A Year of Lockdown Reading - ( ALMOST!)

The pandemic has changed reading habits. I have some friends who’ve expressed concerns that during the Covid19 chaos and subsequent Lockdowns, that they’ve stopped reading. Others seem to be overjoyed at rediscovering books and the places they take you, that if only temporally, it gives you an escape from reality (press here to see more).

Book sales are up and according to reports its mostly classic titles or books by establish authors that people are purchasing, (press here to find out more). As people use the extra time to catch up on the reading they’ve always meant to do, or crave the familiar and revisit old favourites.

There, been some big stories, from celebrities learning to love reading again, (press here) to illiterate adults who have spent lockdown learning to read (press here).

One thing is certain, for better or for worse the pandemic and lockdown has changed peoples reading habits. I’ve bucked the trend. I am not reading less, or more. I’ve also not returned to old favourites, or embarked on devouring classics. But my reading habits have changed.

Usually I exclusively read kids and YA fiction, however I’ve found that I’m reading less children’s books, I just can’t seem to finish them (don’t worry I’m passionate about kids lit, so I’m sure it's temporary), and I have opted for an eclectic mix of books which is actually a balance  of adults fiction and non-fiction.

So the books that have got me through the pandemic so far are …

 
The Smart Neanderthal, Clive Finlayson – A non-fiction book about the authors research into Neanderthal, and primarily their relationships with birds, from the evidence found within the caves of the Gibraltar Rock, and how’s it challenged and changed the way Neanderthal, are viewed.

How to Think like a Neanderthal – Thomas Wynn and Frederick L. Coolidge – a non-fiction book that examines the anthropological evidence about Neanderthals and how this can be assembled to give us a greater understanding about how they lived and possibly how they thought.

 

How to Clone a Mammoth, The Science of De-Extinction - Beth Shapiro – A non-fiction exploration about genetic and cloning and how it can be applied to help endangered animals and combat global warming.

Mammoths, Ice age Giants- Adam Lister – non Fiction beautifully illustrated book crammed full of facts about this ice-age mega-fauna.

Get a Grip on Genetics – Martin Brookes - A beginner’s guide to genetics in easy to consume bitesize chunks.

The Hedgehog Handbook – Sally Coulthard – A beautiful charming non-fiction book, with a month by month account of a hedgehog’s life in the wild. Juxtaposed with facts about their dwindling numbers, challenges, and what we can do to help, paired with exquisite illustrations.

Jumbo , This being the True Story of The Greatest Elephant in the World – Paul Chambers – A nonfiction biography about the world most famous ever elephant.

 

The American Gods Quintet  - Neil Gainman – finally getting around to reading the two novels and two novella, that have been recommended to me by so many friends. Loved being immersed in the deliciously dark and bonkers world of forgotten deities

There is only three books here because one of the novella's is in the back of American Gods novel.

 

The Constant Rabbit – Jasper Fforde – A trippy trip to an alternative version of the UK, with talking animorphised rabbits. Bonkers and brilliant.

 

Mammoth – Chris Flynn; A creative non-fiction/ fiction (I’m not sure) biographical account of one American Mastodon’s existence in life and after death when his soul is woken as his fossilised remains are unearthed. Recounted by the creature himself, to other artefacts as they await the action where they'll be sold off. This is charming, original and such a breath of fresh air. A true masterpiece.

 

The Library of the Unwritten – A. J. Hackwith; Step in into the library in Hell where all unwritten books are stored, sometimes waking up, manifested into one of the characters and are restless (or mad) as their story arch's haven't been finished. Plus a war brewing between Heaven and Hell that only a Librarian, a muse, a woken book and a demonized soul of a teenage boy can prevent.

 

If you need any motivation to crack on and get an unfinished manuscript completed, then read this. After reading this, I picked up a story I started in 2013 and finished it, as so not to torment my characters!

The Boy the Horse the Fox and the Mole: I was so late discovering this book, but it is so beautiful, and the perfect antidote to the pandemic, which the whole family fell in love with it, so we brought copied an got them sent to friends and family.

 

These books really helped me get through the pandemic so far , I don’t know exactly why my reading habits during these strange times has changed, or why I’ve changed the ratio of my reading to be more non-fiction, but it has indeed changed. One thing I’m grateful for, is that I am still reading. As Mason Cooley said, ‘Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

Also, I know this may not look like much reading, but I am dyslexic and my reading is painfully slow!

Pan’s Labyrinth – Novel – Review and Musings about Anticipation of Adaptations - Guillermo Del Toro - Cornelia Funke

Many people experience excitement and a certain amount of anxiety when they hear that one of their favourite books is coming to the silver screen. Concern whether the adaptation is sympathetic and close to the source text. Worry that they may get the characters wrong. Anxiety that the image on the screen won’t marry with the image you have carried in your mind since reading the book.

This phenomenon has been played out in Armageddon-esk proportions with the recent release of the TV adaption of Pratchett and Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens.’ After almost thirty years in print, with an army of devoted fan’s the anticipation and anxiety was at a max, with one question very much on everyone’s twitter feeds – would it work? In fact one of my friends tweeted comments ahead of its release on the small screen saying that one character ‘didn’t look right’.

I have to confess, I didn’t quite have the same reservations about Good Omens, as I only read the novel in January AFTER the character publicity photos had already hit the web, so I wasn’t quite as invested as other fans who’ve loved the book for decades.

However, I know exactly how they felt. As this is what I experienced when I heard that a novelised version of one of my all-time favourite films, Pan’s Labyrinth was in the works. The excitement was there, after all I love fairy tales, I love books and I adore the movie. However there were bucket loads of anxiety too. Some of the worries included…

Concerns that with the film such an exquisite visual feast, and with a picture worth a thousand words then surely the novel would become a monster rivalling War and Peace just to stand a chance of evoking the same imaginary in the readers mind that the movie does with its cinematography.

Worries about whether it would emulate the same excitement reading the story as it did watching it the first time? After all you can only experience the same story once for a first time. Will it retain the same poignant messages or will they be lost in translation?

All in all I was worried. The Pan’s Labyrinth film is the ultimate fairy tale movie, the benchmark that others are compared; it is not a far cry from perfection. So how could the novel ever live up to the movie?

My concerns, however, were totally unfounded, and with Guillermo Del Toro the visionary director behind the original movie and master wordsmith Cornelia Funke author of the Inkheart series at the helm the novel is quite simply; beautiful.

It delivers a true adaptation of the film and yet adds layers that make it an even more intricate tapestry if storytelling. In the novel you get to delve into the minds of the key characters, their innermost thoughts and physiques laid bare, making the line between good and evil blur. As for imaginary, I can honestly say I have never before read a book where I’ve stopped reading so many times just to admire and dwell on a sentence or description. Funke’s penmanship is awe inspiring and economic. With minimum words she evokes intricate images and complex emotions, that really does rival the film.

In addition this book is scattered with beautiful illustrations by Andy Williams, which both capture the story in the novel and replicate the imagery of the film. The spacing of the illustrations throughout the book and the monotone style emulates the style of traditional fairy tale anthologies further endorsing its fairy-tale credentials. 

All in all the Pan’s Labyrinth novel is a beautiful and poignant fairy tale which is exquisitely told and produced. So I urge any fan of film, fairy tale enthusiasts, of lover of fantasy to go read the book.