Book Thoughts: Underland (Robert Macfarlane)

Fascinating stuff beautifully written

★★★★★ – CALSPIE: 9.21

Title: Underland
Author: Robert Macfarlane
Genre: Non-Fiction / Nature / Travel
Keywords: Environment / Natural World / Geography / Science
First Published: 2019
Edition: Audio & paperback, published by Penguin in 2020
Audio narrator: Roy McMillan

FROM THE BLURB: Underland is an epic exploration of the Earth’s underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory and the land itself. At once ancient and urgent, this is a book that will change the way you see the world.

***

I loved listening to this book. The audio narrator did a fantastic job bringing this narrative to life. I loved following the author as he explored what’s hidden under the surface of our planet.

Going in I already knew this was the kind of non-fiction I liked and I was already familiar with the way Macfarlane writes. There is a beautiful poetic quality to his writing, descriptive without going over the top. It’s just right for this kind of book. This is a combination of some (natural) history, a bit of travel memoir and some sciency stuff thrown in, which is a catnip combination to me

The author took me, the reader, to places I am unlikely to ever go or to places I had never or rarely even thought about whilst given me a plethora of enjoyable brain food.

We may visit a cave or two in our lifetimes, but what do we know about the city under the city, the underbelly of the arctic, or how nuclear waste is stored? From start to finish I thought this was a fascinating listen and I was hanging on to every word.

I will be picking up more books by this author for sure.

4.75 out of 5 stars

***

• 
  Ambience: 9.5
• Language: 10
• Story: 9
• Pacing: 9
• Interest: 9.5
• Enjoyment: 10

*CALSPIE is designed for fiction, but I can roughly apply it to non-fiction books. I think of characters as subject. Ambience as the tone of the book. Story as the explanation. Pacing as the length and depth to which it goes into the subjects.

CALSPIE: 9.50*

• Characters: 9.5
• Ambience: 9.5
• Language: 10
• Story: 9
• Pacing: 9
• Interest: 9.5
• Enjoyment: 10

*CALSPIE is designed for fiction, but I can roughly apply it to non-fiction books. I think of characters as subject. Ambience as the tone of the book. Story as the explanation. Pacing as the length and depth to which it goes into the subjects.

Book Thoughts: The Brides of High Hill (Nghi Vo)

Short and surprisingly fun

★★★★☆ 1/2 – CALSPIE: 8.79

Title: The Brides of High Hill ( The Singing Hills Cycle #5)
Author: Nghi Vo
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Novella
First Published: 7 May 2024 by Tordotcom
Edition: E-book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher

FROM THE BLURB: The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to an aging lord at a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. But they’re forgetting things they ought to remember, and the lord’s mad young son wanders the grounds at night like a hanged ghost.

***

I was a bit worried that I would find it hard to get into this story as it is the fifth of a series, but as the blurb said really these are standalone stories. As such, this one worked well.

Because I chose to read this purely because the author has been recommended to me in the past, I went into it kind of blind and I think that was the right way to go about it. This is only a novella, so it has to do quite a lot in few pages, but it does so eloquently and with a few twists and turns. I got dropped right into the story and it took me places I did not quite expect. Maybe I would have if I had read previous books in this series, but as it was the story surprised me and I enjoyed that very much.

The fantastical animals were well done, even if I maybe would have wanted a little bit of a better understanding what was going on. As it was, it worked and I think it just about gave me enough.

I found the main character very intriguing and I will definitely go back and read some of the other books to read more about them.

A very good reading experience and one that encouraged me to read more from the author for sure.

4.5 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.86

• Characters: 9
• Ambience: 9
• Language: 8.5
• Story: 8.5
• Pacing: 9
• Interest: 9
• Enjoyment: 8.5

Book Thoughts: Akmaral (Judith Lindbergh)

A book of two halves

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE: 7.86

Title: Akmaral
Author: Judith Lindbergh
Genre: Historical Fiction
First Published: 7 May 2024 by Regal House Publishing
Edition: E-book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher

FROM THE BLURB: Before the Silk Road had a name, nomads roamed the Asian steppes and women fought side by side as equals with men. Like all women of the Sauromatae, Akmaral is bound for battle from birth, training as a girl in horsemanship, archery, spear, and blade. Her prowess ignites the jealousy of Erzhan, a gifted warrior who hates her as much as he desires her. When Scythian renegades attack, the two must unite to defeat them. Among their captives is Timor, the rebels’ enigmatic leader who refuses to be broken, even as he is enslaved.

***

I do love a story set in a distant past in a distant place. This particular novel is based on archeological finds and tells the story of a woman warrior. For part of it I loved it, for part of it I just liked it. It ended up somewhere inbetween.

I think the first half of the book is very strong. We follow Akmaral as she grows from a girl into a woman, experiences first kills and first loves. She feels very human, even if some of her actions are somewhat questionable. I was fully invested in her story.

As the novel went on I lost a bit of my connection with Akmaral. The narrative was still centred around her, but now I felt like I was kept at arm’s length. Maybe this was deliberate, so that as Akmaral gets further from her old self, the reader feels further away as well? Or, more likely, it is probably just me.

I do think this is an interesting story and I would definitely recommend it, but it left me feeling a little bit frustrated in the latter half. It did have an ending I liked, but again, I felt removed from it. Having said that, as I finished it I was happy to have read this novel and overall I enjoyed it.

4 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.86

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8.5
• Language: 8
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 7
• Interest: 8
• Enjoyment: 7.5

Book Thoughts: Strange Practice (Vivian Shaw)

Such a fun read… with vampires!

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE: 8.50

Title: Strange Practice (Greta Helsing #1)
Author: Vivian Shaw
Genre: Fiction / Urban Fantasy
First Published: 2017
Edition: Kindle e-book

Greta Helsing inherited the family’s highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills – vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta’s been groomed for since childhood.

Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice, and her life.

***

This was a fun read. I really enjoyed that it is was kind of tongue in cheek, but not too much. It struck a good balance.

Whether the mystery was all that great I am not sure. I certainly did not care an enormous amount about it. I just really enjoyed reading about the characters – may they be humans, vampires or ghouls – and their interactions. I love the way they were written so matter-a-factly and how each had their own characteristics. I thought Greta was an interesting character to follow, though I wish I would have gotten to know her a bit better. Maybe in subsequent books?

Had the mystery been a bit more compelling, I would have absolutely loved this book. As it was, I really enjoyed it and I definitely want to continue on in the series.

4.25 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.50

• Characters: 8.5
• Ambience: 9
• Language: 8
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 8.5
• Interest: 8.5
• Enjoyment: 9

Book Thoughts: Horse (Geraldine Brooks)

I enjoyed most of this book

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE: 8.29

Title: Horse
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction
First Published: 2022
Edition: Hardback, published by Little, Brown in 2022

FROM THE BLURB: Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse—one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.

***🏇🐎🏇***

There was so much about this book I loved, but there were also things that bothered me. First of all, this was a very ‘me’ book in many ways. I like historic horse racing books in which the horse plays a big role. I find it a fascinating world. Even if I don’t love horse racing the way I used to, because of the way the horses are handled, as a historical subject I find it fascinating.

For me, this was very much as a book of two halves. The historical parts that centre around Jarret, the horse’s enslaved groom, were very well written and I was very much invested in him and the horse. Eventhough Jarret’s story was fiction, it made for a good story and I hope that there was someone who cared for Lexington the way Jarret did in the story. I am sure there was.

The part that did not quite work for me as well was the contemporary half of the books. In the beginning I enjoyed reading about Jess’s work and I wished they had spent more time on her working on Lexington’s skeleton. Instead we get a story that hangs on a romance between her and Theo, a Black man, that drives point after point about racism home rather heavy handedly. Parts are also written from Theo’s point of view. And I think this is where my issue is. Although I absolutely think that stories about racism are important, I am not sure a white woman should write from Theo’s point of view. It felt very wrong and inauthentic to me, whereas I did not feel the same when she wrote from Jarret’s point of view. Maybe this was because with Jarret she was not talking about a contemporary experience. I absolutely believe that, as she explains in her afterword, that she did her research, but it just felt off for me. It just did not work for me. This part of the book just seemed to concentrate on the wrong things. It should have kept on the subject of Lexington and what happens to his bones and the Scott paintings rather than kind of talking about those things as an afterthought.

If the contemporary parts had been curtailed quite a bit and if they had left out the romance, this could have been one of my favourite books I read recently. As it is, those parts let a very interesting and engaging book down a bit. Although I understand why the author chose that ending to the contemporary story, I don’t think it quite worked here. It did not have to end that way to make a point. The historical story was far better put together in my humble opinion and far more .

Despite my issues with this novel, I enjoyed it quite a bit and I would love to read more books like this.

4.25 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.29

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 8
• Story: 8.5
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 9.5
• Enjoyment: 8.5

(audio) Book Thoughts: Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)

Was there a purpose to this story?

★☆☆☆☆ – CALSPIE: 2.86

Title: Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad
Genre: Fiction / Classic
Keywords: Colonialism / Africa
First Published: 1899
Edition: Audio & paperback, published by Penguin in 2012
Audio narrator: Kenneth Branagh

FROM THE BLURB: Marlow, a seaman, tells of a journey up the Congo. His goal is the troubled European and ivory trader Kurtz. Worshipped and feared by invaders as well as natives, Kurtz has become a godlike figure, his presence pervading the jungle like a thick, obscuring mist. As his boat labours further upstream, closer and closer to Kurtz’s extraordinary and terrible domain, so Marlow finds his faith in himself and civilization crumbling. 

***

What was I thinking picking up this book? Actually. I know what I was thinking. I thought it would be interesting to read about ‘çontemporary’ view of colonialism at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. I was wrong. Well, maybe this was a view, but at the end of it I still had no idea what the author had tried to convey with this rambling novella. Very little of it made sense to me to be honest, so it may well be a me thing.

I did not like the characters, the story felt very thin and just did not seem to have any purpose, apart from talking about the natives in a rather unuseful way.

The only reason I finished this is because it was really short and it was on my 24 for 2024 TBR. I kept hoping it would turn out to have some sort of point to make. It didn’t. Not that I could distinguish anyway. I read the blurb above a few times and yet I can’t quite marry the narrative with its premise.

The audio book read by Kenneth Branagh tried hard, but it couldn’t make up for what really was a racist and seemingly pointless narrative. I am sure I completely missed the point of this one, but to be honest I don’t care. I should have DNFd for sure.

Definitely would not recommend. For the most part I disliked this quite strongly.

1.5 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 2.86

• Characters: 2
• Ambience: 1
• Language: 3
• Story: 1
• Pacing: 6
• Interest: 6
• Enjoyment: 1

Book Thoughts: Just The Way You Are (Beth Moran)

I am all for women standing on their own two feet

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE: 7.79

Title: Just The Way You Are
Author: Beth Moran
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary Fiction / Chick Lit / Romance
First Published: 2022
Edition: Kindle e-book

FROM THE BLURB: When Olivia Tennyson – or Ollie to her friends – was sixteen, she wrote a Dream List of all the things she wanted for her life, including a happy marriage and a family. But at twenty-nine, Ollie is single, living at home with her over-protective and manipulative mother, and is feeling like her dreams are getting further out of reach. It’s time for a change. It’s time to take matters into her own hands. Without telling her mum, or more importantly, asking her permission, Ollie finds the perfect place to start her new life. End Cottage has a duck-egg blue front door, a garden that leads to acres of forest, and definitely counts as her dream home. Now all Ollie has to do is complete the rest of her list and find out who she really is, before she can imagine any romance coming into her life.

***

I read this mainly in the evenings in bed to relax. I read one of the author’s novels before, so I knew her writing worked for me. This was more a women’s fiction novel than a romance, but the element of romance was good enough for me.

I liked that this novel was about a woman trying to find happiness in her own right without needing anyone else. It starts out being about an overbearing mother, which was an interesting dynamic and relationship and then follows her as she builds a new life in a small village, forging new friendships and relationships. There were quite a few side characters, which made the story interesting, if a bit scattered in the latter half. There was a bit of unnecessary miscommunication and a couple of plotlines that could have done with a bit more page time. I wasn’t completely convinced by the second half.

Even if it did not completely work for me, I liked it well enough overall and I am sure I will read more from the author in the future.

4 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.57

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 8
• Story: 7.5
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 7.5
• Enjoyment: 8

Book Thoughts: The Familiar (Leigh Bardugo)

I wanted to love this more than I did

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE: 7.57

Title: The Familiar
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Fiction / Historical Fantasy / Magical Realism
First Published: 2024
Edition: Hardback, published by Penguin Viking in 2024

FROM THE BLURB: In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

***

I had been looking forward to this one. I enjoyed the Shadow and Bone trilogy by the same author some few years back and I was looking forward to a more adult novel by her. I also tend to enjoy historical fiction and fantasy, so a combination sounded great! It did not quite work as well for me as I had hoped, but it is a good book.

I think my main struggle was with Luzia as a main character. I found it difficult to pin her down. Especially in the beginning she read younger than she was supposed to be and that made the story a little jarring to me. It did get better as the book went on. The relationship at the heart of the book was just ok for me, but it did have an ending I really enjoyed.

I thought the setting in Spain was great, but I did not quite get enough of a sense of place to really feel it beyond the side characters.

I think this novel will work for a lot of people. It certainly is not badly written. I just had some issued with it that stopped me from enjoying it more.

3.75 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 7.57

• Characters: 7
• Ambience: 7.5
• Language: 7.5
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 8
• Interest: 7.5
• Enjoyment: 7.5

(audio) Book Thoughts: English Pastoral (James Rebanks)

An equally fascinating and enjoyable look into modern and past farming practices on a Lake District farm

★★★★★ – CALSPIE: 9.57

Title: English Pastoral
Author: James Rebanks
Genre: Non-Fiction / Memoir / Nature / Environment
Keywords: Rural life / nature / wildlife / farming
First Published: 2020
Edition: Audio & paperback, published by Penguin in 2021
Audio narrator: Bryan Dick

FROM THE BLURB: English Pastoral is the story of an one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. And yet this elegy from the northern fells is also a song of of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.

***

This is one I started listening to and I was immediately hanging onto every word. Farming is a subject I am interested in, as I live rurally and I have friends who farm, who are passionate about sustainable farming. So to listen to this man’s story of how the story of farming ran through his family was really interesting to me.

I really enjoyed him talking about growing upon his father’s and grandfather’s farms and how they managed the land with quite different views. He then talks how this management changed over the decades to end up kind of back the way it was all those decades ago. I thought it was a fascinating look into the dilemmas farmers face and the choices they have to make.

He talks the problems of intensive farming in a way that was very balanced I thought. He did not point the finger at his fellow farmers, but rather asked the right questions. Often hard working farmers needed to change and intensify their farming practices just to survive, especially when they needed to compete with cheaply grown foreign crops and prices came down.

Rebanks’ farm sounds like place I would love to visit. It sounds like his hard work is paying off with the abundance of wildlife returning to his fields and hedgerows. His story gives hope for the future.

I think this book would inspire all of us (who can) to make more conscious choices when we are next in the supermarket, or to even go to a local butcher or green grocer. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has questions about their food and the farming that brings it to your plate.

I loved this one.

4.75 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 9.57

• Characters: 10
• Ambience: 9
• Language: 9
• Story: 10
• Pacing: 9
• Interest: 10
• Enjoyment: 10

Book Thoughts: What Kingdom (Fine Gråbøl)

A valuable read about mental health

★★★★☆ 1/2 – CALSPIE: 8.93

Title: What Kingdom
Author: Fine Gråbøl
Translator: Martin Aiken
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Keywords: mental health / translated / Danish
First Published: 2021 – to be published in English on 16 April 2024 by Archipelago
Edition: eARC, courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher

FROM THE BLURB: “I’m not inarticulate, but I leave language to the room around me,” says Fine Gråbøl’s nameless narrator as she dreams of furniture flickering to life in the room she occupies at a temporary psychiatric care unit for young adults.

***

I trust Archipelago to put out interesting books and this one (translated from Danish) was definitely that and more.

Gråbøl lets the reader be in the head of a person that struggles with mental health issues and is living in a psychiatric care unit with other young people. The writing is scattered and it really makes you feel like you are as scattered as the person whose brain you’re in. I think the strength of this novel is that it humanizes mental health issues. Both for ‘normal’ people to understand better and for people that might recognise themselves in the protagonist.

The way the author manages to put quite traumatic events into the narrative that make you go ‘oh, ok’ is quite something. It’s not sentimental, even if my heart hurt for the narrator when I stopped to think what was actually being discussed and what they were going through.

I know I will be recommending this book to people around me. Maybe not everyone, but I have some people in mind that I know will appreciate the writing and the subject.

If the subject appeals to you, I would highly recommend picking this one up. I will be getting myself and a friend a copy.

4.5 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.93

• Characters: 9
• Ambience: 9.5
• Language: 9
• Story: 8.5
• Pacing: 9
• Interest: 8.5
• Enjoyment: 9