The Monthly Line: August 2024
Goodbye summer
Good evening dear reader,
I hope you're having a lovely Sunday, and lazing around in an autumnal fashion. I do feel I ought to be wearing knitwear and cooking a stew.
This month we've got quite a romance-heavy selection, but from lots of different time periods, including time travel! Let's dive in.
One. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The near distant future. The British government has discovered time travel. They bring over a motley collection of individuals from different time periods and assign each one a minder, to shepherd them through their adaptation to a new era. Chaos ensues. And also romance, surprisingly complex thoughts about colonisation, and some skulduggery. I really enjoyed it. It has just the right amount of complexity for me (I am not the kind of reader who enjoys a whole chapter on how time travel actually works), and very character driven.
How I read it: I started it, abandoned, and then picked up again in a race to the finish
Two. Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell
My mission to read all Rundells continued with probably the most out on a limb of her works - a biography of the poet John Donne. I have never read his poetry, so only had a scanty amount to go on, but her enthusiasm is so infectious that it didn't take me long to feel invested. She fleshes out his life story as much as possible (the source texts are a bit dodgy as she grapples with throughout) and explains his poetry in an accessible way that made me think I could possibly try reading it on my own in future. If you enjoy a literary biography I would definitely pick this up, even if just to learn how many words Donne added to our lexicon in his mission to find exactly the right way to express a feeling.
How I read it: on the tube, feeling very intellectual
Three. Finding bear by Hannah Gold
My final recommended read from Elizabeth - a 9 year old friend. This one is the sequel to The Last Bear which I read back in May. It finds our heroine April going back to the Arctic in a quest to save her bear once again. It was full of action and excitement, and a powerful message about climate change. It wasn't quite as successful as the first I think but still an engaging read.
How I read it: my bedtime book
Four and Five. The Grand Sophy and Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
A stay at the in-laws gave me the perfect opportunity to try out Heyer for the first time. She is well known for her romances, a whole slew of which are set in the Regency era. Her writing career started in the 1920s and finished in the 1970s so there's a lot to dig into. These two were heaps of fun, with plucky heroines and a lot of tongue in cheek humour. I think my preference would be for the Grand Sophy, whose main character is a bit of a fixer for everyone around her - very satisfying to read all the loose ends being tied up!
How I read it: when the grandparents were looking after the boy
Six. Under your spell by Laura Wood
Another romance, but a modern one this time. Clemmie is finishing up her PhD and wondering what to do next, when her sister asks her to babysit a musician... Imagine what happens next! It's very fun, with lots of interesting and well-written side characters, and the will-they-won't-they does actually feel quite believable.
How I read it: another bedtime one
Book of the month: for the exciting plot and surprisingly deep thinking, it's Ministry of Time for me.
Have any of you read it? Let me know what you thought!
Speak next month.