couple of books in the charity shelf at the hospital when I took Sarah for a knee x-ray (it's true - I can't resist any instance of books) (Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen, Alberto's Lost Birthday by Diana Rosie)

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. Ben Marcus, The Flame Alphabet (2nd Hand Shop, Brighton, October 2017)
36. Becky Chambers, A Closed and Common Orbit (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017, after finishing the first in the series)
37. Alexia Casale, The Bone Dragon (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017)
38. Sarah Pennypacker, Pax (Waterstones Kingston, October 2017)
39. Samantha Shannon, The Bone Season  (Waterstones Kingston, October 2017)
40. 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.)
41. Grayson Perry, The Descent of Man (December 2017, RA Gift Shop)
42. Sara Guen, At the Water's Edge (Christmas present, 2017)
43. Sarah J Maas, Court of Thorns and Roses (Christmas present, 2017)
44. Katherine Arden, The Bear and the Nightingale (Christmas present, 2017)
45. Patrick Gale, A Place Called Winter (charity shop, December 2017)
46. Sebastian Barry, Days without End (Abe Books, January 2018)
47. Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders (W H Smith, January 2018)
48. Laline Paull, The Ice (W H Smith, January 2018)
49. Matt Haig, How to Stop Time (W H Smith, January 2018)
50. Bernie MacLaverty, Midwinter Break (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
51. Ursula K LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
52. Clare Vanderpool, Moon over Manifest (was in the house, moved to my shelf Feb 2018)
53. Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
54. Mohsin Hamid, Exit West (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
55. Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (passed to me by Geoff, Feb 2018)
56. Alwyn Hamilton, Hero at the Fall (Waterstones online, March 2018)
57. Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer (Waterstones online, March 2018)
58. ed. Tracy Chevalier, Reader I Married Him (Waterstones online, March 2018)
59. Bella Pollen, Hunting Unicorns (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)
60. Diana Rosie, Alberto's Lost Birthday (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)

Book 21: The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

This is a historical novel about David (the Biblical King), told from the point of view of his prophet, Natan, as he compiles a history of David's life. He combines his personal recollections with oral histories taken from significant figures in David's life. It's a nice structure and a very interesting life. Brooks writes very well, so it's a pleasure to read. 

Dinner, 31/3/18: Vegan Lancashire Hotpot (Simon Rimmer)

We've had this many times before - the inside is root vegetables, barley, etc in a lovely, rice sauce. One of the best things about this is the richness of the flavour, depite it being vegan. Yum. 

Dinner, 30/3/18: Leek, blue cheese & artichoke wellington

This is really gorgeous, with a filling of leeks, blue cheese, pine nuts, sunblush tomatoes, artichoke hearts. Yum. 

Dinner, 29/3/18: Mince & macaroni bake (Sarah cooking)

I had plans to go out for dinner, so I deputised the cooking - there's lots leftover, though, so I imagine I'll have some for dinner. Looks pretty good.

Dinner, 28/3/18: Vegetable & Tofu stir fry

Dinner, 26/3/18: Lentil & Pomegranate Salad, Green Salad, Biscuits (Vegan in 7)

This was good, but needed a little something else to help kick the flavour up a notch. We think a stronger, more mature feta would work (the cookbook uses a vegan "almond feta" but as we aren't vegan, we didn't). The basic salad was good, but just needed a little more zing. 

Dinner, 26/3/18: Pasta with artichokes and feta (Moosewood Simple)

This was simple and tasted fine, but it wasn't very exciting. I'm not sure if I'd do it again or not. 

Dinner, 25/3/18: Toad in the hole, cabbage

The Yorkshire puddings today turned out really well, even better than normal. I think it's because I had really good eggs in the house, but who knows, could have been any number of factors. Yum. 

Book 20: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Always on the hunt for books to recommend to my class, and thought this one might be ok - it's aimed at slightly older kids, but there's nothing unsuitable in it (I wanted to read it to check that, but also just to read it as I've read good things about it). It's a very nice story about the joys and perils of being yourself. A great one for early teens feeling a lot of pressure to conform.

Dinner, 21/3/18: Penne alla Amatriciana (Good Food)

Alex was due to cook this, but my committment got cancelled, so we did it together instead. He's made it before, and it's easy and tasty - some bacon, some red wine, some tomatoes...

Dinner, 20 March 2018 (Aine Carlin, Keep it Vegan)

This was great. The kids complained about the aubergine, of course, but Geoff and I really liked it. The smokiness was a great addition. And we liked the couscous. A winner, for sure.

Dinner, 19/3/18: Bean & Cheese Quesadillas (Moosewood Simple)

Book 19: When we Collided, Emery Lord

Another young adult title by the same author; when I need something not-too-taxing to read I often turn to young adult titles. This wasn't my favourite of hers, but it was still good. I do like the way she draws young people and their relationships - it feels very real, unlike some authors. 

Dinner, 18/3/18: Asian Stir Fry (Vegan in 7)

This was great - really simple, even with having made the spicy cashews beforehand - I added 5 spice powder to mine. The main issue, as always, is being able to stir fry enough noodles for my whole family in one pan. But hey, first world problems...

Book 18: Ready Player One, Ernest Cline

I've had this for a while, having first picked it up after seeing it on lots of people's favourite books of the decade lists. The widespread billboards advertising the Spielberg film made from it reminded me I hadn't read it yet, so I thought I'd better before I got too many spoilers from discussion of the film.  It was great - a good story in and of itself, but of course being myself a child of the 80s, the added bonus of SO many cultural references for me to enjoy. I can see why it made so many lists...

Dinner, 17/3/18: Pizzas

Dinner, 16/3/18: Spicy Asian Tofu Salad (Niomi Smart)

Really tasty dish of great contrasts - crunchy cabbage and bean sprouts, soba noodles, fried tofu, crunchy peanuts. Yum!

Book 17: The Start of Me and You, Emery Lord

Looking for something quick and easy to read in a very tiring week - including a round trip drive to Birmingham for an Applicant Open Day with Olivia - I read one of these Young Adult titles before by this author and enjoyed it, so I thought this would be just the ticket - and it was. It's a nice story with well-drawn characters and not too simplistic in its tackling of more complex issues. The friendships in her novels seem very real, which is nice.

Books in

Just realised the other day that a book I'd been waiting for (3rd in a trilogy) was out in pb; also another new book by an author I like.  Time for a Waterstones order. And of course, needed a book to make it up to the free shipping price and this looked fun... Someday, I will like short stories. I keep telling myself this.

Dinner, 13/3/18: Courgette and Lemon Linguine

Quick and easy - my favourite kind of midweek meal...

Book 16: Lost Boy by Christina Henry

This was super. A dark re-telling of a classic story, but from a very different perspective. Totally convincing, well-plotted and frankly, makes Peter Pan far more believable as a character (though seriously creepy as a result) than the classic tale. Also gives depth to other aspect of the traditional story, like the enmity between Pan and the pirates, as we see them. Although ostensibly a children's/young adult book, NOT a book for young children by any means, nor for those likely to be haunted by bad dreams, but wow, such an amazing read and such an imagination the author has. I'm almost scared to try her retelling of Alice in Wonderland, as that's a lot creepier to start off with!

Dinner, 12/3/18: Chili with rice

Geoff is the chili maker in the house, usually - not because I can't, but because he's good at it and because he's home in the daytime most days, so he has the time to cook things which take longer to make...  Anyway, he made this on the weekend, and we ate half of it for dinner, with the other half in the freezer for another time.

Dinner, 11/3/18: Sweet Potato Pancakes (Moosewood Cookbook)

Although I altered these a touch by adding some feta cheese, they are pretty much just the Moosewood Recipe - and they were great. Even the non-sweet-potato fan in the house liked them. Yum!

Dinner, 10/3/18: Roasted Aloo Gobi (Good Food)

This was nice, though maybe a little sweeter than I really like my curries.  But the texture of the veg was very good. I chucked in some of the cauliflower leaves/stems as well as the cauliflower I had, had loads of them and it seemed a waste not to. Recipe online here. 

Book 15: The Obelisk Gate, N K Jemisin

The second in this series, and excellent. Not sure if things are clearer now or more confused, but I'm certainly eager to see what happens - to ALL the characters. Such a different and complex world created here. Hurts my brain to think of the effort that must have gone into structuring it, but it sure makes it rich and interesting to read.

Dinner, 7/3/18: Herby Sausage Stew, Baked Potatoes

We used two types of sausages in this one - a tofu-based vegan one which we got as a free sample (pictured) and some regular sausages (not pictured, as they weren't quite done and had to go back in the pan). It was an easy assembly type of meal and tasty, once the sausages were cooked through!

Dinner, 6/3/18: Sticky Citrus Chicken (Alex cooking)

This is a nice traybake with baby carrots and a lovely, sticky, gingery glaze. Yum.  Alex assembled it and stuck it in the oven.

Dinner, 5/3/18: Chickpea & Spinach Curry

One which we have a lot. The original recipe adds some yogurt to the curry at the end, but I don't usually bother; it doesn't need it. You can if you like, though.  If we can get them, we serve it with fresh flatbreads from our local shop. Yum.

Book 14: Fatal Remedies, Donna Leon

Next in the Commisario Brunetti series, set in Venice. As usual, an interesting, reliable read where the emphasis is less on the mystery/plot element and more on the moral questions and the character development. And of course, setting the Venetian scene.

Dinner, 4/3/18: Lasagne

Luckily, Geoff had madespaghetti bolognese a while back and there was leftover ragu in the freezer, so this lasagne was easy to assemble - I only had to make a white sauce and then layer it up and let it cook. Yum.

Dinner, 3/3/18: Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs, Bacon & Parsley (Nigel Slater)

February Round Up

WHAT WAS FOR DINNER, FEBRUARY 2018

• 27th: Paneer Stuffed Pancakes
• 26th: Vegtable Stir Fry with Cashews
• 25th: Chicken Soup Bavarian Style
• 24th: Tofu coconut katsu curry
• 23rd: Pizza night
• 22nd: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 21st: Dandan noodles
• 20th: Spaghetti with wanut & pecorino pesto
• 19th: Carrot and Chickpea Stew
• 18th: Vegan Swede Laksa
• 17th: K&A out, Geoff cooking
• 16th: Spicy Roast Root Vegetable Soup
• 15th: K & A out with gang show, Geoff cooking
• 14th: Everyone else out, Geoff cooking for himself
• 13th: Tofu with black bean sauce (Geoff & Liv; no photo)
• 12th: Pasta with butternut squash, potato & Bacon
• 11th: Tamara's Ratatouille
• 10th: Cauliflower & Broccoli Cheese
• 9th: Jacket potatoes with toppings
• 8th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 7th: Pork mince & Kimchi Stir Fry (Geoff)
• 6th: Pasta with bacon & kale
• 5th: Sausages, new potatoes, green beans
• 4th: Spicy Bean Hotpot
• 3rd: Roast Pork, Roast Potatoes, Cabbage
• 2nd: Out for dinner (Franco Manca) for Alex's birthday
• 1st: Fend for yourself Thursday