Tag: book nerd

The Lost Daughter – Book Review

Now that it is summer and I have finally finished writing school reports, it is time to get back to reading. Last week I finished a short book that I started a while ago about a woman with a difficult relationship with herself and her daughters. Here is my ‘The Lost Daughter’ book review.

I will be honest, the thing that attracted me to this book was a picture of Olivia Colman on the front page. She has apparently been in a film version of this and I thought it would be fun to check out the novella before watching her movie.

What’s it all about?

Elena Ferrante is the author of this lovely story, which has been translated from Italian into English. The main character, Leda, is a middle aged woman whose children have gone to live with their father in Canada. Leda teaches English and writes academic papers. Feeling freed up a bit she goes on holiday to Southern Italy for some ME time.

A fascination with a Neopolotan family who are often laughing or rowing by the beach, leads to some friction. Leda finds herself reflecting on her own motherhood, including a period where she ran away from her husband and daughters. She has a mixed bag of feelings towards motherhood and it is interesting to read about her tortured soul.

Strengths

– Incredibly well written in short chapters. Easy to pick up and put down.

– Set near a beach, it is the perfect holiday companion.

– It really makes you think about not taking people for granted. Who knows what is going on in someone else’s head?

In A Nutshell

This story is clever and insightful but there is little action. It is more of a drama, with the internal monologue of Leda driving the story brilliantly.

I was really engaged in the book and love the way it meanders, with a comforting ebb and flow. I can totally recommend reading this wonderful book and now cannot wait to watch the film.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my ‘The Lost Daughter’ book review. For another of my recommendations check out my thoughts on Frazzled by Ruby Wax. Perhaps you might also consider following my little blog for more book and TV reviews alongside environmental articles about global warming.

Magnifying Glasses For Reading Books

As an Amazon affiliate, occasionally I link to products that I recommend. If you buy one of these products I get a small kickback which is at no extra charge to yourself.

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As a book blogger, I come across a lot of people who lose their reading mojo for one reason or another. My mum was even saying to me that reading is tricky without a good lamp nearby or a sunlit window over your shoulder. However, one of the things that causes the most hurdles for us readers as we get a little bit older (I am 45 by the way) is eye strain caused by having to focus on small print. So, in this article I am going to discuss using magnifying glasses for reading books.

Things That Make Reading A Struggle

In a previous article I wrote Why is reading so important? which sums up just how valuable regular reading can be. The trouble is that some of the hurdles to reading are physical ones. For example, not being able to read the text because it is too small or blurry.

Here are a few things that make enjoying a good book harder:

– a scratched kindle reader or iPad/ phone screen

– poor print quality or crinkled pages

– insufficient lighting of the room

– time of day (some are night owls but others find it hard to stay awake and read at night)

– eye strain (sometimes because of eye condition and also because many people use visual display equipment all day so when they come to read their eyes are already tired)

– disruptive or noisy environments (either at home, work or on public transport)

A Possible Solution

If reading itself is becoming a strain and you have already checked your vision and looked into wearing glasses, then consider this. A magnifying glass for reading is the perfect solution for people with eye strain.

I have only come across these devices recently but my friend tells me they are brilliant. Instead of little circular magnifiers, as pictured below, they are large rectangular glass structures which can also have additional features.

I know this is what springs to mind when I say magnifying glasses for reading.

The magnifier linked here is an example of one which includes built in LED lights. As a result it helps with lighting the book as well as expanding the size of the visible print.

Another such example of a book magnifier is linked below. This time it is more like a traditional handheld one. It is affordable and easy to transport as it bends into a key ring holder type cover. You can use this to follow the text line for line, if you prefer.

In A Nutshell

There are many ways to deal with reading barriers. Some of them are easy changes to the environment in which you open your books. Others require making the printed text more visible. It is here that weary eyes can be defeated by using magnifying glasses. They are especially useful if you do a lot of reading at work and your eyes would benefit from a little support when reading as a hobby.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article about improving the reading process. Please share your own thoughts on this in the comments section and consider following my little blog.

Review: Sara Cox’s Thrown – A Dramatic Hit?

I have always liked Sara Cox and remember seeing her present the Big Breakfast as well as the Radio One Breakfast Show back in the early 2000s. She made me smile when she hosted ‘The Great Pottery Throwdown’ and I especially enjoy her TV panel show about books – ‘Between The Covers’ – on BBC 2. So it was obvious that I would want to try out her autobiography and now this new work of fiction. Make up your own mind about her book but here is my Sara Cox’s ‘Thrown’ review.

I was lucky enough to bump into Sara Cox at the Eurostar terminal in Amsterdam in the summer and she had a book tucked into her pocket. We spoke about her TV show and she mentioned that she actually read each book that would be discussed in the upcoming series. She was absolutely wonderful to chat with and I later discovered that she had a debut novel – which is what I reviewed in this post.

I am excited to have offer this book for review.

What’s It All About?

Four women join a new pottery class at their local community centre, not knowing just how important that group would be for them. Becky hopes that the class will breathe a new breath of fresh air into the venue which had been struggling to find users.

She had an ex-boyfriend in prison who was soon to be released and her son was about to go abroad and work as a club rep. Meanwhile, Sheila was getting used to her son having flown the nest and her husband being unwilling to consider retirement in sunny Spain.

Jameela was a successful lawyer whose inability to get pregnant had forced a wedge between her and her husband while Louise was longing to work in a more creative career.

The pottery teacher was handsome and intriguing with a skilful way of bringing the potters together. Each chapter was told from a different character’s viewpoint and the storyline was cleverly entwined.

In A Nutshell

The book was cleverly written and I could feel the northern aspect of the setting. Sara worked hard to give nuggets of information as the book went on. Her narrative was moving, amusing and relatable. The pottery references were interesting and the use of humour was great.

I would totally recommend picking up a copy of this very warm and inviting book. As a book review writer, I really have enjoyed both reading and reviewing this new novel.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you will consider commenting and following my blog for future similar content. Meanwhile, here is a review of Joanne Harris’ fantastic novel, Blackberry Wine.

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If you have Kindle Unlimited, perhaps you would like to check out my original short stories. I would appreciate some reads to celebrate the fourth birthday of my book Short Dates. Thank you so much for checking out my bookish blog,