It’s not the hope which kills you.
The weight of expectation is unbearable – it’s the anticipation, excitement, apprehension, belief, expectancy and suspense, it’s all of these things, but most of all it’s the hope.
Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail – the team has been in training for years, they have their strategy, the finest minds in their field have poured over tactics and method. The enthusiasm, passion and dedication to make history is beyond question. The adversary will have been monitored and analysed, the strategy for being better will have been refined. Theories and ideas will have been discussed in detail, the whiteboard will have been used fully, it all looks good on paper, uniformity of cause is a given – is this is a team to deliver?
In the space of just over a week, the nation holds its breath with the heavy expectation of hope – whether it’s government or football, it’s not the hope which kills you – we much prefer the Ted Lasso school of thought – “it’s the lack of hope which comes and gets you”.
Could this be the time? – There’s always hope.
Hope by Emily Brontë
Hope was but a timid friend –
She sat without my grated den
Watching how my fate would tend
Even as selfish-hearted men.
She was cruel in her fear.
Through the bars, one dreary day,
I looked out to see her there
And she turned her face away!
Like a false guard false watch keeping
Still in strife she whispered peace;
She would sing while I was weeping,
If I listened, she would cease.
False she was, and unrelenting.
When my last joys strewed the ground
Even sorrow saw repenting
Those sad relics scattered round;
Hope – whose whisper would have given
Balm to all that frenzied pain –
Stretched her wings and soared to heaven;
Went – and ne’er returned again!
These last few weeks will go down in political history, and a fitting way to learn your recent modern history would be Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton’s new book The Conservative Effect 2010-2024 – it’s also our pick of the week! This book painstakingly goes through the details of the last fourteen years, from the perspectives of social, economic, foreign and governmental areas; condensing this all into what the authors call ‘The Conservative Effect.’ Our fiction pick of the week is Riley Sager’s creepy Middle of the Night. This brilliant book bends genre, mixing together crime, horror and the paranormal, this is definitely something that will keep you up at night.
Other astounding new fiction includes The Hunters by David Wragg: this is a fantasy-western, where our protagonist, Ree, and her niece must run from their violent past without getting slaughtered in the process. Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop is a cosy romantasy, where a witch and her sentient spider plant assistant must make friends when opening a spellshop in a new town. For historical fiction lovers, we have Annie Garthwaite’s The King’s Mother: It’s 1461 and Edward has gained England’s throne, he’s eighteen and unstoppable. His mother, Cecily, has stood at his shoulder the entire time; but war is on the horizon, and Cecily must make a decision between Edward and her other sons. Anna Mazzola’s The Book of Secrets is set in 1659 Rome, Girolama Spana has an uncanny ability to predict the future with her special potions. So when men start dying in swathes across the city, Girolama is the first to be blamed. An intriguing mystery, based on a real life occurence.
New in non-fiction, Joya Chatterji documents South Asia’s history in Shadows at Noon, through independence and partition to the forging of the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as they are today. Also for historians, Ulrik Skotte’s The Umbrella Murder documents one of the largest unsolved murder cases in history: it’s September 1978 and Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov has been murdered in London with what appears to be a poisoned umbrella…Failed State by Sam Freedman looks at the downfall of the current British state, from rivers overrun with sewage, to stagnant wages, unpunished crimes, to the collapse of the NHS, whilst getting to the root of these problems. Sigmund Freud’s Dream Psychology has been republished in a beautiful pocket-sized hardback format by Arcturus Publishing – one of the most influential works in the history of psychology.
Lastly, for young adults, we have Chris Pickett’s You Don’t See Me – Ros has finally found Eddy, the girlfriend they’ve always wanted. But Ros can’t tell her the truth: that they are trans, and want to live in a male body. Will everyone at school be accepting? And what will happen when Eddy finds out? For ages 8+, we have The Last Life of Lori Mills by Max Boucherat. This is a creepy horror, about a video game coming to life around protagonist, Lori, whilst her mum’s left her home alone for the weekend.
As always, if there’s something you need help with, or a book you need ordering, please call or email us!
From Amber
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