I was in a bookshop recently and, having got carried away, needed to buy a bag for life. I was asked to choose a slogan, and plumped for “Life is better with books”. As they put my purchases through the till, the cashiers discussed how inapplicable the slogan was to their own lives, and that…
Tag: Books
When it is time to finish
He had been so happy playing with the ball, watching it bounce again and again, out in the Autumn sunshine. When the adult told him it was time to come inside, time for Circle Time, he found it hard to register her words fully. The ball was still there, big and bright and bouncy. He…
What I’ve been Reading
Each summer, I know the holidays are coming to an end when I complete a row of Woman Alive’s book bingo. This year, this is the eclectic selection I ended up with: A book that has been translated into English: Before the Coffee gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi A book published around the time your parents…
On Gardens and Wilderness, Fences and Open Space
It’s March, and colour is blooming. Light and warmth are mingling with cool, fresh air and drops of soft rain to grace our days again. I’ve got sweet pea shoots springing up everywhere, because I carefully cultivated some, while others self-seeded from last year. Daisies have popped up in with the winter jasmine, and I…
January
January has a bad rep, as months go. Known as the long, cold, dark month, January can also be a time when we force ourselves into a new year with a range of self improvement goals, which can feel exhausting. This year, I’ve been reading the thoughts of several writers about this notorious month. All…
Dear 2025 (featuring a few of the books I read in 2024)
Dear 2025, Well, here you are, another year! The world carries on spinning and, frankly, it can all be rather dizzying. As you arrive, 2025, there’s a whole lot of madness going on. Good leaders are few and far between, and in almost every country, things are being allowed to happen that are troubling. This…
Life Lately/Enchanted
It’s been a tough few weeks and I’ve teetered close to burnout almost daily. Within our family, we’ve had a storm, power cuts, an operation, a string of minor illnesses, changes and challenges in our work, the ongoing rumble of assessments and meetings about one of our children, sleep deprivation, anxiety, and the general wear…
Life Lived 