Otherwise titled: What I’m Reading (August) – Vlog.
I broke two rules the other day:
1) Never, ever, vlog while your cat is awake.
2) Don’t swear on your blog*
Observe!
I ended it there because I think you can tell from my facial expressions and the number of “Aahhs” that I was a little rattled. So I pulled the plug. Cats, eh?! ATTENTION WHORES.
Anyway, as mentioned, I haven’t read as much as usual this month, so I’ll briefly discuss these now.
Dear Husband, Joyce Carol Oates
My short story fix for the month. The one that left me with the deepest impression is the title story, in the form of a letter, from a wife to her husband after she murders their children. As you can imagine, it’s pretty hard, but then Oates never shies away from difficult material.
The Diving Pool, Yoko Ogawa
Novellas now, three of them in total in this book. My favourite was the title story, ‘The Diving Pool’. Attentive to detail, beautiful, and yet also cruel and unnerving at times, Ogawa’s prose is balanced elegance. I loved it.
Liar, Justine Larbalestier
I heard a lot about this novel when it first came out and won a number of prizes. It was curious to read it – the title is intriguing – and I love an unreliable narrator. They can be difficult to pull off. This novel will be difficult to discuss as I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I was ultimately a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, by the middle I was hooked and I was up late reading (always a good sign), but I was left cold by Micah and didn’t really care either way what ended up being true or not at the end. One last thought: Larbalestier writes desire/attraction very well.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling
I pulled this out to double check a thing or two in advance of a post I’m writing. I must read it properly again, for there were characters I didn’t remember and it was interesting to see the changes between the movie and the book. For example, I forgot in the book the Elder Wand was not destroyed like it is in the movie.
That’s basically it!
While I’m talking books, I’ll draw your attention to the top of my header bar and the ‘1001 Books Challenge‘ tab which I’ve just created. Part of me is a little dismayed because I do consider myself pretty well read, but you wouldn’t think it when you look at the list and see what I’ve finished over the years!
I’ve gone to the Kindle store to try and source some free classics, but as anyone who has a Kindle knows that is a very hit-and-miss affair. For example, I got a horribly formatted Ivanhoe. I own Ivanhoe already (well, it’s at mum’s house) and have had it since I was a teenager. It would probably be more loyal to read that copy!
I’ll keep plugging away at it, though.
What are you reading at the moment? Anything you’d recommend?
*Well, let’s face it, I’ve never really adhered to that one.
