Ok so Chemo brain is a thing. Even when I’m not too bad, I just have blank spots in my brain. I’ll be talking along fine and either my brain will substitute a word in that is entirely the wrong word, hell it might not even sound the same. Or I’ll just stop and no word will show up to the party. I was chatting with the pharmacist the other day (he is so cool by the way, I love my Monday morning sessions with him), and after we had been chatting food and restaurants for about 10 minutes I came out with the brain wave as I was leaving of ‘well I love food! All food recommendations are very much……’ and then I walked out. That was it. About 10 minutes after I left, I burst out with ‘appreciated!’ Useless. I guess he understood what I meant. He must be used to it!
I had a small win the other day with one of these moments though, and at the moment small wins can be found anywhere.
I had the following conversation with myself.
Richard…
Um…
Richard…
Hair.
Richard…
Verve.
Blank.
Richard…
ASHCROFT!!!
I felt quite proud of myself. Couldn’t tell you why on earth I was so desperate to recall the last name of the man we have to thank for Bitter-sweet Symphony, but that honestly feels like such an achievement when the brain draws a blank and then you successfully command it. That is winning!!!
Anyway, the real point of this post is that I want to read all the books. Seemless segue, I know. Anyway I need lots of options because at the moment my moods are quite capricious. Sometimes I want to read things that are real. Learn something important, contemplate life (chemo brain just wrote ‘lunch’ instead of ‘life’ there. I caught it and fixed it. Am I hungry?), sometimes it wants something super trashy for some light reading, and at other times it wants some good escapism or fiction or a good thriller to get lost in. But I’m up for anything! So this is a call to action!! Please leave me your #1 book recommendation in the comments and a short blurb! If you can’t pick just one I’ll allow you to have a cheeky couple – hey, I’ve got time! But I’d like to know why you’re recommending it. So… justify yourself! 🙂
And thanks in advance!!!
The Cancer Chronicles 
Oh oh “Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World” by Haruki Murakami. It’s surreal and weird. The prose and storytelling are great and it has so many pop culture references, I think you’ll love it!
It was my first Murakami. I love pretty much any Murakami but if you do start, don’t start with “Norwegian Wood” it’s not in his usual style
LikeLike
Amazing thanks!!! On my wish list!!! I’ve got a £20 Amazon gift voucher to use for my kindle so this will get itself purchased in that order 😁
Sounds perfect! Thanks for the recommendation!! xx
LikeLike
Also others:
The master and margarita -Mikhail Bulgakov. The devil comes to soviet Russia to mess with some atheists. This is close to my favourite book.
The man who mistook his wife for a hat -Oliver Sacks. If you’re interested in the weird ways brains work and how they fill holes when stuff is missing. So interesting
I know why the caged bird sings – Maya Angelou, she was a poet and a warrior and her prose are magic and her story sad and triumphant. All the feelings
❤️❤️
LikeLike
I tried the Master and the Margarita at Sean’s recommendation and hated it 🙊 so stopped.
Similar with Oliver Sacks but it was a long time ago so probably deserves another go.
Been wanting to read some Maya Angelou for some time so that’s definitely going on the wish list!
You’re brill!!
LikeLike
I get it, sometimes the rhythm of a book just doesn’t work for people sometimes, particularly those ones I think.
I do think you’ll love Murakami though and definitely Maya Angelou. I know why the caged bird sings is the first part of her autobiography it is wonderful ❤️
LikeLike
I love it already. On the list!!! 💜
LikeLike
See my list in email.
LikeLike
Brilliant!!! Thank you!!! I really appreciate them. I’ll put them all on my wish list!! xxx
LikeLike
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn.. first published in the ’40’s I think .. welsh , old school , eloquent, moving.. best book I’ve read in ages . xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!! Now on the ‘want to read’ list!!! Much appreciated 😊😘
LikeLike
Well my tastes tend to lend to fantasy amd sci fi (or else gay coming of age stories) so not sure if my suggestions will be your cup of tea–though i do recall you enjoyed mercedez lackey which kinda ticks off all of the above.
First suggestion is Anne Bishops Tir Alainn series. Its fun but light–and well written which most books fitting into that category are not. Its one of my go-to ‘disengage my brain and have fun’ series.
My second suggestion is Isobelle Carmody’s Darkfall series–but this comes with two caveats. 1. Its not finished and she’s worse that George R R Martin. 2. One of its two main characters has inoperable brain cancer–so i am a bit concerned this is too much on the nose. That being said there are several elements i feel would appeal to you so…
It’s the story of twin sisters Ember and Glynn. Ember is a musician who has become obsessed with her own death and writes highly successful songs to that effect. Glynn is tone death and a martial artist who takes care of Ember. On a holiday Glynn takes a swim and is obviously drowning and Ember–who to this point regards herself as caring about nothing save her death–desperately swims out to save Glynn and both are transported (seperately) to another world.
Ember loses her memory in the process and there is treatment for her condition available though distant in the new world resulting in a growing battle between the old Dark Ember and the new one. Plus Glynns story is fun too.
Dunno if either will be your thing but i thought they met the two elements of your request best:)
LikeLike
Ooh brill!! Yes I loved Mercedes Lackey and I think I’m really keen to get back into some Fantasy because escapism is brill at the moment!
Tir Alainn sounds great! Def going on the list. I love it already.
I’ve never liked Isobelle Carmody but I’ll keep it in mind.
Thanks!! xx
LikeLike
Yeah she is very hit or miss. I love the two dark books and enjoyed early obernewtyn and the gathering but the rest was shitty.
LikeLike
I’ll put it on the list anyway, I have a lot of time – I’ll give them a go! 😊
LikeLike
A Visit from the goon squad by Jennifer Egan would be right up your alley, I think! It’s one of those books with several interconnecting stories, so it doesn’t have a linear story structure. All of the stories and the way that they connect is so interesting, and there’s a chapter written entirely in powerpoint presentation format, which is so unique and well done! 🖒😊
LikeLike
Thank you!! I usually struggle with non linear but I’m definitely interested to try one that has been recommended!! I’ll give it a go and report back! Thanks xxx
LikeLike
It looks good!!! 👌
LikeLike
Really hard to recommend books to anyone. I remember I enjoyed this one when I used to read in the bus.
‘fruit flies like a banana (england by canal and classic car)’ by Steve Haywood.
Lower case are all his, not my laziness. He used to live in Manchester, and in his words ‘..has always been obsessed with canals’. ‘Fruit flies like a banana is, he admits, a bit of a rant against contemporary life, but he believes it’s OK to do that in a book. “If you were a drunk in a pub, you wouldn’t get served,” he adds.’ (from a news article)
LikeLike
It is difficult isn’t it. I wanted to get some new, different sorts of books that I might not usually read – I’m getting bored of mine! So I thought this might be a good way of collecting a few.
I remember you reading that one!! Thanks for reminding me of it! Sounds like a good read! I’ll get it.
LikeLike
I know it had a lot of hype but I read The Essex Serpent this year and ended up really liking some of the messages in there. A bit historical/a bit fantasy – could be worth trying?
But the one I will definitely recommend is Animal by Sara Pascoe. Yay to modern feminist literature! She’s done her research, bares her soul and is funny in the process.
Don’t know what your taste in books is usually like but if you manage to start them and then hate it you can just move on to the next one on the list (I don’t know how it works with kindles, if that’s going to become an expensive habit! Haha).
LikeLike
Well despite the hype, I have managed to hear nothing about it!!! I’m so good at entirely missing pop culture. Sounds amazing though. Really what I can use right now! Thanks!!
Animal sounds interesting too, both are on my list!!!
Perfect!
I’m lucky enough to have a couple of Amazon vouchers, and I’m good at looking for sales so it shouldn’t be too bad!
Thanks so much!
LikeLike