August 2019.

Some summer reading that I’ve enjoyed.

I tried the international mega seller Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. Hmmm. To me it was just like I imagined Fifty Shades of Grey might be. I gave up.

The last few books I have read are:

Jane Gardam. The Queen of the Tambourine. Very funny, quite moving, a  kind of fever dream. It won the Whitbread.

Max Potter. Grief is the Thing With Feathers. Almost a long poem. Dark, honest, sad, original.

Felicity Cloak. One More Croissant for the Road. A wonderful cycling tour of French gastronomy; funny and erudite and brilliant at loving the general shines/chaos of France.

Patrick Dewitt. French Exit. From the author The Sisters Brothers a wonderful, bonkers, strange and original family saga.

Tayari Jones. An American Marriage. Obama says he liked it; if it’s good enough for him etc. An epic about the strain put on the marriage of someone wrongly sentenced to 15 years.

Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy Jones & The Six. A fictional rock n roll lifestyle as recounted by those involved. I quite enjoyed this. It’s probably what is commonly called a good beach book.

Try the new Lloyd Cole album if you like singer/songwriters who keep on evolving. Thom Yorke is an acquired taste but Anima is great. Oh, and watch The Great Hack on Netflix if you want to worry about how Facebook use your data.