HERE is where I wrote about 2018 Wainwright prize books
And this is the one just finished from the 2019 shortlist
Juliet Blaxland lives in a house almost on the edge of the cliffs just north of Southwold in Suffolk. In a few years or maybe even less the house will be demolished as the sandy cliffs fall away into the sea.
This small book is a look through the years she has lived here, the wildlife and the people around and the things that make Suffolk so different and special.
It was a very quick read but I enjoyed it.
Thought I would look back at the history of The Wainwright Prize to see which books I'd read from previous years.
2014 was the first year This was the shortlist and I haven't read any
The Green Road Into Trees: A Walk Through England, by Hugh Thomson (Windmill/Random House)
Under Another Sky, by Charlotte Higgins (Vintage PB / HB Jonathan Cape)
Badgerlands, by Patrick Barkham ( Granta Publications)
Field Notes from a Hidden City, by Esther Woolfson (Granta Publications)
Walking Home, by Simon Armitage (Faber)
The Old Ways, by Robert Macfarlane (Penguin)
In 2015, Oh, haven't read any of these either! (although I tried H is for Hawk but didn't finish it)
Meadowland by John Lewis-Stempel (Transworld Publishers)
Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet by Mark Cocker (Vintage, Penguin Random House)
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (Vintage, Penguin Random House)
Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place by Philip Marsden (Granta Publications)
Running Free: A Runner’s Journey Back to Nature by Richard Askwith (Vintage/Yellow Jersey, Penguin Random House)
The Moor by William Atkins (Faber & Faber)
2016. At last - I've actually read one..........The Shepherds Life
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
Common Ground by Rob Cowen
Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane
The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury
The Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy
The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks
2017........Better ....I've read 2 out of the shortlist....The January Man and The Running Hare
Where Poppies Blow by John Lewis Stempel
Love of Country by Madeleine Bunting
The January Man by Christopher Somerville
The Otters’ Tale by Simon Cooper
The Running Hare by John Lewis-Stempel
The Wild Other by Clover Stroud
Wild Kingdom by Stephen Moss
From the 2018 list mentioned at the top of the blog I had read 3.
So I ought to read 4 from this year's short list, pictured below .....but doubt I will.
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| Picture from Wainwright prize website |
Thank you for the get well wishes on Saturday. I went shopping early and then had a lazy day and on Sunday felt OK enough to pop out to the local boot sale and do half an hours gardening so I think the whatever-it-was is on it's way out. I felt fairly sure it wasn't anything that needed a doctor, just time and plenty of fluids. That's my answer to most things as the children would testify .....when they rang up from Uni telling me what horrible colds they had I would inevitably say "stay off the booze, drink plenty of water, take paracetamol and get an early night!"
Back TomorrowSue
You should try "H is for Hawk"
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI'm also of the 'drink lots of water, take paracetmol' or 'wash it and apply a plaster if you need to keep it clean/dry ' school of parenting - my children know they need to be really, truly, 'properly' ill/ hurt to warrant time off/ medical visits. So far that approach is working..... :)
The Shepherd's Life is one of my favourite books ever!
ReplyDeleteI loved H is for Hawk and I have bought all of Robert Macfarlane's books as they have been published. The rest I have not heard of until you mentioned them here.
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling well again - I find that some days I seem to be going down with something so take it easy and then the next day it has gone - not sure why. But agree about fluid.
Good news to hear you are on the mend. Must say I am with you on the list of prize books--have not heard of/read most of them. Many aren't easily available in the US anyway. Enjoyed The Shepherd's Life.
ReplyDeleteI've read H is for Hawk and it was a very good read I think you would enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMx
I've read 3 of last years, but none of this years up to now.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're feeling a bit better, there's no more Wimbledon to keep you pinned to the sofa so it's a good job 🙂
I wonder if they have the same type of prize here in Canada. I will check it out.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Glad you are on the mend. I used the same advice when my girls were at uni.
ReplyDeleteJohn Lewis Stempel just writes beautifully, so descriptive. I have The Eastermost House on my Kindle yet to read, hope it is still standing. Courgette overload here!
ReplyDelete