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adawada's reviews
108 reviews
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
3.0
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. The writing is lovely but the text itself feels very disjointed due to various timelines and stories.
The parts that I have enjoyed the most were the descriptions of how she spends her days being initially off work and then eventually having quit her job altogether. There's also some interesting facts spread throughout about animals and insects or different cultures and religions.
What I didn't like were the interview-style conversations with people in her life about their "winters". They mostly felt out of place and I just didn't know what the point of them was, like the one about her friend's debt situation, they just felt like they didn't belong. May does say at the end of the book that her initial plan was to have more of those conversations in the book but I thought the book was strong enough just being a memoir.
Overall I found this book very cosy and would definitely recommend reading it in autumn/winter. I'd also add that I enjoyed it more than her latest book Enchantment but I won't be picking up any other of her books.
The parts that I have enjoyed the most were the descriptions of how she spends her days being initially off work and then eventually having quit her job altogether. There's also some interesting facts spread throughout about animals and insects or different cultures and religions.
What I didn't like were the interview-style conversations with people in her life about their "winters". They mostly felt out of place and I just didn't know what the point of them was, like the one about her friend's debt situation, they just felt like they didn't belong. May does say at the end of the book that her initial plan was to have more of those conversations in the book but I thought the book was strong enough just being a memoir.
Overall I found this book very cosy and would definitely recommend reading it in autumn/winter. I'd also add that I enjoyed it more than her latest book Enchantment but I won't be picking up any other of her books.
Cacophony of Bone by Kerri ní Dochartaigh
5.0
My second reading of this book in less than a year and I still love it. Kerri’s writing is so beautiful, her sentences are structured in a unique way and no word is wasted. I’m a massive fan of diary style books and this one always inspires me to journal my days. The longer essays throughout are full of emotions and hope. With the shortest of sentences, you can see the scene unfurl in your imagination. I wish she would write a diary like this every year. I know I will return to this book again and again.