more august 2026 books…

The Water Table (Philip Gross): I’ve only recently come across Gross’s writing and was particularly drawn to this book as it includes several references to the Bristol Channel - “with shoals and channels that change with the forty-foot tide” – which I know well. Overall, I found his works hauntingly vivid and elegant… but have to admit that there were some sections that I found difficult to read aloud (the words felt somewhat awkward) and to fully appreciate - but perhaps that’s just me! I’ll continue to explore his poetry over the coming weeks/months.
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess): Hard to believe that the film is more than 50 years old (1971). The novel (first published in 1962 – SIXTY-FOUR years ago!) tells the confessions of a 15-year-old delinquent, Alex, who – with his three friends – goes about creating violent mayhem in his wake. I bought the book second-hand a few years ago… started it, but didn’t finish it. I recall being put off by the ‘nadsat’ dialogue (eg. “Alex and his three droogs tolchock an old veck, razrez his books, pull off his outer platties and take a malenky bit of cutter”!). This time, I persevered (a little like attending a Shakespeare play and finding the first 5 minutes incredibly confusing and nonsensical… but then the words just suddenly start to make sense?). Brilliantly written and conceived – but a frightening portrayal of human choice between good and evil… and breathe!
Dog Day (Sarah Hayes): I appreciate that including a children’s book in my book blog might be regarded as cheating somewhat, but (thanks to Moira) I re-read this rather wonderful 2008 (blimey!) book – written by our good friend Sarah (Hannah’s mother-in-law!) and beautifully illustrated by Hannah to coincide with Hannah+Fee acquiring a dog (their cat Kitsu may have other ideas!). Goodreads described it thus: “Ben and Ellie have a new teacher. But wait a minute – the new teacher is a dog named Riff! With Riff in charge, reading, writing, and arithmetic are abandoned in favour of lessons in barking, scratching, and digging holes…”. I still think it’s a rather delightful book and re-reading it brought back lots of memories of doing so with our various grandchildren. Once again, it made me smile!
1989 (Val McDermid): Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, this was the first McDermid book I’ve read. Why has it taken me so long? As the title suggests, it’s something of a snapshot of a by-gone era – a time of Lockerbie, Hillsborough, when AIDS was ravaging the UK and when the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse. McDermid’s fictitious crime story is set against this genuine history… featuring investigative journalist Allie Burns battling against the gutter of the UK mass media. She stumbles over a story about HIV/AIDS that ends up taking her into a world of “skullduggery in the medical research labs and seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain”… including murder. It’s a page-turning thriller and I found it utterly compelling!
Good Work (EF Schumacher): I first read this book in 1981 (45 years ago!) and, on a whim, decided to re-read it – essentially to reflect on what Schumacher said about the plight of businesses all those years ago (and whether his views had proved valid or way ‘off beam’). What I’d forgotten was that, ‘in those days’, I used to highlight paragraphs and scribble notes all over the text (something I would never dream of doing today!). Reading the book was a reminder about how much has changed in the intervening years. Schumacher frequently used his Coal Board experiences to illustrate his points; emphasis is placed on the ‘battles’ between the coal and oil industries – and, for example, very little reference to environmental concerns… and, of course, all this was well before the world of the internet and AI. Fascinating to reflect on that very fact alone. Schumacher was clearly a very intelligent man, with lots of sensible and insightful opinions but, for me, much of the time in this book, he failed to keep my interest (eg. he frequently used too many examples – sometimes more than four - to illustrate his points!)… I wouldn’t have wanted to meet up with him for a beer!