Tag: Summary

I apologise for the unplanned blogging break – I’ve been ill for the last few weeks. Yesterday I was finally able to read, but I haven’t been able to do so for two weeks. This means I haven’t got any books to review, so my posts may be sporadic until I’m back to full health.  

Despite these problems I still managed to read a nice range of books. My favourite was A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson. It is an important book that warns of the crisis facing bumblebees in the world today. I urge everyone to read it and hope that it inspires people to look after these wonderful creatures.

Book of the Month

Books Reviewed in April:

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson 

The Giraffe’s Neck by Judith Schalansky 

From the Fatherland, With Love by Ryu Murakami 

When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head 

Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill 

Feeding the Ghosts by Fred D’Aguiar 

The Sound of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan 

Idiopathy by Sam Byers 

The Tell-Tale Heart by Jill Dawson 

Plans for April

I’m going to finish the last few books on the Desmond Elliott Longlist and then read a few books for Kim’s Australian and New Zealand Literature Month. There probably won’t be time for much else, but I may need to squeeze in a few lighter reads before I’m back up to the full health required to concentrate on anything too complex.

I hope you have a wonderful May!

March was a mixed month, mainly due to me trying the final books on the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist. Overall it included a fantastic range of books and it was nice to see the variety, despite the fact they weren’t all to my taste.

I also read a lot of solidly good reads and I particularly recommend Cold Skin by Albert Sánchez Piñol, a beautifully creepy book with a gripping plot that raises interesting questions about humanity – and it includes giant humanoid toads!

Book of the Month

Books Reviewed in March

Cold Skin by Albert Sánchez Piñol 

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters 

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt 

Eleven Days by Lea Carpenter 

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard 

Good Kings, Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum 

Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement 

Reasons She Goes to the Woods by Deborah Kay Davies 

The Dogs of Littlefield by Suzanne Berne 

The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto 

Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen 

Plans for April

On Friday the longlist for the Desmond Elliott Prize (for debut fiction) will be announced. I’m going to be trying all the books on the list with Dan from Utterbiblio, Kaite Welsh, Heather from Between the Covers and Sarah Noakes. It will be interesting to compare notes and see if we reach the same decision as the real judges.

I’m currently reading two chunksters:

From the Fatherland With Love by Ryu Murakami
The Quick by Lauren Owen

They couldn’t be more different, but I’m loving them both so far.

I probably won’t have time for much else, but I’m sure I’ll be able to squeeze a random read in some where.

Have a wonderful April!

I’ve had a mixed few months. December seemed to produce one amazing read after another, but 2014 has been disappointing so far. Many of the books I’d been looking forward to didn’t live up to expectations. Hopefully my run of bad luck will be broken soon. 

In the meantime I’ll focus on the positives. I read three outstanding books in December:

• The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was a wonderful piece of historical fiction. It was rich in period detail, had a fantastic female protagonist, and was good old-fashioned story telling at its best. I’ll try not to put you off by mentioning the moss!
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion was a entertaining book about a man with Asperger’s finding love. It was refreshing to read such a positive portrayal of someone on the spectrum and it made me cry with laughter – a rare event!
• Tampa by Alissa Nutting was the most controversial book I read last year, but underneath the graphic sex scenes there were many important messages about our society and its attitude to female paedophiles. 

Books of the Month

Books Reviewed January/December:

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 

Tampa by Alissa Nutting 

My Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty 

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami 

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson 

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser 

Sex and the Citadel by Shereen El Feki 

The Lie by Helen Dunmore 

The Summer of the Ubume by Natsuhiko Kyogoku 

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino 

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward 

Jack Glass by Adam Roberts 

Back to Back by Julia Franck 

The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller 

DNF: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux, Underworld by Don DeLillio

Plans for February

I don’t have any firm plans for February, but I hope to read Traveller of the Century by Andres Neuman for Stu’s Pushkin Press event.  I also hope to try most of these books:

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry

The Last Word by Hanif Kureishi

The Free by Willy Vlautin

Feeding the Ghosts by Fred D’Aguiar

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

I hope that you have a wonderful February!