Books are probably like wine, and you should select the right one for the time of year but I treat them like Lambrini. I'm sure that there are 'summer books' and there are 'winter books' but I always pick the wrong ones. Like when I read Wuthering Heights in the heatwave of 2006 or Kate Chopin's The Awakening in January. Anyway, since submitting my MPhil in March I've been reading furiously and indiscriminately. Here are some of the books I've read in the last few months:
1) Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition, B. R. Burg
Gay pirates aside, this is a really interesting look at homosexuality in Stuart England.
2) Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood
I rushed through this for the third year of my undergraduate degree back in 2005 but after reading The Handmaid's Tale (below) I decided to give it another go. I got way more out of it this time around (and finding my original notes scrawled inside was a total beamer) but I felt it peaked long before the end. Still worth a read though.
3) The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
So awesome. I asked for this as part of my Christmas stocking because it seemed like the sort of book one reads. I see why.
4) Be Near Me, Andrew O'Hagan
My pal Lee gave me a loan of this last year and I never got round to reading it until last week. I thought this would be a dour west coast tale (and in a way it was) but it totally surpassed all my expectations. I should read it twice but my heart can't take it.
5) The Secret History, Donna Tartt
I read this everywhere: on the loo, in the park, eating my dinner, at bus stops, at the hairdressers, on the phone to my mother. I wanted to study Classics and wear tennis jumpers and drink too much at a country house. Bunny had it coming...
6) Comet in Moominland, Tove Jansson
I read this as part of an ongoing attempt to read all the Moomin books in chronological order. I hear there's a film coming out this summer (in the fuzzy felt tradition) and Bjork is doing the soundtrack! There's something to live for.
7) The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Antonia Fraser
I was surprised to find that The Tudors doesn't do too badly for historical accuracy (I'd say a 70% success rate).
8) Four Tales, James Hogg
Four tales. Don't think I can remember what they were.
9) The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson
A book about two women in one house during a long winter. One of those books where nothing happens but everything changes.
What are you reading guys? As per usual I'm scavenging for suggestions! I'm especially keen on crime novels and psychological thrillers right now...
8 comments:
I've been meaning to read the Jansson novels, being a gigantic fan of the Moomins (incidentally, I need to start wearing my Moomins scarf more, we only live once eh!) and of Tove Jansson herself.. Think I'll save it for the winter though, haha. Excellent news about the film too, thank you for that!
I recently read PD James' The Murder Room, I enjoyed it but that's about it.. I used to be able to read books at enormous speed, now I have three unfinished books on my bedside table and I keep getting distracted and starting more. I'm certain that this is connected with that article you posted the other day, about the internet affecting the way we think. I would elaborate but I just got up and I haven't mindlessly read through all my google reader posts yet..
Have a nice weekend!
Oooh this is a good post. Should I read The Handmaid's Tale? I've always felt I should read Atwood, but I tried to read The Robber Bride earlier this year and just really didn't like/'get' it...
I'm currently reading Company of Liars by Karen Maitland, would definitely recommend this as well as the other book she's written set around the same time period (14th century), The Owl Killers. Also just read The Lessons by Naomi Alderman which is really blatantly ~inspired by The Secret History but is still quite good.
I love book posts!
I've just finished Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert which I really enjoyed.
I've been wanting to read The Secret History for ages, everyone keeps recommending it to me, so I bet I'll love it. I was waiting for the kindle version to come out and it still hasn't so I might have to just buy the damn book (I'm trying to go all-kindle because I've run out of book shelf space haha!). I'm also dying to read Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, which is another non-kindle one. Annoying!
I'm just coming to the end of The Brothers Karamazov audiobook (that counts right?) which I'm digging but is deffo not my fave. No matter how many people call it his ~life's masterpiece~, I still prefer good old Cri & Pun.
I'm also reading Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates which I'm IN LOVE with. It's a fictionalised life story of marilyn monroe, but don't let that put you off. It's got such an interesting voice and I don't want it to end (which is good because it's fucking massive).
Ugh, I hate how blogger doesn't let you reply to comments. Here goes:
Marianna: Totally agree. I've come here to reply to these comments about three times this morning but then I open up more tabs and start reading something but then go back to read the other thing I was also reading and so on and so forth. I sometimes have the same approach to books, where I'll have a few on the go at the same time but not really get into one or the other. I can't recommend the Jansson novels enough! I'd recommend starting with The Summer Book, the chapters are quite self contained like short stories so it's good for our ailing attention spans...
Blair: I put The Owl Killers on my amazon wishlist after you mentioned it recently! I'd defo recommend The Handmaid's Tale. It's one of those books that you can't put down and look forward to reading. I'll check out The Lessons too - I don't even care if it's a rip-off, I'm so desperate for more of the same!
Kris: Do you find it easy enough to read on the Kindle? I normally find it hard to read on a screen but they just look so nifty. I've been wanting to read Madame Bovary for a while now, I might save it for holiday reading. Have you ever read The Awakening by Kate Chopin? I think you'd like it. It's quite heady. I'd also recommend Open the Door by Catherine Carswell. Both are late nineteenth century/early twentieth century feminist novels. Chopin never wrote another novel after The Awakening because her views were so 'unorthodox'.
ooh, I'd really like to read Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition, it sounds interesting.
I love how a stack of books looks. I also read Wuthering Heights in the summer while floating around in my grandma's pool, I think it's a good book for anytime, anywhere. I'm currently reading Emma, as I have just read all of Jane Austen's other novels for a class. I lovvveee Jane Austen.
I need to read more of jansson's novels - the summer book broke my heart/totally inspired me a couple of years ago, but books are so expensive i find it hard to justify buying them new, and for some reason no one gives their jansson novels to charity shops!
i'm currently reading an excellent collection of short stories by deborah eisenberg called 'twilight of the superheroes'. short stories are my favourite. and i keep saying it, but michael chabon just blows my mind. i've not felt like this about a new author since i read 'music for torching' by am homes, one of the greatest books of all time. not one if you're in a sad/bad mood though... xx
I've just finished Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife, which was understandably brilliant. Chuck Palahnuik's Diary if you like something weird and wonderful, Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar if you want something beautifully literary and Jeanette Winterson's Lighthousekeeping was also brilliant.
I am currently reading John Connoly's The Book of Lost Things but I haven't quite decided if I like it!
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