Tag: books

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May Update

beatricemorgan

This month involved a LOT of checking the weather forecast. After an unbelievably wet start to the year, we predictably swung into a dry spell at an inconvenient time for the garden. I’ve also been checking my emails too much, waiting for responses about my faerie book currently in the query trenches (which is living up to its name). But other than that, I’ve been listening to Noah Kahan’s new album on repeat and trying to finish some of the knitting projects that have been sitting half-completed in my basket for… too long. It’s a work in progress!

From the Bookshelf

And there have been so many great books this month! The highlight is obviously the new Murderbot book, Platform Decay. It felt like spending time with a beloved old friend after too long. I also finished The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, which was an utter gut punch, and I can’t stop thinking about the pure evil that was the near eradication of bison in North America, all for the sake of destroying the Native peoples who lived along side them. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is fiction, of course, but the horror of the real historical context is just as horrifying as the existence of vampires.

As research for my current novel, I read The Wager by David Grann and Sons of the Waves by Stephen Taylor. Both of them cover aspects of nautical history, with The Wager addressing the disaster of a specific shipwreck, while Sons of the Waves takes snapshots of naval life through the 18th and 19th centuries. They take a very different approach to conveying history, each with strengths and weaknesses. The Wager is a kind of narrative nonfiction, with all the various sources compiled into a single story, told very engagingly. But by virtue of being an average of different perspectives, it flattens some of the reality that history cannot be definitively reconstructed, only interpreted. Sons of the Waves, on the other hand, puts the focus on the oft overlooked common ship’s company – the non-officers – drawing from sources written by their hands alone, with a more traditional approach to conveying information. This makes it dryer (though still an enjoyable read) while maintaining the specificity of individual experiences. Overall, I think both books do a good job at what they set out to do.

From the Garden

While the annuals find their feet in the borders and the newly-sown perennials begin to bulk up in pots, there is a chance for the lawn to take centre stage. I am a massive fan of No Mo May, when we’re encouraged to hold of mowing the lawn for the month, letting wildflowers grow as vital food for bees, butterflies and all the other insects that pollinate our plants and feed our birds. It’s a single action (inaction, really!) that can have a lasting positive impact for our local ecosystems.

an abundance of tiny blue flowers with four leaves growing close to the ground

The more you do it, the greater the dividends. If you can let your lawn grow every year for as long as possible between cuts, then you’re likely to see a wide variety of flowers establishing. Daisies, buttercups, dandelions and clover are all common, but a few years of long growing periods has also blessed me with purple-blue carpets of speedwell, the sweet scent of violets, and novel eruptions of tufted vetch and forget-me-nots. Nothing makes me smile like a lawn full of flowers and the many happy bees and butterflies they support.

towers of pale purple flowers on stalks with reddish leaves emerging from grass

In keeping with the theme, I’ve also been addressing some patches of lawn that I’ve neglected a little too much, letting them get overgrown with brambles and thistles. The more I ignored it, the bigger the problem got, until the solution was to just dig the whole thing over. While a labour of love, it also gave me the opportunity to pick a grass mix that is better adapted to the dry, nutrient-poor soil than the existing grasses, most of which, at best, barely tolerate these conditions. I chose a mix specifically for chalk grassland, and mixed in seeds for bird’s-foot-trefoil, wild marjoram, clover and a couple of vetch varieties to give the area a bit of pizazz. I’ve experimented with native meadow mixes in the past, to great success in small patches, but this is the first time I’ve tried to pick plants that will mostly function as a lawn instead of, you know, a knee high meadow. I can’t wait to see how it grows in!

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April Update

beatricemorgan

This month has been a slow one for writing, between sending my faerie book out into the query trenches, returning to the very messy first draft of another book, and every single family member taking their turn to get sick. But it’s happening, word by word!

From the Bookshelf

I’m on a reading roll at the moment! The Foxglove King for a book club, and The Haunting of Hill House to continue my gothic theme. A highlight was The Offing by Benjamin Myers, which was a gift from a friend and utterly charming, languishing in the joy of language for the sake of indulgence. And I’ve started The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, which is the first book by the much recommended Stephen Graham Jones that I’ve read, and I’m only three chapters in but totally hooked.

From the Garden

As I slowly chip away at all the little spring tasks, the pay-off of last year’s hard work is in making itself clear. Although I previously tested a dozen or so tulips that came in a pack of mixed bulbs, this is my first time growing them as they’re supposed to be grown: in magnificent drifts of colour. In the bed formerly housing a bedraggled rosemary bush, I planted these fantastic red and yellow tulips where they catch the morning sun. The other tulip bed always spends the summer growing sweet peas, but the rest of the year it’s fallow. This was a great idea, because I get to enjoy lovely flowers instead of mud and weeds, but the timing is a little off—the sweet peas, indoors and currently several inches tall, are supposed to be planted out in the next few weeks, but the tulips are still going strong.

Dramatically-coloured tulips, red with yellow highlights, open wide in the bright sun
(With their dramatic colouring, especially in sunlight, it was surprisingly difficult to get a good photo (and I didn’t really manage it))


The star of the show is, of course, the bluebells. I am lucky that they grow in greats sprawls through my garden, as well as popping up beside the hyacinths and white dead-nettles in a charming, cottage-garden display.

So many bluebells, pale purple flowers shaped like bells and dangling from long stems
blog, monthly update

March Update

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From the Bookshelf

The highlight of my reading month was Meet Me At The Surface by Jodie Matthews is a suffocating story of Cornish folklore and family secrets, wrought with intricate prose. It reminded me of Carrion Crow by Heather Parry with its twisted mother-daughter relationship and fraught sexuality.

I rounded out the gothic vibes with Hare House by Sally Hinchcliffe, which had an interesting portrayal of how misogyny can show up within and be reproduced by a woman’s actions – the protagonist feels like she’s been the victim of a ‘witch hunt,’ that archetypal arm of the patriarchy, without reflecting much on the frankly messed up way she thinks about the girls she has power over as a teacher. The way all the women in this book interact is troublesome, and I’m still chewing on it, trying to work out how I feel. I always appreciate when a book is meaty enough to occupy me like this.

From the Garden

The whites and yellows of early spring are starting to be joined by other colours. The lawn is filling with violets, with their delicate purple flowers that have nonetheless shown great courage in that face of constant trampling beneath dog paws. The pink hyacinths made a sudden appearance; their greenery hung around for weeks, unadorned, then one morning the stalks had budded and the flowers were opening. They were a new addition to this patch – last year the grape hyacinths I’d planted didn’t get the chance to bloom, with their leaves nibbled to the ground by rabbits, but when I spotted these bulbs from Fentongollan farm I knew they’d be perfect for the pink and purple colour scheme I’m cultivating in this bed. I’m so glad they’ve grown in nicely!

Small, five-petal purple flowers, several in focus in the foreground and many throughout the grass in the background
Pink bell-like flowers clustered together on a sturdy stem

After a dormant winter with only the floating duckweed visible, the container ponds are finally showing signs of life! The first arrival is my favourite of the lot: marsh marigold, with its charming yellow flowers and broad leaves. In the summer these miniature ponds are very popular with the birds, and the more shallowly submerged plants get a bit trampled, but for now the new growth remains undisturbed.

A small container pond sunk into the ground, surrounded by greenery. From the pond sprouts broad leaves and large, five petal yellow flowers

Thanks for reading!

blog, monthly update

February Update

beatricemorgan

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these! I’ve been in a season of refilling my creative well, mostly with a lot of TV and films. This was a bit of a novelty for me, because I don’t usually like to spend more time in front of a screen than I have to, but it felt really good to give my brain something different to chew on. My taste has been all over the place – some favourites have been The Pitt, Heated Rivalry, SAS Rogue Heros, and Abbott Elementary. They’re all a different kind of story and have different approaches to their storytelling, but I thought they all did a good job with what they were trying to do.

From the Bookshelf

One of my favourite reads of the month was WHEN WE WERE BIRDS, the story of a Rastaman forced to break religious taboo by taking a job at a cemetery and a woman who’s maternal line has the ability to deal with – see, hear, speak to – the dead. It occupies one of those speculative genres that’s a bit tricky to pin down: you might call it a grounded ghost story, or literary fantasy, or magical realism. The complicated family dynamics throughout really scratched an itch for me.

I also thoroughly enjoyed SORCERY AND SMALL MAGICS by Maiga Doocy. The magic system is really cool, I fell in love with Leo and Grimm from the first page, and I was utterly bereft to realise book two hasn’t been published yet.

From the Garden

The delights of early spring are starting to emerge. I’ve spent a while trying to cultivate some brightness for this dreary time of year, but my efforts have been hit and miss. Crocuses simply refuse to grow in my terribly soil, and nothing came of planting wood anemones or alliums, but daffodils seem to thrive, so I planted several more varieties last autumn.

dangling white snowdrop flowers against a backdrop of new green growth

Snowdrops, snowflakes and wild primroses all contribute to the distinctive colour pallet of February: white, yellow and a bright, fresh green. I’ve also added primrose cultivars that mix it up a bit with jewel tones, although the month of heavy rain has left them a bit raggedy.

Creamy primrose flowers with egg yolk-yellow centres
Deep red flowers with yellow centres

We’re also starting to get enough sun that indoor seed planting can start. So far the sweet peas have been germinated on damp kitchen roll, and I’m eyeing my windowsill space to work out who can go next.

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August Update

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From the Bookshelf

Reading has been a slog this month. It started with a book I thought I should enjoy it couldn’t find enthusiasm for, continued with one I abandoned at 20% because I was utterly bored, and culminated in book that I had to finish so I could lead a book club discussion but it was just. so. bad. Totally killed any desire to read.

Thankfully things are looking up! I started We Shall Be Monsters by Alyssa Wees, and it seems to be just the right combination of creepy woods and complicated families for my tastes. And a few of my holds at the library will come in soon, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that I can fall in love with some new books.

From the Garden

On the collapsed bank that I’m slowly levelling and reseeding (half a metre at a slow, slow time), the perennial wildflower and grass seeds were taking a while to establish. To cover the patches of bare earth in the mean time, I threw a mix of cornfield annuals at it – poppies, corn chamomile, cornflowers, corn marigolds and others – and they’ve sprouted wonderfully.

A broad, red poppy, surrounded by other poppies and cheerful white flowers with yellow centres

From the Yoga Mat

Yoga philosophy and ethics are not just for the mat – we practice them there so we can take them into the rest of our lives. Lately, my guiding principle has been brahmacharya, the conservation of vital energy. Thoughtful allocation of energy is an incredibly usefully tool in managing chronic illness, and while I recover from a recent crash I’ve been thinking about the ways that brahmacharya threads through my daily life.

One of my teachers describes brahmacharya as an instruction to honour all life energy. It is knowing that our energy is sacred, therefore we respect and cherish it. It is even more precious for those of us with energy-limiting illnesses; the instruction to honour and cherish it is even more urgent. Make no mistake, it sucks not to have enough energy to do everything you want to do, but I know that it’s taught me to be deliberate with what and who gets my attention, and I’m grateful for that. I can choose to move to my yoga mat, or look after the garden, or edit my current work-in-progress story, rather than wasting that energy on something that will matter less and bring me less fulfilment (doomscrolling, I’m looking at you). Sometimes, when I’m really not feeling well, it’s about trying to take care of myself as best as I can, in choosing between activities of daily living.

Of course, sometimes the time-wasting activities suck me in anyway, but it’s a useful check-in: am I cherishing my energy? Do my actions reflect the belief that my life energy should be honoured? When the answer is no, that’s a signal I need to redirect my attention something more worthwhile and ultimately more satisfying.

Thanks for reading!

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July Update

beatricemorgan

I’m once again writing a monthly update during a heatwave. Climate change sure is doing its thing this summer. My writing is still in a slump too – I was just starting to get into the editing swing again when my beloved puppy caused so much chaos in the space of a week that my body said Sit Your Butt Down Or Else. I’m not a fan of the else, so I’ve been dutifully sitting around doing very little at all. On the bright side, I’ve finally had time to watch Abbott Elementary, which has been on my to watch list since the first season came out, and has been as delightful as promised. Highly recommend.

From the Bookshelf

My library hold on We Can Do Better Than This came in, and I guzzled it at lightspeed. A collection of essays by queer writers, entertainers and activists, edited by Amelia Abraham, it was predictably angering and saddening, but also energising – there’s so much we still need to do for LGBTQIA+ equality, in the UK and around the globe. I was especially glad to see the inclusion of ace and intersex contributors, as people who are often left out of these kinds of conversations.

My favourite bit of fiction for the month was The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison. I loved Addison’s The Goblin Emperor, and while this book didn’t have the same heft, in terms of world building or sheer size of the volume, it was still a great read. A supernatural Sherlock Holmes retelling, it was faithful in tone and character to ACD’s works, while still bringing a wholly original spin. Angels, hellhounds and spirit-wounds abound.

From the Garden

Though they’re a little late in gaining height, the sweat peas continue to trundle upwards. The ox-eyes daisies and mallows have reached the end of their time, and the annuals have taken centre stage. Each year I like to try out new bedding plants, and this year I got my hands on a mix of dahlia ‘Figaro’ plants in a wonderful variety of colours and configurations.

Efforts to transform much of the garden into a wildlife haven continue, and we’re finally in the part of the year when I can start letting the plants take care of themselves. Previous years of infrequent mowing allowed an interesting variety of species to establish in the lawn (doing it this way means I don’t have to research and test to find species that will tolerate dry, alkaline conditions; the plants that like this specific habitat are ready and waiting to grow), and now we reap the benefits. The clumps of wild marjoram that have sprung up are much visited by pollinators.

From the Yoga Mat

Meditation has been the main focus of my practice while I dial back my energy expenditure to recover from doing too much. I’ve never been a natural meditator: my brain is a very noisy place, not easily convinced to shut up and focus on the breath. In fact, I first learned to meditate by simply tiring myself out during asana practice; lying, exhausted, in Savasana taught me (slowly, incrementally) to hang out in stillness and silence. It’s an old friend now, albeit one I still get irritated with when our plans don’t align. The noise is no less noisy just because I’ve learned to ignore it sometimes.

As I’ve been relishing my meditation practice so much, I finally did what I’ve wanted to for months and applied to be a teacher on Insight Timer, my favourite meditation app. I was accepted, and my first guided meditation, “Gentle Curiosity,” is available to practice with! It’s been a bit of a learning curve, working out how to record and edit audio, and I’ve still got a ways to go, but I’m happy with how this turned out. You can find the track here (you don’t need to download the app or make an account to listen).

Thanks for reading!

A cacophony of large white flowers with bright yellow centres
blog, monthly update

June Update

beatricemorgan

The weather is outrageously hot here today. So rather than hanging out in the garden with the dogs, I’m hiding inside in the (relative) cool, making it the perfect time for the first update since I redid my website!

From the bookshelf

I was in a reading slump for most of the spring. Every book felt like the same old meh. So I turned to a reliable favourite, and listened all the way through Terry Pratchett’s City Watch series. The audiobook editions I listened to were narrated by Jon Culshaw, and it was such a great experience. Really well done. And of course, Pratchett’s writing was as funny and angry and comforting as usual, and made me feel a bit better about dealing with our broken world. He doesn’t flinch away from all the ways people can be selfish and power hungry and exploitative, but he also doesn’t stop telling us that we are better than than. We can DO better than that.

That’s what I find so comforting about the City Watch books: Sam Vimes knows exactly what beastly behaviour he is capable of, and what power structures will allow his beastliness to cause worse harm, and he says “Absolutely not.” He will be a better person, he will make a better world, even if he has to use stubborn determination, battle bread and his own two hands to do it.

We can all fight for Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Loved and a Hard Boiled Egg. As ever, GNU Terry Pratchett

From the garden

After a spring with the least helpful weather possible (baking heat when we needed rain; miserable rain when we needed sunshine) thing are finally moving in the garden. My sweet peas are finally starting to put on some height and all the bedding plants are in the ground.

My ongoing efforts to fill the garden with native flowers continue to pay off, both in the volume of insects and birds crowding the place, and the gorgeous sight of all thesepurple mallows. I fell in love with them last year, when they turned up in a wildflower seed mix I threw at a scrappy bit of mud, and now I cannot get enough.

Pale purple flowers clustered on long stalks

This year’s new addition to the favourites is the ox-eye daisy. I planted them last year, but they’re perennials that need some time before they’re ready to flower. And boy do they put on a joyful display. They never fail to bring a smile to my face. I suspect they’re going to be a long-standing feature in this garden – the soil is such poor quality (a thin layer of heavy clay over pure chalk) that many of my gardening experiments fail, but the ox-eye daisies do not care a single bit about the inhospitable circumstances.

A cacophony of large white flowers with bright yellow centres

From the yoga mat

With most of my energy going to the garden and the puppy at the moment, the time I have for asana (the physical practice of yoga) is limited. Instead I’ve been focusing on the mindfulness and meditation practicesthat I let slip while I was so busy with the puppy’s first few months. My favourite addition has been starting the day listening to THIS beautiful version of the Gayatri mantra, which meditates on the illuminating and awakening properties of the Sun.

Thanks for reading!