Persepolis (by Marjane Satrapi)

(Amazon UK link)

One of the reasons I joined a local book group is to expand my somewhat limited repertoire of books to read. Rather than picking up unlikely novels at random, I read those chosen from recommendations online that we’ve selected for each month. And this month’s book, ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi,  is one that I would never have picked up myself - or, if I did, I would promptly have put it back. 

That’s because this is a ‘graphic’ book. That doesn’t mean it’s violent or explicit; just that it’s all in cartoon form, with images and speech bubbles in capital letters. It’s the kind of thing I associate with the comic section of newspapers. I know graphic novels are very popular nowadays with teenagers, but I have never been able to get into them. 

However, I finally picked it up a few days ago, sighing inwardly, expecting that I would struggle through in a week or so, and then donate the book to the monthly church bookstall. I quickly realised that this is not - as I had thought - a  novel, but a biographical account of the author’s childhood. And it’s very relevant to current news, as it’s set in Iran. 

Emily climbs (by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

(Amazon UK link)

I reread ‘Emily of New Moon’ by Lucy Maud Montgomery in January, and liked it more than I had expected. So I’ve just reread the sequel, ‘Emily climbs’, which I last read in 2005. As with the first book, it’s set in Canada, around a hundred years ago in the 1920s. 

Emily is fourteen at the start of the book, just as friendly and sensitive as she was in the first book. She’s still living with her two aunts and a second cousin, and still writes, both fiction and non-fiction, whenever she gets the chance. Her school teacher is an excellent critic, giving her extra attention and commentary because he can see that she has a lot of potential.

The chance comes up for Emily to go to a high school, so far away that she has to have lodgings. It turns out that it’s only about seven miles from New Moon, but in those days of horses and traps, and no public transport, it’s too far for her to go daily. So she goes to stay with her Aunt Ruth, who makes even her Aunt Elizabeth look genial and understanding. 

God speaks your love language (by Gary Chapman)

(Amazon UK link)

I reread Gary Chapman’s classic book ‘The five love languages’ a couple of years ago. For some time I had been thinking I should reread another of his books, ‘God speaks your love language’. I had entirely forgotten that I last read it as recently as 2022. It didn’t really matter, as I hadn’t remembered much of what was in it anyway.

The theory of love languages is very helpful to a lot of people, although the older I get, the harder it is for me to figure out what my main ‘love language’ is. Perhaps I’ve become better at two or three others, or perhaps I appreciate different ones in different stage of my life. In a sense, it doesn’t matter: I’m aware of the five broad ways in which love can be expressed, and try, where possible and appropriate, to use them all. 

The idea behind it is that a lot of couples don’t feel love because they speak different love languages. If one partner has ‘acts of service’ as their main love language, and the other has ‘words of affirmation’, they might entirely miss that the other person is trying to express love. Trying to speak the other person’s language can revolutionise a stressful romantic relationship. It’s also important to speak our children’s love languages - or, ideally all of them - so that they know they’re loved.

Reluctant Phoenix (by Helen Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

I had read two of Helen Parker’s novels for older children, and liked her writing style very much. I saw that she had written a novel for adults, so put it on my wishlist and was given it for Christmas. I’ve been reading ‘Reluctant Phoenix’ over the past few days.

There are two main protagonists, Heather and Beth. They’re around the same age, I assume in their early twenties, but very different in personality. And in the first few chapters we meet them in very different circumstances.

At the start of the book, Heather is studying Arabic in Cairo, in January 2011. This is when the Egyptian revolution began, and Heather is caught up in it right at the start. She’s initially nervous, then worried… then makes a bad decision which ends in disaster for one of her friends. 

The chocolate run (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over fifteen years since I read ‘The chocolate run’ by Dorothy Koomson. I’m starting to reread her novels, and couldn’t remember anything about this one. The title appeals, as does the byline on the front: ‘Who needs love when you’ve got chocolate?’ 

However, while chocolate is somewhat significant in this book, it’s mostly about intimate relationships, not all of which were based on love. The main protagonist - and narrator - is a young woman called Amber. I liked her, on the whole. She’s a cautious person who is loyal to her friends, and conflict-avoidant. She likes to be a peacemaker whenever possible, and tends to make jokes rather than get caught up in serious conversation. 

And she loves chocolate. She likes the smell, and the sensations of it melting. When she meets a new person, she associates them with a particular form - or bar - of chocolate. Sometimes she realises she’s wrong, or that the person has extra layers, but it’s a clever method of showing her impression of people without too much description.