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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Farmer, writer, influencer, tour guide, oxherd

8/6/2023

6 Comments

 
There must be more than six degrees of separation between a boy who attends his oxen in rural Thailand and a contemporary social media influencer in the USA. But the farmer could be one steppingstone between them and the writer a link from the other end. The tour guide could be the bridge in the middle because they might need to shit in the woods. What am I on about? The answer is in these five mini reviews.
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The Wild LaughterThe Wild Laughter by Caoilinn Hughes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genius prose draws us into the world of a bankrupt farming family in post-boom Ireland, addressing sibling rivalry, Catholicism and assisted suicide. Sometimes the style swamped the story, especially at the beginning, so I wasn't always sure what was going on.

Writers & LoversWriters & Lovers by Lily King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A quiet novel about bereavement, looking for love, and sacrifice in the pursuit of art. Maybe because it's set at the end of the twentieth century and not at the start of the twenty-first or because the main character is in her early 30s rather than early 20s or simply because she has obvious things to be depressed about, I didn't find it irritating – unlike lots of recent reads about young women licking their wounds.

No One Is Talking About ThisNo One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A woman lives on social media but somehow she also travels the world speaking about it. Then her life is taken over by a family tragedy. Interesting. At first I was irritated by the millennial obscurity, then impressed and amused by the evocation of the shallowness and moral outrage in the age of Trump, then moved by the family story. But what was it about as a whole? I had an uncomfortable suspicion the author thought I didn’t know there are more important things than the Internet.

How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost ArtHow to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art by Kathleen Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although I doubt I'll ever make practical use of what I have learnt from this about potential solutions to the environmental problems of wilderness exploration in North America, my past travels in places where there are no clean toilets have given me an interest in the topic. So I was delighted when a blogging friend sent me a copy. Now I wish someone would write a companion book for the crisis of doggy defecation in both urban and rural areas.

VenomVenom by Saneh Sangsuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A boy stops to play after tending his oxen in the forests of Thailand. But he doesn't realise he's built his stage on the nest of a giant king cobra. When the snake attacks, wrapping itself around the boy's body, he manages to keep its fangs at a distance, but the two are locked in a struggle between life and death. As the boy looks for help, do the villagers flee because they no longer recognise him or because they fear this is a punishment from the world of spirits?

A lovely fable, albeit even shorter even than a novella, the book is translated from the Thai by Mui Poopoksakui and published by Peirene who provided my advance proof copy.

View all my reviews
I’ve been sharing my thoughts on my reading here on Annecdotal and on Goodreads for nearly 10 years. I’ve enjoyed it immensely, although my reviews have got shorter as I juggle other demands on my energy and time. But I’m loath to give up, fearful of what I’ll lose in the process. When the latest flash fiction challenge called for 99-word stories about a lost book, I thought I’d delve into those fears. I was surprised where it took me.
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Bookending
 
I remember grains of sand between the pages and the seaweed tang of my fingers as I brushed them off. I remember your voice as you read that passage, diving from clarinet to bassoon. I remember folding over the corner so I could come back to it and try to understand. I remember the sting of my cheek where you slapped it and my mouth wide open in shock.
​
I lost the words when you cleared the bookshelves, the same day you emptied your wardrobe and the kitchen drawers. In taking the book, you took a part of me.

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Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
6 Comments
Norah Colvin
8/6/2023 12:46:25 pm

And I think I've been enjoying your reviews, flash fiction, short stories and novels for close to ten years too, Anne. Congratulations on all your achievements. I do hope you consider them successes. I'm so proud to have been a follower on your journey and am not at all sorry that more of your time is now dedicated to novel writing, though wish health wasn't such a deterent as well.
Your flash is powerful and clearly shows the important place that some books have in our lives. Some may be equally as or even more important than (some) people.
Keep writing, Anne. I'm sure you have much more to share. Here's to the next ten years. Enjoy!

Reply
Anne Goodwin
16/6/2023 11:42:03 am

Thanks, Norah, you've been one of my most stalwart supporters right from the beginning and I really appreciate our bookish discussions. We had great times blog hopping and learning from each other and I do regret being less involved in the blogging community. But I enjoy writing fiction more ... and certainly hope to be able to keep it up.
Glad you liked the flash.

Reply
Liz H-H
16/6/2023 09:54:47 pm

Powerful and heartbreaking, the slap cruel, the taking of the book unforgivable!

Reply
Anne Goodwin
18/6/2023 08:31:46 am

Thanks, Liz, glad you liked the story.

Reply
Colleen Chesebro link
16/6/2023 11:31:12 pm

Anne, your story called "bookending," was so powerful. The ending grabbed me and gave me goosebumps! Excellent.

Reply
Anne Goodwin
18/6/2023 08:32:40 am

Thank you, Colleen, so glad you thought it worked.

Reply

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    My published books
    entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice
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    My third novel, published May 2021
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    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
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    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 2 books toward their goal of 100 books.
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    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
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    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
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