An end of week recap

“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the deep dark, where we trod the buried grass like ghosts on dry toast.”
– Dylan Thomas

A slightly reduced wind up this week (no Blogflash and only one review retrieved from the basement, I’m afraid) due to an exceptionally busy schedule – which in the last seven days has included a short break, two big birthday celebrations and numerous festive get-togethers. Hopefully, I will be back on track next Saturday. 🎉

Bookish birthdays occurring today include German novelist, Sophie von La Roche (1730), English-born Canadian author, Susanna Moodie (1803), American writer and poet, Joyce Kilmer (1886), Polish poet of the postwar generation, Rafał Wojaczek (1945), Indigenous Canadian playwright, writer and musician, Tomson Highway (1951) and Norwegian author, Karl Ove Knausgård (1968). Then on Sunday we can remember French novelist and early proponent of Symbolism, Paul Adam (1862), American writer, Willa Cather (1873), Japanese author, poet, feminist, pacifist and social reformer, Yosano Akiko (1878), Anglo-Irish novelist, Joyce Cary (1888), American science fiction author and screenwriter, Leigh Brackett (1915) and Bulgarian poet and Communist Party activist, Nikola Vaptsarov (1909)

As ever, this is a post in which I summarise books read, reviewed and currently on the TBR shelf. In addition to a variety of literary titbits, I look ahead to forthcoming publications, see what folk have on their nightstands and keep readers abreast of various book-related opinions and happenings.

CHATTERBOOKS >>

If you are planning a reading event, challenge, competition, or anything else likely to be of interest to the book blogging community and its followers, please let me know. I will happily share your news here with the fabulous array of bibliowonks who read this weekly wind up.

* Have Some Non-Fiction Fun in 2026 *

Australian book blogger, Shelleyrae of Book’d Out is preparing for another twelve months of Nonfiction Reader Challenge, the aim of which is to encourage all you potential participants “to make nonfiction part of your [regular] reading experience during the year.” You may “select, read and review a book from the categories” suggested in this introductory post, up to a total of 12 books. Alternatively, you are invited to “select, read and review any nonfiction book” but, in both instances, the book may be presented in any format (including audio). Please make your way to Sign Up for the 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge to “choose a goal” from any of the named categories – you may opt to select titles as you go “or create a list in advance.” The choice is all yours. Please sign-up to take part by following this link and be sure to use the #ReadNonFicChal tag on social media.

* Book Hungary? Fill Up in February! *

Feeling he has read far too few books from Hungary (a landlocked Central European country bordered by Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia), Stu of Winstonsdad’s Blog decided next February will be the ideal time for Hungarian Lit Month 2026 to take place. He has on his TBR shelves titles by Peter Nadas, Andrea Tompa and Nobel Prize winner László Krasznahorkai, and he came across “two good publishers” carrying Hungarian titles, namely Seagull Books and Contra Mundum Press – but also, Stu says, “gems” available from Pushkin Press and NYRB (among others). He wonders if you have a favourite book or a writer from Hungary? If so, you may well wish to keep him company. Please head over to Make a note in Your Diary for Hungarian Lit month Feb 2026 to make suggestions and join in the conversation.

* Blogs from the Basement * 

My solitary, almost-overlooked offering to you this week is from last November, when Cleo of Classical Carousel re-examined Dead Souls, the satirical 1842 novel by Russian-Ukrainian novelist, short-story writer and playwright, Nikolai Gogol. She tells us its protagonist, Chichikov, is “a very nondescript kind of gentleman” who arrives in a small Russian town and “proceeds to make himself very pleasing and amiable” to everyone, rapidly endearing himself to all he meets. He then does the rounds of landowners to make an exceedingly peculiar proposition – that is, he offers to buy the rights to dead serfs (or souls) still registered on the owners’ estates, thus reducing their taxes. “While there is […] comedy from the [start, it] intensifies when Chichikov’s [true] intentions are [revealed].” This work “is brilliant in so many ways”, not to mention “inventive,” says Cleo. Discover why she came to this conclusion in her in-depth post at Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol.

* Irresistible Items *

Umpteen fascinating articles appeared on my bookdar last week. I generally make a point of tweeting/x-ing (not to mention tooting and bsky-ing) a few favourite finds (or adding them to my Facebook group page), but in case you missed anything, here are a selection of interesting snippets: 

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The Upstairs Window: ‘If someone wants to be seen, someone must watch’: the novels of Harriet Lane – Blair takes “a deep dive into the work of a favourite author” – British writer, Harriet Lane.

A triple helping for Janeites: (The Big Day is almost upon us!)
The New York Times: Everyone Is Invited to Jane Austen’s Birthday Party – “For Janeites around the globe, the 250th anniversary of the English author’s birth is cause for elaborate celebrations. Sarah Lyall has the occasion covered.
Commonweal: Universally Mistaken – Burke Nixon will be “binge-reading Jane Austen again this winter,” in honour of her 250th birthday. “Few novelists of any era offer as much perception, delight, and insight on every page.” Burke waxes lyrical on “the humbling pleasures of rereading Jane Austen’s Emma”.
The Common Reader: Jane Austen’s first biographer – “Before 1938, Jane Austen had no proper biography”, says Henry Oliver. However, “this was rectified by the novelist Elizabeth Jenkins (1905-2010)” with Jane Austen: The Biography – reissued this year by August Books.

PEN Transmissions: Dissolving Sugar in Water: A Long Conversation with Solvej Balle – Danish writer, Solvej Balle, author of science fiction novels On the Calculation of Volumes I, II and III, talks “time, morality, and searching” with Will Forrester.

Sydney Review of Books: Critical/Mineral – “Much has been written about the pastoral as a theme in Australian literature. But what about the mines? Reviewing Verity Borthwick’s Hollow Air, Roslyn Jolly descends into the overlooked under-realm of Australian mining fiction.”

Outsideleft Magazine: Exploring the Sea Library 🦀– Michelle Williams interviews our very own Anna Iltnere of the Sea Library about her life, work and one very special place in Latvia.

Publishers Weekly: Amor Towles on Seicho Matsumoto – “The author of A Gentleman in Moscow discusses [with Elaine Aradillas] the author credited with popularizing detective fiction in Japan.”

Literary Ladies Guide: Classic Women Writers and Money – “What were the challenges pertaining to writing and money, especially in the case of [classic] women authors?” asks Nava Atlas. Here she examines “five […] women authors and their thoughts about money at various points in their careers,” including Louisa May Alcott, Edna Ferber, L.M. Montgomery, George Sand and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

1000 Libraries Magazine: How an Abandoned London Underground Station Became a Beloved Bookshop – Millie Ramm steps “into history at Osterley Bookshop: where Victorian commuters once stood and vintage books now whisper stories of London’s past.”

Asterisk Magazine: The Message in the Medium – “Middlemarch demanded extra effort from me as a reader”, says Alan Levinovitz. This is his “love story told in books.”

A Word About…: A Long Game – Benjamin Dreyer in conversation with Elizabeth McCracken, the American author of A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction, on topics ranging from the inspirations behind her latest book and being copyedited, to scribbling notes on pages and moving to England.

School of the Uncomformed: For the Love of Language: Unlocking Classic Literature with 217 Words 🎄– “Doubleplusgood vs. Dickens, A Christmas Carol reading guide, and free words”, from Ruth Gaskovski and Peco. (Not a new article but worth inclusion now Christmas is close, I feel).

The Guardian: ‘If I was American, I’d be worried about my country’: Margaret Atwood answers questions from Ai Weiwei, Rebecca Solnit and more – “Democracy, birds and hangover cures – famous fans put their questions to the visionary author”.

The Ink-Stained Desk: Why is Ann Radcliffe the Mother of Gothic Fiction? – “In the 1790s, when the Gothic novel was defining itself with dark castles and moonlit mysteries, one author reigned supreme: Ann Radcliffe.” She was, says C M Reid, “quite simply, a literary superstar.”

The Association of English Cathedrals: Lewis Carroll Correspondence Discovered in Lincoln Cathedral’s Archives. – “Archivists at Lincoln Cathedral have unearthed a letter and documents in their collections from author, Lewis Carroll that has direct links with his most famous creation, Alice in Wonderland.”

Asian Review of Books: “Women, Seated” by Zhang Yueran – In his review of Chinese writer Zhang Yueran’s Women, Seated, the latest translation of her work by “trusted collaborator” Jeremy Tiang, Angus Stewart tells us this work is “the story of nanny and housekeeper to the ultra-rich, Yu Ling, and Kuan Kuan, the boy in her care.”

Boston Review: The Claims of Close Reading – “Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.” Johanna Winant makes an argument for close reading.

A Mum with a Book: Book notes: Intimacies by Katie Kitamura – “Multiculturalism, objective vs subjective truth & types of violence. A beautiful multilayered novel.” This is Rebecca’s abbreviated description of Katie Kitamura’s 2022 novel, Intimacies – a story “so immersive and enjoyable that some of the ideas don’t actually sink in until you’re driving or clearing up, brain turned off.”

France 24: ‘People know so much more about Russian literature’: An author’s invitation to discover Ukraine – “A cultural event called Season of Ukraine – Journey to Ukraine: culture strikes back – running from December 2025 to March 2026 seeks to amplify the voices of Ukrainian artists by hosting 50 cultural events in multiple cities across France. FRANCE 24 spoke to Ukrainian author Andrei Kurkov on how Russia is battering Ukrainian culture and the need to create bridges with France through literature.”

The Examined Life: The World of Mark Hearld: Abundant Ingredients and Careful Discrimination as the Wellspring of Joyful Creation 🎄– “There’s no one way to create – there are no rules, and that’s the rule.” Ellen Vrana delves into Raucous Invention: The Joy of Making, Mark Hearld’s “scarcely contained book of color, form, shapes, pieces, scenes, and ideas”. It would make a splendid gift for the arty-crafty types in your life.

Times Now: Crossword Book Awards 2025 Celebrate Shanta Gokhale Alongside Winners Sudha Murty, Prajakta Koli, Sadhguru and Manu S. Pillai – Girish Shukla reports: “The Crossword Book Awards 2025 shine a spotlight on Shanta Gokhale while recognising standout voices such as Sudha Murty, Prajakta Koli, Sadhguru and Manu S. Pillai. The ceremony highlights the range and impact of Indian writing today, celebrating storytellers who continue to shape conversations, culture and readers across the country.”

Deedi Reads: Guest Post: On a Dreary Night of November… – “Megan Tripp, who owns 35+ copies of Frankenstein, drops her thoughts on Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film adaptation”.

Caught by the River: The Hidden Voices of Rural Working Women – “Alison Brackenbury’s Village and a re-issue of Mary Chamberlain’s classic Fenwomen give voice to an otherwise largely silent corner of England, writes Nicola Chester, telling the evocative, hard-lived stories of rural working-class women.”

Fictional Therapy: The best book publisher you never heard of 🎄 – It all started for Emma Hemingford on her 28^th birthday with Elisabeth Sanxay Holding’s 1947 thriller, The Blank Wall. Consequently, she wishes to inform everyone that “all 153 [Persephone] titles are perfect Christmas gifts (to yourself)”.

Washington Independent Review of Books: Secret Maps: Maps You Were Never Meant to See, from the Middle Ages to Today – In Secret Maps: Maps You Were Never Meant to See, from the Middle Ages to Today, Tom Harper, Nick Dykes and Magdalena Peszko describe “situations where maps are used to safeguard secrets”, says Tom Peebles.

Rain Taxi Review: Barley Patch – “Australian author Gerald Murnane isn’t known for sticking to convention,” says Sam Tiratto, “yet his recently republished 2009 novel [Barley Patch] addresses a quite conventional question: Why do writers write?”

Reactor: What Keeps You Reading? – “Lately, it feels like every time [Molly Templeton logs] on, there’s a new article or post bemoaning the state of reading.” However, “while some people aren’t reading” others are “reading a lot”, she says. “Not everything is darkness.”

The Phoenix: Hamid Ismailov and Shelley Fairweather-Vega on the Histories and Futures of Artificial Intelligence in Literature – Zephyr Weinreich reports on a discussion he had last month at Swarthmore College with novelist Hamid Ismailov and translator Shelley Fairweather-Vega on their recent collaborative work, We Computers: A Ghazal Novel.

Review 31: At the Desk – In her review of Katie da Cunha Lewin’s, The Writer’s Room: The Hidden Worlds That Shape the Books We Love, Helena C. Aeberli tells us this “delightful book, brimming with warmth and insight” explores “why we’re so obsessed with the living and working spaces of our favourite writers.”

University of Nottingham: University academic translates Norse saga to uncover Viking history of northern Scotland – “A Professor of Viking Studies at the University of Nottingham has led an ambitious new project and produced a fresh, annotated English translation of one of the most important medieval texts of northern Europe – The Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Orkneyinga Saga)”, edited by Judith Jesch, reveals Liz Goodwin.

LARB: A Power Built on Lies – Cory Oldweiler reviews Hungarian author Krisztina Tóth’s novel Eye of the Monkey (translated by Ottilie Mulzet), which “focuses on three people reckoning with traces of their past under a system determined to keep its citizens credulously and contentedly ensconced within its lies.” Could be one for Hungarian Lit Month 2026.

Fortnight: A reappraisal of William Wright’s The Brontës in Ireland or facts stranger than fiction, 1893 – “Approximately 2500 books worldwide have been published on the Brontës. But only one, The Brontës in Ireland or Facts Stranger than Fiction [first published in 1893] deals exclusively with the Irish part of the story”, says Uel Wright.

Miller’s Book Review: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Against the World – Joel J Miller reviews The War for Middle Earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945 in which Joseph Loconte reveals how the catastrophe of World War II transformed the lives and literary imaginations of these two giants of fantasy fiction.

Artnet: How the World’s Oldest Library Survived an Empire’s Fall – “Pretty much everything we know about the Assyrian Empire comes from the colossal Library of Ashurbanipal”, says Tim Brinkhof.

Shelly’s Scribblings: Winter Holiday – Shelly Dennison rounds-off her series on revisiting favourite childhood books by “finding the North Pole with [author of the Swallows and Amazons series] Arthur Ransome”.

Foreword: Letters from an Imaginary Country – Michelle Anne Schingler writes: “Worlds are constructed from tender possibilities in [Hungarian-American author] Theodora Goss’s alluring, unforgettable [fantasy] short story collection Letters from an Imaginary Country.”

The Conversation: What Yiddish literature reveals about Canada’s diverse canon and multilingual identity – “Canadian literature cannot be defined solely by the language in which it is written”, says Regan Lipes. “Instead, it must be understood as a multilingual body of work shaped the diverse people who live here.”

The Arts Fuse: Book Review: Lea Ypi’s “Indignity” — Reimagining a Life in the Ruins of History – Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Albanian professor of philosophy, Lea Ypi, is an “inquiry into the nature of dignity and its opposite” by an “extraordinarily talented novelist.” Indeed, this “tragic, absorbing, and moving quasi-novel is”, says David Mehegan, “best characterized as a ‘tour de force’.”

China Daily: Under the spell of unbroken sentences – “Nobel laureate and Hungarian novelist Laszlo Krasznahorkai’s unique narrative fascinates Chinese scholars,” reports Yang Yang.

Independent Book Review: Book Review: The Thirty-Fifth Page – “Real history is imbued with a peculiar magic in this captivating novel set in the early days of the Bosnian war”, writes Shelby Zwintscher of Lya Badgley’s The Thirty-Fifth Page, which is a blend of historical fiction, literary thriller and magical realism.

Nick Hornby: Old notebooks – English writer, Nick Hornby, on the US literary critic, novelist and short story writer, Elizabeth Hardwick’s Sleepless Nights, “the birth of something or other” and a lifetime’s-worth of half-filled notebooks.

The Nation (via MSN): Luigi Pirandello’s Broken Men – “The Nobel Prize-winning writer was once seen as Italy’s great man of letters. Why was he forgotten?” asks Gus O’Connor.

Bmore Art: Book Review: Time’s Breath by Deborah Brown English – Jack Livingston describes Time’s Breath: An Odyssey in Words and Pictures – the story of a book discovered in a lighthouse off the Norwegian coast – as “rich with a joyful sense of weirdness”, not forgetting a “utopian rise and an inevitable fall from grace, [alongside] storykeepers, storytellers, mysterious lost languages [and] mythic creatures.”

EcoLit Books: Bloom Again, A Novel by Marybeth Holleman – JoeAnn Hart reviews Marybeth Holleman’s Bloom Again, “a beautifully written debut novel […], in which two women, an artist and a scientist, grapple with their lives in a warming world.”

Le Monde (via archive.today): Angoulême seeks an alternative to its ailing comics festival – “The central French town has launched an alternative project of cultural offerings, aiming to calm the discontent of local shopkeepers and service providers, who are seeing substantial economic returns evaporate”, says Frédéric Potet on the ‘cancellation’ of the International Comics Festival.

Loving Sylvia Path: A Very Plath-y Christmas 🎄– Emily Van Duyne describes her latest newsletter as “a gift guide for weirdos like [her]”, in which (among many other suggestions) she introduces fellow “Plathies” to “a handcrafted botanical perfume inspired by Sylvia Plath’s natal chart”, a “Plath hat” and “(any, all) books from Womb House Books.”

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FINALLY >>

If there is something you would particularly like to see in Winding Up the Week or if you have any suggestions, questions or comments for Book Jotter in general, please drop me a line or comment below. 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 is an excellent description on Urban Dictionary.

>> See my monthly digest at the Book Jotter Journal on Substack. >>

Categories: Winding Up the Week

Tags: 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge, Christmas Books, Dylan Thomas, Harriet Lane, Hungarian Lit Month 2026, Hungarian Literature, Jane Austen, Katie da Cunha Lewin, Lea Ypi, Literary Birthdays, Mark Hearld, Nonfiction