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| f**k it: the ultimate spiritual way - John C Parkin |
I read this one every couple of months and I get a lot out of it each time but know many others don't. So I wont get all preachy. However if you want a lighthearted and sweary introduction to the art of letting stuff go this could be the one for you.
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| Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart |
I found this book hard to get into at first, and found much of the satire to be very close to home. The entire world created in this novel is just a small skip and a hop away from how we live now that I found it quite troubling, more than funny. However I did enjoy it eventually, and it did provoke quite an interesting debate at Blook Club. Though I never really warmed to the characters, and often did not care about what they did, something kept me reading to the end (and not just Blook Club) I found it to be fascinating in the way that others find car crashes or reality TV fascinating - repulsive and absorbing in equal measure.
FEBRUARY
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| Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami |
I followed
Super Sad True Love Story with
Norwegian Wood which is more than a little bit melancholy. I did not enjoy 90% of chapter 6 but otherwise found this to be a compelling and beautifully written novel. I think Murakami stepping away from metaphor led to some simple but heart breaking prose and I found the women in it very interesting, even if I worried they were just variants on male fantasy figures (this was the part I found frequently troubling throughout) though this could be down to them novel mostly being written from the point of view of a nineteen year old boy.
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| Apathy and Other Small Victories - Paul Neilan |
For a complete change of pace, I then started on
Apathy and Other Small Victories. I would say this is one of the funniest books I have read in some time, and was quite clever too, as it encouraged you to behave in the way you were laughing at other characters for doing. Really enjoyable. Might be worth avoiding if you love guinea pigs (unless you love them in *that* way)
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| Fireball - Tyler Keevil |
February is a good month for reading it seems. After my brief comedy respite, Fireball was a return to books with an emotional punch. Unlike Super Sad True Love Story, which was sad but a satire, or Norwegian Wood which was melancholic with some joy, Fireball is a sucker punch of emotion, starting on the first page with a scene that is still seared into my subconscious. The characters of this novel are ones I am unlikely to forget.
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| The Water-proof Bible - Andrew Kaufman |
If you have read All My Friends are Superheroes (which you should) then you will know that Andrew Kaufman has a gift for making the magical prosaic and the prosaic magical. I really enjoyed this novel, and found myself racing through so keen to hear what happened to the characters and to find out what mystical events might happen next. Once you have read this novel you may find yourself seeing the world in a more metaphysical light and I do not think that is a bad thing. I really recommend this.
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| Bossypants - Tina Fey |
I enjoyed this for the most part, but found it pretty episodic, and that was more than a tad off-putting. However once it got to Tina's SNL days the pace picked up and it became a really fun read!
MARCH
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| The Buddha Walks into a Bar... - Lodro Rinzler |
Reading this book got me a bit stuck with my reading, as I find both meditation and books on meditation make me very, very sleepy (not in a bad way!). However, I did find it quite useful and interesting to read and it has made me think. I think it is more for anyone who is secret
Buddhist Geek more than the completely casual reader though.
APRIL
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| F. Scott Fitzgerald - Flappers and Philosophers |
I am now working my way (slowly) through Flappers and Philosophers. It is quite a heavy volume (I have it in hardback) so am taking my time. I'm going to put another book in my handbag so I can write more about the rest of my reading for you!
MAY
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| Karen M Miller - Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life |
I loved this book and got a lot out of it. Miller writes candidly and beautifully and does not overwork her metaphors.
JUNE
I kind of failed at reading for June as was too busy with the wedding.
JULY
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| number9dream - David Mitchell |
I am actually still working my way through this as I found the violence a bit disquieting as well as the changes in pace and tone and so on. Still not sold on David Mitchell as an author but am at least interested in what happens next in this one, unlike 1000 Autumns of Jacob De Zooet which I just found dull.
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| Nick Hornby - High Fidelity |
In need of some light relief I picked this up. I like Hornby's style but tend to hate his characters and as the books are enjoyable but fail to say anything grounbreaking I find they don't stand up to a second reading but it was nice to finally get around to reading this for the first time.
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| F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby |
I might have developed a slight F Scott Fitzgerald obsession at the moment. I've read almost all the novels now and most of the short stories and the collected letters of Scott and Zelda so I think I might be a prime candidate to see the movie of this film. I think it was beautifully written and truly engrossing. I found it to be easier to get into than many of his other novels but this may be because I have read so many of them now. Tme will tell.
AUGUST
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| Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting |
As a break from reading Fitzgerald I read this. It was arresting and disgusting and I can see how it made the impression it did at the time. Leith has changed a lot since it was written but it really captures a time, place and a feeling so well and is full of characters who stay with you. Loved it.
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| Jonathan Safran Foer - Eating Animals |
I have not finished this yet, as Spain was not the best place to be reading it but hope to pick it up after In Cold Blood as it was very interesting and challenging and gave me a lot to think about.
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| Stephen Colbert - Iam America (and so can you) |
Something a little lighter - I read this in about two days on holiday and laughed often. Not groundbreaking but very funny and a good holiday read.
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| F Scott Fitzgerald - This Side of Paradise |
Continuing in my slight obsession with F Scott Fitzgerald I read this. I think the start of the novel was excellent but it got a lot looser in the second part. This could be seen as a reflection of the nature of the story but it did not work entirely for me. I enjoyed it a lot though and found quite a fondness for some of the characters and the evocation of the time.
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| Truman Capote - In Cold Blood |
I struggled to both read this and put it down. I didn't want to know more but I also needed to know more. I can see why this caused such a stir - not only due to the factual basis (since disputed in some details) of the book but also due to the breathtaking writing. It really is excellent.
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
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| Tolstoy - Anna Karenina |
I spent most of September and October reading Anna Karenina. A lot of Anna Karenina. I enjoyed it but found Anna dull and only really enjoyed the story when it fesatured Levin and Kitty. I also still don't know why the last part of the book was written. No idea. But it included a whole section from the point of view of a dog and I quite liked that.
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| A Heart Blown Open - Keith Martin-Smith |
I did find time to read one other book in this time and it was the truly humbling and inspiring story about Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi who has most certainly lived. It is a very well written book and one that kept me wanting to know more about what led this man from one path to another, from living in small town America, to being on the run from the FBI to being a leading Buddhist teacher and all the bits in between. Astonishing and fun to read, I highly recommend it.
In December I found my pace for everything slowing down and I just read (well devoured ) the wonderful Backwards in High Heels. I have not much more to say than that you should read it and let it lift you up and feel good as that is precisely what it does. It also contains some great recipes. What more can you ask for?
Flipping through old JCrew catalogues makes me very very sleepy- in a good way. Seiously. Also I read several books at once, so if I am past my bedtime and still alert I read smth very boring ( like 25 ways to change your life) and dose off pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteSiobhan, I thought you'd be interested to know that conicidenatlly F. Scott Fitzgerald grave is mere 0.2 mi form where I live, I have visited many times and pass it on my local I-355 almost daily.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:F._Scott_and_Zelda_Fitzgerald_grave.png
I've only just seen this - and am very interested to know! I used to read a book called "New Labour, New Language" which was an analysis of political speeches to help me sleep - it was interesting enough to keep my attention but so detailed I would doze off!
DeleteYou have a great layout! I've heard "Bossypants" was good, now I think I want to read it a little more.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And do read it - it is fun.
DeleteIn Cold Blood is the most compelling book I 've ever read. I will be hard pressed to say I have enjoyed it, the subject is too gruesome to be enjoyed, but as a dissection of human criminal nature it was incredibly fascinating. I am a member of Goodreads and the book gets 5 stars from me.
ReplyDeleteI can see why - yes enjoy is not the right word but it is so compelling. I've nearly finished now and then I think I have to read Anna Karenina next.
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