Aspects of Me

Author: RFG

  • Reading Challenges 2019

    In an attempt to jolt myself into reading more consistently and in a hope to hit my overall Goodreads challenge target of 18, I was inspired to throw together a list of mini challenges.  In the same vein as Instagram photo challenges, with 30 days of prompts to take a photo of, these lists are created by lots of bookish sites and accounts and do the rounds every January and I missed out on them.  Below is my challenge list, created in August, to see how well I can do in 4 months.  It’s a bit of a mash up of other reading challenge lists I read through as well as some completely my own.

    Core Challenges: 5 points each

    • A book with ‘cat(s)’ in the title
    • Set in space
    • Set in Scandinavia
    • Published this year (2019)
    • Published before you were born
    • A ghost story
    • A story with dragons
    • A non-fiction book
    • A comic or graphic novel
    • A translated book
    • A book you know nothing about
    • A book someone recommended to you personally
    • Tagged LGBT on Goodreads
    • A debut novel
    • A sequel
    • …with a two word title
    • An audiobook
    • …from an author from Asia, Africa or Latin America
    • A book over 500 pages long
    • …that is also (or shortly will be) a movie/TV Series

     

    Bonus Challenges: 10 points each

    • A multi-author book (translators don’t count)
    • …in a genre you don’t normally choose
    • Read more than one translated or International book during the year
    • A book you’ve owned for more than 5 years (and haven’t read yet)
    • A “book to read before you die”

     

    Know Thy Enemy Ultra Challenge: 50 points

    • Read a book by an author you actively dislike

    Usually these challenges don’t involve a points system but I thought it’d add an extra dynamic based on how hard I thought each one would be for me.

    I’ve already ticked some of these off – I think I’ve gathered maybe 50 points so far – and I’m working on another two actively at the moment.  I’ll come back in December/January and post what books went with what challenges.

    Anyone else have any cunning strategies for keeping yourself reading?

  • Read: Ghost Wall

    Read: Ghost Wall

    Ghost WallGhost Wall by Sarah Moss
    My rating: 2 of 5 stars

    The Blurb
    I found the blurb for this book, with hindsight, a little misleading. Similarly it’s classification in ‘Horror’ fiction and whatever algorithm suggested it to me having just finished a ghost story. If you find yourself thinking this is a ghost horror; it’s not. There are no ghosts nor any supernatural goings on. To me, expecting a ghost story I was a little disappointed – more on what’s actually in the book later.

    The Prose
    This is written in what I can only think to describe as continuous prose. There are no speech marks and no new lines for dialogue. There’s internal and vocalised dialogue mixed in together that is hard to differentiate. It is one long train of thought from the narrator, Sylvie, and it does get hard to follow. I was OK dealing with it around 70% of the time and the remainder I found myself puzzling, re-reading and ultimately being jarred out of the flow of the story. This meant I couldn’t fully engage with the story because of both content and style.

    The Story
    *THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS*

    As I mentioned before, there’s no ghosts. I kept reading in the hope that some would appear once the eponymous Ghost Wall was constructed by the characters. Still, no. Instead the story is one of domestic abuse and violence enacted by Sylvie’s Dad on both her and her mother. The setting of an experiential archaeology field trip is superfluous to the central story of the abuse and the story could have been set anywhere. I found a lot of it an unpleasant read – with a knot in my stomach and a desperate desire to jump into the story and talk some sense into everyone involved. I was frustrated and angry.

    That is the greatest success of this book: that it makes you feel angry and awkward and impotent at the plight of two women being physically and psychologically abused. It is also for this reason I find it a little disrespectful to classify the book as ‘horror’. Not to the author, or the book, but to the real people in real life who have to suffer like Sylvie and her mum. Those situations are horrifying and they are real. I know it’s unlikely the exact events of Ghost Wall have happened in real life but many similar things have – and they are not ‘horror’ fiction.

    Overall
    It is a realistic account of domestic abuse and especially how it can mess with the victim’s mind. If you weren’t expecting that, then be aware this won’t be a pleasant read. The style of the prose is hard to stick with and you may get lost along the way. The story ends just as Sylvie might be getting a chance at something better – and I want to read about that – which was a little frustrating as well. The blurb and classification of the book are a bit off; do a bit more research than I did and read through other people’s reviews – don’t just look at the average rating.

    The combined issues I’ve highlighted, for me, detracted from the overall experience. I would still say it was an important read even if I didn’t like it much in the end. It is certainly not an easy read.

    View all my reviews

  • Read: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

    Read: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

    Spoiler: it’s not Earth.

    Taken from GoodReads

     

    The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    Surprisingly this came as a recommendation from my mother who is very rarely into SF and she gave me her copy to read after she was done. It took me a while to feel ‘in the mood’ for SF and I eventually picked it up earlier this year (2019) and I absolutely adored it.

    It made me think, it made me tear-up, it made me smile, it made me tense and I love the character-driven nature of it all. This is not your average ‘jump in the spaceship and go to war’ sort of SF and it is all the better for it. This is a story about people and it happens to be in space. Gorgeous, interesting people with actual relationships that I really invested in.

    I found the inclusion of gender-variance and the exploration of self-hood very natural and not shoe-horned at all. The depiction of the different races’ values and customs was well done and highlights where so much other SF is lacking. Chambers seems to have a mind much like my own in realising SF shouldn’t be so human-centric. We shouldn’t assume alien races would even want to know us let alone change their entire culture to accommodate us should we ever reach the stars.

    It doesn’t hurt that the cover art for all three of the series is very tasty and I ordered A Closed and Common Orbit immediately after finishing this one and I cannot wait to get started. Even if you are not a sci-fi person normally (like my mum), this is still well worth your time. It is an enlightening, inspirational and genuine pleasure to read.

    View all my GoodReads reviews
  • NB

    NB

    If you listen to one podcast, let it be ‘NB‘.

    Logo with the letters NB in the middle on a swirling green and orange background. Image links to first episode of the podcast entitled "NB".
    NB: Click above to listen to Episode 1 on BBC Sounds

    No, not ‘nota bene’ (though you would do well to ‘nota bene’ this podcast); this NB stands for non-binary. As in gender. The podcast draws on lived experience of non-binary and genderqueer people and explores some key themes and questions surrounding gender identities, such as: realising you don’t fit into a binary interpretation of gender; discovering the language people use to describe themselves; the use of drag; the feelings of dysphoria; and coming out to friends and family.

    Even if you’re happy and comfortable in your gender, even if you always have been, NB is a worthy listen purely to educate. If we all took a little time to learn about others, there’d be a lot less fear and misunderstanding in the world.

  • Going Out: The Botanist

    Going Out: The Botanist

    My birthday falls in one of those awkward times of year: in the holidays. More specifically, over the Christmas holidays, smack bang between Christmas and New Year. Owing to this, it’s often quite difficult to celebrate with others on my actual birthday so, some years, I’ll do something a couple of weeks later in January to give people a chance to come along.

    This year for my delayed birthday celebrations we headed to The Botanist on Temple Street in Birmingham city centre. Temple Street itself boasts a whole host of eateries and bars so can always be relied upon for the buzz of revelry. The Botanist is a quirky looking venue with a veranda at the front and metal gates that wouldn’t look out of place at an RHS show garden. It is possible to book tables online up to 6 people, any more and you’ll need to ring up. I will say that booking in advance is essential, especially for a Friday or Saturday.

    We rocked up on a Saturday (12 Jan) for a 6:30pm sitting and were told by the bouncers at the entrance that we’d have to book if we wanted food – “we already have!” – as we wandered in. You can’t see the restaurant seating from the street and it’s revealed as you meander through and past the bar area. There’s surprisingly more space than it seems from outside, and still quite limited if you count the numbers.

    The staff were all friendly and helpful, if a little slow towards the end. A little unfortunately we were sat next to an over-crowded table, also celebrating a birthday, at a much higher octane.

    Having pre-examined the menu and gone for a lighter lunch, starters were in order. I had the Cumberland Chipolatas with honey and sesame, which came off the “Small Plates” section of the menu. They were very tasty, if a bit sticky and the sweetness got a bit much by the end. There was quite a good portion included and I suspect they are more targeted at being a one-of-many tapas style plate to share. Nevertheless, well cooked and presented and quite scrummy.

    For mains I had the chicken option of their “Famous Hanging Kebabs” with some regular fries. The presentation of these kebabs is the most striking element of the food, with a skewer hanging vertically over your chips. They do provide an empty plate onto which to decant your side and meat/kebab to make tackling it a bit easier. Again the food was well cooked and tasty; my dish came with a sweet chili dip that at the time I couldn’t tell what it was as it flavour wasn’t particularly strong.

    Finally, between four of us, we ordered “The Botanist Allotment” to share. This comes on a large platter with a variety of mini desserts to choose from with the added spectacle of some dry ice spilling out from a little planter in the middle. It is definitely great fun. There were two of each dessert on the platter although after a full meal this was the perfect amount between us.

    All in all the food may not look like there’s a lot there yet we were all satisfyingly full by the end of it. There is a lot of spectacle involved here but it isn’t overdone at the expense of the food quality. The decor is interesting and themed, although when watching some of the waiting staff ducking under some of the decorations it could look a bit crowded.

    On the topic of refreshments, this is a gin-centric location but don’t worry, they have plenty on offer for everyone. I don’t consider myself a ‘gin person’ yet thoroughly enjoyed the “Poppy and Pomegranate Martini” even though I half expected to hate it while ordering. It was a chance and it paid off. I would definitely recommend The Botanist to anyone looking for some nice food in the city that’s a little more than burgers (which Brum has a lot of) that isn’t too stuffy.

    5/5

  • Lift Heavy #1: Getting Back

    Lift Heavy #1: Getting Back

    Last summer I managed to lift 100kg for a deadlift. I only started properly trying to improve the weight I could lift around the start of April 2018 so I was really quite chuffed. Not long after that I went on holiday and somewhere in there I hurt my chest and set off a killer bout of Costochondritis. I have had this before, once, a few years ago and it took months to get rid of. Most average people can heal up from it within a few weeks, usually 4 – 6, however I suspect because of my combo of Fibromyalgia and ME it takes me much longer.

    This was confirmed at the start of August last year and I was told to avoid all lifting. So I did.

    This week I got back into the gym for the first time since that – having been appropriately OK’d by a GP to go back – and it gave me an opportunity to think about my strength goals this year. I did a similar activity early last year and, unsurprisingly, didn’t hit those targets.

    Trying to think sensibly I’ve broken them down into two main sections. Goal one is to get back to where I was last summer:

    • Deadlift: 100kg
    • Squat: 50kg
    • Bench: 30kg

    Goal two will come into effect once goal one is achieved and I feel confident in myself. That will be to increase those numbers by 20kg each. The only one I’m unsure of here is benching 50kg. There is no time limit on goal two, so if it takes me til mid-way through 2020 that’s fine.

    Ideally, I’d like to be hitting goal one levels by April as I signed up, last summer before injuring myself, for a beginner’s strong-woman competition that is to take place on Easter Saturday. The competition includes five events:

    • Log press – floor to overhead – reps for 60 seconds – 35kg
    • Deadlift – reps for 60 seconds – 90kg
    • Plate front hold – as long as possible – 10kg
    • Yoke & Farmers walk – 20m dash – 100kg
    • Atlas stone over yoke – reps for 60 seconds – 50kg

    In preparation for this, this week’s first PT session back was farmer’s walks, log presses and a medicine ball over yoke. Handily, my new trainer is also going to this event so is plenty familiar with the lifts involved.

    I did better than I had expected myself to do for the first day back and while I still have to get back into the habit of multiple sessions a week, I am quietly confident for the year ahead.

  • Read: The Book at the End of the Year

    Read: The Book at the End of the Year

    The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay: A Review

    As my first completed book of 2019, I freely admit I started it at the end of 2018 (back on 28 Dec) as a group I’m in on Goodreads is having a discussion about it over January with the author. I read this over the course of a week, although if taken without any breaks it was more like 3 days, and surprised myself how quickly I got through it. I was reading the Kindle version having grabbed it fairly cheap over Christmas.

    It doesn’t have traditional chapters, which confuses the Kindle reader, moreover it has larger sections broken down into smaller parts that are entitled with the character who’s viewpoint the passage is in. I’m not a fan of labelling the point of view and prefer to figure it out simply from the text itself however in this case it became useful towards the end of the novel when the action ramps up.

    The story follows an ordeal that besets Wen and her two fathers, Andrew and Eric, when a group of strangers appear at their remote holiday cabin asking for their help to halt the apocalypse. Violence is inevitable from the moment the sinister Leonard starts asking Wen odd questions in the front yard as she catches grasshoppers and the likelihood escalates as three more strangers appear and Wen runs in to her dads to tell them.

    After forceably entering the cabin and restraining Andrew and Eric, Leonard et al tell their tale of visions and instructions that lead them all to this “special family” in the cabin with the red door and that, without them, the world will shortly end. Without spoiling any further goings on, what faces the group is a desperate struggle to grapple with damning information and inexplicable actions.

    While an entertaining read, I wouldn’t describe this as ‘horror’ as many others have. It isn’t scary or particularly disturbing; similar to ‘Head Full of Ghosts’, the book looks at what is a variation on events that have almost undoubtedly happened somewhere at some time in modern history. If you find it disturbing that humans can do terrible things to each other then you may want to consider if you are too naive for Tremblay’s work.

    Across both ‘Head Full of Ghosts’ and ‘The Cabin at the End of the World’, Tremblay’s prose paints a dim view of organised religion and the part it has to play in the atrocious things people do to one another. While it’s primarily focused on Christianity or adjacent faiths, the impression remains that it extends to all organised monotheist religions prevalent in the world today. Whether this is a reflection of the author or simply an easy thread to pull on to add an extra dimension to his stories, I couldn’t say.

    Overall the prose is well written, with the exception of the let’s-hyphenate-a-bunch-of-words-together tendency that crops up a few times throughout the book. If you’ve read ‘Head Full of Ghosts’, you may remember the last minute almost twist at the end and ‘The Cabin…’ has a similar mechanism in the last pages. It made me consider the similarities in composition between the two books and, while they tell two different tales, there are a fair few.

    In terms of rating, I find myself perhaps a little too cynical for Tremblay’s books as none of the content surprises or disturbs me as the genre classifications suggests they should. It has made me wonder if the author wrote these intending to disturb or intending merely to shine a light and point out the horrible things that occur in everyday society. While I’d definitely consider reading more of his work, I shan’t expect to be scared by it.

    3.5/5

    This review is also on Goodreads: here.

  • 2019: Time to Begin

    2019: Time to Begin

    The start of a new year seems like the ideal time to finally kick this blog into action and what better way to begin than with some plans for what’s to come over the next 12 months? Below are three key areas that I’ll be talking about here on the site over the coming year (& beyond). I’ve picked these three to start with as I’ve been thinking about them heavily over the last few days and it seemed fitting that we get started together with these plans.

    Walking the Arts

    My other half and I are formulating a plan to go on a themed walk once a month and one of our ideas for these themes was to walk somewhere that features in a piece of art. That could be written or visual art forms. There are a lot of places nearby that feature in poetry and, while doing some research around the idea, I came across Poetry Atlas, which is a handy little tool that shows pins in a map and refers you to the poem mentioning the location or area in question. We’re within easy daytrip distance of Shropshire and there’s a lot of A.E. Housman references over that way (not surprising, really). As we go on walks, I’ll write up little posts on our adventures and future plans if I’m organised enough.

    Reading Challenge

    As with every new year for the past few, I have set up my Goodreads 2019 Challenge; a target of a set numbers of books I want to read by the end of the calendar year. Last year I made it to 12, which was a huge improvement on 2017’s paltry total of 6, so I am upping the ante for 2019 with a 50% increase up to 18. While the Goodreads community frequently puts me to shame, with many of my contacts over there aiming for and reading in excess of 50 books a year, I’m happy for my steady progress.

    On the site, there’ll be a little widget in the sidebar to tell you what I’m currently reading that’ll be feeding over from GR and I’ll pop a link to my profile into the About page too. Once I finish a book I’ll add a little post or review on here and link to my GR review each time.

    I’m also looking to document all our books in the house using Libib, which I’ve already used to catalog our DVDs, and to form an unread list for all the books I own and (still) haven’t read. So watch this space for a monster backlog list.

    Lift Heavy

    Last year I found a passion for powerlifting and at peak enthusiasm signed up for a strength competition this April. Shortly after signing up, I injured my chest and had to take a 4 month hiatus from training. That was a bit of a downer and a major setback for my strength goals. So in 2019 I will be heading back to the gym to lift and train and hopefully make it to the competition that’ll be on Easter weekend.

    I’ll keep the site updated with progress, pictures and videos to document how things are going and to have something to look back on in a few months’ time and review my improvements. My first training session back will be next Wednesday (9th Jan) and I am both excited and anxious to get going.

    More to Come

    These won’t be the only three things I plan to talk about on the site, of course, so there will definitely be more to come – keep an eye out for new aspects cropping up and if there’s anything in particular you want me to cover, please feel free to drop me a message via the Contact page.

  • Coming soon

    Aspects of Me is a new concept and we appreciate your patience while we are getting it ready.