An end of week recap

This is a weekly post in which I summarize books read, reviewed and currently on my TBR shelf. In addition to a variety of literary titbits, I look ahead to forthcoming features, see what’s on the night-stand and keep readers abreast of various book-related happenings.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE TBR >>

I read and reviewed The End of Loneliness, a heartfelt, enriching novel about loss and loneliness, family and love by German author, Benedict Wells. >> Read my thoughts >>

Look out for my reviews of Sylvia Pankhurst: The Rebellious Suffragette by Shirley Harrison, and Suffragette: The Battle for Equality by David Roberts – both read in honour of British women winning the vote 100 years ago.

Next up is Ayiti by Roxane Gay – a collection exploring the Haitian diaspora experience, which is due to be published by Grove Press on 12th June.

Coming soon is White Houses by Amy Bloom, the story of a hidden love between America’s First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the celebrated journalist, Lorena Hickok. It is described as being “filled with the secrets and scandals of the era,” and is due to be published on 3rd May.

CHATTERBOOKS >>

* How to Read a Novel: Week #4 *

I completed the fourth and final week of How to Read a Novel with the University of Edinburgh. The experience has been both instructive and gratifying, and I would definitely consider taking another course with FutureLearn – doubtless on a literary topic of some sort. In this concluding unit we looked at the impact geographical setting has on a novel’s plot or mood. >> Setting the scene >>

* One Bookish Bash After Another! *

There are multifarious reading events taking place on the blogosphere throughout the year to suit almost every literary taste. Last week I highlighted the Agatha Christie Readathon at This Is My Truth Now, and in WUTW#2 drew attention to #ReadingMuriel2018 at HEAVENALI – a year-long reading jolly for Muriel Spark’s centenary.

Other popular happenings this month have included: Reading Ireland Month 2018 at 746 Books, which has been taking place in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, St Patrick; and The Tolkien Reading Event at Pages Unbound, celebrating the anniversary of the Downfall of Sauro while promoting the works of J.R R. Tolkien.

Beginning on 1st April is John Holton’s month-long Blogging from A to Z Challenge in which participants blog thematically from A to Z over 26 days – each day representing a letter of the alphabet. For further information and inspiration, please take a look at What is Blogging From A to Z?

Are you hosting or taking part in some sort of reading event on your blog? Please do let me know so I can share it with readers of WUTW. With regards to next year’s Wales Readathon (#dewithon19), please look out for the official DHQ (Dewithon Headquarters) page, soon to be posted on Book Jotter.

* Fab Features *

Umpteen fascinating articles appeared on my bookdar last week. I generally make a point of tweeting my favourite finds, but in case you missed anything, here are one or two interesting snippets:

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Bookish: Reader’s Best Friend: Rating Our Favourite Literary Dogs – Ten favourite dogs and pups in literature.

The Omnivore: The Complicated Feminism of Rainer Maria Rilke – Considered one of the world’s great philosophical poets, we take a closer look at the treatment of women in his life and work.

Brain Pickings: Stephen Hawking on the Meaning of the Universe – A rare existential reflection from the man who set out to devise a theory of everything.

Vulture: The Paris Review Is Looking for the Right Woman – The Paris Review is seeking its next editor following the dismissal of Lorin Stein – and nearly all the candidates are women.

Literary Hub: From Wallet to Typewriter, the Effects of Sylvia Plath Are Now For Sale – The auction includes a heavily corrected proof of her (initially) pseudonymously published The Bell Jar and her vintage mint green Hermes 3000.

The New Yorker: The Right Way to Remember Rachel Carson – “Not until the end of her life did she write the work for which she is now known. Before then, she had always thought of herself as a poet of the sea,” writes Jill Lepore.

Medium: Everything You Wanted To Know About The Hidden Life of Animals – “Through vivid stories of devoted pigs, two-timing magpies, and scheming roosters, the author [Peter Wohlleben] weaves the latest scientific research into how animals interact with the world alongside his personal experiences in forests and fields.”

The Paris Review: When Frank Lloyd Wright Designed a Bookstore – The Little Review called it “the most beautiful bookshop in the world.” But Browne’s Bookstore survived for only five years.

BOOKWITTY: Five Great Italian Writers – “Italy has a strong claim to be considered the home of European literature and its novelists continue to produce exciting and original literature,” writes R. William Attwood, who suggests five novels to get you started if you have yet to encounter the riches of modern Italian literature.

Electric Literature: 7 Books About Different Writing Lives – Whether in search of a single room or displaced in their native country, Alice Lesperance says that authors continue to ask what a writing life looks like.

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FINALLY >>

If there is something you would particularly like to see on Winding Up the Week or if you have any suggestions, questions or comments for Book Jotter in general, please drop me a line. I would be delighted to hear from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I wish you a week bountiful in books and rich in reading.

NB In this feature, ‘winding up’ refers to the act of concluding something and should not be confused with the British expression: ‘wind-up’ – an age-old pastime of ‘winding-up’ friends and family by teasing or playing pranks on them. If you would like to know more about this expression, there’s an excellent description on Urban Dictionary.

Categories: Winding Up the Week

Tags: Amy Bloom, Book Events, Book Reviews, Irish Literature, J.R.R. Tolkien, Novelists, Novels, Readathons, Reading, Reading Events, Roxane Gay, Winding Up the Week