I've been meaning to read Lancaster author Jo Baker's The Picture Book since I saw her at last year's Litfest. I'm a hundred pages in and it's shaping up very nicely. It begins in a London picture house in 1914 and works its way through four generations. Above all, she tells a good story and there's a lot to be said for that.
My husband has just read Blessed Days of Anaesthesia: How anaesthetics changed the world, and tells me it is very interesting. I hadn't appreciated the ethical issues that surrounded the development of anaesthesia in Victorian times, so it's as much a social history as it is about medicine. Now he's finished grouting the bathroom I'm rather hoping he'll do a review for me.
I've pre-ordered Jeanette Winterson's new book The Daylight Gate about the Pendle witches. I do have a particular interest in the witches, since they were tried at Lancaster Castle and hanged less than a mile from here. The book's due out mid-August so I'll talk more about that in a future post.I'm also looking forward to the announcement of the line-up for Lancaster Litfest in October. I'm hoping it'll make for some interesting additions to my reading list.
All this and classics besides - I'd better get reading!
I didn't realise the Winterson was due out so soon. I must gt an order in myself. Thanks for the tip off.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Alex. I haven't read much by Winterson, but I am looking forward to this one.
DeleteI'm also in the market for the new Jeanette Winterson. I haven't enjoyed any of her books as much as the first four or so novels she published. But I'm keen to keep trying - even at less than her best she is an enjoyable writer.
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