More Writers I've Loved Reading

Plus 6 Substack Recommendations

Montage of images from Canva.com plus my own copy of the book

More Writers I’ve Loved Reading

The English Novelist, Barbara Pym (1913-1980) published 14 books; it’s only when checking up exactly how many that I found there were two I haven’t read. I believed I’d read everything she published. Six of her novels were published between 1950 and 1961, then she went into obscurity. She has said that when the swinging sixties came along, readers no longer liked her work and her publishers no longer wanted to publish it.

It was an article in the New York Times in 1977 where British poet Philip Larkin named her as his suggestion for the most underrated author that brought her back to the fore again. He wrote of her that he would rather read a new Barbara Pym than a new Jane Austen. Praise indeed! It was around that time I began to read her books.

Barbara Pym never married; she tended to write about single women and their involvement with the Church, and various aspects of relationships between men and women, including unrequited love. The Barbara Pym Society says of her books: Her characters are unassuming people leading unremarkable lives; Pym became the chronicler of quiet lives. Her sense of humour was subtle and dry, her writing sometimes comic, sometimes sad and always insightful. I loved her books and was sorry when I thought I’d read them all. Now I shall hunt down the two I’ve yet to read.

The author Kate Charles, who is an American now living here in the UK in the county where Barbara Pym was born, is a past chair of the Barbara Pym Society. Her books also centre around the Church and she, too, writes about people involved in the Church, but crime is her principal theme. I haven’t read any of her books. Maybe I should.

Another of my favourite authors is Alice Munro, the Canadian short story writer. I’ve always enjoyed reading short stories and have even written a few myself during a writing course, though I didn’t persevere with trying to get them published. A couple of them were read out on local radio during the ‘Tales to Take Tea By’ afternoon slot. This was not as impressive as it might sound, I may add, as the radio presenter read the stories and was not a very convincing voice actor.

There are various forms of the short story. Some have a plot and are character-driven, a little like a shorter version of the novel, others are more like a slice of life, without a beginning and an end. Alice Munro used the latter form for most of her stories. She is so good at creating sympathetic characters that you want to know more about them when the story concludes. She has published many books and I’ve read quite a few of them.

Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013 and is now in her nineties. I particularly like the short story for bedtime reading, as it’s possible to finish a whole one before lights out. The Irish writer William Trevor (1928-2016) was a master of short fiction, though he also wrote novels and plays. His short stories were often set in Ireland, the characters being marginalised members of society, frequently unhappily married. He had a beautiful writing style and a wry sense of humour. His writing was a quiet joy to read.

6 Substack Recommendations

I’m recommending 6 of the substacks that I subscribe to and enjoy reading. I hope you check them out for yourself and sign up if they resonate with you.

Story Carrier: Jane Clark’s Substack. Jane describes her substack as A periodic sharing about the writing life, which will encourage you to unsilence yourself and write about the really hard things we all face. Written by an author, journalist, former writing professor.

Accept:Adapt:Applaud: by Joan Stommen. Joan’s description of her substack is: Bits and pieces of life as we grow along. Joan, is - as she puts it, on the edge of eighty, and still living a full life (and writing about it).

TechMadeSimple by Jayshree Gururaj. Tailored for writers, digital enthusiasts, solopreneurs, and anyone navigating the digital landscape. Boost your tech confidence and productivity by simplifying your digital journey, is how Jayshree explains what her substack is about. I have found her technical advice about navigating Substack to be extremely useful.

Sunhats and Chardonnay: Laura. Laura’s description of her Substack is: Where Wanderlust meets Wisdom – Let travel Tales Unfold and Adventures Begin! Besides travel, Laura writes about ageing, retirement and mental health.

Too Old for This Sh*t: by Julia Hubbel. The description on Julia’s Substack is: You're Way Too Old to Say You're Too Old for the next adventure. In fact, you're finally old enough for the best one: aging vibrantly. Yogi Berra was right: It ain't over til it's over. Let's explore. Let's be healthy. Let's grow. Let's play.

The Marinade: Raj Menon. Raj’s description of what his newsletter is about: Savoring life's flavors. A newsletter that celebrates diversity in culture, in our lifestyles, and in our thinking. Spice up your inbox!

Next week: Someone on Quora asked me to put into fifteen sentences how I look after my health. I thought my Substack community might be interested in how I answered, so that’s what you’ll see next Sunday.

Which writers do you love to read? That really means the ones who draw you, for whatever reason, to read more than one of their books. And why? Do you read short stories? Who is your favourite writer of short fiction? I’d love to know in the Comments.