Choosing a book is tricky. Does it have a good cover? Did your mate enjoy it? Would it make your mother blush? Is it available on iTunes or Kindle? Word of mouth is everything.
As a greedy devourer of literature – biographies are breakfast, non-fiction is lunch, and modern fiction is my sumptuous evening repast (with poetry snacks sprinkled through the day) – I’m never on a diet.
For what it’s worth, here’s what I’ve been reading, with reviews in 140 characters. Have a taste.
(And, no. I am not an Amazon.com affiliate.)
March 2012
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Part 2 of the Hunger Games series. A lull in the storm, while we wait for the climax. Not as good as the Hunger Games, but a necessary, emotional link in the trilogy nonetheless.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Part 3 of the Hunger Games. Although District 13 took the edge off the story for me, it drives relentlessly towards the ending that was largely expected by still satisfying.
Comfort and Joy, by India Knight. Light, frothy, wry and pithy. Very little concentration required – but surprisingly enjoyable with a sharp eye for relationships.
Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters. Evokes the music halls and dark London streets of the late 19th century, through the coming-of-age story of Nancy King. Enjoyable, but lacks the depth of her later novels.
February 2012
The Great War for Civilisation, by Robert Fisk. 1300+ pages of visceral, clear-eyed reasons why we should pay more attention to what’s happening in the Middle East. Stirring & disturbing.
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Unrelenting, evocative, darkly-brooding ride through futuristic world. Fiesty female protagonist fights to survive. Couldn’t put it down.
A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, by Daniel H. Pink. A light-hearted, example-heavy look at why creative, empathic people have the point of difference in today’s automated left-brained world.
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann. Spins moving threads of New York lives with the moment a man walked a tightrope between the twin towers. Storytelling at its best. Loved it.
January 2012
Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan [Pullitzer Prize, 2011]. A series of stories with characters’ lives intertwined across years, punk, cities, countries. Deceptively simple. Evocative, fluid and funny.
A Journey: My Political Life, by Tony Blair
New Labour’s rise and fall from the eye of the storm. Fascinating personal insight combined with record straightening and polemic. Skim it.
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer
Desperate, dark longing in verdant, lush backwater. More about love than blood. More compelling than cringeworthy. Justifies hype, just.
December 2011
How to be a woman, by Caitlin Moran
Hilarously, eye-wateringly witty, with tenderness, sadness, London, babies and musos. Feminism with a light touch. Fiercely recommended.
The Marriage Plot: A Novel, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Three lives intertwined – student days to what comes after. Unexpected bumps in the road with nicely twisted end. Intriguing, literary, witty.
The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes [ Man Booker Prize, 2011]
Vacillates, past and present. Extends the concept of memory as unreliable in the context of friends’ shared lives. Beautifully compelling.
Twilight – tedious beginning, teen angst had its moments, horrifying meta-narrative but I agree it was kind of compelling.
You capture it well. Sonja. It was unsurprisingly teenagey (and occasionally the style would be a little Judy Blume;-) but somehow I couldn’t put it down. Like eating all the chocolates in the box. You know they’re bad for you but somehow….;-)
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Read a fantastic review of Twilight, that spoke to how defined and specific Edward’s character was, and how blank and vague and blah Bella was – thus allowing the legions of mainly tween female readers to project themselves the put-upon heroine, and become part of the text.
Have used Twilight in my class to encourage my students to make their characters defined and specific. To get them to say something! I do manage to contain my disdain for said Twilight series, but never mention that I read Anne Rice back in the day – which filled a similar angsty vampire bollocks phase.
Having been forced to watch the first Twilight film with a rabid fan, I’m working on blanking out that 122 minutes of my memory.
Your comment made me laugh, Tim:-) I sympathise with the trauma! I’m intrigued by your ‘angsty vampire phase’. What is it about vampires, I wonder, that holds such attraction for us?
Jan
Read – life and death of the american school system by @dianeravitch our future is depressing
Mindset – growth is good
Microtrends – the clinton’s pollster postulates
Tomorrow when the war began – classics never go out of style
Thanks for sharing these titles, Stephanie. I loved ‘Tomorrow..’ too, even though I was reading it for Year 10 work;-) Will check out your other recommendations.
Kia ora – Bonjour, love the 140 review, reminds me of the limebirdwriter who has just started the 100 word movie review, also succinct.
I only review books so allow myself to indulge a few more words, just finished Edith Wharton’s ‘Ethan Frome’ in commeoration of her 150 years and now onto the french equivalent in Irene Nemirovsky’s ‘Fire in the Blood’.
Bonne Continuation!
Merci for your comment, Claire:-) Always nice to pause and reflect on what it was all about. The self-imposed 140 limit is always an intriguing challenge. Current book by Robert Fisk is 1000+ pages so that will stretch the brain….! A bientot:-)