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

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 9, 2011
56 Comments on 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.

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

Post author By Jackie
Post date October 31, 2011
28 Comments on 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

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.

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!

Tags Monthly Summary, Summary

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The Best and Worst

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.

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The Booker Prize Announcement

Post author By Jackie
Post date October 19, 2011
31 Comments on The Booker Prize Announcement

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.

Independent Alliance Man Booker Prize Party

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.

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Three Entertaining Books

I was writing reviews for the following books when I realised I was repeating myself. Although all three have different writing styles and settings they share many other qualities and so I thought I’d combine my thoughts into one post, giving you a trio of entertaining reads to add to your TBR pile.

All three books captivate the reader, making you want to turn the pages quickly in order to find out what happens to the characters. They are all easy to read and the writing flows beautifully. If you are after an entertaining read I can’t really fault any of them – just pick the one that appeals the most and I’m sure you’ll enjoy being transported into its world.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Five words from the blurb: Greece, Heroes, King, war, immortal

Fleur Fisher drew this book to my attention. I have always wanted to know more about Greek mythology and so this well researched re-telling of Achilles’ story appealed to me. The book is narrated by Patroclus, a young prince who forms a strong bond with Achilles. We see them grow up together, learning to become warriors. Their friendship strengthens as they reach adulthood and embark on a journey that leads them into the Trojan war.

The Song of Achilles managed to combine humans and Gods in a way that seemed completely natural. I loved the vivid descriptions of this ancient time and the way the narrative brought the characters to life. The emotions felt real and I enjoyed seeing the love between Achilles and Patroclus blossom. It was wonderful for me to learn the full story behind the snippets of mythology I already knew.

If you have any interest in Greek mythology then I’m sure you’ll appreciate this emotional book. Recommended.

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

Five words from the blurb: Glasgow, encounter, tragedy, mystery, humour

Gillespie and I is set in Glasgow at the end of the 19th century. The book is narrated by Harriet Baxter, a women who embarks on a journey to Glasgow in order to see the International Exhibition. Whilst there she meets the Gillespie family and becomes increasingly involved in their lives. Unfortunately the family is plagued by problems and Harriet is unable to prevent the tragedy that eventually occurs.

This book is packed with Victorian atmosphere, but is far lighter and chattier in tone than any of the other books I’ve read set during this period. It is impossible not to be warmed by Harriet’s banter and she charmed me into reading this 500 page chunkster twice as fast as I’d expected to.

I loved the way that snippets of information were sprinkled through the text, but I also liked the fact that many of my questions were left unanswered, leaving me to think about this book long after I’d finished it.

If you are after an entertaining Victorian mystery then I recommend getting hold of this book.

The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

Five words from the blurb: London, dead, life, love, past

I first heard about this book on Steph and Tony’s Blog. She compared it to Tana French and I have to agree – this compelling thriller shares Tana French’s writing style and her skill for character development. The plot is a little different in that there is no police investigation; instead we follow the lives of the criminals as we discover what led them to commit their crime.

The Poison Tree is set in London and follows Karen, a student who is drawn towards a brother and sister who lead a glamorous lifestyle. The family’s problems are revealed slowly and although the plot isn’t particularly original, the structure is very clever. The book is gripping throughout, but I especially loved the last 50 pages – they ended the book perfectly.

Recommended to anyone looking for a character driven mystery.

Have you read any of these books?

Did you enjoy them?

Which one appeals to you most?

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September Summary and Plans for October

Post author By Jackie
Post date October 1, 2011
35 Comments on September Summary and Plans for October

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 Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

Absent – Betool Khedairi

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

Hen’s Teeth – Manda Scott

The Last Hundred Days – Patrick McGuinness

Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan

Caribou Island – David Vann

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.