Today I’m taking part in Alyce’s Best and Worst Feature, talking about an author who has written a book I love, as well as one I didn’t enjoy at all.
Head over to her blog to see which author I picked.
Last night the Booker Prize was awarded to Julian Barnes for Sense of an Ending and although I didn’t enjoy it I was pleased because I thought it was the most deserving book on the shortlist.
In the run up to the prize announcement I normally do a prediction post, but as you’ve probably seen there has been a lot of debate about the Booker judges this year and with their comments about wanting a readable book that would “zip-along” I honestly had no idea which book they’d pick. It was good to see that they chose the most literary book on the short list and I hope next year’s prize courts less controversy.
Last night I was lucky enough to attend a Booker Prize party organised by four of the publishers on the short list (Atlantic, Canongate, Serpent’s Tail and Granta). It was quite a daunting experience as I knew no-one there. The situation was made harder by the fact that everyone else seemed to know each other, but after nearly bolting for the door I summoned up the courage to speak to people and had a fantastic evening.
I spoke to the editor of Half Blood Blues, several publishers and I had a very interesting conversation with someone from a marketing agency about blogs, social media and viral marketing. As the prize announcement drew nearer I spoke to Carol Birch’s son and was surprised to discover that short listed authors only get to take one guest along with them to the official prize giving ceremony.
Live Booker coverage was broadcast to the party on a big screen and everyone watched nervously. A few people booed Stella Rimington’s speech and there was quite a bit of heckling – everyone was far better behaved at the real Booker announcement! When Julian Barnes was declared the winner the entire room seemed to sigh in unison. There was no booing (or clapping) just a weird feeling of sadness from everyone in the room. After the news had sunk in we got back to drinking and talking. It was a bit strange to have a party without the authors we were celebrating, but everyone had a fantastic time.
I look forward to seeing which books are selected for the Booker next year and will be enjoying a bit more random reading over the next few months.
I have had a good reading month, completing about fifteen books. Unfortunately I haven’t had much time for review writing and so am a bit behind. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up over the next few weeks, but the good news is that I’ve read a few real gems.
Book of the Month
Books Reviewed in September
The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern 
The Last Hundred Days – Patrick McGuinness 
Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan
Titus Awakes – Maeve Gilmore and Mervyn Peake 
What else have I been doing?
My eldest son returned to school at the beginning of the month so I spent most of September entertaining my youngest son. I discovered that looking after one child is far harder than two and so I’ve been volunteering to look after other children, just so they entertain each other. We had a lot of fun swimming, walking in the woods and sampling all the local playgrounds, but then last week he went to school for the first time.
So far he has just been doing half days, but he is loving it. On Monday he goes full-time, so I’m looking forward to getting a lot of extra free-time.
I was also lucky enough to be invited to attend Vintage Books’ 21st Birthday Party in central London. It was a lovely evening and I saw lots of famous authors (who I was too scared to talk too!). I did get to meet a few of the publishers and I had a very nice chat with Kim from Reading Matters.
I’ll be joining in Amy’s Nigerian Independence Day Reading Project by posting a review of Things Fall Apart.
I’m gathering together as many German books as I can for Lizzy and Caroline’s German Literature Month.
I also plan to read a few of the following books:
The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Sound of Gravity by Joe Simpson
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Book Lamp is a new site which uses a scientific approach to compare books. By analysing numerous different aspects of both content and writing style the site compiles over 30,000 data points for each book. These are then processed to obtain the “book’s DNA” which then can then be used to compare it to other books.
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I decided to test the system by entering my favourite book, A Fine Balance.
Book Lamp came up with the following suggestions:
It is no surprise to see another book by the same author at the top of the list. I’m reading it now and can confirm that it is almost as wonderful as A Fine Balance.
I was surprised to discover that the second book on the list was one I hadn’t heard of and so I decided to test the site by ordering a copy of Absent. As you can see from my review yesterday I really enjoyed it. I can see why it managed to top the list and as I was reading it I smiled as I spotted the similarities. The writing was of a similar quality and pace, the book focused on people living in a country under turmoil and there was even a seamstress in the first chapter! I’m very pleased that Book Lamp brought this book to my attention.
Most of the other books on the list intrigue me, but I fail to understand why The Lilac Bus ranks so highly. I enjoyed Maeve Binchy as a teenager, but think of her books as warm romances and so struggle to see how they can be similar to life during Indian Emergency. Perhaps I’ll have to read a copy and find out why it has been included.
Have you read any of these books? Do you think I’d enjoy them?
The main problem with the Book Lamp site is that it doesn’t contain a full range of books and authors, but as new books are added every day I’m sure it wont be too long before all my favourites are added.
What do you think of Book Lamp?
Did you discover any new books thanks to its recommendations?
Do you think you’ll use it to discover new books?
I have hundreds of unread books in my house so do my best to avoid buying new ones, but sometimes other bloggers write reviews so compelling it is impossible to ignore them. I try to resist the temptation, but that positive review eats away at me until I have a copy in my hands. The power of the blogger means that this can sometimes be weeks, months, or even years after I first read the review, but once a trusted source has raved about something I always have its title in my mind.
Here are the books I’ve bought in the last few months, along with quotes from the bloggers who persuaded me to part with my cash:
Galore by Michael Crummey
I loved this book for its tall tales, its surprising twists, and the characters which people its pages. Caribousmom
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The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter
Literally we did not put the book down until we turned the last page two hours later. A Reader’s Respite
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That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
Thanks to numerous ravings from Australian bloggers on Twitter.
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Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (Audio)
But somehow Jackson has differentiated herself from the masses by her unique and achingly human characters. You’ve Gotta Read This!
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The Death of Grass by John Christopher
Will we do anything in the world to protect our friends, families and loved ones? Even if it means compromising on the ideals we’ve always believed in? Another Cookie Crumbles
Yes, I know she wrote the review nearly two years ago, but I only bought the book last month – I had hoped I’d find a copy in the library, but had to admit defeat and buy a copy as I really want to read it!
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Villain by Shuichi Yoshida
This atmospheric, and intricately woven, novel carries us over the passes we have traveled in our lives, both real and imaginary. Dolce Bellezza
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The Piano Man’s Daughter by Timothy Findley
Bought thanks to ravings from Pink Sheep Cafe.
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I don’t think I’d have come across many of these books without bloggers. I’m grateful they have expanded my reading horizons and improved my overall enjoyment of the books I read.
Have you read any of these books?
Which do you think I should read first?
Today Book Blogger Appreiciation Week is encouraging bloggers to find out a little more about each other via a series of interview swaps. My interview partner is Carolina from Eclectic Book Readings.
Carolina reads a wide variety of different genres and can be found reading anything from YA to the classics. She lives in Portugal and can be found on twitter @eclectic_reader. I hadn’t heard of her blog before I was assigned her as an interview partner, but I’ll definitely be returning. I’m sure a lot of you will love her blog, so please head over and take a look.
Inspired by a wordless interview with Shaun Tan and Simon’s Book Taste Meme I thought it would be nice to keep words to a minimum and Carolina kindly agree to answer all her questions with the use of photographs. Here are her photographic answers to my questions:
A big thanks to Carolina for answering my questions! I particularly like her reading taste photo – so dark and atmospheric. I fancy reading a book like that right now…
Head over to Carolina’s blog to see my answers to her questions.
