October was a very busy month, but I still found time for a short break to celebrate my 50th birthday (no idea where the time has gone!). A long weekend break in Shrewsbury was just what I needed to recharge after a very busy September, but once back home the work started up again in earnest. Here’s what I got up to in October:
Completed work: A Good Year
In October I completed proofreading Polis Loizou’s forthcoming novel A Good Year. This was a really interesting book for me to work on as I’d seen nothing like it before. The author brilliantly interweaves folklore myths with the character development and story to great effect. It really is one of those stories that stays with you after you’ve finished reading. It will be released next year from Fairlight Books.
New work: Incisions, Vol. 1
Towards the end of October I was really excited to begin work on the first volume of British horror legend Shaun Hutson’s short story collection, Incisions. I’ve been a fan of Shaun’s since I first read Slugs, Spawn and Erebus back in the day (aka the 80s), so getting to work on one of his books is a real treat. Obviously I can’t say too much right now, but there’s a great mix of styles at play so be sure to look out for this collection when it’s published by Caffeine Nights.
Regular work
My regular clients provided me with over 160,000 words to check in October. This was mostly spread over the usual training materials and journals and in a variety of formats, including PDF and PowerPoint. Proofing in PowerPoint is a little different when compared to Word, but you soon get used to it. Looking back on my work for this client, I discovered that I’ve now proofed over 750,000 words for them this year, the equivalent of several books!
October reading
OED October update
Climate change (and environmental sustainability) was the name of the game for the OED’s October 2021 update, featuring a fascinating look at the usages of terms like climate change and global warming along with the addition of new terms climate refugee, eco-anxiety, food insecurity and water insecurity. Read the full blog post here: https://public.oed.com/blog/the-oed-october-2021-update/
Books
As I was quite busy with work I only had time to read two books in October, the brilliant And Away… by Bob Mortimer and the funny (and very strange) Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.
I’ve been a fan of Mortimer’s since the days of Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, and that continued through Shooting Stars, House of Fools and Gone Fishing. Bob talked a little about his family history and background in Gone Fishing so it was really great to be able to fully dive into that history in his book. It’s both touching and funny, and if you’re a fan of his I can definitely recommend it.
Convenience Store Woman was a book I’d heard a lot about so I thought I’d check it out. It’s a simple story that captures the atmosphere and experience of working in a Japanese konbini, but it’s written in a darkly comedic way that I found really engaging. You probably need some knowledge of Japanese culture to fully appreciate the novel, though to be fair as I’ve never worked in a konbini I’ve no idea how accurate the depicted events actually are! The translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori is great and really preserves the ‘Japanese-ness’ of the story.
Well, there you have it – quite a busy month as we head into November. If you enjoyed reading this post then please subscribe for more updates. And if you need a proofreader or copyeditor whose rates won’t break the bank, get in touch!
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