Category: Other

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I’ve finally entered the digital age!

After years of resisting the temptation I finally have an ereader!

I don’t do much travelling and am surrounded by books so never felt the need to buy one. I couldn’t justify spending that much money on a device when I have hundreds of unread books around me. But then the price comparison website, Idealo, offered to buy an e-book reader for me in exchange for a link in this post and I decided that would be the perfect opportunity to join the digital age.

Has owning an ereader changed my life?

No. I have now had a couple of weeks to investigate my new kindle and although it does have some benefits I still prefer to read a paper book.

The Plus Points

I love the fact that it is really light – a definite plus point when you are reading a long, heavy book.

You can carry lots of books around with you without breaking your back.

It seems to be holding its charge well. I was worried that I’d have to plug it in as much as my mobile phone, but I haven’t had to recharge it at all and after two weeks the battery is still showing more than 50% of its charge.

I find the smaller screen size enables my to read more quickly. I’m not sure why this happens, but I have noticed this weird effect occurring.

The Negatives

I’d heard a lot about the benefits of being able to read one-handed, but that certainly isn’t the case with the kindle. The button to turn the page is located awkwardly so you need to use your other hand every time you turn the page – which is more frequent than with a traditional book as the screen size is smaller. I guess I’ll have to wait a while longer before being able to read whilst drinking a cup of coffee.

There is an annoying flicker every time you turn the page. Other ereader users have assured me that you get used to it, but I haven’t yet.

The risk of damage/theft means I am less comfortable taking it to certain places where I enjoy reading (eg. the beach).

Would I recommend buying one?

If you took my kindle away tomorrow I wouldn’t buy another one. My home-based lifestyle means that the benefits aren’t worth the outlay. If you do a lot of travelling and are the sort of person who carries several books around with you then I highly recommend it – my suitcase will definitely be lighter next time I go away.

 

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November Summary and Plans for December

Books of the Month

My Sister Lives on the MantelpieceYou Deserve Nothing

Books Reviewed in November

You Deserve Nothing – Alexander Maksik

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – Annabel Pitcher (Audio Book)

The Sinner – Petra Hammesfahr

Half Brother – Kenneth Oppel 

Moby Dick – Herman Melville

The Human Bobby – Gabe Rotter 

22 Britannia Road – Amanda Hodgkinson 

House Rules – Jodi Picoult

Seven Houses in France – Bernardo Atxaga

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born – Ayi Armah

The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek DNF

The Tin Drum – Günter Grass DNF

Plans for December

In the next month I plan to read all the books that keep cropping up on the “Best of 2011” lists.

I have the following books ready to read in the final few weeks of 2011:

Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Have I missed any other gems from 2011?

I also plan to spend a lot of time with my family, so blog posting may be sporadic over the festive period.

Have a wonderful December!

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2011 Discussions Other

Were any modern classics published in 2011?

I have read lots of enjoyable books this year, but none stand out as modern day classics. I haven’t awarded my highest five star rating to any book published in 2011 and wonder if I’ve been reading the wrong books – or has it just been a slow year for fiction?

Will any books stand the test of time?

In ten years people will probably still read The Marriage Plot, but only because they loved Middlesex, and I think that Julian Barnes’ vast body of work will ensure that Sense of an Ending will still be read by a few people, but I can’t think of any book that will be remembered on its own merit.

Many years after publication I still push copies of books like Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger into the hands of anyone who hasn’t read them, but in ten years time I can’t see myself being excited by anything published this year.

The entire Booker longlist will slowly drift into obscurity and enthusiasm for the Orange prize winning, The Tiger’s Wife, doesn’t even seem to have made it to the end of the first year. Perhaps we’ll just have to wait for paperback publication next year so that the real gems of 2011 can bubble to the surface through word-of-mouth recommendation?

Do you think any modern classics were published in 2011?

Do you think 2011 produced a lower standard of fiction than usual?

 

 

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Other

The Best Books of 2011 All Contain Metafiction?

My favourite books of 2011 all contain some degree of metafiction. It seems as though metafiction has come of age this year, with authors embracing the unconventional to produce wonderfully original books.

What is Metafiction?
Metafiction is a term used to describe books that self-consciously step outside the typical narrative style of fiction; they may address the reader directly or play with the reader’s perception of the book’s reality.

In recent years I have noticed a big increase in the number of metafictional novels. I think social media has enabled writers to feel more comfortable with directly addressing their audience. The way these authors push the boundaries of the typical novel impresses me and I think the continual rise of new technology will only encourage authors to create a greater range of these books.

My Favourite Books of 2011

The Afterparty

The Afterparty by Leo Benedictus is the cleverest example I’ve come across. The book begins with an email to a literary agent enclosing the first chapter of a yet to be published novel. Through a series of email conversations the reader gets an insight into the publishing industry, the thrill of reading an exposé of celebrity culture and an incredibly intelligent subplot revolving around who the author really is. This is metafiction at its best and I’m sad it failed to be highlighted by any of the major awards this year.

 

The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst defies genre classification. On the surface it is a murder mystery, but the book also contains extracts from novels written by the narrator. These novels are then re-written over the course of the book, giving an insight into how our perspective of events changes as we age. The book also directly addresses the reader at many points:

If this was a murder mystery, this is the part where I would talk to the doorman and discover the clue.

I was impressed by the ambitiousness of this novel. It was thought-provoking as well as entertaining and I hope many more people decide to read it.

How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely is the funniest book I’ve read this year. It is a parody of the publishing industry and takes an entertaining look at what it means to be a best-selling author. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the publishing industry.

The Biggest Books of 2011

You may not of heard of the above books so I’ll need to step away from my favourites if I’m to convince you that 2011 is the year of metafiction.

1Q84: Books 1 and 2

The biggest book of the year is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.

Metafiction.

 

 

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The Marriage Plot

 

How about the biggest US release, The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides?

Metafiction.

 

 

Do you think 2011 is the year of the metafictional novel?

Do your favourites include many metafictional books?

 

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Other

Do you have different criteria for fiction versus non-fiction books?

I recently realised that I have a different attitude towards books based upon whether or not they are classified as fiction or non-fiction and wondered if I am alone in my bias.

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Why Care About Fictional People?

A fictional writer needs to work really hard to make me connect with their invented characters. It is a real talent that very few manage to achieve. If I know the people actually existed then I find I have more compassion for them. I’m sure that the quality of Joe Simpson’s writing did not alter between his books, so I was surprised to discover that I didn’t care about the characters in The Sound of Gravity, his recent fictional book.  I think this is simply down to the fact that I know they don’t exist and so I’m not rooting for their survival in the same way I am with those in his autobiographical work.

Coincidences

I also find I am far more tolerant of unrealistic plot threads in non-fiction. In fact, the more unbelievable the plot, the better. I am quite unforgiving of coincidences and extreme plot twists in fiction, but put exactly the same plot in a non-fiction book and I’ll be amazed, telling all my friends and family about it.

Writing Quality

I am happy to accept a lower standard of writing if the non-fiction book reveals an insight into someone who is not normally a writer. An example of this is the outstanding Born on a Blue Day . The standard of writing was actually quite poor, but who cares when you can gain an insight into a completely different world? I have a far higher standard with fiction books – I am distracted by poor sentence structure and really appreciate writing quality.

Why don’t I read more non-fiction?

This leaves me asking the question:  Why don’t I read more non-fiction? I’m beginning to think that I might enjoy it more as I seem to have lower expectations and more tolerance of its flaws. At the moment my favourite books seem to be historical fiction or books based on actual events, however recent. I love books that take real situations and then add characters with an emotional depth. Fiction gives the ability for history to be brought to life, without having to worry about accuracy. Non-fiction can be quite dry and facts often remove the book’s momentum, but perhaps I’m just reading the wrong ones?

Do you approach fiction and non-fiction with different expectations?

Can you recommend any non-fiction books with the narrative drive of fiction?

 

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October Summary and Plans for November

October was a good reading month for me. I finished 14 books and most of them were of a high standard.

Books of the Month

Things Fall Apart (Pocket Penguin Classics)The Fat Years

Books Reviewed in October

Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

The Fat Years – Chan Koonchung

Family Matters – Rohinton Mistry

The Poison Tree – Erin Kelly 

Gillespie and I – Jane Harris 

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller 

How to Forget – Marius Brill

The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides

Breathing Underwater – Marie Darrieussecq

The Sound of Gravity – Joe Simpson

Everything You Know – Zoe Heller

What Else Did I Do?

The beginning of the month was hectic as it was my eldest son’s 6th birthday. For some mad reason we invited his entire class and as such ended up with a room full of 29 children. We hired a magician to entertain them for most of the party, but that still left us supervising them over food and for the last few minutes. I’m sure they all had a good time, but next year I’m having a maximum of eight!

A few days later my youngest son somehow managed to trip over and land on his head –  it is amazing how much blood can be produced from one little (but deep) cut. He was glued back together quite quickly, but I hope I don’t have to repeat that experience too many times. Here he is at his school harvest festival, showing off his injury.

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It has been half term this week, so I’ve spent the time entertaining my boys. We’ve been into London, done a Halloween treasure hunt, carved pumpkins, been to a fireworks dispay and spent a lot of time in the woods walking Ayla and collecting sweet chestnuts. Here are a few photos to show what we’ve been up to:

 

Ayla

Ayla is now 6 months old and weighs 27kg. I think she has all her adult teeth now and she has stopped chewing everything in sight. Last week we finally trusted her to sleep outside her crate and in the morning everything was exactly as we left it, so fingers crossed that chewy puppy stage is over.

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Plans for November

I’m planning to join the German Literature Month organised by Lizzy from Lizzy’s Literary Life and Caroline from Beauty is A Sleeping Cat.

I’ve already finished:

  • The Death of the Adversary by Hans Keilson
  • The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr
  • The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek

and I got so excited by German literature that I started The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass – a book that has intimidated me for far too long. It is much easier to read than I expected and I hope to finish it before the end of the month.

I also plan to read the following books:

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

The Lady’s Slipper by Deborah Swift

I’m also going to do a bit of random reading – picking a few books that have been on my shelf for far too long.

Have a wonderful November!