Another beautiful collection of essays; some long some short, all thought-provoking.
Publisher page: Surfacing – Kathleen Jamie
Genre: Too tricky to categorise
Watching the English – Kate Fox
Inspired by social anthropologist Kate Fox’s Passport to the Pub: A guide to British pub etiquette, I picked up the 2014 update of her book on the English from St Helena Hospice’s bookshop in Frinton.
I’m still reading, dipping in and out a chapter at a time. I read the first few chapters back in October and took Watching the English to Nepal with me, where I read one more – about Horse Racing. It’s an excellent read, and highly “dippable”. With Christmas and New Year holidays approaching I am feeling the need for fiction, hence putting this to one side, for now….
Well I never, she’s married to Henry Marsh….
Publisher page: Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour – Kate Fox
Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago – Patrick Barkham
From emancipated Eigg to the tidal mudflats of Essex, Patrick Barkham visits 10 (?) different islands off the shores of the British mainland, exploring the history, geography, people, wildlife and present day culture on each.
In tandem, snippets of the life and islands of novelist Compton Mackenzie.
A great read.
Publisher page: Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago – Patrick Barkham
Exactly – Simon Winchester
Interesting exploration of the concept, development and consequences of precision.
Let down by the irritating and distracting scattering of Americanisms throughout. Presumably intentionally.
Publisher page: Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World – Simon Winchester
When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
Thought provoking biography and exploration of many of life’s key themes – morality, duty, life, death – and, most of all, how to find meaning in life and how to live a meaningful life.
Paul Kalanithi is on the cusp of completing his training as a neurosurgeon when he discovers he has lung cancer. He is 37 years old and one of the best brain surgeons of his generation in the US, blending expert surgical skills with deep human empathy.
This book is his posthumously published memoir contemplating his career and his medical training, the importance and significance of his relationships with his family and friends, and how he copes with the choices he makes as a doctor / surgeon and then as a patient and a husband.
Finished on the train back from the LED Fundraising Weekend, tears flowing in spite of the public setting.
Publisher page: When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi