Three books on the go.....

 

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

 

HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME

             T.S Eliot, The Waste Land (1922)

Hands up if you also have more than one book on the go at a time? Or are you strictly a one book at a time person? 

I'll be honest, initially I chose this subject as I had no idea what to write on, but then a thought stuck me, two of the books I was reading have at their core the theme of love, so there is a connection, but I should get on, so here were go...

1. The Humans by Matt Haig

 This was a book I'd read before but I was reading it now as it was the choice of a book group I'm in. Andrew Martin is a mathematician, who's also a lecturer at Corpus Christi college in Cambridge. He's married to Isobel, and they have a teenage son called Gulliver, and a dog called Newton, but all is not as it seems because Andrew Martin is not all that he seems, he's actually an alien from the planet Vonnador.

I really like this one. It's funny, moving and educational, and if you are a fan of mathematics and the power of Prime numbers, then you'll love this book. And for those who declare from the rooftops their adoration of Emily Dickinson, you'll love this too.

2. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith 

This one is a huge contrast, both in size, and in plot. A doorstop of a novel at 910 pages, this is the third in the Strike series that I've read  - a series of novels about a private detective agency run by Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. And it is their love for each other, which they are constantly trying to deny, which is at the heart of this, and it's going to be put to a huge test as Robin goes undercover to rescue a young man from a cult. It's not at easy read at times, but it's a fascinating insight into the techniques used to control people and also a great lesson in foreshadowing. I'm concerned what's going to happen to Robin as the blurb on the inside cover says 'she is unprepared for the dangers that await her there or for the toll it will take on her...' I'm 320 pages in, and I'm dreading the ending especially as I've experienced JK Rowling's - Robert Galbraith is her pen name - technique for writing memorable villains with the pure evil Delores Umbridge who Stephen King brilliantly described as - The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter.

3. Everything Must Go by Dorian Lynskey

 And finally we come to my breakfast reading - a book subtitled - The Stories we tell ourselves about the end of the world. 

Two things attracted this book to me, one was the cover and two, was the fact that I'd just finished reading a devotional on the book of Revelation, so this seemed the perfect follow up. 

It begins of course, with God - a fascinating prologue covering views on the apocalypse throughout history - both fact and fiction. Then we have DARKNESS - covering 1816 'the year without a summer'. IMPACT - looking at asteroids and meteors. THE BOMB - the history, creation and impact of nuclear bombs. MACHINES - Robots, Computers and AI. They mention HAL and the Terminator but can you believe that they didn't include the Daleks! COLLAPSE - how humanity would cope with a disaster, and if you want a positive outlook then read Alas, Babylon by former war correspondent Pat Frank. PANDEMIC - Pestilence, contagion and zombies. CLIMATE - Too hot, Too many people, Too cold, Too late. Epilogue: THE LAST DAY

It really isn't as depressing as it sounds, not at all. It's a fascinating insight into facts and fiction of the way that people have talked, written or contributed to how the world may end. 

I love this quote by the author in a chapter called Catastrophe. He's talking about a book by J. G. Ballard called The Wind from Nowhere and it's helpful advice for us all as writers - Half the people on earth die and the reader doesn't feel a thing.We need to create characters who are reader cares about. Whether that's an alien who becomes a human. A detective trapped in a cult or someone in the human race facing the end of the world.

I think it's time for me to read something more cheerful now, so I'm going to read our own Ruth Leigh's latest book and catch up on the adventures of Isabella M Smugge! 

Until next time, take care of yourself and have fun reading, writing or simply being the unique you who God created  :) 

Ps. you couldn't make this up. Ever wanted evidence that our computrers listen to us? What comes up as an advert on the Guardian website - Freeze-Dried Emergency Food Supply, with a shelf life of 25 years!

Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology, Lent devotional and three Flash fiction anthologies. You can find him on Twitter here.