Someone asked today if there is a book club, so I thought I'd try starting one. Not the usual type of club where everyone reads the same book - I thought we could write a synopsis of a book we've recently read, to give each other ideas for new books to read.
I have a Kindle subscription, so all of mine will be available on there for people who also subscribe.
You can call it any damn thing you like, rare, unusual, too big for a woman, but it dosen't change the fact that I can't get shoes that fit me and trudging around in wellies, when I can find some I can get my feet into, walking boots or winter boots for the summer, or conversely sandles in winter. I'm not trying to have a go at you Marianne, but when it's something practicle and real world like this "reframing" feel's insulting, undermining and like being told to shut and go away, just like the reaction I get in shoe shops. How do I find joy in this situation?
I agree with you about emotions though, I think us Brits are far too buttoned up.
I guess he doesn't have that problem exactly but what he is saying is that everyone feels marginalized by something - and that 'something' is where we butt up against what is taken for normal in a particular society. It could be something like people not being allowed to cry loudly or scream at funerals, or expected to 'stay strong' when you have cancer. In other societies, it is acceptable to express strong emotions - and in fact is more healthy psychologically.
Perhaps you could look at your shoe issue another way (which is called 'reframing).' Perhaps your feet are a rare size, so of course you can't find anything - because shops only cater for the majority. And there is something to be quietly enjoyed in being different!
Lovely idea!
Anyone taken part in a World Book Night before?
"World Book Night - 7 to 8 pm (BST) - Thursday 23 April 2026
We’re excited to Go All In during the National Year of Reading 2026! This year, we’ll be uniting adults across the UK with reading, by encouraging everyone to join in the #ReadingHour from 7-8pm. Dedicate time to reading alone, having a book club meeting, listening to an audiobook, or reading to children at bedtime.
The National Year of Reading is reconnecting reading with the things that already inspire us – from playlists and football matches to films, food and family time. It’s reading that fits how we live, not the other way around.
If you’re into it, read into it."
We could do a neurodivergent reasonably adjusted version where, during that hour, people might:
Just a synchronised, 1 hour, read-in / listen-in / sign-in / image-in (as best supports our individual communication / energy / attention levels at the time).
If people have other duties, or would be cycling / driving / working during that particular hour (also aware of our global timezone richness within the forum) - why not shift the hour to better suit your schedule that day and have a go anyway, "on and around 23 April"?
After all, as the charity The Reading Agency describes it:
"We want you to get involved in World Book Night 2026! We love to see the creative events and activities that happen across the country on and around 23 April. Whether you’re celebrating with friends, family or colleagues, you can join in."
If you are trying to get back into reading etc. - maybe, this might be the nudge needed to prompt you to try a visit your local library sometime that day?
Afterwards, if people wished, we could share in this thread - what we read and experienced during the hour, plus, how it all went (no perfection required, real life does happen too!).
What do you feel?
Any interest?
There are still 4 weeks remaining to give it some thought!
I all ways find it so shocking to thing guys my age would have been asked to do things that you cant even comprehend, and they would have come from a world that had never seen it before, the wasnt movies or video games, you would have gone from a factory to training for a war .
im sorry your dad went through it their generation really are somthing to be proud of, I couldn't imagine having to go through what the did, but they did it without having to be asked, it really is was a unimaginable sacrifice.
what do you think his opinions of Montgomery would have been, he was know to be loved by his troops, the Americans might have had other words to say but non of their generals were shining lights either.
Dies he give any ideas on how to feel less marginalised by shoe shops not having anything in my size?
I've just read, 'Am I Normal: Understanding Your Place in a Complex World' by Dr Alex George. He has ADHD but this book is aimed at anyone who feels isolated or marginalised because of attitudes/ideas/things they question or want to tall about eg taboo subjects like death. He uses his experience to explain how many people are led to feel marginalised because of 'expected' attitudes, some of which are urban myths or very outdated - which clearly applies to ASD. I bought a copy for my social group because it is useful AND entertaining.
Yes he did, a few were funny but most were dreadful and each told to me only once. He was with his division from Normandy right across to the end in southern Denmark, having latterly doubled back from further east. I cannot repeat here the horror of his experiences and what he witnessed other than to say it included many of his pals being killed, German atrocities on individuals, and finally on entire communities, notably the Jews but many other groups too, as he was part of the unit which liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. There are horrific photos online, one with him potentially in a group of British soldiers, if you know where to look (Im not going to say where).
He suffered ptsd as a consequence but this was never considered in the years after the war. It affected our relationship and damaged me in turn. I have however been able to understand what he went through and so reconcile my memories of childhood to his experiences.
He wouldn’t have agreed with your comments about General Montgomery, nor Max Hastings’ interpretation from the comfort of the peace these brave men won for us. The fighting around Caen was ferocious and deadly, as much for the French as everyone else involved. The medieval city was reduced to rubble, Hill 112 was hell on earth. Then Falaise another killing zone. And as for the east it defies belief.
Let us never forget
AnA
did he ever tell you any of his stories of the war, one thing I find the most interesting is the real experiences of the people actually there and their emotions.
it was said its the greatest feat of military logistics ever seen by man, and looking at the statistics it truly is impressive.
thank you for the suggestion I do like the real peoples stories that sounds very informative and dark, I finished one of his other books on bomber command he is a good author, I think im gonna go in retirement for his books now as I find them to long for my attention span, I started it in august and its taken 6 months to finish it lol.
I finished it now:)
the conclusion is the germans were the greatest fighting force ever assembled, and held out heroically doing feat of defence unimaginable, but the resources stopped coming in and the germans collapsed, due to allied air supremacy and recourse superiority of the allies, the allied troops were rather ineffective, as were their equipment especially compared to the germans,
and a huge reason why we made progress that doesn't get spoken about is the resource being taken up holding of the Russians.
Just added to my Spotify audiobook list
If you have a look at the Kindle sample pages you can see it has a narrative style - bringing to life the thought process of the Author facilitating the therapy sessions - which I found a helpful window onto this type of subject matter.
I opted for the hardcover version as it feels like a reference book I will likely wish to re-visit time and again.
I was concerned about ordering the hardcover via Amazon as (in our area) they have taken to putting things in a thin paper bag, often arrives in a heap of packages in someone's personal car, throw them down on the doorstep and walk away, in all weathers, without ringing the doorbell (delivery status stating, untruthfully, "handed to resident" which is an issue when you remonstrate about a damaged item retrieved from the wet doorstep).
I was really pleased with the delivery by bookcorneruk, via Ebay, as they used Royal Mail Tracked 48 and a super-sturdy brown cardboard narrow-depth box packaging - clearly designed to protect a hardcover book in transit.
Sounds interesting, Ive not read it but am aware of it. Trivial factlet - In the movie The Unbearable Lighness of Being, Tereza names her dog Karenin after Anna Karenina. This is a powerful film based on Milan Kundera’s novel, but not entirely accurately
I read this book some years ago. My dad went over on D+4 and was involved in the British battles around Caen. He was lorry driver and Im very proud of him. He passed in 1987. If you liked Max Hastings’ prose check out his Das Reich. Its about the journey of this Nazi armoured division from the south of France to Normandy, significantly though it covers the atrocities they committed on the way, so its not a nice read.
This sounds very interesting and potentially one for me. Unprocessed memories of things seen and things cruelly done to me led to my dx of PTSD, well its actually C-PTSD but diagnosis letter didn’t say that. We were just talking a few hours ago about the aftermath of a suicide I saw at Warren Street tube station in the 1970s, thats another one which cannot be unseen to add to recovering me.
I read widely, mainly but not exclusively non fiction. Ive a pile of 20C poetry books beside me. I get through these at high speed, recent reads have been Elizabeth Bishop, Anne Stevenson, Ezra Pound and Stephen Spender. Pound and Spender were political opposites in the 1930s and comparing their different perspectives was very interesting. Next Im going to read Thomas More’s UTOPIA, then a study of his contemporary Erasmus of Rotterdam. Im have no training in philosophy, am an autodidact, but the philosophy of people and history fascinates me, I like always to understand the why behind events.
I want to re-read Jack Hight's Saladin trilogy, it's interesting to look at the Crusades from the other side and Saladin's life story narrated by someone who could of been there but wasn't is extremely well done.
Sometime this week; I am expecting a delivery of the paperback:
The Canary Code
by Ludmila Praslova.
(Pub. 24 February 2026).
It is also available as an Audiobook and a Kindle format.
I thought I would prefer the physical book this time, as I suspect I will want to dip in and out, as a reference book (probably wanting to add low-adhesive tabs as I read - to aid my future navigation).
"The Canary Code is a groundbreaking framework for intersectional inclusion and belonging at work that embraces human cognitive, emotional, and neurobiological differences--neurodiversity.
Despite their skills and work ethics, members of autistic, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, learning differences, and related communities face barriers to hiring and advancement. In the U.S., 30-40% of neurodivergent people and 85% of autistic college graduates struggle with unemployment. Yet, like canaries in the coal mine, they are impacted by issues that ultimately harm everyone. Lack of flexibility, transparency, and psychological safety exclude neurodivergent, disabled, and multiply marginalized talent- and leave most employees stressed and disengaged.
This book helps CEOs, human resources and DEI leaders, managers, and consultants design neuroinclusive and thriving workplaces where everyone can do their best work. It draws on examples of pioneering organizations, human stories, academic research, and the author's decades of experience."
Top of my in tray (actively reading):
Title: Unspeakable - Stories of Survival and Transformation After Trauma.
Authors: Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne.
(Currently, 10 March 2026, available in: Hardcover / Audiobook / Kindle).
The Sunday Times bestselling authors of The Devil You Know return with a life-affirming myth busting exploration of trauma, resilience and healing.
A widow dares not utter her husband's name.
A prisoner of war buries the memories of his ordeal.
A child hostage is rendered mute.
What happens when trauma goes unspoken?
The pioneering psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead invites us to witness her work with patients struggling in the wake of a range of distressing and painful life events.
Drawn from over thirty years of clinical practice, Unspeakable illuminates how language - and silence - can dramatically affect the quality of our recovery after disaster.
Sometimes the hardest words to say out loud are the very ones to set us free and with Adshead's assistance and extraordinary insight, these courageous people step out of the darkness of shame and fear to discover new possibilities.
This is not a book about trauma, it is about survival.
In challenging prevailing misconceptions around trauma and by charting the transformation of patient identities, hearts and minds, Unspeakable makes a powerful case for hope.
I finished the East End Library Girls series by Patricia McBride - set in World War Two and follows three girls who work at the same library, following their stories through the war. I would recommend giving at least the first book a go if you like history or just like taking a ride through someone else's life.
The order of the books are:
