John Harvey was a writer I felt I ought to have read. It all started a couple of years ago when I used to go to Manchester on the train every week. Huddersfield Station seemed to be full of posters advertising his latest book and proclaiming what a fantastic writer he was. But the publishers would say that, wouldn't they?
Well, the advertising obviously worked on me, because when I was choosing books from Borders at Christmas I spotted the latest John Harvey on the 3 for 2 offer and added it to my selection.
Now that I've finally got round to reading the book, Cold in Hand, my only regret is that I didn't read it sooner. It's an extremely well written police procedural featuring DI Charlie Resnick who lives with his lover, DI Lynn Kellog and it's set mainly in Nottingham, with occasional excursions to London.
What really impressed me about the book was the fact that it didn't just reflect modern day society and crime, it didn't just unravel a puzzle, it dealt beautifully with real emotions and complicated relationships. Oh, and it made me cry... I can't think of any other work of crime fiction that has had that effect on me.
If Stuart MacBride is Ian Rankin with a sense of humour, then surely John Harvey is Ian Rankin with soul. One thing's for sure. Cold in Hand may have been the first book of his that I've read, but it certainly won't be the last!
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Sunday 26 April 2009
The Cull
Well, I've finally gone and done it! It took me a few days to psyche myself up to do it, but in the end I steeled myself to get rid of them. No matter that they'd been sharing my house for years. They were surplus to requirements. They had to go.
Yes, I have finally managed to give away some books. Two big charity bags have been filled with books and videos and are sitting by the front door ready for the charity van to come and collect them tomorrow.
'Oh, I couldn't bear to get rid of any of my books,' someone once said to me. All I can say is, that person must have a massive house or own far fewer books than I do.
I've tried all sorts of strategies over the years to keep my book collection in order - double stacking (possible with our more solid G-Plan bookcases, but not really feasible with cheap MFI versions), storing them in the attic (from where my husband had to retrieve them for me because I'm scared of heights). I even took to selling a few bags at a time till the second hand book shop begged me to stop bringing them in because their shelves were overstocked.
When every possible bookshelf is double stacked, the attic is full and books are piled up higgledy-piggledy on stools, chairs and even the spare bed, you know the time has come to take action. Especially when your brother-in-law about to visit and will need to sleep in the aforesaid spare bed.
The cull went quite smoothly except for my husband rescuing three large books and a video from the pile before the items had even managed to reach the charity bags. You're onto a hiding for nothing when you're a hoarder married to a fellow hoarder!
The good news is that by removing a few books, I discovered several others that I'd been looking for or that I'd forgotten I had. It was a happy reunion. Maybe it will spur me into action to give away another two bags full when there is another charity collection due.
Yes, I have finally managed to give away some books. Two big charity bags have been filled with books and videos and are sitting by the front door ready for the charity van to come and collect them tomorrow.
'Oh, I couldn't bear to get rid of any of my books,' someone once said to me. All I can say is, that person must have a massive house or own far fewer books than I do.
I've tried all sorts of strategies over the years to keep my book collection in order - double stacking (possible with our more solid G-Plan bookcases, but not really feasible with cheap MFI versions), storing them in the attic (from where my husband had to retrieve them for me because I'm scared of heights). I even took to selling a few bags at a time till the second hand book shop begged me to stop bringing them in because their shelves were overstocked.
When every possible bookshelf is double stacked, the attic is full and books are piled up higgledy-piggledy on stools, chairs and even the spare bed, you know the time has come to take action. Especially when your brother-in-law about to visit and will need to sleep in the aforesaid spare bed.
The cull went quite smoothly except for my husband rescuing three large books and a video from the pile before the items had even managed to reach the charity bags. You're onto a hiding for nothing when you're a hoarder married to a fellow hoarder!
The good news is that by removing a few books, I discovered several others that I'd been looking for or that I'd forgotten I had. It was a happy reunion. Maybe it will spur me into action to give away another two bags full when there is another charity collection due.
Thursday 23 April 2009
Feel the Space
I've had a strange feeling this week. Since I completed my massive tidy up I've been experiencing a feeling of space in my house.
When there were piles of papers in every room and carrier bags of stuff in the hallway and on the landing, the house felt claustrophobic. Now, after my reorganisation, I can once again see the dining room table, the sitting room cabinet, the hall carpet. My living space seems bigger and I feel less hemmed in.
When you think about it, most people like space. When people go to buy a house, they usually want it to feel spacious and they are often put off a particular property if it is cramped or cluttered.
It's the same when you're faced with a page of print. A sheet of paper covered edge to edge with words, with no white space, is not inviting to the reader. It's far more comfortable to read something that has a larger percentage of white space - in other words, emptiness.
Most of us will be familiar with the discomfort of having to squash ourselves into a bus or a train that is jam-packed with too many people. We endure it if we have to, but isn't it so much nicer to be on one where there is plenty of room, a choice of seats, a bit of space between you and the next person?
Having our lives too crowded with appointments and demands can be very stressful. That feeling of wall-to-wall activity makes us feel we have no breathing space, no time to sit back and take stock. No time to simply enjoy our life.
How are you at the moment? Take a look at the room you're sitting in. Is it a space that you can breathe in? Do you find it conducive to working in or relaxing in?
Get out your diary and have a look at how your week pans out. Do you have space to think or are you trying to cram in so many activities that you've no time to think?
Take a look out of your window. Is there space for you to relax and roam freely? If there isn't, maybe you'd benefit from a weekend in the country or by the sea.
Give yourself a mini Space Break right now. Stand up and let yourself spread out as much as you can. Lift up your arms, stand on your tiptoes, have a good stretch and a yawn. Feeling better?
When there were piles of papers in every room and carrier bags of stuff in the hallway and on the landing, the house felt claustrophobic. Now, after my reorganisation, I can once again see the dining room table, the sitting room cabinet, the hall carpet. My living space seems bigger and I feel less hemmed in.
When you think about it, most people like space. When people go to buy a house, they usually want it to feel spacious and they are often put off a particular property if it is cramped or cluttered.
It's the same when you're faced with a page of print. A sheet of paper covered edge to edge with words, with no white space, is not inviting to the reader. It's far more comfortable to read something that has a larger percentage of white space - in other words, emptiness.
Most of us will be familiar with the discomfort of having to squash ourselves into a bus or a train that is jam-packed with too many people. We endure it if we have to, but isn't it so much nicer to be on one where there is plenty of room, a choice of seats, a bit of space between you and the next person?
Having our lives too crowded with appointments and demands can be very stressful. That feeling of wall-to-wall activity makes us feel we have no breathing space, no time to sit back and take stock. No time to simply enjoy our life.
How are you at the moment? Take a look at the room you're sitting in. Is it a space that you can breathe in? Do you find it conducive to working in or relaxing in?
Get out your diary and have a look at how your week pans out. Do you have space to think or are you trying to cram in so many activities that you've no time to think?
Take a look out of your window. Is there space for you to relax and roam freely? If there isn't, maybe you'd benefit from a weekend in the country or by the sea.
Give yourself a mini Space Break right now. Stand up and let yourself spread out as much as you can. Lift up your arms, stand on your tiptoes, have a good stretch and a yawn. Feeling better?
Monday 20 April 2009
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
There's nothing to beat reading a good book, except perhaps having a good book read to you by an imaginative and talented actor.
On long journeys to and from Scotland, my family enjoys listening to talking books. Initially, we'd borrow some from the children's library to keep my son occupied - children's books that we parents would find entertaining too.
Then gradually we branched out into the adult section of the Sound and Vision Library. Unfortunately, our library charges for cassettes and CDs so the cost could mount up if we borrowed a few items - it's always good to have a standby in case you find one of your choices is a dud.
Recently I was lucky enough to find a few audio books on CD in our local discount store for only £2 each - almost as cheap as it would cost to hire them. The one that gave us the most pleasure this Easter holiday was Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which was beautifully read by Adjoa Andoh, who has appeared in Casualty and Eastenders and has been a member of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Much as I have enjoyed the television dramatisations of the Alexander McCall Smith books, I found I enjoyed hearing the book read even more. Hearing Precious Ramotswe's back story and the sadnesses she has endured makes the book less sickly than the happy-happy television adaptation.
If you come across any of the audio versions read by Adjoa Andoh, I heartily recommend them, whether they are on sale at £2 each or at the full price.
On long journeys to and from Scotland, my family enjoys listening to talking books. Initially, we'd borrow some from the children's library to keep my son occupied - children's books that we parents would find entertaining too.
Then gradually we branched out into the adult section of the Sound and Vision Library. Unfortunately, our library charges for cassettes and CDs so the cost could mount up if we borrowed a few items - it's always good to have a standby in case you find one of your choices is a dud.
Recently I was lucky enough to find a few audio books on CD in our local discount store for only £2 each - almost as cheap as it would cost to hire them. The one that gave us the most pleasure this Easter holiday was Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which was beautifully read by Adjoa Andoh, who has appeared in Casualty and Eastenders and has been a member of The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Much as I have enjoyed the television dramatisations of the Alexander McCall Smith books, I found I enjoyed hearing the book read even more. Hearing Precious Ramotswe's back story and the sadnesses she has endured makes the book less sickly than the happy-happy television adaptation.
If you come across any of the audio versions read by Adjoa Andoh, I heartily recommend them, whether they are on sale at £2 each or at the full price.
Sunday 19 April 2009
Until It's Over by Nicci French
In and amongst the tidying and filing, I managed to read another crime novel this weekend, to keep myself sane. It was Until It's Over by the husband and wife writing team, Nicci French. The fact that I managed to read it so quickly is a testimony to its power as a page-turner, given that it was 377 pages long. I had got it in a nice big book club paperback edition from one of my local book discount shops for £2.50, so it was a real bargain.
Until It's Over is a psychological thriller that really does play games with your head. It makes you feel as if one of the main characters is going mad when murders mysteriously happen around her. Why and how are they happening that way? Is she really involved in the killing spree? Does she herself even know whether she is or isn't?
I found the book gripping and the ensemble cast of characters interesting. I'm not quite so sure that the second half worked as well as the first half - I can't go into any more detail without giving away the plot. However I did find the final chapter genuinely moving and, all in all, the book was a satisfying read.
Until It's Over is a psychological thriller that really does play games with your head. It makes you feel as if one of the main characters is going mad when murders mysteriously happen around her. Why and how are they happening that way? Is she really involved in the killing spree? Does she herself even know whether she is or isn't?
I found the book gripping and the ensemble cast of characters interesting. I'm not quite so sure that the second half worked as well as the first half - I can't go into any more detail without giving away the plot. However I did find the final chapter genuinely moving and, all in all, the book was a satisfying read.
Saturday 18 April 2009
Full Circle
The big clean up continues apace. I've done loads more filing today and the two drawers of the filing cabinet which belong to me are filling up nicely with green suspended files, each neatly labelled. It has been quite a novel experience today to come across piles of handouts and to think, 'Ah, yes, I've seen some like these - they're in the filing cabinet,' and to be able to reunite them instantly with their lost companions.
I've also discovered I have far more resources and handouts than I thought, especially for Modern Languages (as French is another of my specialities). I had obviously spent quite a lot of time surfing the net and printing out useful items. The one that surprised me most was a thirty-two page printout of French tongue twisters (virelangues), as I had no recollection at all of having found such a thing on the internet. I dare say they will come in useful some day. Here's one to whet your appetite:
L'assassin sur son sein sucait son sang sans cesse.
That translates roughly as 'The assassin on her breast sucked her blood without a rest.' A strange thing to say, but at least it will get you to move your lips.
I also found some stuff from my days on the Core Group (management committee) of Huddersfield Community Radio, a group which campaigned for Huddersfield to get a licence to have its own radio station. I had been very involved in it, and had devised and run training courses on interviewing and presenting as well as producing and presenting hundreds of shows in the Restricted Licence Broadcasts that we would run for a month at a time, twice a year.
One strange thing I found today was some feedback from a Listeners Panel on my presenting. At one stage those of us who already presented shows or who wanted to present were asked to submit a showtape. These were played to a selection of volunteers who gave us points for professionalism, clarity, radio voice and personality and made comments about our performance. What I found most surprising about my feedback was that someone had said I was 'Perhaps a little reminiscent of Hi-de-Hi's Gladys'. Someone else had written 'Makes me want to shout Hi-de-Hi!' Two Hi-de-Hi comments out of a sample of fifteen! Should I have been worried?
Fortunately, I wasn't traumatised for life by the Gladys comparison, although you might find a rather gaudy yellow blazer tucked away in the back of my wardrobe. I shall have to ask my students whether I remind them of Hi-de-Hi. Fortunately, many of them weren't even born when the show was on TV, so they won't know what the heck I'm talking about.
Strangely enough, this bout of Huddersfield Community Radio nostalgia took place just a day after Pennine FM has apparently gone bust. Pennine FM was Huddersfield's commercial radio station, a successor to Huddersfield FM, which got its licence through our campaigning. I haven't really had any dealings with the full time Huddersfield commercial radio stations, partly because when the licence was awarded, I had my hands full looking after my baby son, partly because I cared deeply about the community aspect and the speech content and had no wish to be involved in just another commercial station.
Still, I do feel sorry for the staff who have lost their jobs and for those members of the community who enjoyed listening to the station. It seems as if what we began all those years ago has now gone full circle. With or without Gladys at the microphone!
I've also discovered I have far more resources and handouts than I thought, especially for Modern Languages (as French is another of my specialities). I had obviously spent quite a lot of time surfing the net and printing out useful items. The one that surprised me most was a thirty-two page printout of French tongue twisters (virelangues), as I had no recollection at all of having found such a thing on the internet. I dare say they will come in useful some day. Here's one to whet your appetite:
L'assassin sur son sein sucait son sang sans cesse.
That translates roughly as 'The assassin on her breast sucked her blood without a rest.' A strange thing to say, but at least it will get you to move your lips.
I also found some stuff from my days on the Core Group (management committee) of Huddersfield Community Radio, a group which campaigned for Huddersfield to get a licence to have its own radio station. I had been very involved in it, and had devised and run training courses on interviewing and presenting as well as producing and presenting hundreds of shows in the Restricted Licence Broadcasts that we would run for a month at a time, twice a year.
One strange thing I found today was some feedback from a Listeners Panel on my presenting. At one stage those of us who already presented shows or who wanted to present were asked to submit a showtape. These were played to a selection of volunteers who gave us points for professionalism, clarity, radio voice and personality and made comments about our performance. What I found most surprising about my feedback was that someone had said I was 'Perhaps a little reminiscent of Hi-de-Hi's Gladys'. Someone else had written 'Makes me want to shout Hi-de-Hi!' Two Hi-de-Hi comments out of a sample of fifteen! Should I have been worried?
Fortunately, I wasn't traumatised for life by the Gladys comparison, although you might find a rather gaudy yellow blazer tucked away in the back of my wardrobe. I shall have to ask my students whether I remind them of Hi-de-Hi. Fortunately, many of them weren't even born when the show was on TV, so they won't know what the heck I'm talking about.
Strangely enough, this bout of Huddersfield Community Radio nostalgia took place just a day after Pennine FM has apparently gone bust. Pennine FM was Huddersfield's commercial radio station, a successor to Huddersfield FM, which got its licence through our campaigning. I haven't really had any dealings with the full time Huddersfield commercial radio stations, partly because when the licence was awarded, I had my hands full looking after my baby son, partly because I cared deeply about the community aspect and the speech content and had no wish to be involved in just another commercial station.
Still, I do feel sorry for the staff who have lost their jobs and for those members of the community who enjoyed listening to the station. It seems as if what we began all those years ago has now gone full circle. With or without Gladys at the microphone!
Friday 17 April 2009
The Big Clean Up!
Yes, the big clean up has started today in the Barker household...
No, we haven't been victims of fire or flood (thank God!) although we did have a bit of a leak under the bath before we went away on holiday.
The big clean up is all about filing. Restoring order into a house which was being turned into chaos by thousands of bits of paper. Lesson plans, handouts, photocopies, magazine clippings, books...
Everyone has their own particular Achilles' Heel. Mine happens to be filing. I've hated filing for most of my life and done my best to ignore it.
I was exactly the same even when I was a student at Cambridge. Every day I'd come back from lectures and dump my notes in a pile in the corner of the room. They'd still be there at the end of term, only by then the pile would be huge and deranged - and I'd end up deranged trying to sort out which sheets of paper belonged together and which subject folder each set of notes ought to end up in.
Anyway, today I decided that enough was enough. Either I tackled the filing crisis or else there would be no room for any of us in the house. There would be absolutely no chance of me opening the door to visitors - though to be honest, any visitors might be hard-pressed to find us amid the piles of paperwork.
I must say that I've surprised myself by how well I've done. My half of the four-drawer filing cabinet no longer houses bank statements and car insurance documents from 1988. It now has folders full of handouts and writing and, what's more, everything is labelled!
There's still a lot to do, but the task doesn't seem so bad now that I've freed up some space to put things. I've already managed to clear the piano duet stool and I'm looking forward to seeing my dining room table again sometime soon.
No, we haven't been victims of fire or flood (thank God!) although we did have a bit of a leak under the bath before we went away on holiday.
The big clean up is all about filing. Restoring order into a house which was being turned into chaos by thousands of bits of paper. Lesson plans, handouts, photocopies, magazine clippings, books...
Everyone has their own particular Achilles' Heel. Mine happens to be filing. I've hated filing for most of my life and done my best to ignore it.
I was exactly the same even when I was a student at Cambridge. Every day I'd come back from lectures and dump my notes in a pile in the corner of the room. They'd still be there at the end of term, only by then the pile would be huge and deranged - and I'd end up deranged trying to sort out which sheets of paper belonged together and which subject folder each set of notes ought to end up in.
Anyway, today I decided that enough was enough. Either I tackled the filing crisis or else there would be no room for any of us in the house. There would be absolutely no chance of me opening the door to visitors - though to be honest, any visitors might be hard-pressed to find us amid the piles of paperwork.
I must say that I've surprised myself by how well I've done. My half of the four-drawer filing cabinet no longer houses bank statements and car insurance documents from 1988. It now has folders full of handouts and writing and, what's more, everything is labelled!
There's still a lot to do, but the task doesn't seem so bad now that I've freed up some space to put things. I've already managed to clear the piano duet stool and I'm looking forward to seeing my dining room table again sometime soon.
Thursday 16 April 2009
Holiday Reading
Yes, I've been absent for another couple of weeks, this time because of the Easter holidays. I spent most of the school holidays in Dundee with my family and really enjoyed the chance to relax completely and forget about work and all the demands on our time and attention that we all experience in everyday life.
We deliberately avoided scheduling too many visits and appointments so that we would have time to just chill and have a complete change. It was bliss to be able to sit in cafes and read as long as we wanted. And there were plenty of bookshops to browse, so we were never short of reading material.
As usual, I'd taken a pile of books with me, just in case, but I discovered lots of books to buy while I was in Scotland. I find that when I'm in Scotland, I like to read books by Scottish authors. I may have books with me that are perfectly enjoyable, but if they are set in England, reading them would destroy the holiday mood and the feeling of being in a different country.
For example, before we set off on holiday, I had begun to read Stuart Maconcie's Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North, and I was really enjoying it. But somehow it seemed disloyal to read about the North of England while I was in Scotland, so that was abandoned. While browsing in Waterstones, I discovered some new books set in Scotland by some of my favourite authors, so I couldn't resist them, especially as they were on a 3 for 2 offer.
I began by reading Glasgow Kiss by Alex Gray. I had read one or two of her books a while ago and this, her latest offering, appealed to me for two reasons : it was a generously sized book club edition, rather than a tiny paperback, and it was set in a school in Glasgow. Some of the action was set in the centre of Glasgow, outside Borders Bookshop, an area which is one of my usual holiday haunts, so I particularly enjoyed being able to imagine the places which were mentioned.
I found the dialogue convincing and the plot compulsive reading - in fact, I had read all the 353 pages within 24 hours. I can heartily recommend the book to crime lovers. Alex Gray really makes us identify with her characters and shows how crimes can affect the lives, not just of the victims, but of other innocent people. In this her fifth book, she has really mastered crime writing and has set herself up as a serious contender in the genre.
The second book I read was Easy Kill by Linn Anderson. This was also set in Glasgow, in the Necropolis, the sprawling hillside graveyard which has been compared to Paris's Pere Lachaise Cemetery (where I had filmed many years ago with the BBC). I had spent some time exploring the Necropolis with my family on my last stay in Glasgow, which is probably just as well. After some of the gory things which happened in it in the novel, I'd have thought twice about venturing there, especially after dark!
Linn Anderson had caught my attention a few years ago when I bought her second novel, Torch. Like Torch, Easy Kill features the intrepid forensic scientist, Rhona MacLeod. It's a dark book, which pulls no punches. This is far from the Happy Ever After scenario you find in some crime writing - people are deeply affected by their experiences, and that goes for Rhona and her colleagues too.
What was the third book I bought in my 3 for 2 offer, then? It was by another Scottish crime writer, Val McDermid and it's her latest paperback, A Darker Domain. But after reading two crime novels back to back, I fancied a change, so I ended up reading a couple of non-fiction books - so if you want to know what the Val McDermid is like, you'll have to wait, or else read it yourself...
We deliberately avoided scheduling too many visits and appointments so that we would have time to just chill and have a complete change. It was bliss to be able to sit in cafes and read as long as we wanted. And there were plenty of bookshops to browse, so we were never short of reading material.
As usual, I'd taken a pile of books with me, just in case, but I discovered lots of books to buy while I was in Scotland. I find that when I'm in Scotland, I like to read books by Scottish authors. I may have books with me that are perfectly enjoyable, but if they are set in England, reading them would destroy the holiday mood and the feeling of being in a different country.
For example, before we set off on holiday, I had begun to read Stuart Maconcie's Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North, and I was really enjoying it. But somehow it seemed disloyal to read about the North of England while I was in Scotland, so that was abandoned. While browsing in Waterstones, I discovered some new books set in Scotland by some of my favourite authors, so I couldn't resist them, especially as they were on a 3 for 2 offer.
I began by reading Glasgow Kiss by Alex Gray. I had read one or two of her books a while ago and this, her latest offering, appealed to me for two reasons : it was a generously sized book club edition, rather than a tiny paperback, and it was set in a school in Glasgow. Some of the action was set in the centre of Glasgow, outside Borders Bookshop, an area which is one of my usual holiday haunts, so I particularly enjoyed being able to imagine the places which were mentioned.
I found the dialogue convincing and the plot compulsive reading - in fact, I had read all the 353 pages within 24 hours. I can heartily recommend the book to crime lovers. Alex Gray really makes us identify with her characters and shows how crimes can affect the lives, not just of the victims, but of other innocent people. In this her fifth book, she has really mastered crime writing and has set herself up as a serious contender in the genre.
The second book I read was Easy Kill by Linn Anderson. This was also set in Glasgow, in the Necropolis, the sprawling hillside graveyard which has been compared to Paris's Pere Lachaise Cemetery (where I had filmed many years ago with the BBC). I had spent some time exploring the Necropolis with my family on my last stay in Glasgow, which is probably just as well. After some of the gory things which happened in it in the novel, I'd have thought twice about venturing there, especially after dark!
Linn Anderson had caught my attention a few years ago when I bought her second novel, Torch. Like Torch, Easy Kill features the intrepid forensic scientist, Rhona MacLeod. It's a dark book, which pulls no punches. This is far from the Happy Ever After scenario you find in some crime writing - people are deeply affected by their experiences, and that goes for Rhona and her colleagues too.
What was the third book I bought in my 3 for 2 offer, then? It was by another Scottish crime writer, Val McDermid and it's her latest paperback, A Darker Domain. But after reading two crime novels back to back, I fancied a change, so I ended up reading a couple of non-fiction books - so if you want to know what the Val McDermid is like, you'll have to wait, or else read it yourself...
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