Category: Other

Other

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words?

Post author By Jackie
Post date June 15, 2010
34 Comments on A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words?

Simon from Stuck in a Book is challenging people to sum up their reading tastes in a single photo. Initially I resisted taking up the challenge, as I didn’t see how I could possibly summarise my eclectic taste in a single image. I was impressed by the way Lizzie and Annabel got around this problem by posting pictures of Liquorice Allsorts and ‘Everything but the Kitchen Sink’, but although I enjoy books from numerous genres I have a much more specific taste than that.

I need an emotional connection to the characters. I wanted a picture that showed a mixture of emotions, so I started off by searching for images using the phrase ‘crying with happiness’. Unfortunately I failed to find anything suitable. I almost posted this picture of a little boy crying, but although I do enjoy harrowing books that didn’t sum up my entire range.

I finally settled on this image:

I think it captures the emotional connection that I want from the books I read. I want to feel as though I know them; to form a bond with the people I read about and feel their joy and their pain.

Do you think this photo is a good reflection of my reading taste?

Which picture would you choose?

Blogging Other

It’s Time for a Bloggiesta!!

Post author By Jackie
Post date June 11, 2010
24 Comments on It’s Time for a Bloggiesta!!

This weekend Natasha from Maw Books is hosting another BLOGGIESTA!!!

The bloggiesta is a time when people come together to celebrate and improve their blogs. I love taking part as there is such a positive energy in the air.

If you have a blog then I highly recommend that you join in.

It is the perfect time to make big changes on your blog – so many people will be doing similar things and everyone helps each other, giving help and advice all the time. I was amazed at how many hints and tips I picked up during previous bloggiestas.

For more information and to sign up head over to the Bloggiesta Starting Line

Follow events on Twitter @bloggiesta and #bloggiesta

I’m not going to be setting any specific goals, but I will be doing some tinkering behind the scenes. Hopefully I’ll have a few improvements to show for my efforts by Monday!!

Blogging Discussions Other

Do bad books exist?

If you had asked me that question a few years ago then I would have immediately reeled off a list of several bad books. I was under the impression that the world was piled high with them and that good ones were hard to find.

Since I discovered blogging my attitude has slowly changed.

I am finding it easier to discover books that I enjoy reading, but I am also beginning to think that there is no such thing as a bad book. Whenever I come across a book that I hate, I discover a whole army of people who love it. I can’t think of a single book that hasn’t had at least one person stepping up to defend it. We all have a very different taste in books and so it makes sense that one person’s reject is another person’s gem.

Publishers receive thousands of manuscripts each year and only publish a select few.

Surely any book that is chosen to be published is the cream of the crop? Some people prefer the ordinary, others the bizarre – I prefer a mixture of the two!

Family Legacy

Even all those unpublished manuscripts must have some merit, even if it is just to bring joy to the families of the author. My Granny had a short story published a while ago. I don’t normally enjoy short stories, but I love hers – simply for the fact that her personality shines through. I think it is fantastic for a family to have a legacy that will last for years after that person has died.

Guilt free negative reviews?

Thinking about books in this way also makes me feel less guilty about writing negative reviews. There is no such thing as a bad book – I’m simply not the target audience for a the specific one.

Authors should also be comforted by this notion. They should stop worrying about trying to find hundreds of people to read their book and concentrate on finding a handful of people who are the perfect match for it. They should also stop worrying about bad reviews – all this means is that their book has slipped into the hands of someone who isn’t right for it.

What do you think?

Are some books genuinely bad, or do all books have some merit?

Orange Prize Other

Who is going to win the 2010 Orange Prize?

Post author By Jackie
Post date June 5, 2010
53 Comments on Who is going to win the 2010 Orange Prize?

I have now finished my Orange short list reading. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the end of all the books, but I’ve read enough to know their writing style and basic plot.

I was very disappointed by the Orange short list this year. It wasn’t just that I didn’t really like any of the books, but I felt that most of them didn’t deserve to make the short list.

When I read the 2009 Orange short list I didn’t like all the books, but knew why they had been selected and could see the quality of the writing.

In 2010 all the best books were left on the long list.

I think that leaving these three books out of the short list was a big mistake.

The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig

The Rehearsal – Eleanor Catton

I think that The Help and The Rehearsal deserved to fight it out for the winning position this year. I have no idea why they weren’t selected and I highly recommend that you take a look at them!

My Reviews and Ratings for 2010 Short List

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey

A Gate at the Stairs – Lorrie Moore

The Very Thought of You – Rosie Alison

Black Water Rising – Attica Locke

The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver (DNF)

Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel (DNF)

Who is going to win?

In my opinion the only book that deserves to win is Wolf Hall. I didn’t enjoy reading it, but it had the writing quality of a prize winning book. The problem is that the same book has never won the Booker and the Orange prize before. The Orange prize tends to favor fiction over literary fiction and so I have a feeling that Wolf Hall will struggle to win.

Those Orange judges are making very strange selections this year so it is impossible to know which book they will pick. If I try to get inside their minds then I imagine The Very Thought of You has a very good chance. It is a flawless example of a romance book and I think it will have broad appeal.

If I was going to place a bet then my money would be on The White Woman on the Green Bicycle.

I think it is one of those books that will improve with re-reading (something I’m hoping the judges do!). It did have a good plot and although I found it to be a slow read, it has left a good impression on me.

The Bookies Favourite?

The bookies favourite is Wolf Hall. They put The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and The Very Thought of You as the least likely choices, both with odds of 8/1. It is tempting to place a bet….

The winner of the Orange prize will be announced on 9th June.

Who do you think will win?

Tags Orange Prize, Summary

Other

May Summary and Plans for June

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 31, 2010
49 Comments on May Summary and Plans for June

I finished 14 books in May. I was unable to resist the Orange list and so my reading was dominated by books from it. Unfortunately I don’t seem to have the same taste in books as the Orange judges this year – I’ll post a full summary of my thoughts on the Orange short list at some point in the next week, but overall I was quite disappointed.

I noticed that all the books I read were relatively new. I am disappointed by the lack of older books and so intend to concentrate on reading a few next month.

Book of the Month

Beside the Sea – Veronique Olmi

The City & The City – China Miéville

Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet – David Mitchell

The Weight of a Mustard Seed – Wendell Steavenson

Even the Dogs – Jon McGregor

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey

A Gate at the Stairs – Lorrie Moore

The Very Thought of You – Rosie Alison

Acts of Violence – Ryan David Jahn

Black Water Rising – Attica Locke

Blueeyedboy – Joanne Harris

Hector and the Search for Happiness – Francois Lelord

Plans for June

The Booker long list isn’t announced until 27th July, so I am going to enjoy a brief period of time without a book prize list to work from! I’m going to try to read a few of the books that I wanted to read in May and then focus on some international reads. I hope to squeeze in a few science fiction reads too!

A Life Apart – Neel Murkherjee

Our Tragic Universe – Scarlett Thomas

The Surrendered – Chang-Rae Lee

Marcelo in the Real World – Francisco Stork

The Birth of Love – Joanna Kavenna

The White Bone – Barbara Gowdy

Ilustrado – Miguel Syjuco

Songs from the Other Side of the Wall – Dan Holloway

Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek

The Russian Countess – Edith Sollohub

Palace Walk – Naguib Mahfouz

How Late it Was, How Late – James Kelman

The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox – Maggie O’Farrell

The Tin Drum – Gunter Grass

White is for Witching – Helen Oyeyemi

I know I probably won’t be able to fit them all in, but several are very short so you never know!

Which books from my list should I ensure I read?

Do you plan to read any of the same ones?

Tags Monthly Summary, Summary

Other Science Fiction

The Best Literary Science Fiction Books?

Post author By Jackie
Post date May 27, 2010
89 Comments on The Best Literary Science Fiction Books?

I’m getting bored of reality. The more books I read, the more it feels as though they are all churning out the same basic stories about love and loss. There are the odd exceptions, but I am increasingly becoming disenchanted with modern literary fiction.

I recently read The City & The City by China Miéville and found the way it stretched my brain refreshing. I never knew what would happen next and I loved it!

I have always been wary of reading science fiction as I have had many disappointing reads. I blame this entirely on my lack of research. I would never walk into a book shop and just pick the top selling fiction title, so why did I ever imagine the best selling science fiction books would be to my taste? I’m a fan of literary fiction, so I should be looking at literary science fiction if I want to find enjoyable books. I didn’t realise this genre existed until recently, but a brief investigation has turned up lots of books that sound very appealing. I already had a few on my TBR pile thanks to the wonderful world of blogging, but reaching out to science fiction fans has made my list much longer!