I feel like I’ve been reading a fair bit this month and this is mostly because I’ve found a big fat novel to curl up with – in this case Anno Dracula – The Bloody Red Baron. It is the sequel to one of my favourite books as a teenager – Anno Dracula – and I honestly don’t know why it’s taken me twenty years to get around to picking up where the former left off. I think it’s because AD left such an impact (I still have my original copy, the spine is split and there are pages dangerously close to falling out) and I was worried the sequel wouldn’t rank. Happily, this isn’t quite the case, although it does take a little while to hit its straps. For those of you unfamiliar with the premise, the books are an alternate-history look at a simple question: What would’ve happened if Dracula had succeeded in his conquest of England? The answer: Trouble.
I’m reading Life Saving – why we need poetry again (first time was Feb ’13) because I’ve been tidying up some poems in the hopes to send out to places, and sometimes I need a little, “Why am I doing this again?” reminder jolt which this book has always provided.
The 100 most influential people who never lived is published by Time, as you can probably see on the cover, and it is, as you would therefore expect if you are familar with the magazine, a readable, digestible, if not overly ground-breaking, almanac on people who never lived (think pop culture characters, mostly). A quick flick.
I’ve not gotten far into Running with the Pack yet, but I can tell it’s going to be one of the more challenging running books I’ve yet to tackle (and there have been a few!). The author, Mark Rowlands, is a professor of philosophy, so I think the story will be wrapped up with a philosophical robusity I would benefit from.
Last, but certainly not least, The Best Australian Essays 2013. I know we’re already halfway through 2014, but that’s how long these things take me sometimes! It was worth the wait, too. Thinking back, it must be a contender as the strongest collection of essays of this series for a couple years. My favourite pieces are by Helen Garner (her reflection on the Jill Meagher case, I remember, had me sobbing in a cafe), Richard Flanagan’s fascinating look at David Walsh, owner of MONA in Tasmania and Tim Flannery’s investigation into the formidable reality that jellyfish are growing in numbers in our oceans (it’s online here).
What are you reading this month?
