Something to look forward to a little later in the week! The Dylan Thomas story for you--as I plan on writing about it and another holiday read on the 24th. And for me--I found a "Christmas Pudding". I imagine it is not Welsh (or maybe it is?), but it is imported from England. I have never had Christmas Pudding, and while it is likely not much like the real thing, it will be fun to try it later in the week. Maybe I should read it alongside a Dickens story? It is meant to be steamed or microwaved (not very Elizabethan, that, eh?). It won't be 'good' for me, but I am hoping it will be a little treat. The first two ingredients are sugar and sultanas! Curiously it also contains mustard. Maybe some of my British friends can tell me what a proper Christmas pudding should taste like and I will let you all know how successful is this Elizabethan Pantry version!
As for Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales, what a lovely, lovely story. It was my weekend short story reading and I liked it so much I read it twice as it is quite short. I may read it one more time before I sit down to write about it. I think I always strayed from Thomas's work as I am not really a poetry reader and he is a poet, but how silly that is. I have read that Dylan Thomas also did a series of radio talks and had quite a strong voice that impressed many when he toured the US giving university talks. Now I wish I had ordered an audio version. It is a gorgeous story, if you have not yet had the pleasure of discovering it for yourself. More about it soon.
I've been busy reading through those last books of the year and have finished a number of them and now must get busy writing about them, but I might have to combine the posts to get through them all. I did manage to catch up with Feedly--looking and reading at the moment, but I hope to get out and catch up with chatting, too. So many best-of lists and I have added more than a few titles to my own wishlist. In my meanderings I am beginning to finally feel connected to the wider world again . . .
As someone who greatly appreciates quiet and peacefulness and particularly solitude I think I need to read Howard Axelrod's memoir about solitude, The Point of Vanishing. Two years alone in woods of Vermont. I like to think I could do it with a good routine. Maybe not but it is sort of cool to think about.
Lots of reading ideas for next year are swirling around half formed in my mind at the moment. While I am not going to create a long list of plans, I do think I might start the year with a list of potential reading and a project or two to kick off the year and then see where I end up. But I do like the idea of a Virginia Woolf readalong. I won't actually join, I think, but I might well be inspired to pick up one of her books next year.
Joan London, who I have read before and really liked, has won Australia's Prime Minister's Literary Award, and it looks like it would be right up my alley. Of course it is not being published in the US for nearly a year! I might try and find an Australian copy of the book, or maybe I should reread her older novel which I have on hand?
If you feel like you don't read enough books in translation, check out World Literature Today's 75 Notable Translations of 2015. I have not read a single one! But a few have crossed my path and look quite interesting and I will be exploring the rest of the list, too. And if you are reading to look forward to a new year of reading, you can start a new list of forthcoming books via Conversational Reading. And if you are looking forward specifically for historical novels, then check out the Historical Society's guide to forthcoming novels.
Before I can look too far forward I need to clean house a bit here, and before that can happen I still have a few days of work as well as a work related project. Once these are out of the way (hopefully mid-week), I'll be back with more bookishness.