It’s not been a great reading year - at least, not in terms of numbers. According to Goodreads, I read 27 books last year, which is 9 less than in 2021, and 17 less than 2020, which was my best year so far recorded. (44 books read, in case you’re as bad at mental arithmetic as I am. I used the calculator on my phone!).
Of course, Goodreads isn’t the only way to measure reading (not everything goes on there) and numbers alone aren’t the only factor by which to measure the ‘reading year’. But it does raise a few questions for me. Why is my reading slowing down?
Lots of factors. Life gets in the way, sometimes - family matters, health issues, and everything slows down as you get older. (Except time, which runs faster!)
But one thing I can definitely point to - I’ve had some disappointing reads in the last year. Books which were just about good enough to finish, but which I found hard going and consequently spent less time at. A book that really involves me I can zip through in a week, because I’ll spend every spare moment (and some which weren’t spare, but I stole them anyway) losing myself in them. Some of this years reading just wasn’t that good.
Which, in retrospect, makes me wonder why I bothered to finish them. Actually, in some cases I didn’t! But there were several I waded through to the bitter end, making increasingly caustic notes on my Kindle as I did so.
In truth, I don’t like to give up on a book. I want to give the author every chance to turn it around. And if I’m going to write a review (which I nearly always do) it seems only fair to review the whole book, not just a part of it. Well, usually - though there are some that you just know from the first few pages don’t deserve that chance. Life’s too short.
However, for me as a writer there is some value to persisting. Because if I can identify the factors that made this or that book difficult for me, I can check my own writing for the same things. I hate the thought that someone might find reading my books a hard slog! (And if you do, please tell me why. I won’t learn any better otherwise).
So, what is it that makes books a difficult read?
The first thing I can identify in many of these is poor word flow. (Or sometimes referred to as writing flow, or just flow).
In fiction it’s vital for the reader to be able to lose themselves in the story. If they are frequently reminded that they are, in fact, reading, then they will lose touch with the plot and the characters. And then they lose interest. Word flow is the first and perhaps most important part of this, and in several of these books I found that flow being constantly interrupted. Basic typos - missing words, missing letters - are the most common cause. Repeated words are also common culprits, because when the same word is used twice in the same sentence, it is noticeable and so also a culprit. Clumsy phrasing is another: a sentence that the reader has to stop and puzzle over because it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t sound right totally disrupts the flow.
Then there’s bad research. I often notice this in crime novels, where a crucial plot point depends on something that is forensically impossible. The ex-CSI in me sometimes wants to scream - ‘YOU CANNOT GET FINGERPRINTS OFF THAT SURFACE’. My wife, an ex-nurse, sometimes has the same problem with medical dramas.
We all have our areas of expertise. Writers have to step out of there own comfort zone sometimes -which is why they need to be extra careful in researching the things they don’t know. And particularly watch out for the things you don’t know you don’t know! Never assume.
I could go on. But enough said. The point is, if I didn’t read many books, it’s not just down to me getting old and slow!
And I have had some really good reading experiences. Books which not only had great stories, but which let me get into those stories, through (amongst other things) excellent word flow and good research!
Of course, Goodreads isn’t the only way to measure reading (not everything goes on there) and numbers alone aren’t the only factor by which to measure the ‘reading year’. But it does raise a few questions for me. Why is my reading slowing down?
Lots of factors. Life gets in the way, sometimes - family matters, health issues, and everything slows down as you get older. (Except time, which runs faster!)
But one thing I can definitely point to - I’ve had some disappointing reads in the last year. Books which were just about good enough to finish, but which I found hard going and consequently spent less time at. A book that really involves me I can zip through in a week, because I’ll spend every spare moment (and some which weren’t spare, but I stole them anyway) losing myself in them. Some of this years reading just wasn’t that good.
Which, in retrospect, makes me wonder why I bothered to finish them. Actually, in some cases I didn’t! But there were several I waded through to the bitter end, making increasingly caustic notes on my Kindle as I did so.
In truth, I don’t like to give up on a book. I want to give the author every chance to turn it around. And if I’m going to write a review (which I nearly always do) it seems only fair to review the whole book, not just a part of it. Well, usually - though there are some that you just know from the first few pages don’t deserve that chance. Life’s too short.
However, for me as a writer there is some value to persisting. Because if I can identify the factors that made this or that book difficult for me, I can check my own writing for the same things. I hate the thought that someone might find reading my books a hard slog! (And if you do, please tell me why. I won’t learn any better otherwise).
So, what is it that makes books a difficult read?
The first thing I can identify in many of these is poor word flow. (Or sometimes referred to as writing flow, or just flow).
In fiction it’s vital for the reader to be able to lose themselves in the story. If they are frequently reminded that they are, in fact, reading, then they will lose touch with the plot and the characters. And then they lose interest. Word flow is the first and perhaps most important part of this, and in several of these books I found that flow being constantly interrupted. Basic typos - missing words, missing letters - are the most common cause. Repeated words are also common culprits, because when the same word is used twice in the same sentence, it is noticeable and so also a culprit. Clumsy phrasing is another: a sentence that the reader has to stop and puzzle over because it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t sound right totally disrupts the flow.
Then there’s bad research. I often notice this in crime novels, where a crucial plot point depends on something that is forensically impossible. The ex-CSI in me sometimes wants to scream - ‘YOU CANNOT GET FINGERPRINTS OFF THAT SURFACE’. My wife, an ex-nurse, sometimes has the same problem with medical dramas.
We all have our areas of expertise. Writers have to step out of there own comfort zone sometimes -which is why they need to be extra careful in researching the things they don’t know. And particularly watch out for the things you don’t know you don’t know! Never assume.
I could go on. But enough said. The point is, if I didn’t read many books, it’s not just down to me getting old and slow!
And I have had some really good reading experiences. Books which not only had great stories, but which let me get into those stories, through (amongst other things) excellent word flow and good research!
The challenge for a writer of historical fiction is to immerse the reader in a time and place and culture which is very different from their own, and at the same time to make that different world something they can understand and relate to. No easy task, to open our eyes not just to the facts of life in the distant past, but to the atmosphere and viewpoint and feel of - in this case - Orkney in the 1100’s.
Gill does a superb job of it. To read her historical novels is not so much to see into history, but to live it and breath it with a feeling of utter authenticity.
Much of that is accomplished through the fine details that are woven into the fabric of the narrative. Nobles and craftsmen, thralls and whores, warriors and servants carry on their normal daily life around us as we walk through marketplaces and dwellings. We see a cathedral being built. We find out how hard it is to get a good nights sleep on a longship at sea. We feel the tensions and the see the intermingling of old traditions and religions with the new Christianity. We get to see the intricate and often deadly politics of the time.
Most of all, we hear the poetry of the skalds, the performance artists of their time, with multiple layers of meaning woven into every vivid line. This poetry is the life blood of the story, running into and through every part of it - battle and shipwreck, love and laughter, ancient tombs and fresh cooked bannocks.
With the poetry we follow the main character Skarfr, as he grows from and orphaned boy to a warrior and a skald, and Hlif, the ugly girl he meets on a beach, the Jarl’s housekeeper who lives under a curse. And their love story, for if poetry is the blood, their love is the beating heart of ‘The Ring Breaker’.
Packed full of richly drawn characters and with a smooth flow of words that keeps you immersed in the story throughout, this is a brilliantly written novel throughout.
Gill does a superb job of it. To read her historical novels is not so much to see into history, but to live it and breath it with a feeling of utter authenticity.
Much of that is accomplished through the fine details that are woven into the fabric of the narrative. Nobles and craftsmen, thralls and whores, warriors and servants carry on their normal daily life around us as we walk through marketplaces and dwellings. We see a cathedral being built. We find out how hard it is to get a good nights sleep on a longship at sea. We feel the tensions and the see the intermingling of old traditions and religions with the new Christianity. We get to see the intricate and often deadly politics of the time.
Most of all, we hear the poetry of the skalds, the performance artists of their time, with multiple layers of meaning woven into every vivid line. This poetry is the life blood of the story, running into and through every part of it - battle and shipwreck, love and laughter, ancient tombs and fresh cooked bannocks.
With the poetry we follow the main character Skarfr, as he grows from and orphaned boy to a warrior and a skald, and Hlif, the ugly girl he meets on a beach, the Jarl’s housekeeper who lives under a curse. And their love story, for if poetry is the blood, their love is the beating heart of ‘The Ring Breaker’.
Packed full of richly drawn characters and with a smooth flow of words that keeps you immersed in the story throughout, this is a brilliantly written novel throughout.
When people don't tell you things, you have to try and work it out for yourself. That can be hard to do, especially when you're only eleven - it doesn't matter how bright you are, without some experience of life to guide you, it's easy to get it wrong.
That's Kit's situation. He wants to re-unite his family. He wants to help Beth complete her map. He wants to help the other guests staying at Askfeld. And he wants to have some adventure doing it, if possible!
Kit's attempts to navigate through complex adult situations with insufficient information make for an absorbing story, full of all the mystery, sadness and joy that normal life brings, but which are still new to a child. Set against the wild and rugged backdrop of the North Sea coast, Claire Wong takes us through a complex and potentially disastrously clash of characters and situations with a deft but gentle hand. Not only an enjoyable read, but a deceptively deep one, which left me considering the importance of good communication, especially within families.
That's Kit's situation. He wants to re-unite his family. He wants to help Beth complete her map. He wants to help the other guests staying at Askfeld. And he wants to have some adventure doing it, if possible!
Kit's attempts to navigate through complex adult situations with insufficient information make for an absorbing story, full of all the mystery, sadness and joy that normal life brings, but which are still new to a child. Set against the wild and rugged backdrop of the North Sea coast, Claire Wong takes us through a complex and potentially disastrously clash of characters and situations with a deft but gentle hand. Not only an enjoyable read, but a deceptively deep one, which left me considering the importance of good communication, especially within families.
Hazel is a young woman with a lot of problems. She is fearful of a world she doesn’t understand, a world full of people who don’t like her, and situations that will show up her inadequacies. She protects herself as best she can with chocolate and box sets and routines, and does her best to ignore the loneliness.
What she doesn’t realise is that other people are struggling just as much, in their own way, even the ones who seem so strong and confident. Virginia and Harry and Jas and Foxy and others… all with issues from the past and problems in the present.
The author’s skill is shown by the easy, natural way in which these characters are introduced to us, and to Hazel. There are no clumsy information dumps, just a weaving together of lives, of stories, into a community, a family, of people who are there for each other.
To hold together under the pressures that life throws at them sometimes needs courage - but we see what Hazel learns: that together, we can be braver.
Beautifully written, ‘Braver’ is realistic about the dark side of life, but brings hope into the darkness. Jenkins does this with a deep understanding of people and how they interact with each other, as well as a wry and well informed view of how institutions like churches and schools actually work. Or sometimes, don’t!
She also has a smooth flow of words and an often lyrical turn of phrase which add a poetic beauty to the narrative. London, for instance, ‘throbs with life, its steady pulse invigorated by caffeine and the desire to arrive’ . Or the description of a bus ‘at the junction quivering with impatience’.
Overall, a gently powerful book which was both a joy and an encouragement to read. Highly recommended.
What she doesn’t realise is that other people are struggling just as much, in their own way, even the ones who seem so strong and confident. Virginia and Harry and Jas and Foxy and others… all with issues from the past and problems in the present.
The author’s skill is shown by the easy, natural way in which these characters are introduced to us, and to Hazel. There are no clumsy information dumps, just a weaving together of lives, of stories, into a community, a family, of people who are there for each other.
To hold together under the pressures that life throws at them sometimes needs courage - but we see what Hazel learns: that together, we can be braver.
Beautifully written, ‘Braver’ is realistic about the dark side of life, but brings hope into the darkness. Jenkins does this with a deep understanding of people and how they interact with each other, as well as a wry and well informed view of how institutions like churches and schools actually work. Or sometimes, don’t!
She also has a smooth flow of words and an often lyrical turn of phrase which add a poetic beauty to the narrative. London, for instance, ‘throbs with life, its steady pulse invigorated by caffeine and the desire to arrive’ . Or the description of a bus ‘at the junction quivering with impatience’.
Overall, a gently powerful book which was both a joy and an encouragement to read. Highly recommended.
As a writer myself I would always be interested in knowing more about the publishing side of books. But there is so much more in this than just how books get from writer to reader. Instead, Tony Collins gives us a candid and honest story of his life, and how the book business has shaped and influenced it.
What comes through very clearly is how much publishing is about people - authors and editors, of course, but also all the others involved. And it also becomes clear what a chancy business it is, how both success and failure can come unexpectedly and catch even the most experienced publisher by surprise.
It makes for a fascinating insight into a world that has touched everyone's life - everyone who ever read a book, at least! - yet is usually shrouded in mystery. Told with clarity, humour and a smooth flow of words I was captivated by it throughout. And I'd certainly publish it!
What comes through very clearly is how much publishing is about people - authors and editors, of course, but also all the others involved. And it also becomes clear what a chancy business it is, how both success and failure can come unexpectedly and catch even the most experienced publisher by surprise.
It makes for a fascinating insight into a world that has touched everyone's life - everyone who ever read a book, at least! - yet is usually shrouded in mystery. Told with clarity, humour and a smooth flow of words I was captivated by it throughout. And I'd certainly publish it!
To me, this is not a story - not a complete one, at any rate - but rather an invitation to share in part of someone else's story, an experience that 'hovers between fiction and non-fiction'.
This is not something that is easy to do. Without the normal framework of plot and narrative and story-arc and character development, many writers (and I include myself in this) would find themselves a little lost. It takes a wordsmith of considerable talent to take us into this shadowland that is fictional yet intensely real. Fortunately, Vivienne Tuffnell excels at this. Her writing has a luminosity to it, a vividness of description that needs no underpinning of a conventional story to be enjoyed. You can simply be in the cave, share the fire, taste the apple, watch the seasons pass by.
And that might be enough in itself. But don't be surprised if you find more in it. Don't rush it: give it a little time, a little thought, a little presence. See what might come to mind.
This is not something that is easy to do. Without the normal framework of plot and narrative and story-arc and character development, many writers (and I include myself in this) would find themselves a little lost. It takes a wordsmith of considerable talent to take us into this shadowland that is fictional yet intensely real. Fortunately, Vivienne Tuffnell excels at this. Her writing has a luminosity to it, a vividness of description that needs no underpinning of a conventional story to be enjoyed. You can simply be in the cave, share the fire, taste the apple, watch the seasons pass by.
And that might be enough in itself. But don't be surprised if you find more in it. Don't rush it: give it a little time, a little thought, a little presence. See what might come to mind.
So that's my top five for 2022. All but one are authors who've made my annual list before - which suggests that the quality their writing is consistent! And of course, when you know where to find good writing, you tend to go back to it!
Despite there being less books to choose from, it was still not an easy choice. There are several other books that hit all the right notes. So let me finish with an honourable mention for:
'Snow and Kitsune' by Kira Morgana, a delightful blending of fantasy and SF on a distant planet with a strong flavour of Japanese culture.
'The Diary of Isabella M Smugge' by Ruth Leigh. A self obsessed 'influencer' finds hidden depths to herself when her perfect world comes apart.
And several books by Joe Abercrombie, who I'd rate as one of the best writers of dark, edgy but thoroughly absorbing fantasy around today. I've got several more of his lined up for '23!
Despite there being less books to choose from, it was still not an easy choice. There are several other books that hit all the right notes. So let me finish with an honourable mention for:
'Snow and Kitsune' by Kira Morgana, a delightful blending of fantasy and SF on a distant planet with a strong flavour of Japanese culture.
'The Diary of Isabella M Smugge' by Ruth Leigh. A self obsessed 'influencer' finds hidden depths to herself when her perfect world comes apart.
And several books by Joe Abercrombie, who I'd rate as one of the best writers of dark, edgy but thoroughly absorbing fantasy around today. I've got several more of his lined up for '23!
If you're looking for a good read, try one of these. Happy New Year!