Christmas Past and Words of Winter

I am delighted to say that our November display of childhood memoirs (see last month’s blog post) has proved so popular, and there is such a wealth of diverse books in this category, that we are going to keep it going throughout December.

To mark the festive season, we are supplementing it with some unusual memoirs of Christmases past which we hope you will enjoy, as well as some on generally wintry themes.

Verily Anderson wrote a number of extremely funny memoirs, including of her life with a young family and a houseful of lodgers in Kensington after the Second World War.  She also devoted herself to the history of her forebears, the illustrious Quaker families of Gurney, Hoare and Buxton, which included the great prison reformer Elizabeth Fry and the anti-slavery campaigner Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton.  Her Scrambled Egg for Christmas is one of her memoirs – our 1970 copy has lovely illustrations and it’s worth getting past its old fashioned appearance as it really is a joy.

Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales is the definitive evocation of Christmas in a small Welsh town in the 1920s, but his fellow Welshman, the actor Richard Burton, also explored this theme with his A Christmas Story drawing on his own childhood memories of a Glamorgan mining community, where debates rage about religion and politics, chestnuts are roasted in the fire, and the child Richard dreads the humiliation of being given a second-hand Christmas present, the refurbished toy of a more privileged boy.

One of my favourite of the more idiosyncratic books in the Biography Collection is Crackers at Christmas by Hazel Wheeler, documenting the “Festive Trials of a Yorkshire Housewife” from the 40s to the 90s.  Wheeler recorded the whole of her life in great detail, and this volume brings together her reminiscences of Christmas in Huddersfield over six decades, characterised by unrelenting deadpan gloom.  From food preparation to family relationships, every subject is treated with the same acerbic pessimism.  This is the perfect book for anyone who is not a fan of Christmas cheer, and strangely Hazel’s pared down Eeyore-ish narrative ends up being very uplifting.

More than any other figure from the English literary scene, Charles Dickens helped shape our Christmas mythology with his 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, and in Dickens and Christmas his great-great-great granddaughter Lucinda Hawksley explores his personal and artistic relationship to the season as it was celebrated during his lifetime.  (You can listen to an episode of our BioEpic podcast which looks at this in detail    https://anchor.fm/bio-epic/episodes/BioEpic—Episode-3—Charles-Dickens-etiaql  ). 

Expanding our view from Christmas to the winter season in general, we have some wonderful books looking at the cold and dark time of year, and how its challenges and beauty affect us.  For some the season is a real challenge to mood and wellbeing. Horatio Clare (The Light in the Dark, 2018) and Fraser Harrison (A Winter’s Tale, 1987) have both written rawly beautiful memoirs of marriage and fatherhood in rural settings during winter.  Clare struggles with seasonal depression, and both writers evoke the steely challenges of winter and the coming of milder days both internal and external; these are moving and enlightening books to curl up with on a dark winter afternoon.

One of the greatest works of art to deal with winter is Franz Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey) which he composed in 1828 and which is one of nearly 170,000 pieces of music available to stream through Naxos via our website In Schubert’s Winter Journey, the celebrated tenor Ian Bostridge examines the music, how Schubert conceived it and what it has meant to Bostridge himself to interpret it, as well as how it relates to its historical context – a fascinating read which will deepen the appreciation of those who are already familiar with this music, and open it up to those who are not.

Finally, the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ s Cold looks at how it feels to experience some of the most extreme conditions on earth and why the polar regions have gripped the imaginations of so many over the centuries.  Brrrrr!

Whatever you are doing over the festive season, I wish you warmth and happiness, and all the very best for further reading adventures in 2022.

Claudia Jessop, Kensington Central Library

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Review of the Week- The Hay Festival 2021.

Michaela from Church Street Library has given us her review of this year’s Hay Festival. The Hay Festival is one of the biggest annual literary events of the calendar, including a mixture of musical performances and film reviews.

Over to Michaela to read what she thinks of the festival so far…

I have recently enjoyed listening to many authors talk about their books, writing and awards from the Hay Festival.

“The Hay Festival runs from 26th May to 6th June with many events happening throughout day, with activities, talks catered to adult fiction, junior fiction, teen fiction as well award winning to non-fiction titles.

It is a great chance to listen to authors and ask questions. I joined my first event on Monday night to hear Monique Roffey – the 2021 Costa Prize Award winner – talk about her book “The Mermaid of Black Conch”, and she answered my question live!!!!

Monique talked about how she crowdfunded to get her book into print via an independent publisher and fast forward to January, she won a major literary an award. Well done to Monique.

I have also listened to the YA writer Alice Oseman talk about her prize-winning novel “Loveless” which especially during Pride, was a worthy winner. Alice also talked about her comic strip writing of “Heartstopper” series which she loved writing, but it took such a lengthy time. It was great to hear how many young people commented on the Heartstopper series.

Lastly, I listened to Benjamin Zephaniah talking about his latest book “Windrush child “. Set from a child’s perspective, it was great listening to it being read with an older voice, as Benjamin admits with his dyslexia, he gets tongue tied when reading out loud. With Windrush day this month this is certainly a book I want to read. All around he was a delight to listen to.

Many other authors coming up include: Floella Benjamin, Gareth Nix, Sarah Winman and Chris Packham.

This festival has been a must for book lovers, video clips will be available later. 😊”

All books mentioned during throughout the Hay Festival are available to borrow for free from our catalogue – https://trib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/rbkc/

Hugo Book Awards 2021

The first and the most of the major science fiction prizes has just been announced, the Hugo Book Awards 2021.

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*Copies of the books are available for Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea Libraries.

To search the Westminster Libraries catalogue, click on the link below:

https://trib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/wcc/

You can select and collect the book or alternatively many are available to download via our new Libby app!

The Hugo Awards was founded by the World Science Fiction Convention back in 1953. It is the oldest type of science fiction award and has is revered amongst the science fiction communities worldwide. The prize was inspired by the Academy Awards but is unique in that there are no written rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy, and the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the voters, rather than to the organizing committee.

The books nominated this year are a splendid mix of the philosophical, otherworldly and a splash of urban fantasy. The finalists for Hugo Best Novel Award contains 3 special titles, N.K Jemisin’s The City We Became is the first in a brand new series about whole cities, literally becoming alive. Susanna Clarke’s Piransei is a richly gothic tale about a mysterious house and its mystical inhabitants and Tamsyn Muir’s Harrow of the Ninth is set in fantastical universe of necromancy and sword-fighting. All three intriguing novels are available to borrow from our collection!

Winners to be announced 15^th – 19^th December

Hugo Book Awards

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Cemetery Boys  – Aiden Thomas
A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik
Elatsoe, – Darcie Little Badger
Legendborn – Tracy Deonn
Raybearer – Jordan Ifueko
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, – T. Kingfisher

2021 HUGO AWARD FINALISTS: BEST GRAPHIC STORY

DIE, Volume 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
Ghost-Spider vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, Author: Seanan McGuire, Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosie Kämpe
Invisible Kingdom, vol 2: Edge of Everything, Author: G. Willow Wilson, Artist: Christian Ward
Monstress, vol. 5: Warchild, Author: Marjorie Liu, Artist: Sana Takeda
Once & Future vol. 1: The King Is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire

Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings (Harry N. Abrams)

2021 HUGO AWARD FINALISTS: BEST SERIES

The Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty
The Interdependency, John Scalzi
The Lady Astronaut Universe, Mary Robinette Kowal
The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
October Daye, Seanan McGuire (DAW)
The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)

2021 HUGO AWARD FINALISTS: BEST NOVELLA

Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo
Finna, Nino Cipri
Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark
Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey

2021 HUGO AWARD FINALISTS: BEST NOVEL

Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery / Saga Press)
The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com)
Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books)

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Zvezdana investigates the book of the week ‘Troubled Blood’ by Robert Galbraith

In a special Facebook event, Robert Galbraith in conversation with Mark Billingham, Galbraith, alias J K Rowling, was asked about ‘unreliable narrators’. 

One version of the crime in ‘Troubled Blood’ comes from someone with a very warped perception of what happened. Do crime novels need unreliable narrators? 

J K Rowling’s answer was that “crime novels gain from having witnesses who do not perfectly recall, because that’s real life. People tend to remember things that interest them.” 

In preparation for the Book of the Week and my presentation of ‘Troubled Blood’, I visited Clerkenwell. For those who have not read the book, yet, Clerkenwell is the most important location for the latest Strike’s investigation. Forty years ago, a doctor, Margot Bamborough, disappeared from her surgery in Clerkenwell. She was supposed to meet a friend, Oonagh Kennedy, at the nearby pub – The Three Kings, but never arrived.  

As lockdown is lifting, shops and pubs opening, it would be quite probable that the filming of ‘Troubled Blood’ has started.  

True or not true, I do not know, but I can definitely inform you that I recorded some “suspicious” activities in Clerkenwell, in the early afternoon, on Wednesday, 28 April 2021. The Three Kings is still closed. The St James’ Church is under scaffoldings, but a filming on Clerkenwell Green is happening! 

Unfortunately, no signs of Tom Burke or Holliday Grainger. Even the location at Denmark Street did not prove productive.   

By Zvezdana, Your ‘unreliable reporter’.

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The Old Sessions House Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 

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Books we love…

This week Michaela from Church Street Library is reviewing The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Over to Michaela… 

The Pulitzer prize winning novel of 2020 set in the 1960’s tells the story of Elwood living in Florida with his grandmother.  Elwood’s parent had up and left one night leaving her to raise him on her own. Elwood was a very naïve young man who after listening to the recording of Martin Luther King Jr took his words to heart.  Working hard from a young age all this was about to change. 

 About to enrol in college and having been an exemplary pupil, one error on his part has forced him to end up inside the Nickel Academy for boys.  Here is freedom is taken away from him and he forced to see how the boys are segregated according to their colour and how there is little respect for the boys. 

His friendship with Turner is something that the book evolves around and both boys make a life changing decision which will change their lives. 

A rich vibrant book that makes you sit back and realise in many places’ life has not changed.   

A worthy read and well written.  

This book is available to borrow from a number of library branches https://trib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/rbkc/search/results?qu=the+Nickel&te= . All you need is your Kensington and Chelsea library card. 

Not a member?  No problem.  It’s quick and easy to join here https://trib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/rbkc/search/registration/$N/ILSWS_DEFAULT/true.  

Books we love…

This week, Sara will be reviewing Bridget Collins’ 2018 novel- The Binding. A tender and delicate tale covering LGBTQ+ issues throughout history as well as touching upon the supernatural…. 

Over to Sara to tell us more! 

The Binding, by Bridget Collins

I saw this book in the windows of Waterstones in Victoria Street and was captivated by its beautiful book cover. After reading the short review beside it, I knew I had to read it.  

Well, fellow bookworms, kick off your shoes, get luxuriously comfortable, pour yourself a drink and immerse yourself in a wonderful tale of imagination, history and love! 

The Binding is told in the first person and follows the main character, Emmett Farmer. Apprenticed to a book binder in a world where books are forbidden, Emmett discovers that memories have been sealed away within the pages of books. This enables people to forget what they have done or what has happened in their pasts. Struggling with the moral implications of this, The Binding follows Emmett’s journey in this magical and imaginative tale. 

I don’t want to tell you much more because you need to enjoy it for yourself. The characters in the book are strong and well rounded, and a love story is at the heart of its core. 

If Sara’s 5* review has you convinced, pick up The Binding today at one of our branches. For a full list of our locations and opening times, please click here 

https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/libraries/your-library/library-opening-times

You can also download this book free today on cloud library by following the link here 

https://ebook.yourcloudlibrary.com/library/RBKCL-document_id-sxkfcg9

Books we love

This week, Fiona from Brompton Library will be reviewing Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.  

Hamnet book cover by Maggie O’Farrell

Over to Fiona to tell us more. 

Hamnet, which won the Women’s Prize 2020, is named after Shakespeare’s son, who died of unknown causes at 11 years old.  The book focuses on Agnes (known as Anne Hathaway), Shakespeare’s wife, a woman who the author says has been vilified for 500 years.  Shakespeare was married at 18 to Agnes, who at the time was 26, and many historians have branded her an uneducated farm girl, a cradle-snatcher who trapped a young man into marrying her. However, very little is really known about Shakespeare’s marriage, his wife or his children other than a few scant facts and the details of his will, where he only left Agnes his second-best bed and the rest to his daughter.  Even the exact details of Hamnet’s death are unknown. 

O’Farrell focuses on Agnes, her marriage, her family and her children, with Hamnet’s death at the centre. Shakespeare is never mentioned by name, he is always named in relation to those around him; ‘the father’, ‘the husband’, ‘the glove-maker’s son’.   It focuses on the life of a woman, mostly alone with her children, and is rooted in the fields, forests and low-ceilinged rooms of Stratford.  The second-best bed even gets mentioned. 

I really loved this book.  If I’d had time, I could have easily read it in one sitting.  It is earthy, passionate, tender and deeply moving.  It has a folklore/fairy tale quality to it, brought to life by Agnes, a woman whose connection to the earth and her ways of reading people, makes her as much a poet as her husband.  The folklore atmosphere is heightened by the ever-present countryside that surrounds Stratford and Agnes mysterious nature.  

 There were points in the book that reminded me of Shakespeare’s plays.  O’Farrell does this quite subtly and is totally true to the story she is telling, sometimes at very poignant moments, but she has clearly drawn some parallels between his life and his plays; the star-crossed lovers of Romeo and Juliet; the playful twins who dress as each other from Twelfth Night; the fairy queen Titania and her wandering Oberon and, in the end, we come full circle back to Hamnet. 

Another interesting element is to the novel is the plague.  Before reading the book, I had read an interview with the author where she talks about her experience of being in lockdown having spent the previous while researching the black death and in an interview for the Women’s Prize, she says ‘I feel closer to the Elizabethans and the terror they must have felt with this ever-present disease.’  It also struck me that Shakespeare never wrote about the plague, but he was surrounded by it in London and would often return to Stratford when there were outbreaks of it.  Being in a similar type of outbreak, it’s easier to understand why he would rather focus on life as it is normally. 

Fiona, Brompton Library 

Copies are available to borrow using our Select and Collect service!

Books we love

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo 

Book cover of Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

This week’s book review is on Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo. Over to Fiona from Brompton Library to tell us more about this fantastic read! 

Three Women is a non-fiction book written as a novel, based on the lives of three women from different backgrounds. We hear from Lina, a bored suburban mother, Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student in North Dakota who becomes involved with her teacher, and Sloane, a successful restaurant owner from New York State whose husband has interesting sexual tastes.   

Taddeo spent eight years interviewing these women and becoming immersed in their lives.  The book explores the women’s emotional lives and their desires, showing how women keep themselves hidden and how they are judged by society.  As a piece of non-fiction written as fiction, it manages get into the inner lives of these women.  The external reality of their looks, their lives, and their selves are much less important than what is happening for them internally. Their perceptions of themselves and what they want are often in conflict with how society sees them and what it allows them to be and to have.   

I really enjoyed this book.  The stories are great, the characters are interesting and relatable, and I think what Taddeo has done is quite unique; having used real women, she keeps the authenticity of their stories and them as women, while making it into a very readable book.  My only criticism would be that the writing at points is a little clunky, but it didn’t stop me enjoying the book. 

Fiona, Brompton Library  

Three Women is available to borrow in our libraries and to download with your RBKC library card from cloudLibrary here. 

Have you read Three Women? What did you think? Let us know in the comments 

Recommended Reads

This week, our Book of the Week is The Shadow King, by Maaza Mengiste. Set during Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King is an exhilarating tale of a band of female fighters refusing to submit to European colonisation. If you’ve already been wowed by Mengiste’s novel, we’ve selected some empowering reads for you to enjoy.

 

The Memory of Love, by Aminatta Forna

Set in Sierra Leone, Forna’s novel explores the physical and psychological impact of warfare alongside the love which endures through horrific circumstances. The Memory of Love follows the lives of three people; Elias Cole, dying and reflecting on his obsessive love for Saffia, Adrian Lockheart, a psychologist new to the country, and Kai Mansaray, a young colleague of Adrian’s. Recording their loves, their friendships and their suffering, Forna’s novel is a poignant reminder of what makes us human and the emotions which bind us all together.

 

Broken Glass, by Alain Mabanckou

Broken Glass, frequenter of Congolese bar ‘Credit Gone West’ has been commissioned by the bar’s owner to write an account of the characters who comprise the bar’s patrons. A disgraced alcoholic and former schoolteacher, Broken Glass records his writings in his notebook. The notebook is Glass’s legacy, dedicated to his love of French literature and to his former drinking buddies.

 

 

A Tall History of Sugar, by Curdella Forbes

Moshe Fisher has always been treated differently. “Born without skin” and abandoned at birth, Moshe’s appearance defies racial categories. Arrienne Christie is Moshe’s best friend, determined to protect him from the world and its intolerance. A Tall History of Sugar follows Moshe’s life from Jamaica, and the colonial legacy left behind there, to Britain and the looming uncertainty of Brexit. Forbes’ writing is a lyrical blend of Jamaican Englishes, recounting Jamaican histories and stories through Moshe and the people he encounters.

Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Now an iconic motion picture, Hidden Figures follows three brilliant African American women whose minds launched America into space. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson initially worked as human computers for NASA. Forced into the background as a part of a female team of calculators, whose job was to solve problems for the male engineers, Dorothy, Katherine, and Mary fought against racial segregation and sexism in an incredibly male-dominated field. Shetterly focusses on Katherine Johnson in particular, and her work calculating rocket trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions. Johnson pushed herself forward throughout her career, and, when her abilities were recognised, she could attend all-male meetings within NASA. This is an incredible and insightful biography and well worth a read!

Some of these books are available to download from our cloudLibrary here.  All you need is an RBKC library card and if you are not a member, don’t worry,  just click here – it’s completely free to join and use our resources. 

Recommended Reads

This week’s Book of the Week is The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley. New to the crime writing scene, Foley has already been shortlisted for a number of awards for her chilling writing style. We have put together a list of similar crime novels for you to enjoy. Happy reading!

 

No Going Back, by Sheena Kamal

Nora has a talent for reading people and discovering their deepest secrets, but this skill can’t solve all her problems. Nora’s teenage daughter, Bonnie, is being targeted by a Chinese crime organisation. After rescuing her daughter from their clutches two years ago, Nora must now track them down to ensure the crime bosses do not enact their revenge. Her search will span the globe, but Nora must do what is necessary to keep herself and her family safe.

 

Dear Wife, by Kimberly Belle

Beth is on the run, covering her tracks to escape an abusive husband. Sabine is missing, her car lying abandoned, seemingly kidnapped or worse. As the police search for any leads, the case becomes progressively convoluted. Where is Sabina? And who is Beth?

 

 

We Begin at the End, by Chris Whitaker

Vincent King, recently released from prison after doing 30 years for murder, is back in Cape Haven, California. But not everyone is happy about his return; especially Star, the sister of the woman Vincent murdered all those years ago. When Star’s daughter, Duchess, inadvertently sets off a chain of events leading to tragic consequences, the past appears to repeat itself. Can the family escape this doomed cycle?

 

Lakewood, by Megan Giddings

When Lena’s grandmother dies, the scale of her family’s debt is revealed. Lena decides to drop out of college and take a job in the mysterious town of Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, the job looks perfect. Medical expenses covered, excellent pay… All for the price of secrecy. Behind closed doors, Lakewood is home to a programme of intense human experimentation. But underneath the utopian promise that these medical experiments could ‘change the world’ is a very real threat to black bodies. How can Lena protect her family when she cannot tell them the truth?

 

These books are available to download from our cloudLibrary here.  All you need is an RBKC library card and if you are not a member, just click here – it’s completely free to join and use our resources.