Are book awards a good recommendation? If you’ve read my recent posts, you’ll know that I’ve tried to read Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize winners. I did finish Wolf Hall, but gave up on Bring Up The Bodies. Her use of language is outstanding, but the story wasn’t compelling enough for me. Her Kirkus reviews reassured me that I’m not necessarily a philistine.
I’ve just had a look through the list of Booker Prize winners. From the list, I’ve only read two of them: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. We aren’t all alike, but there are overlaps.
Talking of book awards, I’ve had The Spy who Sank the Armada and Called to Account longlisted for the Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book of the Year Awards. The winners will be announced on 31st December, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I entered Fire and Earth in the IPPY Awards, and the results are out on 7th April 2023. Sorry, but I can’t keep my fingers crossed for that long.
I have been preparing myself for EV ownership. As the survey for the home charger is on Thursday and I’m hoping to collect the car the following Friday, it’s possible that I may have to use public chargers for a short period. Therefore I have downloaded about half a dozen EV charging apps to my phone. I’m getting the impression that you can’t just rock up to a charger, plug in, and pay with your credit card. Maybe you can, but I want to be prepared. I used to be a Boy Scout.
Range anxiety is one of the things that most concerns potential EV purchasers. The IONITY app has given me the reassurance that even driving through France or Spain, there are a multitude of high speed chargers that will give me another 200+ miles range in just thirty minutes. Who doesn’t need half an hour’s break after 200 miles?