Two Books Down..

... And a ridiculous amount still to go! I haven't ploughed through as many books as I wanted to with this resolution; although I'm disappointed with the number of books still left in my pile, I'm just going to continue reading as much as I can once I go back to work, and hopefully I should be able to get through them in a reasonable time.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I am ashamed to admit that, other than A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations is the first Dickens novel I've ever read. I know a few people who really do not like him and I think I must have just been put off by their opinions, which is a shame because I now wish I'd read something of his a lot sooner.

I loved this novel. I love Dickens' writing style and turns of phrase, and the idiosyncratic names he gives to his characters are phonetically quirky and entertaining. The story itself was a good read, full of drama, good times and bad times; I realise now there is a good reason for this book being a classic!

Vanity Fair by William Thackeray

Another classic that I really enjoyed. I have to admit, I was put off by the size of the book as it's a pretty hefty tome (although my edition did have lots of appendices and notes), so I decided to get it out of the way before I went back to work, knowing it would take me even longer after that.

The novel really drew me in, and all of the characters were very engaging even if they were not all likeable. I liked the way the novel poked fun at society of the time; and the fact that it seemed not to be judging Becky Sharp in as moralistic a manner as other books of the time might have, but more watching her evil scheming with one amused eyebrow raised. The book dragged a little towards the end, but I think that was more my own impatience to find out what happened to all of the characters. For the most part, it didn't feel as long as it actually was, and I managed to get through it with enthusiasm. In fact, the only downside with the book being so long was that, immersed for so long in the language of that period, I now find myself thinking in old-fashioned speech patterns - I have the same problem when I read Jane Austen novels too...

I still have 9 books left on my list to get through; the list itself has changed slightly from the one shown in my initial post (linked above). I found a few books on my parents' shelves I wanted to add, and I'm giving up on A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth because it's just too, too massive. Also (idiot admission coming up) I realised there's no point in starting War and Peace, because the stupid girl (me) who bought it at the carboot sale failed to realise the spine clearly says "Part 1".. And I don't have Part 2. I did wonder why it was so small, I guess I just thought the print was super-tiny...

The Book List Continued..

Another two books to tick off the list this week. I will admit I am a bit behind, considering I only have three weeks before I go back to work; I'm not happy about it, but one of the books has been so annoying it's taken me ages to get through it.

An Area of Darkness by V.S. Naipaul

I quite liked this, though not on the same scale as the previous two books from my list. His descriptions of India are very evocative, and I liked the honesty of his struggle to reconcile his heritage with the country in front of him. It was a little difficult at times, mostly when he was writing about politics; though I guess that's more my problem than the author's as I do struggle to read about politics and stay awake sometimes. 

The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

This was the annoying one. It's easily the worst book (in my opinion) that I've read for a long time, and if it wasn't on the list I would have shoved it back to languish on the shelf for another three years. As it is, the one good thing that's come out of this is that I can get rid of it now and never have to look at it again.

The narrative reads like a dream; but with none of the crazy fantastical things that happen in dreams, only the strange malleability that makes events seem fluid and constantly changeable, with the supporting characters acting strangely and illogically. For that reason alone, I found the book extremely annoying; if I wanted to experience a boring dream I would turn the light off and go to sleep. Another thing I found annoying was the protagonist’s lack of drive; he was always swept along by other events or characters, seemingly content to go along with what was happening and only occasionally showing mild annoyance if his plans were disrupted or he was inconvenienced. He wasn't a very likeable character at all. 

I am aware the book has received extremely mixed reviews, and despite the above I can certainly appreciate why some people consider it to be a great work of art; it is extremely innovative. I guess I just like my literature escapes from reality to follow the usual conventions. The ending was a complete anti-climax; in fact, very little happened throughout the book at all in terms of action or even an underlying message. I suppose for me, it felt like a really boring Alice in Wonderland.

Hopefully the next books I read will be more enjoyable than The Unconsoled. I'm quite disappointed I didn't like it, because I loved Never Let Me Go so much. Oh well, onwards and upwards!

The Book List

Happy New Year to all! I saw in the new year in my dressing gown and toasted my family with a glass of lemonade; that's how rock 'n' roll I am these days with my dodgy foot.

I am pleased to report I have already gone through two books from my pile to read I posted about here.

The first one I finished was Eleven Minutes, by Paulo Coelho. I'd read the Alchemist and loved it, which was my sole reason for buying Eleven Minutes when I saw it in a charity shop (plus it was just before a hospital appointment and I had a feeling I would be in waiting there for hours so I needed something cheap to take with me). It's a lot less innocent and naive than the Alchemist, as it tackles quite a gritty subject (prostitution). It can be dark, but the main character's general outlook on life is hopeful so overall it feels a lot more positive than you might think from reading the description on the back. The novel has the simplistic writing style as in the Alchemist which I loved, as although it seems quite simple Paulo manages to convey complicated emotions with such simplicity and clarity it seems almost child-like.

I think if anything, I enjoyed this more than the Alchemist mostly because of its dark subject matter; I always love a book that's a bit rude! And it was addressed in a very non-judgemental way, for which I applaud the author.
 

My second book was The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. With no description on the back of the book to help me I had no idea what this was about, but the title intrigued me and I remembered hearing about it before somewhere (I realise I could have just looked up the plot on the internet but I never allow myself to do that in case I spoil it).

This book I also enjoyed. Again, I really liked the writing style, and the characters were likable; the things they went through were affecting and bittersweet, and the emotions were described extremely well. It was also interesting reading in a fictional novel about Communist rule in Prague during the 1960's onwards; while that area of history does interest me, I just cannot read non-fiction at all easily and I never remember anything so I always like it when something like this crops up in a fictional novel, it seems to stick in my head better. You really got a feel for how things must have been back then and the attitudes of people.

There were a lot of things the characters said and thought that I identified with, and there were quite a few thought-provoking statements. I have saved the more inspirational ones and copied them in my big book of quotes, and I think I will be keeping hold of this book to read again some time as I think I will get even more out of it the second time round.

Summary
The two books are quite similar in that they both primarily deal with human emotions; there is a lot more thinking and talking than real action. However, despite that they are extremely easy to read, and I would highly recommend them both equally.

Music feeds the soul

Music is always close to me, and I have always turned to it in times of trouble. It never fails to soothe me when I am feeling stressed or worried, and it never ceases to amaze me how much of an effect music can have on one's mood and overall wellbeing.

Despite the above, I couldn't bear to listen to any music whatsoever shortly after the break-up. Even my happier moments felt so delicate that I didn't want everything to come crashing down upon hearing a painful lyric or a song with personal meaning. Instead, I drove about in my car in complete silence, not even a talky radio station in the background, went to sleep to the sound of the wind crashing about, and put the TV on as background noise to my activities rather than the radio.

Even, a little later, when I wasn't feeling as weak any more, I didn't even have any desire to listen to music. Perhaps I still felt somewhat numb; I'm not sure any art form could have moved me or pleased me at that time. Silence was just preferable.

Fortunately, that passed after a couple of weeks, and I proceeded to make up for lost time by immersing myself in a choice few albums. I always find at periods like these of great personal reflection or growth that I tend to listen to certain albums extremely frequently; often, a certain album will be the only thing I play for a week or maybe more. It is comforting to become so familiar with the album, but I also like going back to the album some time later and being reminded of my feelings and thought-processes during that time.

Here is some of the music I was listening to during my getting-better phase:

The Pierces - You & I

I have read reviews of this album that describe the music as being middle-of-the-road. I'm not sure I would describe it as such, but then I'm not entirely sure how accurate my descriptions of music ever are! I like the emotiveness of the first track, and I find the music throughout slightly haunting and most definitely female. That's a good thing, by the way. I like that it is so emotional, but I still found in the end a positive, strong and inspiring feeling. I listened to this album pretty much all the time for about two weeks, and I still listen to it occasionally now.

Lana Del Rey - Video Games

This song was all over the radio shortly before we broke up, and at first I didn't like it very much. My feelings on it were that it was a bit drone-y, too slow and not very interesting. However, it grew on me and now I like it for possibly the very qualities I disliked in it at first; although now, I would describe it as languid and slightly seductive. I won't get into a debate about Lana's authenticity, as that's been done to death all over the internet and frankly I'm not very interested in it.

Ladyhawke - self-titled

This has always been a much-loved album, but I discovered new elements to it recently and got a lot more out of it. I have always had a weakness for 80's-style electro-pop and nearly all of the songs on this album are ultra-catchy. I liked it during this period for the strains of defiance running through the lyrics (particularly the lyrics to Better Than Sunday) and it definitely helped me to feel stronger and more self-assured.

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit (and other albums to varying degrees)

Belle & Sebastian is quite possibly my all-time favourite band ever, or at least in the top three (I do love making lists of my favourite things). This album never fails to cheer me up and feel a little bit more whole. It's usually the first thing I listen to whenever I'm feeling the slightest bit down, a musical cure-all. While some may consider this a bad thing, I genuinely do love the twee-ness of it all, and I like that some of the songs sound like the 70's but so much better, like without the bad clothes and haircuts.