Where the Wild Things Were: September Reading

Saturday, 6 September 2025

September Reading

I have been reading this every time I go to hospital for day procedures. I didn't realise that's what I was doing, but I guess subconsciously I was reading about Charley's far worse hospital experience and thus removing any stress from mine. The book is interesting, even if you don't ride bikes, and Charley speaks with that same endearing openness that he displays in the show. He doesn't hide his flaws or fears. He's charming to the reader in his hopefulness and good nature. He wears his heart on his sleeve, not just with his wife and family, but with his friends, all of whom he loves dearly, appreciates and sort of idolises - and I don't just mean Ewen, also Jason, Russ, Claudio and everyone one else who gets a mention. The book begins with the terrible accident and documents the recovery, peppered with some early life memories and other anecdotes. I really enjoyed it.

This was a book club book. A lot of research had been done, and it covers a lot of Australian history that isn't really well known between the 1930s and the Menzies era. The fall out of war, as well as the experience of women in rural Australia are some of the themes. A large focus on the political climate shapes a love story. It is interesting and an easy read, that said, I found it light on in coherence of the narrative and characters. Someone else in the book group really loved it, so I guess it probably falls in both camps.

I won't repeat what I already discussed here but this book is so relevant to now. It shows how we march along, not thinking of the world we are shaping. Not thinking of what we are losing with our panaceas that we hid in to avoid standing up for what is right. It looks at what our online world is doing to our real life connections. One of my favourite lines is about how Faber saw what was coming but did nothing, one of the innocents who could have spoken out for the 'guilty' and thus became guilty himself. I think we can see around the world now, we need to speak out for the migrants and the LBGT people is we are lucky enough to have no skin in the game. It's easier for an ally to speak out than a target.

One part which I hadn't noticed in my previous reading, but seemed so relevant now was where Faber lists what is needed - 1. Quality of information; 2 - the time to read and understand it and 3 - the "right to carry out actions based on the first two" and in Fahrenheit 451 (and many countries now) that third one has been removed, and the first one is becoming rarer or harder to find.

It also has one of my favourite quotes of all time (see here) but no need to repeat it as I'm sure you've read it a number of times on my blog.

I found it interesting reading this after Goodbye to Berlin. The Isherwood is how the propaganda and control sneaks in, the Bradbury is once it's fully in place. I see it all around us, so these classics are timeless in their warnings. Or we just don't learn. The section on the Phoenix is both relevant and a warning. (Or as Frank Turner says 'Don't go mistaking your house burning down for the dawn".

I mentioned a few times how much I loved this book. I got the play (which Bradbury wrote about 20 years later) and read that too. He changed the ending. It is a much more sentimental man who wrote the play. I guess in his old age, he wanted the hope. A kinder life for people. I feel perhaps I feel that now too, thought the lessons are hard learned, so I feel the book is probably perfect as it is.

Junky crime, this time of the charming old ladies style. Murder in the library of a small village. It is what it is. I enjoyed it but not a must read. Perfect for a plane or holiday read.

As an aside, this was in the street library and I was taken with The Book Club - when people signed up and got a book delivered monthly. The editions were published specifically for the book club, so you could collect the hard back editions of classics and popular books. There is a sentimental enchantment in this for me. I love that people who knew other people with a subscription would informally discuss the books when they bumped into each other. That books were curated for readers to enjoy. With more free access to books online and in audio, we are losing the tangible copies, and it's something I lament a little, though I am part of the problem.