Anyone who hangs out on the internet for an extended period of time, blogs, posts selfies, make public status updates on Facebook – or does them all – has possibly been accused of being narcissistic. By asserting your place in your world, that you matter, is often challenged. Just ask mother bloggers, or female tech writers, or victims of misogynistic attacks. But choosing to be online – to keep using that example – doesn’t mean you’re a narcissist. And what does that even mean? In The Life of I: the new culture of narcissism by Anne Manne examines this concept in detail by showcasing examples, opening with the horrific story of the day Anders Behring Breivik went on his murderous rampage in Norway in 2011.
I admit my interest tailed off in the second half of the book. I most enjoyed the stories of individuals, the examinations of how and why they are like that are enough for a reader like me to turn my mind to encounters with certain people from my past and present. Manne says narcissism is more like a spectrum; I think it’s only natural to wonder where we’d each be on it.
One of the reasons why I like anthologies is because they offer a good ‘sampler’ opportunity to became familiar with the works a writer (or writers) I’ve heard of but not have read yet. Horrorology, edited by Stephen Jones and Illustrated by Clive Barker is the latest such example. Angela Slatter is a multi-Aurealis Award winner in the fantasy/horror genre, but I hadn’t read any of her stories before. When I saw she was in this with a story about Jack the Ripper, I was hooked. I grabbed it.
The cover is fabulous too. When I’ve been out with this tucked under my arm, people have stopped to ask if they could take a look at it. Now you know why book covers are important to marketing!
Last is the latest novel from one of my favourite authors. The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson is a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s play ‘The Winter’s Tale’, in what is going to be a series of books of similar retellings from Hogarth Shakespeare. Other titles already include the word from authors Anne Tyler and Howard Jacobson. I haven’t gotten very far in The Gap of Time, I admit, so I can’t really give an informed opinion as yet.
What are you reading this month?
