Middlefocus

  Judged a book by its bookmark! I had ordered this very large book on the visual strength of its giveaway bookmark, a stack of which were on the counter at my favourite bookstore. I picked the book up today and now cannot wait to get into it.  It is three books in one I'm told and "big as it is you'll not want it to end". Here goes then... To Paradise. More: Check out this link for more details about the book.

  A time for every purpose... Some current readings, suggesting stirrings of spring?

Title: Mudlarking Lost and Found on the River Thames Author: Lara Maiklem Publisher: Bloomsbury. 2019 ISBN: 976-1-4088-8921-3 I thoroughly enjoyed this book and feel that I have learnt so much from it about the Thames and its impact on history down the centuries. I particularly liked the writing style. Each chapter, focussing on a location along the river's course, begins with a literary extract describing those who make their living on and from the Thames. The author provides historical details in a very accessible way, supplementing them with her own deductions, hypotheses and intuitions; along the way she shares with us some of her personal biography connecting that to the places she visits. She had a particular connection with her precious Greenwich where she had lived for 13 years.  She also introduces us to some of her mudlark friends who come across as a friendly supportive group of like-minded individuals. I started reading the hardback edition and when I spotted that it w...

  The writer and social commentator, Joan Didion has left us for good on 23 December 2021. It is perhaps fitting that not long before Christmas she goes Slouching Towards Bethlehem, the title of her first work of non-fiction. The Year of Magical Thinking is an astonishing work - remarkable insights into bereavement.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories for December by Ian Sansom. My intention was to read just one story a day for the month; to get me in the mood for Christmas. The stories however are so captivating that I found myself reading on and so finished them after about a week. They instil a mix of emotions: sympathy, humour, sadness and vulnerability. Despite the quick read some of these vignettes have found their sticking place and the simple everyday situations he writes about resonate with personal memories of feelings, thoughts and actions. So although ostensibly these accounts relate to the end of year festive season they also speak to the human situation and the business of getting on with life. They therefore would be immensely readable in other months of the year. I have to mention one story in particular, Down By The River for 23 December.  It's one of the longer pieces in the volume and oddly when I started reading it I had recently just watched two fil...