The Mock Turtle

I have just finished The Therapist by BA Paris a physchological thriller which I read in a day, partly because I owed myself a day off from everything else and partly because it was an engaging read

My three reads of this year so far are:

Mansfield Park - Jane Austin: I didn't enjoy this as much as P&P
The Wych Elm - Tana French: Finally finished this and thought it was really tedious
And Away...- Bob Mortimer: The man is a national treasure, loved this book

I’ve finished Commonwealth. I really enjoyed it. Starting The Impossible Truths of Love by Hannah Beckerman now.

Mountain Goat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 10, 2022 11:33 am And my current audio book is Wintering (Katherine May), which I have been meaning to read for ages, and which is also perfect for going round and round the park to.

I liked the central tenet of this, though she also slightly suffers from Richard Osman 'too middle class' syndrome.* 'Oh, it was all so terribly dark, so I went to Tromso and looked at the Northern Lights.' Check yer privilege, lasso. Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a lot of divided opinion.

Thank you for the assorted recommendations, I have squirreled them away. I started Damien Boyd's DI Nick Dixon series last night and that seems to be fitting the bill. Crime and climbing.

*This might be a bit unfair on Osman, as I think he's actually talked before about not being from that sort of background and moving into those circles via meeting Alexander Armstrong and similar at Uni.

His Desert Island Discs was really interesting!

I finished Promising Young Woman by Caroline O'Donoghue and really enjoyed it.
The next book on my list is How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie.

Yes, in fairness, RO comes from a very ordinary background I think.

I really want to read the Bob Mortimer one - I properly love him!

I need to pick How to Kill Your Family up from the library actually, Wiggle - it's our next book club book.

I have re-read Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon which I like a lot, and also re-read Peril at End House by Agatha Christie which was also good although I remembered whodunnit.

I’ve finished Rachel’s Holiday.

A friend gave me a pile of books which includes Snow by Orhan Pamuk. I can’t decide if I want to read it or not, it seems like not my sort of book but then I think that means I should probably read it .

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:38 am
I liked the central tenet of this, though she also slightly suffers from Richard Osman 'too middle class' syndrome.* 'Oh, it was all so terribly dark, so I went to Tromso and looked at the Northern Lights.' Check yer privilege, lasso. Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a of divided opinion.

My eyelines were up somewhere in my hairline at the beginning, where she is making her husband's illness all about her, but once I got over thinking she was being a bit of a dick, I settled in and am enjoying her thoughts, if not always the way she approaches them.

Mountain Goat wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 10:59 am

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:38 am
I liked the central tenet of this, though she also slightly suffers from Richard Osman 'too middle class' syndrome.* 'Oh, it was all so terribly dark, so I went to Tromso and looked at the Northern Lights.' Check yer privilege, lasso. Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a of divided opinion.

My eyelines were up somewhere in my hairline at the beginning, where she is making her husband's illness all about her, but once I got over thinking she was being a bit of a dick, I settled in and am enjoying her thoughts, if not always the way she approaches them.

I could have quite a long and meandering conversation about this, but I have work. I think she does come across as quite self centred in her books, but also she is, to a certain extent, only articulating things mostly everyone would probably feel; 'my husband is ill and it is frustrating for me', 'my child requires so much of my energy and I am tired and cross.' There are some autistic people who think she gives the rest of us a bad press and people will think she's selfish because she's autistic. But I kind of think she might be honest (or more immune to the fact that it's generally socially unacceptable to be anything other than a sainted partner/mother) rather than you know, a twat for being autistic. It's all debatable, obvs, because who knows what anyone else is feeling ever. But I don't think anyone ever squares up to caring/support with a 100% 'of course I will happily and selflessly do everything I can to help and am fuelled only with joy and love.'

Completely agree, and the autistic angle is interesting and I hadn't much thought about that. When she was moaning about her husband being ill/buggering her birthday and using that to trigger a book's worth of navel gazing, I was a bit taken aback. But she was pressing through that so unabashed that it led me to thinking as you say, that probably most of us might well feel that way, you just wouldn't say that bit out loud (or possibly even really acknowledge it to yourself) and was she not just giving a voice to the stuff that we choose to not look at? And doesn't a book like that work best if the writer is brutally honest about themselves? She so far feels like someone whose company I would enjoy and who I would want to listen to but to whom I would not reveal myself to any great degree.

I'm neurotypical and I found caring for my dad one of the worst times of my life. I still feel guilty about it but I'm also open about it, because it is shit. Hard work, thankless, draining, lonely - who wouldn't hate it?

The more people admit it, the better i think.

Completely agree but she was more "my husband had to be rushed to hospital on my birthday and I had to cancel my party. He's fine now but it has triggered a period of great introspection because it was quite a big birthday actually"

Mountain Goat wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:59 pm Completely agree but she was more "my husband had to be rushed to hospital on my birthday and I had to cancel my party. He's fine now but it has triggered a period of great introspection because it was quite a big birthday actually"

When you put it like that....

I dunno, I don't really *like* her (I follow her on Twitter and periodically mute her as well), but I think I am chippy about how she can be princessy rather than her honesty in things like that. The sort of 'woe is me, by my Aga in my seaside town, with the financial stability to write' pisses me off. Though to be fair, I wouldn't swap.

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:38 am Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a lot of divided opinion.

Is that The Electricity of Every Living Thing? I think I would like to read that. I relate to 'my husband is ill and it is frustrating for me', 'my child requires so much of my energy and I am tired and cross.' probably too much.

Cerise wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:50 am His Desert Island Discs was really interesting!

I just listened to this on my walk at lunchtime so thanks for the recommendation, it was really good!

Zoomer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 2:24 pm

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:38 am Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a lot of divided opinion.

Is that The Electricity of Every Living Thing? I think I would like to read that. I relate to 'my husband is ill and it is frustrating for me', 'my child requires so much of my energy and I am tired and cross.' probably too much.

Yes. I enjoyed it, I related to some of what she said quite strongly. And she has a good turn of phrase sometimes, so it's a good read. If I could wish for anything, though, I really wish all these newly diagnosed autistic women would give it a year or so before writing their memoirs. They so need to give it all time to settle.

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 2:39 pm

Zoomer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 2:24 pm

Bat Macdui wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:38 am Her book about her autism diagnosis was really interesting, in part because how she talks about motherhood (honestly, and sometimes she doesn't seem to like her child much) caused a lot of divided opinion.

Is that The Electricity of Every Living Thing? I think I would like to read that. I relate to 'my husband is ill and it is frustrating for me', 'my child requires so much of my energy and I am tired and cross.' probably too much.

Yes. I enjoyed it, I related to some of what she said quite strongly. And she has a good turn of phrase sometimes, so it's a good read. If I could wish for anything, though, I really wish all these newly diagnosed autistic women would give it a year or so before writing their memoirs. They so need to give it all time to settle.

Thanks, I have bought it. I will attempt to not self-diagnose as autistic as I read.