Elinor’s Bookshelf

My rating: Imo, this deserves 3.5 stars, but it felt wrong rounding it up to 4 stars as it was slightly less light-hearted than the first two volumes of the trilogy. In this 3rd and last volume of the “Call the Midwife” series, Jennifer Worth ties the loose ends of her first two volumes describing the hardships and joys of nursing in the East End in the 1950s. The author was obviously a firm believer in the progress made in midwifery from the Midwives Act, 1902 onwards. It’s wonderful to think that over the course of a 100 years the loss of a child, then a habitual occurrence, has turned into the epitome of pain, the sole loss parents can no longer fathom, even less recover from. The writing stays easy, well-paced, and interesting. This book felt like a pot pourri of everything that hadn’t been said in the first two volumes from lost babies, hospitals, infirmaries, backstreet abortions, to the progress in midwifery and medicine. This volume also bears more references and, facts ...

My rating: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari just blew my mind! In this engaging book about history, using a satellite world-wide perspective, Harari briefly and broadly explains the history of Homo Sapiens going through 3 major revolutions: the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, and the scientific revolution. During the cognitive revolution, Homo Sapiens acquires the ability to tell stories, understand, and believe in them. In fact, we believe in these stories so willingly, that we devote a huge amount of time to them, and they now form the cornerstone of local and world-wide cooperation: money, economy, religion, ideology, culture, work, consumerism, even the stock exchange, global time zones, or defending values like liberty and equality. What makes this book particularly interesting aren’t just the facts and figures - it’s the author’s ability to challenge the reader, and reveal history in thought-provoking ways. For instance: was the agricultural revolution a goo...

My rating: The English workhouses first saved their lives then proceeded to break them, separating families, chipping at the little pride that remained, whipping the dreams out of their inmates. Many were strong and brave enough to leave and live, their souls tainted by the shadows cast upon them by the fear, and the shame of the workhouse. And these shadows pervaded society as a whole, decades after the formal abolition of workhouses in 1930. In this easy to read sequel to “Call the Midwife”, Jennifer Worth tells funny, sad, touching, candid accounts of the workhouse through her patients’ stories as she works during the 1950s for “Nonnatus House”, with bright and surprising nuns in the East End. Nurse Lee shines through as a woman of her times, both a young rebel and accepting of post-war London realities. And of course, there’s dear old Mr Collett, a generous and grateful old patient with whom Jennifer Worth becomes friends. I really enjoyed this second instalment. View al...

My rating: An enthralling, deep and astute account of Nigerian emigration and the pull of the motherland. Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love as teenagers. As their relationship strengthens, they decide to attend the same Nigerian university, only to find their studies are thwarted by repeat teacher strikes. When Ifemelu is given a chance to study in America, they agree she must take it, even if it means leaving Obinze to find his way to the US or the UK to pursue his own. Will their unwavering love survive the forces of distance and time? Will they remain obí ocha or let western living mar their souls and roots? Unabashed, indignant and dignified, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie makes her case for race-consciousness from treating kinky hair, the meaning of mainstream, the paper-bag test, reverse racism, playing the race card, white privilege, to slavery and much more. —— What really worked well for me is the honesty and frankness of Americanah. The characters are nicely fleshed out,...

My rating: Probably the only book in the universe that is both centred on cricket and really comical! In this third volume of the Trilogy of Five, Arthur Dent has spent five harrowing years in his cave on prehistoric Earth. Ford pops out of nowhere, and they travel in time to Lord’s Cricket Ground, just as England win the Ashes. Arthur and Ford end up fleeing a chaotic scene on board Slartibartfast’s cleverly disguised spaceship. And the adventure begins! In his usual laugh-out-loud style, Douglas Adams tells an astonishing story centred around cricket, its wickets, a Golden Bail buried deep within the Heart of Gold, and a Key that needs protecting. We discover the Krikkit Wars, sentimental robots, the power of reincarnation, the paradoxes of time travel and restaurant bills, the knack of flying, a 4-generation cosmic party, Zem the floopily flobbering globbering mattress, not to mention Trillian’s level-headedness and Arthur Dent’s dismal bowling skills. — The format is...

I am always slow at making up my mind about what to read next, but this is my plan for June: 1. Finish « Life, The Universe and Everything » by Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy #3 of The Trilogy of Five) I started this a few days ago and am making slow progress mostly due to work engagements, and needing sleep. The book is funny and nonsensical in the best of ways and I shall follow up with a review as always. It’s fair to say I throughly enjoyed  both: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #1 and its sequel The Restaurant at the End of the Road . 2. Read my first 2020 Big Book of the Summer As you may recall from my Big Book Challenge kick-off post , I am joining in Susan’s Big Book Summer Challenge this year. It’s my first year and I have some exciting news: Africa is calling. An American adventure awaits. That’s right, I shall be starting with “Americanah” by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie - excited already! Thank you all for your advice, I’m holding onto ...

My rating: In this historical fiction, Colson Whitehead takes us on a journey through 19th century US slave plantations, their white supremacists, and an undying dream of equality. Cora is a slave on the Randall estate in Georgia. She is a stray, with few friends, a bad reputation, and a sadistic, unforgiving master. Her grandmother, Ajarry, was kidnapped and transported from the Kingdom of Dahomey to North America, aboard a slave ship transporting hundreds. She later mothered Mabel, born a slave, who, in turn, gave birth to Cora. As a girl, then a young woman, Cora works in the rows of the cotton plantation in Georgia, defending her (grand)mother’s plot against all. Abandoned by her mother amid treacherous fellow slaves, her life is one of wretched anguish and despair, save a few brief moments of respite. When Caesar offers her an opportunity to escape, she decides to seize it, despite the risk of being captured by slave catchers and returned to a lingering painful death at...

     When I learned Sue at Book by Book was launching her 2020 Big Book Summer Reading Challenge (also on GoodReads ), I thought about it for a couple of days, then realised I shall be reading books with 400+ pages anyway.       And who am I to turn down the opportunity for a giveaway for doing something I love and am planning on doing anyway?        So, down to the nitty gritty details: Sue says any book with 400+ pages fits the bill, and one book is all it takes to qualify. These are my current contenders for this year's Big Book Summer Challenge: “Americanah” by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie (477 pages)     Ah, now this! This, I have been wanting to read for absolutely ages.     Chimanda Ngozi Adichie having left Nigeria at the age of 19 to go to the US, I can imagine how the book’s blurb and her own personal experience of going to America will mingle throughout the book.      ...

     Don't you just love it when you've ordered books and hey presto they appear on your doorstep? Golden moments!     So, t hese have arrived today (in no particular order), causing slight chaos on my bookshelf:   Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth      This is the sequel to " Call the Midwife ", the first in a trilogy based on Jennifer Worth (née Lee)'s work as a midwife in the 1950s. Call the midwife says a lot about Eastenders' lives and the hardships they went through in post-war London. I am looking forward to getting back to the familiar settings of Nonnatus House, the Eastend and the cockney rhyming slang. Can't wait to see what this book has in store for me. Gone for Good by Harlan Coben      I read my first Harlan Coben this year: The Stranger , mostly because it was airing on Netflix, and I wanted to read the book before viewing the series. In the process, I discovered that although The Stranger is a relati...

My rating: (3.5 stars rounded up) House of Cards is a solid power driven political thriller, well documented, and peppered with humour. In his first political thriller, at the heart of the political scene in the ‘90s, Lord Dobbs likens politics to a game of cards: Shuffle - Cut - Hand. The book starts with a flurry of characters, setting the scene for general election night the UK. Henry Collinridge, The Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, wins the Party their fourth term by a sliver, leaving the opposition in a stronger position than ever. Francis Urquhart, Chief Whip for the Conservative Party, knows every dirty little secret of his MPs. When the Party wins the general elections by a whimsical margin, Urquhart urges Collinridge to reshuffle, and move him to a more prominent position. But the PM turns down his proposal, leaving 61 year old Urquhart working in the shadows, humiliated and irate. His anger fuels a plan to bring down the Prime Ministe...

My rating: A vibrant, well-crafted account of life, coming of age and indomitable resilience and resistance in the marshes of North Carolina.  1952 Kya is five years old when ‘Ma’ leaves her violent, alcoholic husband. Kya is left with her drunken father and her slightly older brother, Jodie, in their shack by the marshes. In a pattern of consecutive abandonments, the Marsh Girl, olive-skinned and illiterate, ends up fending for herself alone in the wilderness by the age of ten. There’s nothing quite like ‘squinting with your ears’ to uncover the marshes’ life and secrets, and Kya has mastered the art of avoiding the town people, who leave the marsh dwellers to themselves. Intelligent, skittish, and untamed, she is unbeatable at hiding in her natural surroundings. In times when it is possible to avoid social services, she receives a helping hand from Jumpin’ and his wife Mabel, and through the years turns into a pretty teenager, then a beautiful young woman shrouded in my...

My rating: In this children’s novel, Louis Sachar tells thirty stories about kids in the highest class of a 30-story school. I heard lots of good reviews of Louis Sachar works and bought this one to offer some friends’ children. This is not my usual genre, and I am unable to determine the target demo (10y olds?) but I must say story 28 had me laughing out loud! I found it difficult to get up and running with this one, then finally finished it at lightning speed, and enjoying it more than the first half! It’s wonky and funky like the school itself. Each chapter is a short story relating to one of Mrs Jewls pupils. The stories are sad, funny, silly, sometimes out of this world - and I guess that’s what makes this book fun. I shall be passing it on to my friends’ kids for their enjoyment. I am desperate for their feedback to rate this properly. View all my reviews

My rating: In his sequel to “The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy”, Douglas Adams continues the adventures of Athur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Marvin, in the same funny and unassuming style. Zaphod, still nutty as a fruitcake, looks for the man who rules the universe, while Arthur’s continued search for “The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” churns out the unsatisfactory “What do you get if you multiply six by nine?”. It makes for a quick read, ever surprising by its sophisms, absurdity and sense of perspective from ‘one’s never alone with a rubber duck.’ to (speaking of planet Earth being destroyed to make room for a hyperspace bypass): ‘Oh, I’ve heard of worse,’ said Ford, ‘I read of one planet off in the seventh dimension that got used as a ball in a game of intergalactic billiards. Got potted straight into a black hole. Killed ten billion people.’ Douglas Adams also touches on deep issues like faith, people management, and ec...

My rating: A pearl – an absolute pearl! In mid-19th century London, begins an atmospheric story of theft, love, and lack of honesty - or, perhaps, as you’ll discover if you read the book, at times too much of it. Susan Trinder gets involved in a deceptive thieving scheme with a villain of her knowing. But it goes further than she has intended, and she gets tangled in a web of secrets, and rides a twisting, ever-surprising rollercoaster of emotions. If London crooks can be cruel, so can country gentlemen. This is my first Sarah Waters (I know, I know...!), and it was perfectly paced, my curiosity and eagerness maintained throughout and apexing towards the end of the book (and keeping me up all hours)! It had all the right ingredients for me - the wicked underworld of 19th-century London, its dark streets and devious deeds; the Victorian country houses; the worlds of ladies and lowly villains entwined. Not to mention, love. It is beautifully written, with a deep and clever plot, a...

My rating: Call the Midwife, the first of a trilogy by Jennifer Worth, née Lee, is a memoir of the author’s work as a midwife, working with the nuns of “Nonnatus House”, in the East End during the 1950s. It is a collection of comical, sad, mischievous, happy, and unexpected true tales of poverty-stricken large families living in post-war London, often in squalid tenements, deemed unfit for human habitation. In this educational, warm, easy, and humane book, the reader gets a glimpse of sleeping by the Cut, pig breeding, boys never found in secret hideouts, the discrete lives of nuns, and the maddening heartbreak of poverty, adoption, and brutal loss. There has always been something about Cockneys, which is perfectly portrayed here: rough around the edges, fundamentally kind, and always up for a good laugh! This book really worked well for me, at times I was thoroughly engrossed, checking the map of London, reading up on workhouses, Cable Street (what has this street not been priv...

My rating: What a ride! Suzanne Collins delivers yet another page-turner! In this third volume of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen faces the consequences of shooting an arrow through the ‘chink’ of the forcefield in the 75th edition of the Games. Some contestants have escaped to district 13, others remain in the grips of the Capitol. An innocent-looking scented white rose sends her a clear warning. Will Katniss rise up, become the Mockingjay, and set alight the rebellion brimming under the surface of the districts? I love the writing in this book. Page after page, chapter after chapter, we delve into the intricacies of human relationships, of what can drive us crazy, pull us back to our true selves, the things we cling to, those that we cannot let go, the power of hope. The first two books were about the games - this is about a game outside the Games, it is darker, more powerful, more real. The story isn’t rushed, we get to grips with what is happening, know and understa...

My rating: This book is an absolute hoot - Arthur Dent wakes up one morning and is on a mission to prevent the demolition of his house. Little does he expect what his friend, Ford Prefect (a chap in charge of updating “The hichhiker’s guide to the galaxy”), is about to announce: the Earth is minutes away from total annihilation. Thus begins this most improbably adventurous and humour-peppered read. Only in this book can a spaceship commit suicide from talking with a depressed robot, a president have two heads and three arms, the answer to the most unfathomable question be given before it is actually asked (kudos to “Deep Thought”). Recommendations? 42. View all my reviews

My rating: « You may have known more about who you were then, than you do now. » In this work of quiet perseverance, author Susan Cain explores in-depth the introversion/extroversion personality trait, and some related theories. She delves into the physiological and psychological make-up of introverts and extraverts in a Western society where the ‘Extrovert Ideal’ has prevailed and we are all expected to sell, even ourselves. The author talks from personal experience, and subjects herself to multiple ‘experiments’, meets with subject matter experts, and interviews introverts over several years. She talks mainly about the US and, to a lesser extent, Asian American population in a bid to introduce cultural differences that promote/demote introversion. There was little reference to gender-specifics, which I expect would account for some of our differences, certainly in today’s western societies. The author careful avoids common pitfalls by: treating introversion/extroversion as a f...

My rating: In ”We Should All Be Feminists”, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie explores the theme of gender, and more specifically gender inequalities. Naturally including culture as an subconscious enabler of inequalities, she argues that we should all be more gender-conscious, and erase the differences we, sometimes unwittingly, nurture between men and women from the workplace to the intimacy of Nigerian and American friends’ households and society’s distinct expectations towards men and women’s sexualities. A few thoughts caused me mild resistance, which I won’t detail here to avoid spoilers. I found this to be a short thought-provoking piece with a willingly provocative title. I felt I was given an open window on Nigerian culture, at least a whiff of it, and loved the privilege. This piece also reminded me in a sideways manner about “Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office” by Lois P. Frankel, and of the true, deep impact of history and education on gender differences....

My rating: In this second volume of the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen prepares to become a mentor of the next Hunger Games tributes for district 12, before the traditional Victory Tour of all districts of Panem. Katniss’s heroic rebellion against the Capitol during the 74th edition of the hunger games causes a surprise visit by President Snow. He is here to ask here to pull off her best acting part yet. Will she rise to the occasion or let him down thus endangering her nearest and dearest? In the meantime, her Mockingjay has become a symbol beyond the reach of her own understanding. I found this an easy read, quite a page turner, I guess I would have liked the third part of the book to be both a little more abrupt and a little longer, perhaps the final twist was a little too predictable and lacked build up. I definitely am looking forward to reading the third and last volume of the trilogy! View all my reviews