Thursday, 16 May 2013

Bout of Books: Thursday

Bout of Books

Today was another slow day at work, with not enough jobs to keep me occupied all day, and for the second day in a row, the weather meant customers were few and far between. Yesterday, because it was pouring with rain and today because the sun was out and no doubt people were all on the beach, in the park or in their gardens. The upside of this was that today, I got to escape the dingy staff room and take my lunch and book out to the nearby park, stopping off at the local bakery, Grace's, for a take-away coffee and a tasty doughnut. I was incredibly lucky: there was a heavy-looking grey cloud hovering ominously over the town, but the sky over the park was blue and sunny. Even when the cloud started to creep towards me, there remained a friendly blue patch right over my bench. Needless to say, it was very difficult to head back to work afterwards.

I'm about three quarters of the way through Alex Woods, and for all its apparent simplicity, it is an extremely profound book. Picking up from yesterday, we've followed Alex through his early teens, his friendship with the curmudgeonly Mr Peterson, his struggles with school bullies, morality and family. Alex Woods is a very cleverly crafted story. Every incident is there for a purpose, though not apparent at first, coming together to shape Alex's character and build up to the main event of the plot. For a long time, I felt that Alex read quite young for his age: he has a lot of book-knowledge, but there was a kind of innocence in his earnestness which, though very endearing, made me think of a twelve-year-old when he was approaching fifteen. Then something happens to make him grow up subtly but quickly. All the little events in preceding chapter that have taught him about himself and the world, come together to show that he is a young man with a strength of will beyond his years.

Tomorrow will be a very welcome day off, and I've made few plans other than reading plenty. I intend to finish Alex Woods either tonight or tomorrow, and make the most of the day to make a start on Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen. I've had this out of the library for a while, but needed the time to really get stuck into reading it. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity.

Books read today: The Universe Versus Alex Woods - Gavin Extence
Number of pages read today: 120
Number of books read in total: 2
Books finished: 1
Today #insixwords: light, easy read but surprisingly deep
Books added to mental shopping list: 5


  1. Your park sounds lovely... and yes, I bet it sucked to have to go back to work. That is the downside of a nice relaxing lunch break.

    1. Oh, it really is! A sunny day feels like a holiday, so it's always a shock to the system to have to go back indoors away from the sunshine.

  2. I love days when I can escape for a bit. You're right, it's always either when it's chucking it down or when it's boiling hot and everyone's too busy eating chips and ice cream by the river to shop! Last year I had a day when I went and bought fish and chips and sat dangling my feet over the river, with James and all his owls behind me to listen to and ducklings cheeping away on the water. Sometimes I just go and lean on the stone of the bridge in the sun, with a book, just to feel the warmth on my face for a bit. IT FEELS SO GOOOOOOD. :D

    I know I'm commenting well late here, but I LOVE the sound of Alex Woods and I hope you've had some great reading time since! x

    1. I'm picturing it, and it sounds gorgeous. Really hope the weather is good when I'm up in the Peak District in a couple of weeks' time! (I will come and find your shop - what days are you open? I'd hate to turn up to find a "closed" sign.)



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