The Final Blog Post?

In the best traditions of clickbait, the title is misleading, albeit not by much.  This blog is now on an indefinate hiatus, sadly.   This damp (and unedited) squib was not the way I expected to leave on.

Frustration and fighting against the day to get some quality time in which to concentrate is a daily battle that I constantly lose, and when time does present itself, I am simply too tired to write anything decent.  If I’m not happy with my posts, and usually I am not – I just give up and post them – there seems little point in continuing.

The little time I do get will be for reading which I am just about sustaining.  Again, due to lack of time I am aggressively minimising the book cllection too, only keeping the books that mean something to me.  The I will rely on the library for anything else.

It’s been a blast but I would rather the blog stop before it gets too poorly written and maintained.  Keep supporting books, readers, and each other, and no doubt I will see you around!  Now I shall diminish into the west and remain Galadriel.

Moonlight Thoughts

Posting this after a few hours sleep and two cups of overpowered coffee, both with four heaped teaspoons of the good stuff. Suffice to say my brain is now best described as ‘frenzied’.

Lying wide awake at 1am, despite soothing music playing in the background, there is little to do to pass the time except to avoid thinking about how many hours and minutes of ‘sleep’ time there is until the alarm goes off.

Unable to move this particular sleepness night, thanks to having our bed invaded by Amelia who promptly fell asleep on my arm and neck. Naturally thoughts turned to books, and then the direction of said musings ranged thick and fast, the notable being:

• Which book to read next, ruling out recent genres and country/continent of authors likewise.
• Pondering on more ways to better support independent authors I like, other than the blog and purchasing their books.
• Mentally comparing the physical nature of different books like texture of cover and page, as well as the wildcard font.
• Thoughts on how to improve my writing and where to find the time to read and write more. 1am seems like the obvious answer to that.

The Swing Set in the Backyard (Or . . . So, You Want to Write a Novel?)

As ever Mike’s word are a great source of inspiration for the writer in you.

Eye-Dancers

When I was eight years old, my parents bought a swing set for the backyard.  It was red and yellow, with two swings.  My father installed it at the extreme northern end of the yard, a few feet to the left of the brick fireplace he had built upon moving into the house, years before I was born.  I cannot say I remember whether or not I had asked for a swing set or if my parents decided it would be a good idea to get one.  Either way, that summer–the summer I was eight–I spent a lot of time on those swings.

Well, I mainly used the swing closer to the fireplace.  If anyone wanted to join me, they needed to use the other swing.  Sometimes, I’d swing for hours.  I used to love swinging on July evenings, the air warm, the yard fragrant with flowers and freshly cut…

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Where I’ve Been

With a mad end to the year and the customary beginning to the next, you may or, most likely,  may not have wondered where I have been.  Well the answer is precisely nowhere.  A lack of reading hasn’t helped but I have now returned to readerly and writerly ways.

I have been keeping myself creatively busy doing some writing for World Football Index, so if you fancy a gander at the articles that I have thus far written, you can my specific author page here.  I also missed my 13th anniversary with WordPress notification which really shows my age.

The photos in this post were done by Cris as I am shambolic when it comes to anything visually creative. These are most of the books picked up in the back half of last year that I didn’t get a chance to show you.  Reviews of four will be forthcoming soon and my previous blog post covered the excelleny Poems from the Northeast.

Good the be (paper) Back

How I have missed this!  Sitting down to write a blog post, talking about books, and chatting with you wonderful people.  It’s been quite a while since my last post due to changing jobs (I’m now a Recruitment Executive, helping people get apprenticeships in the automotive sector), finally moving house, then suffering the loss of internet that usually goes with such adventures, as well as other bits of life that seem to get in the way.

One of the best (but tiring) things of late has been my two hour – each-way – daily commute, as this gives me plenty of time to read, which I find easy to do on a bus at 6 am. I have read many books which will get a review in due course, including such authors as; Lionel Shriver, Stephen King, Vladimir Leskov, Edith Wharton, Emile Zola, and Vasily Grossman, to name about a third.

Book and Beer

Having a stab at doing something a bit different on the much ignored Instagram account, and thought I would put this mildly interesting effort on here, also. There are other things I could be doing but this seems like the most important when the day tops 21 degrees.

Having had a walk around the neighbourhood, and avoiding the main roads, it’s been lovely just appreciating the bright blue skies against the surprisingly many cherry blossom trees. Waving at dogs and horses and walking up steep pot-holed streets has also been a pleasure today.

A tasty beer and a great book in this glorious weather is the other perfect pastime. Washing down Irène Némirovsky’s words with a grapefruit infused IPA helps this reader appreciate the peace of the day, contrasting perfectly with those days in France as World War Two started to take its toll as superbly depicted by one of my favourite authors.

Both book and beer are highly recommended in any weather. Plant sold seperately. As per usual for a bank holiday weekend, the weather is expected to turn miserable so shall enjoy all this whilst it lasts.

Catching Up, Again

It’s been a while since the blog got any attention, and that has been because I have been reading, real pleasure reading,  and taking simple enjoyment in the written word whenever I got a moment with a book.  And it’s been glorious!

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

It’s been good to take the time out and avoid getting bogged down in the love/hate relationship with time and trying to get things written down topost, as well as trying to make inroads into the book pile.

Combatting this has taken the form of a mix of bestsellers – strange for me, I know – and some quality Asian literature in the form of, Ahmed Ali’s Twilight in Delhi, and the wonderfully titled The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima.  The latter wasn’t because it was trendy to be reading Japanese literature last month, but rather thanks to getting the book as a Christmas present.

As a bonus, whilst walking around the streets between snowfalls, we came across a bag hung on the gate of a house inviting the passerby to take books, so I ended up with two Stephen king hardbacks, Desperation, and Full Dark, No Stars.  Enthusiasm now renewed, and notebook filled, Febuary on WP can finally start for me.

As good As It Gets – Romesh Ranganathan

Confronted by the realities of adulthood, Romesh Ranganathan must face an uncomfortable truth: this is not quite how he imagined it.

Watching his friends descend into middle age, his waistline thicken and his finances dwindle to fund his family’s middle class aspirations, Romesh reflects on the demands of daily life and the challenges of adulting in the modern world.

As he reluctantly concludes that he is indeed a grown man, Rom wrestles with the greater questions that threaten his being: Could I save my family in a crisis? Do I possess the skills to assemble flatpack furniture? Am I too old for streetwear? Is it alright to parent my kids through the medium of Fortnite? Is celibacy the secret to a passionate marriage?

I pick up books for many reasona; references in other literature, a cover with books on it, blogger recommendations, and so forth but never (at least as far as I can recall) have I picked up a book because it ‘spoke to me’ and the present situation I find myself in – that being the reluctant adult bit.

Romesh Ranganathan is the reluctant adult here, supporting a family and keeping them happy, trying not to break his children, be a good role model and encourage them in their interests (as long as they are appreciated by their father, of course). It’s life, and its hard yet has plenty of scope to be funny along with it.

There was a lot in this light-hearted book that made me laugh, which is handy as the author is a stand-up comedian. Whether it’s an incisive observation or just the turn of phrase employed to convey a point.  The inherent Britishness in the articulation had me laughing more than the stories themselves in most cases, and that was very much the highlight of the book for me. 

Obligatory New Year’s Post

Although predictable, this type of post is an easy way to get the blogging ball rolling for the year, with the added bonus of not having to put much effort into it.

Looking back at the things I aimed to do last year, I clearly and consistently failed to achieve a single goal so this time around I will only focus on two things in the vain hope that I will be able to achieve them.

Firstly, carry on with the blog, be a bit more consistent and get all those book reviews and ideas written up.  There is so much half written stuff that I have knocking around, on a variety of topics. I also want to take the blog a bit wider than just books but retaining the literature feel, although now I read that back I have no idea if that will make sense.

Hitting All the Right Buttons

The days are flying by of late, what with now working fifty hours a week, it’s been hard to get a chance to blog, (and I am aware I need to answer comments but that will be done at a later date) so it came as a bit of a surprise when Crissy told me we were nearing our six hundredth subscriber on  our YouTube channel.

When you read this we will be at that specific number and so can announce that we already have our plans to pay forward all the kindness that has come our way – especially over the past year and a half – by donating to a charity chosen by our winner.  We will also be sharing some other prizes out for other lucky entrants, see our Facebook page for that, link below.

Here is your chance to win in The Johnsons’ Road to 1,000 Subscribers! Milestone Giveaways and Raffle! Join in these 4 easy steps:

1) Subscribe to the Johnsons’ YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheJohnsonsLoveAndLaughter

2) Like The Johnsons’ Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnsonsBabyPower/

3) Share your favourite The Johnsons’ YouTube video on your Facebook timeline and story with a witty caption and tag your chosen loved one, following with #TheJohnsonsPayItForward.

4) Send the screenshots of steps 1 to 3 to the Johnsons’ Facebook page and the link of your chosen charity. Wait for the confirmation of your raffle entry.
Raffle draw will be done once we reach 1,000 subscribers.