April 2023 in Books

Oh dear! I promise to do better! I read just one book in April. ONE! I mean, it was a very good one, but still. Life got in the way. I did, however, attend not one but two…

Book Events

I started the month with An Evening with Mike Parker at Booka Bookshop in Oswestry. The evening was all about Mike’s new book, All The Wide Border, a book about a journey through the places, amongst the people, and across the divides of the border between England and Wales. I’ve been lucky enough to see Mike talk and meet him before, so I knew I was in for a treat. Having lived all my life just a stone’s throw from the border means this book was always going to be interesting to me, especially the first part.

A friend and I also attended another Booka Bookshop event – Crime on the Border with Lisa Jewell, Clare Mackintosh and Louise Candlish. These three bestselling authors talked all about their new books, how they first got published, anecdotes about their writing processes and much more. It was entertaining, interesting and insightful, and, of course, I came home with three books (signed!), as well as a sampler of Clare Mackintosh’s next book!

Books Bought

I’m off to Finland in June, so I decided to be a complete tourist and get Lonely Planet’s Finland and Fast Talk Finnish. I haven’t been abroad in something like 15 years and I’ll be visiting a friend who I’ve not seen for even longer. Lonely Planet’s Finland book is being filled with page markers, so I’m already considering a return trip as I just know I won’t have time to see it all!

Of course, when I go to book/author events I always come away with at least one book. All The Wide Border was included in the ticket price for Mike Parker’s event with Booka Bookshop, and I bought all three authors’ latest books at Crime on the Border (as well as getting a sampler of Clare Mackintosh’s next book).

April’s charity shop books are The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (picked because I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time), The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick (picked because I enjoyed a couple of his books earlier in the year) and The Plaque Letters by V. L. Valentine (chosen because the synopsis sounded interesting). It cost me £3.50 for all three.

I picked up Murder Before Evensong by The Reverend Richard Coles from Tesco as part of their 2 for £9 offer. Mum picked one book and I picked this one.

Books Read

All The Wide Border by Mike Parker
(Published by HarperNorth)

“There is a line on the map: to one side Wales, small, rugged and stubborn; the other England, crucible of the most expansionist culture the world has ever seen. It is a line that has been dug, debated, defined and defended for twenty centuries.

All the Wide Border is a personal journey through the places, amongst the people, and across the divides of the border between England and Wales. Taking in some of our loveliest landscapes, and our darkest secrets, this is a region of immeasurable wonder and interest. It is there that the deepest roots and thorniest paradoxes of Britishness lie. The border between the countries, even as a concept, is ragged, jagged and many-layered.

Garlanded author Mike Parker has adored and explored these places his entire life. Born in England but settled in Wales, he finds himself typical of many in being pulled in both directions. His journey is divided into three legs, corresponding with the watersheds of the three great border rivers: the Dee in the north, the Severn in the centre, the Wye in the south. Neither quite England nor Wales, the furzy borderland he uncovers ― the March ― is another country. A hefty schlep from everywhere, these are A. E. Housman’s ‘blue remembered hills’ ― his ‘land of lost content’ ― and ours too.

Picking apart the many notions and clichés of Englishness, Welshness and indeed Britishness, Mike Parker plays with the very idea of borders, our fascination with them, our need for them, and our response to their power. In his hands, the England–Wales border is revealed to be a border within us all, and it is fraying, fast.”

A brilliant read! It’s a rare occasion to read about local people and places in these parts, but with All The Wide Border Mike Parker brings to life the imaginary line which separates Wales and England, its people, land, history and politics. 

This book brought back memories (I’m just old enough to remember the free festivals on Kerry Ridgeway in the 1980s!), told of places I know well and others I now want to discover. As well as more historical events, Mike also writes about recent events (covid lockdowns!) which had quite an effect on those of us living near the border (the Welsh covid rules were more restrictive and protective than the English rules), especially with the occasional village or town straddling the border.

Whether you live near the Welsh border or not, All The Wide Border is an interesting read. It’s part travelogue, part historical, part societal, part political, but more than that it’s interesting and humorous. If you want to know more about the Welsh border, you’ll find everything you need to know in All The Wide Border.

Books Listened To

Dirty Laundry by Richard Pink & Roxanne Emery

“From the husband-and-wife team behind social media phenomenon @ADHD_Love, whose viral videos have been viewed more than 200 million times, comes a fearless, often outrageously funny, account of life, learning, and growing with ADHD. They share the strategies they have used to reduce shame, improve communication, and find happiness in their neurodivergent household.

Filled with heartbreak and humour in equal measure, DIRTY LAUNDRY is an invaluable resource both for neurodivergents and the people who love them.”

I follow Richard and Roxy on Tiktok, so I knew this book would be interesting. Throughout the book, they take turns in explaining their side of things and how they both cope. Anyone who has ADHD or is neurodivergent will see themselves and their behaviours in parts of Dirty Laundry, or if you know someone with ADHD then this book may help you understand them a little better.

This isn’t the longest book and I did think they could have gone into it a little more in-depth, but Dirty Laundry is based on their experiences with ADHD. Whether you read this book or not, I’d definitely recommend following them in Tiktok.

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What have you been reading?