Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 11

The artist's way for retirement (by Julia Cameron)

(Amazon UK link) Back in 2017, I acquired (second-hand) a couple of books by the American author Julia Cameron that came highly recommended. They were supposed to encourage creativity and provide inspiration for anyone feeling a bit blocked or uncertain where their lives were heading. I spent a few months attempting to get into one of them, and failed. In the end, I gave up. 
Four years later, in the summer of 2021 we were able to travel after eighteen months of restrictions due to the pandemic. W...

I was just wandering (by Jeff Lucas)

(Amazon UK link) I have liked every book I’ve read by Jeff Lucas. He’s a writer and speaker who was born and brought up in the UK, but now mostly works in the United States, where he works as a pastor. But he’s no fundamentalist - far from it - and he regularly admits to doubts, concerns and failures. 
The book ‘I was just wandering’ is another collection of his thoughts, each section no more than three or four pages long. I first read it in 2015. Books of this kind are interesting to read, someti...

Writing on both sides of the brain (by Henriette Anne Klauser)

(Amazon UK link) I read the book ‘Writing on both sides of the brain’ by Henriette Anne Klauser in 2010, and remembered that I found it extremely useful. So I thought it would be a good idea to re-read it. I have quite a collection of writing books but this one stood out in my mind as something a bit different.
The style of the book is somewhat informal, but also clear and informative. It feels almost as if the author is chatting, or explaining something via email rather than trying to be instruct...

Holy Smoke (by Libby Purves)

(Amazon UK link) I have no idea when I acquired the book ‘Holy Smoke’ by Libby Purves. She is best known as an outspoken journalist, and I have very much liked her novels, which I re-read not long ago. The title is intriguing, too, as is the subtitle: ‘religion and roots: a personal memoir’. I expect I picked it up at a church book sale, or perhaps in a thrift shop. 
This book has been on a to-read shelf for so long that I had almost forgotten it was there. But finally I picked it up to read about...

The last word and the word after that (by Brian McLaren)

(Amazon UK link) Since I recently reread Brian McLaren’s first two ‘creative fiction’ works, ‘A new kind of Christian’ and ‘The story we find ourselves in’, I decided to continue to the last of the trilogy, ‘The last word and the word after that’. This book continues the discussions between Neo (now known as Neil) and Dan, about what they call  post-evangelical Christian faith. 
‘The last word…’ was published in 2005 and I first read it in 2013. I found it very powerful the first time round; the t...

Far to go (by Noel Streatfeild)

(Amazon UK link) I do like re-reading my collection of books by Noel Streatfeild. Although intended for older children and younger teens, they are the kind of book that can be read and appreciated from many different perspectives. I can see adult points of view much better than I can when I first read these books fifty or more years ago, but I can still empathise with the children too. Streatfeild had a gift of characterisation and story-telling, and many of her books are re-printed regularly.
How...

Cecily (by Clare Darcy)

(Amazon UK link) According to the front of my copy of Clare Darcy’s novel ‘Cecily’, I acquired it in 1990 and re-read it in 1997. I don’t think I have read it since then. So I had entirely forgotten the story. Clare Darcy is the only writer I’ve found whose ‘Regency romance’ books feel as authentic as Georgette Heyer’s, and I’m pleased that, at last, I’ve decided to re-read the ones on my shelves.
‘Cecily’ opens with a scene at the theatre. Mr Robert Ranleigh arrives towards the end of the second ...

It's the little things (by Erica James)

(Amazon UK link) I’m gradually re-reading the novels by Erica James which I’ve acquired over the past twenty-four years, as well as looking forward to her new ones. The one I have just finished is ‘It’s the little things’, which was published in 2008. I first read it in December 2010 and in the intervening fourteen years had entirely forgotten the storyline and the people. Well, almost…
The main characters in this book are three (fictional) survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand. Thi...

The good, the bad and the aunties (by Jesse Sutanto)

(Amazon UK link) I had not heard of Jesse Suntano. She’s a Chinese-Indonesian writer who has apparently had several books published. In our local book group we like to read a variety of books from different cultures, and we also like something fairly light-weight for December. So ‘The good, the bad and the aunties’ was chosen for this month’s read. 
I thought the title was clever, and was aware before I started that this is the third in a series about the same family. Each one has a title that’s a...

A chalet girl from Kenya (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

(Amazon UK link) I’m slowly re-reading Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s lengthy Chalet School series for probably the fourth or fifth time. Since I only read about one of them each month, interspersed with other books, it’s not a quick process. But I find I appreciate them more when they are spaced out. When I read several in a row they can start to feel rather samey.
I last read ‘A chalet girl from Kenya’ almost ten years ago, and had pretty much forgotten the storyline. It’s 33rd in the original series, an...