F, G, H books

| TravellinPenguin

All I can say about the past couple of days is….The best laid plans…  So we continue with a shortened version of these three books so I can catch up.

The alphabet books from my shelves continue.

Ff

Screenshot 5 This is an Australian book published in 2019 by Hardie Grant books, Melbourne and compiled by Rebecca Huntley and Sarah MacDonald. The Full Catastrophe is quite relevant in today’s climate. This is a book of memoir, essay and anecdotes of experiences of various personalities who recall times in their life that were so catastrophic at the time it is almost funny.  It is described as “We’ve all had days when if we didn’t laugh, we’d cry. Whether it’s domestic drama, career cockup or just a run of the mill disaster, we’ve all been there-no matter who we are. In this hilarious and moving collection well-known Australians from all walks of life share their stories as a kind of mass therapy.

An excellent read for times like we are going through now.

Gg

Screenshot 4Now to something a bit more classic. The wonderful author Collette, Gigi and the Cat. In these two superb stories of the politics of love, Collette is at her witty obstructive best. Gigi is being educated in the skills of the courtesan: to choose cigars, to eat lobster, to enter a world where a woman’s chief weapon is her body. However when it comes to the question of Gaston Lachaille, very rich and very bored, Gigi does not want to obey the rules. In The Cat, a wonderful story of burgeoning sexuality and blossoming love, an exquisite strong minded Russian Blue is struggling for master of Alain with his seductive fiancée, Camille. (blurb on the back cover).

I picked a couple of Collette books up from the shelves at the Tip Shop as I had not read her before and several people who I follow on blogs really love her.

Collette was born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette in January 1873 and died in August 1954 in Paris. She was married three times. She was a French writer of the first half of the 20th century whose best novels, largely concerned with the pains and pleasures of love, are remarkable for their command of sensual description. Her greatest strength as a writer is an exact sensory evocation of sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and colours of her world. (Brittanica)

Hh

Screenshot 3The final feature for today is an interesting graphic novel called Heimat: A German Family Album by Nora Krug.  I picked this up as it is such a beautiful edition and the illustrations are wonderful.  I will share a couple of them here.

It was a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, V & A Book Illustration Award and shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. The author goes back to explore the time of the Holocaust and her family’s role at that time.  It is a hard book to describe as there are so many illustrations.

The Guardian describes her as: a professor in the Illustration Program at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her drawings and visual narratives have appeared in publications including The New York Times, the Guardian and le Monde Diplomatique, and in a number of anthologies.

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This post has been short and sweet and hopefully we’ll be back on track to continue this little project.  I hope everyone has a good Easter despite the social isolation of folk around the world.  At least maybe we can look forward to a bit of chocolate.

Photo Penguin1
I hope everyone gets a chance to get out over the weekend.

13 thoughts on “F, G, H books”

    1. Yes. I like the way she uses descriptions though I haven’t read a lot of her. I should read her now as many of her books are short and I’m finding it very difficult to concentrate on linger book’s at the moment. Maybe I should take all of my short novels, read them and get them off the shelves. I might actually feel I’ve achieved something, haha.

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  3. I have two Richard Flanagans and a Jane Harper on my yet to read shelves that would fit here. Do I get bonus points for mentioning Aussie authors??

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  4. I’m going to surprise you by *not* nominating Finnegans Wake, but instead a lovely book called Firewood Banksia by Philippa Nikulinsky. She is a botanical artist and this lovely book is a collection of her work in WA.
    For G, I’ll choose Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier because it’s about a painting and I love novels about art.
    For H, I’ll go with Historic Heston by Heston Blumenthal, because the photography is stunning. It’s a book of Heston’s recreations of Olde English recipes, all hopelessly complicated for a domestic cook but the photos are so lush, do have a look here: https://www.ft.com/content/7805c79e-2bc5-11e3-a1b7-00144feab7de#slide0

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    1. I looked up the (Western Australian) Banksia book. It’s lovely. I could say I’ll have to think who would like it for a present, but we all know I mean Ludmilla Agnes.

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    2. I will look at the link about Hester. I also love books about art and photography bios especially. I’ve never read the Chevalier book but see it everywhere. I’m sure I’d enjoy it. I’m having a very hard time getting motivated. I’m so social and now there are little opportunities to be social I don’t feel like doing anything.

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  5. I have read some Collette and liked it, but I retain so little of what I read. I really am struggling today not being able to walk along my shelves, but how about:
    For Love Alone, Christina Stead
    The Glass Canoe, David Ireland
    Happy Valley by Patrick White, which is cheating because I own it but I haven’t read it.

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    1. I’ve not read Patrick White (shh don’t tell anyone) or Christina Stead. I find her writing very dense or else I’ve been in a lazy mood when I tried. I did read the Glass Canoe years ago but barely remember it now. Lately I am finding it difficult to find a good book that really whacks me over the head so I remember it and carry on about it. Will keep trying though.

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