Holiday season reading
Image: Blaz Photo from Unsplash
The year is quickly coming to an end and Christmas is just around the corner. One thing I really enjoy about this time of year is finally having the time to finally read some of the books that have been piling up on the shelf.
As the summer break draws closer, I’m already eying books for my time off. I did something of a test run last month by heading down to the coast for the Melbourne Cup long weekend. The local primary school was having its annual fête and, just as I did the previous year, I took the opportunity to grab some bargains at the book stall.
I’d already finished Craig Silvey’s excellent debut novel, Jasper Jones, by the time the Cup was run that Tuesday. I’ve put aside several others from that haul for those lazy, post-Christmas days that are characterised (in my household at least) by cricket on the radio, leftover ham for lunch, and reading on the beach between swims.
Some books lend themselves to being read over the summer months. For me, this includes anything by James Ellroy or Tim Winton – while I can’t imagine reading gothic novels like Wuthering Heights or Dracula outside of the cold, grey days of winter. I love the novels of the Brontë sisters, but I’m not going to reach for them in a break in play during the Boxing Day test.
Other than the weather, my choices tend to be determined by whatever catches my eye on the bookshelf or bookshop (or, more recently, as recommended by my Kindle). While I admire Russell Marks’ approach of adding every book he wants to read to an Excel spreadsheet and then using an algorithm to make the final choice, I take a less methodical approach.
I’m still working my way through the pile on the bedside table – most recently Anna Funder’s wonderful Wifedom. Funder tells the story of George Orwell’s first wife whose own literary talents and significant contribution to her husband’s career were largely written out of history – including by Orwell himself. It was just listed by The Economist as one of the best books of 2023.
Before that there was the memoir of the former drummer for The Black Crowes, Steve Gorman, who avoids most of the standard rock’n’roll clichés in a tragicomic account of being in a band he was always on the verge of quitting. At one point Gorman finds himself touring with his idol Jimmy Page, before his self-sabotaging bandmates end up wrecking that one too. Spoiler alert: he eventually quits for good and seems much happier for it, but not before showing the Led Zeppelin guitarist how to nap before a gig.
However and wherever you are spending this holiday season and (for readers in the Southern Hemisphere) the summer to come, I hope you get a chance to take some time out to relax, reflect on 2023 and set yourself up for a wonderful 2024. If, like me, this will involve some time with books, then happy reading.
