Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus
Written by Sandi Toksvig
Narrated by Sandi Toksvig
Published by Virago
2019
Rating: 5 stars
It’s an intriguing title and actually does fairly well sum up the whole point of this book. Part memoir, part essay collection, part collection of random facts–all told from the framework of the stops found along the London number 12 bus route.
I picked this book up after about a month of non-bookishness. Whilst my commute to work isn’t long I usually spend my time in the car listening to whatever my current audiobook is. I also spend my lunchtime in the car, also listening (honestly, I’m not antisocial–I just spend a lot of my working day with the public so I enjoy locking myself in my car and getting some peace). Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 crisis, I’ve found myself working from home for over a month now. I no longer have a commute, and as much as one would think working from home would be quieter, it’s not. My voicemail arrives to me by email; my email constantly dings; and there are endless meetings and telephone conversations to be had–I think that I am working more now than I ever did when I had to show up someplace else. So, long story short (too late), I haven’t really been in a book reading/listening mood.
For about three weeks my only distractions from my laptop were 1) my husband, 2) my dogs, and 3) the television. Three weeks with just those for company…we’ll leave that thought right where it is.
In week four I did start making use of that Amazon Music subscription I accidentally signed up for over the holidays. That was nice–I listened to a lot of music I hadn’t thought of in years and found some really cool new albums in the process. (Amusingly, I am fairly confident that all of those albums that I discovered and/or rediscovered I actually own as mp3 files on my computer…best not to think on that.) Anywho, the music thing lasted about a week before it got old and before I started seriously worrying about all the data I was using on my phone (which is ridiculous, as I have unlimited data on my phone).
So in desperation, I started looking for new audiobooks. Funnily enough, I own a lot of those as well on mp3 AND I work in a library and have access to all the audiobooks that are just sitting there whilst the library is closed. What did I do? I went on Audible and bought myself a new book. No, that’s a lie. I bought a book, which led me to another book, which then led me to another book–and in the end I bought three audiobooks, Sandi Toksvig’s Between the Stops being one of them.
It’s a fairly easy read (listen), probably because I enjoy random stories about people, places, and things–which her book has in abundance. It’s not your typical autobiography. (Is that even still a thing these days, an autobiography? These types of books always seem to be referred to as memoirs these days. But I digress.) This isn’t a story of, “Hey I was born. I did some stuff and grew up. And poof, now I’m old and here’s what I’ve learned.” It’s rather more of a stream of consciousness kind of thing, where memories, anecdotes and random facts are jogged up based around the many stops one fines along the number 12 bus.
The tone of the book is relatively light and feels like one would imagine a conversation with the author would be like. And whilst the tone is mostly witty, the book is deep when it needs to be. Most importantly for me, the book has that rare ability to flow back and forth with ease–alternating light and deep with consummate skill. One is able to listen to a random story about childhood spent travelling around the US and then move seamlessly onto another story about the reactions the author faced when she decided to come out during the 1990s.
Overall, this book is wittily written, deep when it needs to be, and flows. That’s about all I really need in a book, so if you are looking to engage, entertained, and enlightened, check this one out. As for me, I haven’t quite finished it yet and feel that I’ve typed quite enough. Off to get a drink and resume my reading.