If anyone knows of jobs going for people
who love to read but are completely unqualified to do anything in the bookish
world, hit me up. I am perfect for that position! Hi and welcome to my channel. My
name is Sarah and I love to talk about books. Today I am wrapping up April, which was not a
great reading month for me. I only read six books, and that was with Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon in
there. And you might have noticed that I didn't publish any videos last week - I didn't do my
Wednesday video, and I missed my Saturday video as well. And guys, it's just because life keeps
getting in the bloody way. Work is really busy. I'm on a temporary contract until the end of the
summer, and right now we are kind of at, like, I want to say peak, but I have a feeling there's
more to come. But we are at a really crucial point in my contract, so there's that. And then, just,
I don't know, I think I did hit a bit of a reading slump. I think I’m out of that now, but that
obviously affected things. And I’ve just been busy trying to get my workouts in, and trying to hit
a step goal each day (which doesn't happen), but yeah, so I think my attention has been
pulled in lots of different directions and I just ran out of time to make videos. But I really
missed it. I love this channel; I really want to be more consistent. I got into a really good
groove before Christmas, where I was actually, like, bulk recording things, and I felt really on
top of my game. That has faded away, but I would like to get back into a bit of a groove with that
and definitely try and make my Shelf Indulgence videos on a Wednesday more consistent. But it is
a work in progress. I am a work in progress. So, I do hope you'll bear with me, because I am so
close to my 200 subscribers. It has taken me so long; I cannot lose momentum now. If
you know, like, one or two…or three…or four friends who would enjoy my videos, please
give them a shout and get them to subscribe, because I would love to hit my 200. Particularly
seeing as we are now in May, and May is my birthday month - I hit the big old 3-7 later on
in the month, so it'd be a really nice birthday present if I could hit 200 subscribers for then.
And here in Scotland we are into our spring - the weather's hit and miss, but when it's good it's
beautiful. And we are out…also out of lockdown, the restrictions are easing, things feel so much
more positive at the moment. And with restrictions easing and shops opening back up, I am definitely
hoping to find time to schedule in some charity shop trips so I can pick up some new books, so
hopefully there will also be a book haul this month as well. But that's all still to come. What
I’m doing today is looking back at those six books that I did manage to read in April. And I’ve had
a little think, and normally I go by star reviews but I have been kind of falling out of love
with star reviews. Sometimes it just depends on my mood whether a book gets a three
or a four star, or a four or a five star. It's just, it's not my favourite way to
look at a book. And I know a lot of you guys are feeling the same. So, I’m still going
to be talking about my books that I’ve read in kind of a rough order of my favourite
first, but I’m not slapping a label on them. Because particularly a lot of the books, you
can't compare them to each other. Because sometimes I review books on the strength of that
author's other books that I’ve read as well, so it's really hard to compare authors, it's
really hard to compare genres, there's just a whole lot of stuff that goes in I don't think you
can capture in stars. But having said that, I am going to kick off with my favourite book of the
month. And this one was quite a surprise to me, I was a bit daunted going into it, but I absolutely
loved The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. And I was nervous going into this for a couple
of reasons. One, it's huge - it's over 600 pages. And more than that, I’m really into reading about
the experiences of people who have been colonised, and post-colonialism, and this book talks about
that but it's written by a white American woman…I think she's American…maybe I’ve just made
that assumption. And the story itself is the experience of being in Congo as
told by white, missionary American people, so I was concerned how that would play
out. But obviously, seeing as I loved it, those fears were totally unfounded.
So, this is the story of, like I said, an American missionary family. They go to Congo
in the beginning of the 60’s, and it's at the time of the Belgium withdrawal of power and - on the
surface of it, at least -independence coming to Congo. And they've gone there to spread the “good
news” to a village of completely unsuspecting…is it Congolese? Or have I just made that up? Anyway,
these people are not really participants in the choice of having a missionary family foisted
upon them. The family is headed by Nathan, he is, like, a zealot. He's totally focused on his
purpose, to the point of being blinkered to, you know, slightly minor things like the
needs and wants of the community that he has planked himself into, language barriers,
cultural barriers, or even getting to know his unwitting new congregation. And,
you know, from that you can tell that his mission goes about as well as you could
assume in that situation. And he kind of rules his family in much of the same way. The story
is actually told through the eyes of his wife and his four daughters, I think there are? The
wife's voice is from a time quite long after the aftermath - or, like, long into the aftermath -
of what has happened, and his daughter's voices are narrating it as it goes on and then the years
that follow their original mission. And this isn't just a story about the family, it's not just a
story about the mission or the village in which they live. This book is all-encompassing
- it looks at Congo under Belgian rule, it looks at the struggle for independence, and it
looks at what happens when two big countries – so, America and Russia, during the cold war - use
a colonised country as sort of like the pitch on which to play out their power games. And so,
it's kind of the intersection of the political, the cultural and the personal, and it's told
through some very, very interesting characters. Each of the women has a strong individual voice
and experience and way of seeing the world. I think my particular favourite was one of the
daughters – Adah. She's part of a set of twins and she has been born with disabilities and seems
to be selectively mute, but her inner monologue, her way of seeing things, is really fascinating
and so compelling. And then I also loved to hate the elder sister, Rachael, who is, like, the
archetypal self-absorbed, vapid airhead. I was so amused by her…this is going to be ironic, because
I’m probably going to mispronounce this – her malapropisms. And although sometimes that
kind of verged on a bit of a caricature, I really enjoyed that. And just seeing how she just
totally doesn't understand - and doesn't want to understand - the context in which she's living.
She is totally powered by selfishness, and, yeah, she's a fun read. And all these voices combined
creates this really rich book that has a lot of depth and beauty and warmth to it, even
though there is so much tragedy in the story, both in terms of what happens to the
family and in terms of what is happening to Congo. So, like I said, I loved this and my
fears were completely unfounded. Because, although she is a white woman writing about
a white family, it is their experience of living in a colonised country. And so, she's
not appropriating the culture or any of their practices or religions or anything like that.
But what she does do is turn a really critical eye on that colonialism and exploiting other less
developed nations for, you know, wealth and power. And she highlights the things that can be lost
by simply trying to transplant a whole culture or religion from one place to another without a
second thought to what the recipients want and need, and without respecting the indigenous way
of life and people. And although I think it's always best to read about these things from own
voices, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to hear it from other perspectives, particularly
when it's a voice and writing that is so strong, as in the case with Barbara Kingsolver. I just, I
thought this was fabulous. I would definitely be looking to see if any of her other books sound
like something I would want to read. But yeah, this was definitely the best book that I read in
April. And then next was the ShelterBox book club pick for…I think this was from March - I’m so
behind on that, I think I might just drop the book club bit and just have a nice surprise of
getting a new book every month that has come as a thank you for the donation I give to the
charity. But this was A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. And I really enjoyed this one
as well, so although I didn't specifically pick this it definitely is the sort of book that
I would have picked up for myself, because it brings together so many flavours that my reading
tastes love - own voices, immigrant experience, women's experiences, and getting the chance to
read about a culture that is different from mine. I love all those things, and this book delivers
on all of them. Essentially, this is the story of the women of one family. So, we have Isra, and
kind of her mother is part of it as well, but it's mainly her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law and
her four daughters. And from the outset of the book, we know that Isra, her husband and her
sister-in-law are no longer with the family, and her in-laws are raising her daughters. It's
told in a dual timeline, so we follow Isra from childhood in Palestine through to her marriage
and the immigration to America that it entailed, through her becoming a mother to four
daughters and her life with her new family. But simultaneously we follow the story
of her daughters - mainly one, Daya, who is struggling with a lot of things. She is a high
school student and she wants to go to college, but her [grandparents] are really insistent on
marrying her off. She has memories of her parents, but she doesn't really understand what happened
and why they aren't with the family. And so, she's got a lot going on. It's a story that
throws, like, a really stark light on how Muslim Arab women are treated, and Arab how that's
perpetuated not just by men but by other women and, you know, that bigger cycle of religion and
culture and tradition. And, particularly in Isra's story, how that led to tragedy for her. And in
Deya's story, we are kind of unravelling the family secrets, the mystery of what has gone on,
whilst also seeing her try to be her own person amongst all these pressures to
conform and to be the good daughter, and all those sorts of things. I thought this was
a really affecting story. I think I would have enjoyed it even without the family mystery aspect,
but it was those family stories and how they came out through the narrative that really captivated
me and held me. And I really particularly enjoyed how Isra was given a voice in this book that
she probably wouldn't have had in reality. Oh sorry… right, a delivery guy came to the door
and I’ve managed to knock everything over as I rushed to go and answer it, so sorry if everything
looks a bit skew-wiff. I forgot what I was saying. Yeah, I was talking about the characters, you
know, and I wife really appreciated that even the mother-in-law - who is quite a dragon - we get
a glimpse of her backstory to try and understand why she is the way that she is. And particularly
with Isra, with her sister-in-law, Sarah, and her mother-in-law, Fareeda, we get to see that they
are nuanced characters behind the closed doors, behind the hijab, behind that kind of supposed
servile attitude or status. They have their own experiences, histories, needs, wants, and,
you know, fears and sorrows that follow them around through their lives. And I…obviously that
should go without saying, but I often think in the way that women like this are treated and the way
they're often represented, it can almost be easy to overlook that. Even in Daya we see that, as
she struggles with whether to accept her fate or rise up against it. And for me she was the least
fleshed out character, but that might be because she is still so young and she lives a life
where decisions are very much made for her rather than with her. This is just a really good
book. Like, it's a debut and I think Etaf Rum is still very much finding her voice, but there are
some gorgeous turns of phrase in this book and it manages to be gentle while still dealing with
some really rough topics. So, I’m excited to see what she will do next. And then we had a reread
for me. This was one of my books that I’ve picked for my Project Everlasting Love, because I’m a
chronic non-rereader… wow, that really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Yeah, but I don't really
reread books, purely because I’ve got so many that I haven't read and there's always new, exciting,
shiny things. And I kind of often feel like if I’ve read a book, I’m kind of done with it. But
this year I kind of challenged myself to pick up some books that I have rated five stars I read
years ago, to reread them and see if I still think they are as good as they were then. This
is my fourth…or is it my third? But so far, the ones that I’ve read have held up, and
they were five stars when I first read them and they've been five stars again. This book, it's
Louise Welsh's The Cutting Room. I first read this when it first came out in the early 2000’s,
so nearly two decades ago, and I’ve always remembered it really fondly. It started off
not just my love of Louise Welsh's writing, but also just my whole journey of my adult reading
life, so I owe a lot to this book. And like I said, when I first read it, I gave it five
stars. My taste and evolve…my tastes have evolved since then, but even still – yes, it has dropped
in star rating, but only to a four star. I still think it really held up. So, this is the story
of Rilke - I assume that's how you pronounce it, never come across that name before. He is an
auctioneer in his 40’s, and when he's not selling lots, he likes to drink heavily and have casual
sex with strange men - that’s strangers, not “strange” men - and generally lives in the shadier
parts of life. It's set in Glasgow, and it follows Rilke on a very amateur detective journey after
he discovers some really authentic looking snuff pornography pictures in an attic while he's doing
a house clearing. The former owner of the photos is now deceased, very wealthy but the only real
clues as to what he was really like are in this locked attic where Rilke finds the photos. And he
becomes slightly obsessed with these photos and the fate of the women in it, and it leads him to
overturn some very slimy rocks in the underbelly of the city. And what he uncovers under those
rocks are really not that pleased to have been disturbed. And I think what I loved about this
book when I first read it is what I still love about it on rereading. Obviously, I’ve said before
- Glasgow is my city, and I love seeing it on the page. And this book, with the dialogue and turns
of phrase and the locations that are mentioned, it’s very much a presence in this book, there's a
real sense of place. I also really love the fact that this featured a gay man as a protagonist,
and Glasgow there are also transgender women in this book, but the book isn't about the
fact that he's gay or they're transgender. It's just taken as a given. And particularly
for the time it was written - or at least for my younger self - that was very different, it
was unlike anything that I had read before. I was a little bit concerned going into this
how that would hold up over time, considering that Welsh is a cis woman - although she is I
think gay herself, I know she had a partner who was another writer called Zoe Strachan for a long
time, I don't know if they're still together or whatever. But she's obviously not a trans woman
or a gay man, so I was a little bit concerned about that. But I do think it holds up, because
it feels authentic, it's not token or gimmicky. And then of course, I really enjoy the mystery
of the photos as well. Particularly what I enjoy is that the mystery doesn't dominate the story,
and Rilke is quite clumsy in his digging around, so that feels really realistic - he doesn't just
turn into a super sleuth overnight because he's decided to find out what these photos are all
about. So, I guess why I’ve dropped this star, partly…like, this was her debut book and it does
feel like a debut - at times it could be a little bit earnest, almost like she was trying really
hard. And, you know, no shade about that - it's not a criticism because it obviously did her well,
she's gone on to have a great career. And part of me quite enjoyed seeing that, because I’ve read
books that she's written further on in her career, and it's exciting to see her trajectory. So
maybe that isn't why I dropped the star rating. I think maybe, for me, it's just because my tastes
have changed. I don't read a lot of mystery books, so that's probably all it is. But I would be
really interested to see what she would do with Rilke’s character and another sort of story
like this now that she is a much more seasoned writer. And I guess I’ll find out, because I’m
reading another one of her books later on in the year - The Bullet Trick…which I think actually
might still be one of her earlier books. But yeah, that'll be interesting to see. So another good
reread experience. I think my mind is being turned to see why people do love to reread, but I’ll
save that for when I’ve finished all my books for the project, and I’ll do, like, a reflection
on it at the end of the year. My next book is one that's probably going to be familiar with a lot
of you, as is its author, because it is written by fellow booktuber Charles - or Charlie – Heathcote.
This is Our Doris, which is the first of three…four? Our Doris books that Charlie has
written. But it's the first one that I have read. And so first I’ll say this isn't my usual read.
Apart from maybe like memoirs by comedians or, like, essay collections, I don't think I’ve ever
read a humour book before. And also, I’ll just say this because I’m probably going to be cringing
the whole time I’m reviewing this book, because I don't really like reading books by people I
know. And I know I don't “know” Charlie, but I watch his videos, he's commented on a few of mine,
and so there is that connection there. And, like, I’ve known quite a few people in my life who have
written books. When I worked at waterstones there were quite a few authors that worked there, and
then in my, like, non-work life I’ve can think of a couple of other people I know that have written
books. Thankfully not really close friends, so I’ve never really felt obliged to read the book.
But what's always put me off is that feeling of, like, what if I don't like it? What am I gonna
say? And I time, will never pick those books up. And when I first started watching Charlie, I
kind of had that same reaction as well - I loved hearing him talk about the writing process and
reading from the books, but I was kind of like “no, I can't go there.” But I know a few of you
guys have read his books and you say really nice things about them, and then when one of the around
the year reading challenge prompts this year was to read a book by a social media personality,
it kind of felt like I was being pushed in that direction. So, I broke that lifelong boundary, and
in this instance at least I am glad that I did. So, this is a collection of monologues, told by
brow-beaten and beleaguered husband ‘Arold, of the situations - the quite excruciating situations -
that his wife Doris gets him and herself into. And combined they create a novel about her attempts
and schemes to ensure that their house - and their status within the village - is the prime fixture
of the women's institute garden safari (so where people display their gardens). And I just thought
it was a really sharply obswerved…observed, yes - talk properly Sarah. A really sharply
observed and obviously very funny look at a woman and a community that's full of people who
like to think of themselves as upwardly mobile. The circumstances that Doris finds herself in
- and often with no one to blame by herself, though she would never see it that way - veer
from the ridiculous to the, like, clench-inducing, embarrassing horribleness that made me feel
embarrassed to read them. But Charlie always steers them just the right side of them becoming
completely farcical. And I think seeing them through the eyes of ‘Arold is a master stroke.
And his voice is so authentic, you can literally picture him telling you these stories over a pint
in the pub, complete with like eye rolls and sighs and that kind of resigned acceptance of
a long married, long-suffering husband. And observed I think, for me, ‘Arold acts as a
buffer. Because I think on her own, Doris would be the sort of character that I wouldn't want to
read about, I would actually just want to slap. But there is, like, a warmth and love in ‘Arold's
tone, even when he is disparaging about her, that made arold’ s me think, you know,
like, there's obviously something in Doris, like a deeper vulnerability or heart, that makes
her not all that bad. So yeah, my fears were unfounded with this, I didn't feel awkward reading
this, I don't really feel awkward reviewing it, because it is a really good, funny, thoroughly
British book. So, I would definitely recommend it, I would definitely recommend his channel, so if
you haven't checked him out it's just Charles Heathcote here on booktube, I will link it in
the description box below. Because what kind of reassured me about going into this book is that
he has that really dry, northern wit when he's talking in his videos, and I was really hoping it
would translate onto the page and it absolutely does. So, if you enjoy his videos, you will
definitely enjoy his book. And then we move on to the only Netgalley that I managed to read
in April, which was Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. It came out this week, on the 4th of May. And
I was going to call this a novel, but really, it's a series of vignettes as we kind of ride in
the inner monologue of a 40-something woman as she walks through her city. And the city isn't named,
but I don't know if there's a description or really, something that…I knew it was set in
Italy, and I just assumed it was Rome. So, this is probably another book where there is that
sense of place as well. And Lahiri wrote this book in Italian - I gather she's moved from America
over to Italy - and what she has, she's translated this herself, which I was really interested about.
I love translated fiction, but I often worry that in the translation process - are we really
getting the words that the author intended? And I don't think I’ve ever read a translated
book that has been translated by the author, so that was really exciting. The consistent theme
through this book is solitude versus loneliness, because our narrator lives alone. She's
never been married, she's never had children, she doesn't have any siblings,
her last relationship, I think, was quite a while ago and it wasn't a great
breakup, and her relationship with her parents, it is… well, her father passed away when she
was a teenager, so that doesn't exist, and then her mother doesn't live close to her either.
So, although she does have a career and she has friends, her life is mainly lived solo.
At times this makes her feel free, but more often than not there is a real melancholy in her
thoughts and mood. She ruminates on her childhood, her place in the world, and what those around her
who are married have that she doesn't. She's a complex character, I found her really interesting
although I didn't always necessarily like her. But she's definitely someone I could have
spent more time with, because she has the benefit of her inner monologue being Lahiri's
prose, which is really rich and insightful and so was Lahiru’s really great to read. So,
this is my third Lahiri book, and I think it doesn't reach the perfection of The Interpreter Of
Maladies but I think I liked it slightly more than The Namesake. But it is really hard to compare
them, because they're very different books, very different styles. Because obviously The
Interpreter Of Maladies are short stories, The Namesake is more like a traditional
novel, and then this is more like vignettes, so that's more like just a gut reaction. But
overall, I felt this book really drew me in, kept me interested, and it really does capture
that mood. And being as I am a woman in my nearly late 30’s, who is alone and will
probably stay that way for the at least the foreseeable future – yes, I have my
kids so I’m slightly different, but it is a is a voice and a topic that I found really
interesting to read about. And then my final book was The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley
Jackson. Now I have a copy of this on my Kindle, so I was planning on reading it like
that, but because it was one of the books that I read during Dewey’s 24-hour
Readathon - which I have a vlog about, which I will link down below, you can go check
that out - and I wanted to have an audio book so I could go out on walks and things and not
miss out on reading time, I ended up listening to it as an audiobook. I probably will go back
- because it's not very long - I probably will go back and read the kindle version at some
point, and I wonder if, like, my different experiment…the different format, whether that
will change my experience of the book. I don't know. But I’ve been interested in picking up one
of her books for a while, and this seemed like a good place to start. I'm aware of the Netflix
version of this book, I haven't watched it…I think I’ve watched, like, the first episode,
but I haven't, like, carried on with it. I will. But I know that is less of an adaptation and more
of an interpretation, because it does change a lot from the book. But - I had totally forgotten this
and I only realised it when I was reading - that I’ve seen the 1999 film The Haunting, which from
what I can remember is a bit more faithful to the book. So, I don't read a lot of horror, and
it's been a while since I’ve read a book that's really classed as a horror. I've read, you know, I
love gothic books. I haven't read one that people would really say is a horror, so I was a little
bit nervous going into this - I was a bit worried that it might freak me out, but I was also kind
of excited to see whether it would or not. So, this is the haunted house story, surely this is
the haunted house story. And it's about a group of strangers who are all invited by this Dr Montague
- he's some sort of academic or scholar, with an interest in the occult. And he invites
these four strangers…is it? No, it's two women and a man. He invites them to stay with him in
this notorious hill house, which is supposedly, like, haunted or cursed or just has general bad
vibes. Which I find really funny, because here where I live, one of our big attractions is The
Hill House, which is a gorgeous building that was designed by beloved Scottish architect
Charles Rennie Macintosh, and that was, like…a totally different vibe if that was haunted.
But anyway, they're invited to stay in this house with Dr Montague, and mainly we kind of follow
Eleanor who is the youngest of the visitors, and she is using this experience to kind of draw
a line under her life of being a carer for her ill mother - I think the mother has passed away - and
kind of escape the clutches of her sister as well, by the sounds of it. And as the group get to know
each other, the house starts to live up to its reputation and there's a series of creepy events
that happen leading up to quite a dramatic climax. I really enjoyed the plot, the characters and the
writing of this book. It's got a really good pace, it unfolds in a compelling way, I really
enjoyed seeing the relationships develop as the people got to know each other, and
I really liked Jackson’s writing style. She's got a little bit of observational wit
in there, and insight, and it just elevates the story from being, like, a bump in the night
sort of thing. But what I was surprised - given how revered this book is - is that I was not
scared in the slightest. Unnerved, possibly, before the haunting really started - there's
a really good sense of atmosphere building up. But once the haunting, like, once the house kind
of kicked into gear, it just wasn't extreme enough to spook me. And that didn't put me off the book,
actually, but I do think it's a reflection of our modern times. Like, I love the gothic-ness of
this book, but it wasn't frightening. And I think we live in a time where horror in particular is
all about shock and jump scares and gore and body horror, and it just felt a little tame compared
to other things that I’ve seen or read. Because, you know, like, the tension does build, and
there is a psychological element - which I find the most scary thing - but I just think what we're
compared to, it just didn't pack that much punch, it didn't…it what just wasn't extreme enough.
But I still thought it was a fabulous book, and I definitely still want to read…is it We've
Always Lived In The Castle? That's the one that I’m really interested to read of Shirley Jackson,
so that's definitely not coming off my TBR. And so, yeah, that's it - just a wee pile in
April. Which makes filming a wrap-up much easier, but, yeah, I would like to pick up the pace. I had
set myself a goal of reading 100 books this year, and I’m actually, I’m still ahead of target with
that. But I’m behind in the books I’d actually wanted to read. Yes, I’ve picked up a bit, but I
can't see may making a massive dent in that. So, there might be some books that are on my annual
plan that I need to drop and maybe leave till next year, but I think it's a bit early in the
year to be worrying about things like that. Especially since I might be unemployed come
September, and I’ll have all the time in the world to read. If anyone knows of jobs going
for people who love to read that are completely unqualified to do anything in the bookish world,
hit me up. I am perfect for that position. So, have you read any of those books? Have I
enticed you to read any of them? As always, I would love to know so drop me a comment below.
And remember to tell those friends to subscribe so I can get to my 200! I would really, really
appreciate it. But my mouth is now as dry as a lost flip-flop in the desert, so I really need
to wrap this up now go and get something to drink. Plus, it's voting day - as I film this it's
voting day, election day here in Scotland, and I need to go and cast my vote, because
democracy is important! And then I’m gonna come home, sit on my bum and watch Line of Duty, which
sounds wonderful. So, until next time *kiss* Bye!
