Tag: reading for pleasure

This Writer’s Reading Round Up – Q1 2022

Chris Hall54 Comments
Virginia Woolf quote: For once the disease of reading has laid hold upon the system, it weakens it, so that it falls an easy prey to that other scourge which dwells in the inkpot and festers in the quill. The wretch takes to writing.

I’ve really enjoyed my first quarter’s reading this year. As I’m sure I’ve told you before, I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I strongly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.

I generally choose to read books that have been recommended by other people, mostly my WP reviewer friends. Once again they’ve picked real winners. I’ve also read a couple of well-known authors whose books I’ll always turn to (Jasper Fford and Isabel Allende) and a couple of instructive books to hone my ‘word-smithery’ (Kathy Steinemann’s Writer’s Lexicon) and to improve my poetry-crafting (Colleen Chesebro’s Wordcraft).

It has long been one of my missions to read more authors from South Africa and the African continent, since I feel we are frequently under-represented in the wider world. You’ll see that my first four reads were all SA authors, after which I spread my reading wings and flew north to find Jude Italkali in Uganda.

I hadn’t read a collection of short stories for ages, but Chris Nelson’s excellent collection, The Beautiful Silence, has re-kindled my appetite. As soon as I’d finished reading Chris’s book, a reading recommendation made to me by Liz Gauffreau* on the thread of a post about Magical Realism on Jacqui Murray’s excellent site, led me to seek out a short story by Gabriel García Márquez, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World – a delightful read! Encouraged by the fact that I found a copy via Mrs Google, I also sought out Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which I’ve been keen to read ever since I began dipping into Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson. My obsession with Hemingway’s prose continues.

Here are the books I read as the scorching South African summer mellowed into a glorious golden autumn. My next round up will find me shivering as we head into the depths of winter!

As a writer, I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to my readers (and listeners, now I’ve three books published as audiobooks) who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books. That aside, to know someone has read one of my books is enough.

My reviews:
Open a New Door by Robbie Cheadle and Kim Blades
Operation Outperfect by Alex Canna
Fire Angel: Igniting the Spark by Paul English
Noah and his Solar-Powered Ark by Jill Morsbach
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
The Writer’s Lexicon Volume II by Kathy Steinemann
The Beautiful Silence by Chris Nelson
Ghosted: Disappearing Acts by Paula Light
Wordcraft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen M. Chesebro
Violeta by Isabel Allende
Realms of the Mist by Jude Itakali
Holly Ward Investigates: The Steam Train by Mason Bushell


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*A quick heads up for poetry lovers: Liz Gauffreau is hosting a live poetry event Poets in the Blogosphere, on 23 April 2022 from 4-5:30 PM ET. This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy poetry being read out loud. Just as it should be. You can find out more here.

Writing Challenge – The E-Book TBR Pile

Chris Hall44 Comments

Wonderful writer, reader and reviewer, Diana of Myths of the Mirror blog has thrown down her velvet gauntlet for a fun writing challenge. Here’s what she says: “I don’t know anyone who owns a Kindle (or other ebook reader) and isn’t buried in books. We groan as we add more to the stack… then laugh about it and buy more! That’s my situation anyway.”

That’s my situation too!

Here are the details of Diana’s challenge – The Teetering TBR Pile – the challenge is open until 23 January if you’d like to join in too.

This is my response:

Ode to My Kindle

Kindle, my Kindle, how do you compare
to those wretched stacks of curling pages
whose covers dim in daylight’s brightness
spines rendered unreadable by old age?

Shelves piled high with neither rhyme nor reason
unruly stacks wobbling and tottering
set to tumble in thunderous cascades
engulfing unwary readers in words.

Kindle, my Kindle, how long has it been
since first we browsed those virtual bookshelves
hovering o’er Amazon’s icons bright
daring downloads at the click of a key?

Far have we travelled by land, air and sea
since I first loaded a heap of beach reads
oh, my Kindle, faithful companion
never rejecting yet another book.

~~~~~~~~

While you’re here, fellow overstuffed e-readers, can I just tempt you to just one more teensy-weensy book? The book birthday freebie offer I was running has finished, but you can download Song of the Sea Goddess for a snip: USA ~ UK ~ IND ~ AUS ~ CAN ~ ESP ~ South Africa and the Rest of the World

This Writer’s Reading Round-up July to Dec 2021

Chris Hall34 Comments

As 2021 draws to a close, although there are aspects of the year I’d prefer to forget, I’m looking back with a happy and satisfied smile on the books I’ve enjoyed in this second half of the year.

I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I firmly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.

Here’s what I read as our wet and windy winter gave way to a hot and breezy summer. The most recently read books are shown first.

The books I’ve read, listed on Goodreads

Once again I’ve enjoyed my half-year’s reading. Books I’ve frequently found via reviews and recommendations here on WordPress, including a nice helping of works by fellow indie authors. I’ve read a mixture of old books and new – mostly prose and poetry – a long, long history/geography of Africa, and a witty and instructive writer’s manual. Thanks to the latter, written by Kathy Steinmann, my latest MS is all the more sparkly and shiny!

More news on my new release coming soon.

As a writer I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to my readers (and listeners, now I’ve two books published as audiobooks) who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books. That aside, to know someone has read one of my books is enough.

I continue to faithfully post a review of all the books I’ve read on Goodreads and usually on Bookbub, so long as the book comes up in a search. It’s good to recognise fellow writers and give something back for the enjoyment I’ve had from their words.

Happy reading, happy writing and a Happy New Year!

This Writer’s Reading Round-up, June 2021

Chris Hall44 Comments

It’s half the way through the year already, can you believe it? Almost the end of June and it’s wet and wintry here, and while many of you are enjoying your ‘summer reading’ and I thought I’d share what I’ve been reading this year. I love to read almost as much as I love to write, and I firmly believe that the more good writing I read, the more my own writing improves.

Last year I did the ArmedWithABingo year-long reading challenge hosted by Kriti Khare & Ariel Joy which was great fun, and which encouraged my to read a few books that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. But this year I’m on a ‘free choice’ foray, guided mostly by some great reviews I’ve read by some great reviewers here in our WordPress family, who’ve wickedly tempted me to augment my already tottering ‘TBR’ pile way beyond normal safety parameters.

I’ve also over-stuffed my book shelves with piles of pre-loved books from our local indie book stores.

However, I must confess to my shame that I haven’t been to our lovely local library for ages. I really should, even though under lockdown regulations you can only spend half an hour at a time there. Before Covid, I used to go to write there sometimes since being surrounded by all those books was rather inspiring (and it’s lovely and warm in winter).

Anyway, enough rambling. Here’s what I’ve read so far this year.

  • My books on Goodreads

I’ve had a most enjoyable half-year’s reading: a mixture of old books and new, prose and poetry, even a cookery book. I’ve continued to honour my resolve to read more books from the southern hemisphere, especially by African writers, as I feel authors down here don’t get the exposure they should.

As a writer I know how exciting it is to receive a review from a reader, and I offer a big, big thank you to all of my readers who’ve taken the time and trouble to rate/review my books, although to know someone has read one of my books is even enough.

I faithfully post a review of the books I’ve read on Goodreads and usually on Bookbub, so long as the book comes up in a search. You can find all of my reviews here on Goodreads.

As for the next half of the year, I did promise myself not to buy any more books until I’d made a proper dent in the tottering TBR pile, but there’s a sale at Bookworms tomorrow, and I have to support the store which carries copies of my own books, don’t I?

Bookworms, Somerset West, South Africa

Happy reading folks!

What I’ve been reading #4

Chris Hall24 Comments

We all know what a strange and troubling year 2020 has been and I understand that for some people the trouble and turmoil has prevented them from reading. Not so me. Books have always been my escape. From that first year in high school when I turned to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ‘Little House’ stories to get me through, I’ve buried my nose in a book to remove myself from reality.

The same goes for my writing, although I find that grappling with a novel is harder when my mind lacks a certain level of tranquility, but once immersed in that special writing zone, I am completely transported. And so this year, I have one novel on the point of publication and another one already up and running.

http://bit.ly/2WTizJZ

The final quarter’s books

Since the end of September, when I completed the #ArmedWithABingo challenge, this is what I’ve read.

I exceeded my 2020 Goodreads Challenge of 36 books and I read and reviewed 57 books. Maybe I set the bar too low, but you know how I believe in setting achievable targets (why stress?).

I read even more widely this year, partly due to the Armed with a Bingo challenge and partly in response to the recommendations of others. I continue to try to support fellow indie authors and twenty of the books were written by indies, including four volumes of poetry by writers I’ve come across on WordPress.

Contrary to previous years, more than half the books I read this year were physical books. This is mainly because I told myself that before I bought any more, I should read some of the ones that had been sitting unread on my shelves, which are mostly acquisitions from second-hand bookstores (a favourite haunt of mine). But there were a few new releases that I just had to buy as paperbacks. In particular, Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (my two most favourite authors). The latter was absolutely the best book I’ve read this century!

Onward to 2021 then. My TBR pile is tottering, but I’m happy to take more recommendations if you’d like to offer them. Drop them in the comments below!

What I’ve been reading #3

Chris Hall30 Comments
Challenge Completed!

#ArmedWithABingo is a year-long reading challenge hosted by Kriti Khare & Ariel Joy and this is my end of September update.

The books I read for the challenge in this third quarter of the year are highlighted in gold, but aside from the challenge, I’ve read a dozen or so more. I’ve always read a wide range of genres but the #armedwithabingo challenge has encouraged me to read even more widely. So far this year, I’ve enjoyed every single book I’ve read. What a happy place to be!

My Year in Books 2020 (so far)

If you’re curious to know what I thought of any of the books I’ve read, pop over to Goodreads where you’ll find my reviews.

Have you a book that you’d like to recommend to me? Drop in a response below!

What I’ve been reading #2

Chris Hall22 Comments

chris's #armedwithabingo book update Q2

 

#ArmedWithABingo is a year-long reading challenge hosted by Kriti Khare & Ariel Joy and this is my end of June update. 

The books I read for the challenge in this second quarter of the year are outlined in yellow, and straight away I’ll tell you that my stand out book was Trevor Noah’s ‘Born a Crime’. If you’re curious to know what I thought of this or any of the books I’ve read, pop over to Goodreads where you’ll find my reviews. I do think it’s important to support authors with reviews – I know how much it means to us.

You can also find out more about my reading habits and my response to the #ArmedWithABingo challenge in an interview I did with Kriti Khare at the beginning of this month.

And now, with only four more books to go to complete the challenge, maybe I’ll try do a second bingo board for the second half of the year. Meanwhile, if anyone has a suggestion for a book with a food in the title, please let me know.

Footnote
How much the world has changed since I did my first ‘check in’ for the challenge. Here in South Africa we were about to go into lockdown. We thought it would be for just 21 days, but it continued for 100 days. Like most of the rest of the world, the country is only just beginning to open up.

My reading has continued and so has my writing. Most of all though, I’m so grateful to all of you, my online friends, for being there and being you! 

Stay well, stay safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I’ve been reading

Chris Hall29 Comments

March 2020 update 1March 2020 update 2

#ARMEDWITABINGO is a light-hearted reading challenge from Kriti Khare & Ariel Joy which I signed up for at the start of this year. Reading is good for writers and I read a lot anyway, so why not? I also set myself a target to read 36 books this year for the 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge.

I’ve enjoyed them all for different reasons, although I have to say that Moby Dick was pretty hard going! If you’re interested you can read all of my short and snappy reviews here on Goodreads.

And now… back to the writing! I’m busy with my fourth novel and with the South African lockdown starting at midnight tomorrow for 21 days, I really have no excuse. Of course, I’ll still be keeping up with my little stories and occasional poems on here.

Take care and stay safe wherever you are in the world. At least we can still meet here.

 

 

Black Friday and Beyond

Chris Hall2 Comments

Goodreads ratings for Chris Hall's books

Offers are about to abound on my novels as we approach the holiday season. They’ve all been well-received so far, so stay tuned to grab your freebie ebook or reduced price paperback.