Week 2 is behind us, Christmas Day is fast approaching and my reading plans have gone out the window entirely.
Books read: 2 plus 1 DNF and 1 soft DNF
Prompts completed: 3 total
This week has been a real mixed bag. I have read a lot, but also had to soft DNF Hogfather at 15%, and Village Christmas at 45%, which has slowed my progress in completing the prompts. And in all honesty, now I am floundering a bit, trying to find something new and festive to read- any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
I was listening to an audiobook of Hogfather by Terry Pratchett but I realised I would prefer to read it physically and that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on a physical copy in English in time for Christmas. So, I will pick this one up again next year. I was enjoying the story, and the narrator was excellent, so no complaints there! This was just a case of personal preference.
I fully DNF’d Village Christmas by Laurie Lee. I really did not enjoy the writing style. It was extremely flowery, and each line seemed pushed to the limit with descriptions that started off nice enough but were exhausting by 40%. Also, only a section of this book is actually set at Christmas, which was a bit disappointing given the title.
So, instead I picked up The Carols of Christmas by Andrew Gant. I had been picking away at this book for a couple of years and sat down to finish it fully. I really enjoyed learning about the messy process of building Christmas carols (theft and borrowing of melodies and lyrics abound!).
I also finished Ending Up by Kingsley Amis. This was a brilliant read that is darkly funny and extremely entertaining. It would have been a 5 star read, but I wasn’t fully sold on the ending. I still recommend it to anyone wanting a less tinsely Christmas read.
This week I am finishing Dubliners by James Joyce and only have the final story, The Dead, to read. I have really enjoyed getting my teeth into a more challenging read. Although I have found the stories quick to get through, I then have to spend time referring back to the introduction and the notes of my Oxford World’s Classics edition to learn all the million details I have missed. I am reading this alongside my husband for Henry Eliot’s Substack readalong for this month, and it has been a great experience to talk through theories and ideas together.
I hope you are having a lovely run-up to Christmas and that your reading is going a little more smoothly than mine is. 🎄🎅🍬
readwhileitrains.home.blog 