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Book Review the Fifth
Dec. 19th, 2015 04:59 pmOnce more some totally different books, beginning with two autobiographies:
My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding
I'd started reading this a couple of years ago but then SM had borrowed it and I forgot about it, so I was pleased to finish it. It's an easy read and there are a lot of descriptions of riding and horses. She grew up in the area between Newbury and Basingstoke and since I too grew up in Basingstoke (and my mother lived there until two and a half years ago) and SM and I lived in Newbury for a couple of years, it was an area I knew well. All of which added to the interest. I enjoyed reading the book and the insight into Clare Balding's early life and that of her family.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
I'd seen this book for sale, decided to get a copy for myself and was looking forward to reading it. I was quite disappointed. I'm sure the confidence Hadfield shows is vital for an astronaut, but his attitude is one I found grating. He speaks of approaching everything in a positive frame of mind, so that even if you don't achieve your goal then you can be happy, but seems unable to see that he still says this from the position of someone who has achieved his goal. I'm not sure how to put my dislike into words, maybe it's just that he is very self-centred, because I tend to approach most things in a positive way. Nevertheless, with Major Tim Peake currently in the (UK) news it's been interesting to think I do know something about the working of the space station.
House-Keeping by Marilynne Robinson
This was recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chamekke. It's the story of Ruthie, who, with younger sister Lucille, is brought up, following her mother's suicide by firstly her grandmother, then her great-aunts and finally Sylvie, her mother's sister. It's a beautifully descriptive novel, which I appreciated reading slowly. It's not particularly long, so even taking my time it took less than a month. It was not the sort of book I would generally read, but I would recommend it for anyone who was looking for something a bit different. I'm a very visual person and was left with some lovely images, which may or may not be how the author intended, but were extremely satisfying.
My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding
I'd started reading this a couple of years ago but then SM had borrowed it and I forgot about it, so I was pleased to finish it. It's an easy read and there are a lot of descriptions of riding and horses. She grew up in the area between Newbury and Basingstoke and since I too grew up in Basingstoke (and my mother lived there until two and a half years ago) and SM and I lived in Newbury for a couple of years, it was an area I knew well. All of which added to the interest. I enjoyed reading the book and the insight into Clare Balding's early life and that of her family.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
I'd seen this book for sale, decided to get a copy for myself and was looking forward to reading it. I was quite disappointed. I'm sure the confidence Hadfield shows is vital for an astronaut, but his attitude is one I found grating. He speaks of approaching everything in a positive frame of mind, so that even if you don't achieve your goal then you can be happy, but seems unable to see that he still says this from the position of someone who has achieved his goal. I'm not sure how to put my dislike into words, maybe it's just that he is very self-centred, because I tend to approach most things in a positive way. Nevertheless, with Major Tim Peake currently in the (UK) news it's been interesting to think I do know something about the working of the space station.
House-Keeping by Marilynne Robinson
This was recommended by
chamekke. It's the story of Ruthie, who, with younger sister Lucille, is brought up, following her mother's suicide by firstly her grandmother, then her great-aunts and finally Sylvie, her mother's sister. It's a beautifully descriptive novel, which I appreciated reading slowly. It's not particularly long, so even taking my time it took less than a month. It was not the sort of book I would generally read, but I would recommend it for anyone who was looking for something a bit different. I'm a very visual person and was left with some lovely images, which may or may not be how the author intended, but were extremely satisfying.
