June newsletter

Books, bees and beautiful theatres

Hi everyone

At the start of the year, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more, and halfway through the year so far, so good! Last year I really struggled to get through any books, though I think it was more down lots going on and stress, rather than the books.

I do think though, as a writer, it’s essential to read as much as it is to write, and I always find it really strange when writers say they don’t read, don’t enjoy it and don’t see the point in making time for it.

I’m not a big one for counting books and setting challenges for number of books read, because I don’t think you can measure the value of your reading by counting, but last year I had a total of less than twenty books and this year, I’m on my thirteenth (oops!) so far, so I feel like I’m definitely reading more.

So I thought I’d just run through a few books that have stuck with me over the years and hopefully it might inspire you to read something new.

The best book I read last year was The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri and it’s the last book I remember really making me cry, though my current book, Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, is definitely coming close to that too! I remember The Beekeeper being really poignant and adding life to a story we should all know a little bit more about. I was gutted to miss the play version when it was in Liverpool earlier this year, and hope that it returns at some point so that I can see it. I do have mixed feelings about books adapted for screen and stage (although the National Theatre’s performance of Small Island was excellent), but I heard great things about the stage version of The Beekeeper.

I hated the film versions of two of my favourite books: One Day by David Nicholls and Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (the 2015 film version). I did however recently read The Power by Naomi Alderman and am looking forward to watching the TV version on Prime which I’ve also heard great things about. I also really enjoyed the TV version of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and if you like a graphic novel, the graphic adaptation is excellent.

One of my favourite books of all time is Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann. I’m a sucker for a dual timeline and also love the scrapbook details in this one. From the start of this epic love story I was gripped and every time I’ve reread it, I’ve taken something new from it, which is a key thing for me in a reread. Scheinmann’s second novel The Half Life of Joshua Jones is also great, though Random Acts holds the special place in my heart.

I currently have Storm Born by Richelle Mead on my desk after reading part of it in a writing workshop due to it’s irreverent opening line: “I’d seen weirder things than a haunted shoe, but not many.” Dark Swan is a series I enjoyed and may reread again at some point as I find the finer details of the plot escape me now.

A book I read in adolescence which really stuck with me is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. I’d always been reluctant to read classics before sixth form, as they had a reputation for not being for working class kids like me - obviously this is total nonsense but it’s what I believed at the time! I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for my A Levels and was surprised when I really enjoyed it, so decided to read something by the Brontes as I was from Yorkshire. Wuthering Heights was the only Bronte book in our school library, and I actually got to keep the book as our school unfortunately had a fire towards the end of my final term, and due to losing all their books said that they didn’t need to have it back as they were getting all new ones. I no longer have that copy, which was lost during various house moves over the years, but have read lots of books by the other sisters now and love their unique (and often Gothic) view of Yorkshire life in another time.

The Humans by Matt Haig is one of my favourite fun books. Although there’s a serious message in there about mental health, as with all of Haig’s books, the plot of this one is particularly lovely and the list of facts at the end is really special and thought provoking. As a vegetarian, I particularly remember “A cow is a cow, even if you call it beef”. Trying to stay away from spoilers, I’m aware of some debate as to whether the narrator is telling a true story or one that exists only in his head, but I fully believe it’s absolutely true - and I prefer it that way.

I’ve also been doing the Oxfam Reading Challenge this year and this month’s theme is LGBTQ+ authors in honour of Pride Month. Although Young Mungo would count towards the theme, as this is for my book club and I have it on Kindle rather than a physical book bought from a charity shop, I’m also going to read Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson which I picked up on the Oxfam website. It sounds right up my street so am looking forward to getting started with that one.

I hope that this little list of books has inspired you to read something new and I’d love to hear about your favourite books and what they mean to you.

Take care,

Donna

From the Body

I’m super excited that From the Body is being published on Thursday 15 June and is now available for preorder.

The book is a varied collection of narratives on the body and the food we give it, with topics as wide-reaching as eating disorders, disability, and gender dysphoria.

“This is a remarkable book, one I cannot recommend highly enough.” — Aaron Kent

I am so proud to be part of this poignant and honest discussion about how we feed our bodies and I adore the gorgeous cover.

World Bee and World Otter Day

Last month saw World Bee Day and World Otter Day and I shared poems about bees and otters in celebration of how important they both are to our environment.

Let's talk Synesthesia

I made small appearance on Episode 14: What is normal and who gets to decide? of this podcast which talked about The Possibility of Colour.

I’m right at the end, but the whole thing is worth a listen to learn more about this wonderful play, the creative process behind it and how it’s being used by the healthcare sector for training purposes.

Seventy years of books

Seventy years of books has now been moved over to my Substack where you can easily subscribe and receive all of my adventures through history right in your inbox.

Molly’s corner

Meow. It is far too hot and it is making me very cross. Over the last couple of days I have hissed at the humans after seeing other cats outside - not one the slightest fraction as beautiful as I am. The humans are very silly and react like I am attacking them and do not understand my perfectly reasonable intruder warnings. There are also lots of birds singing and dogs barking and it is very annoying. The humans have also had the audacity to tear down my favourite wall which I was using as a throne in lieu of them daring to refuse point blank to provide me with a real red velvet one. It is most irritating. Purr.

What I’m reading

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Things that have caught my eye

Sleeping Beauty This was a really fun Easter pantomime at the Epstein Theatre that I reviewed for North West End UK. I’d never seen a panto at Easter before and it was a really nice thing to do in the spring. Since the show, the sad news that the Epstein Theatre will be closing has been announced. This is a tragic loss to Liverpool and you can support the theatre by signing this petition against its closure.

This is Merseybeat Another review for North West End UK, this was a really fun show showcasing vintage music from the Merseyside scene of yesteryear.

Finding Lost Gods in Wales and How Pagan was Medieval Britain? These were the concluding lectures from Gresham College in the Finding Britain’s Lost Gods series and they were both so interesting. I learned a lot about how religions merged together and how stories were used to create a sense of truth in mythology.

The Incident Room Final one for North West End UK this time around, this was a fantastic play in a perfect venue.

Retreat West Online Flash Fest The fifth online flash fest from Retreat West will be taking place in October and tickets are available now. The last one was great and I got lots of ideas for new stories down.

Strawberries! I try to eat seasonally (and locally) as much as I can and am loving the fact that strawberries are back.