The End of the Reading List!

I have finally finished the list of books I set myself to read at the start of the year. It's only taken me three months longer than I anticipated to get through them all. Here is a link to my posts on the previous books included in the list. As you can see from the first post, I have revised the list slightly (!) - some books I didn't read at all, while I have added a couple that were not in the first post.

Anyway, onto my thoughts about the final two books.

Dibs in Search of Self

by Virginia M. Axline

This book has been lounging on my mum's bookshelf for years and years, and I never paid it any attention until I saw a quote from it somewhere in the bowels of the internets. Intrigued, I picked up the book and read it in the space of an evening.

It's very easy to read, and a very insightful and uplifting book. Ostensibly a book on child development and behaviour, I think many people would be able to take something away from it as ultimately it's more about emotion and the self in general, and our relationships with others. It was fascinating to read the way Dibs acted out, through play, his feelings towards his parents. The only issue I had with the book was the kid's name - Dibs? Really? Why would you change the kid's name for confidentiality reasons to a name like that? It annoyed me every time I read it, it just sounded so ridiculous. 

The Well of Loneliness

by Radclyffe Hall

I realise that, at least a few years ago (perhaps not so much nowadays but I'm not so sure), mentioning this book or displaying it on your shelf was a subtle way of stating your sexual orientation to those 'in the know'. Being interested in books on sexuality/gender identity anyway, I decided to add this book to my list, as it sounded intriguing.

I have to say, though, while I appreciate it did a lot to raise awareness in the last century, I wasn't overly enamoured with it. My feelings towards it are those of a slight fondness, but it was quite angsty and melodramatic in parts, and it was basically very negative about feelings of love between anyone other than a man and a woman; as if homosexual relationships are basically doomed in some way, no matter what.

Moreover, I couldn't help comparing it to Virginia Woolf's Orlando, which was published in the same year, has similar themes, but was much more enjoyable and more my type of book. So, I don't think I will be reading The Well of Loneliness again - however, I do feel glad I have read it, and I guess it has been informative in its way. 

----------------------------------------

Now I've finished my list I'm going to take a bit of a break from reading. I'm pleased to say that I have been very good and mostly kept to my original rule of not buying any more books until I'd got through this list - I only bought one, and in my defence it was at a really cool book sale at Winchester Cathedral, and it had a beautiful cover.

Reading through this list and blogging about it has, I think, made me more analytical about the books I read - which is a good thing because I didn't used to think particularly critically about them, other than simplistic views that were barely more detailed than "it was fun to read and it had a tiger in it" (Life of Pi - which, incidentally, is one of my favourite books). I also feel like I've upped my 'knowledge-ometer' by having read quite a few of the classics - I might just have to balance that out by reading five trashy crime movels in a row (NEVER).

The Book List

I'm getting to the end of this list, so close! Although, I have to confess that I have cheated slightly and got rid of a few without reading them, which reduced the pile somewhat. I'm going to defend this action and say that the ones I got rid of, just didn't appeal any more; either I'd had them for so long and I'd changed my mind about the blurb on the back, or they were books I'd just acquired without any particular interest, simply because I never turn a free book down. But I realised, this New Year's resolution was still supposed to be enjoyable, so I figured it wouldn't do me any favours to keep on the list books I'm just not interested in reading.

Far From The Madding Crowd

by Thomas Hardy

It took me a while to get through this, partly due to doing other stuff, and also I just wasn't that enamoured with it. There were odd parts that were definitely beautiful, and Hardy's descriptions of the countryside and farming life are particularly evocative. However, I didn't really like the way he portrayed the characters, nor his insight into human emotions - particularly womens'. I got the impression several times throughout the book that Hardy didn't much like women or respect them, and even though Bathsheba was a really strong, self-willed, independent character, for all that I don't think she was written in a particularly likable way. 

(look at that cover! Isn't it gloriously retro?)

Lady Chatterley's Lover

by D.H. Lawrence

This book I enjoyed much more; which surprised me, as I didn't much enjoy the other D.H. Lawrence book I have read (Women In Love). It didn't seem quite so pretentious as Women In Love.

Although there was still a lot of expostulating on theories of love, class and society, it somehow fit better in this novel and didn't seem quite so obviously a vehicle for Lawrence's own theories and beliefs about life. The scenes between the two lovers were passionate, without being overly sentimental - overall, a really rather good book.

I only have three books left on my list - and two of those are ones that have been added since the start of January. I aim to have the list completed by the end of April, fingers crossed!

The Book List: Part [Who Knows]

Another two books to cross off the list and take off the slowly-decreasing stack! I finally feel like I'm making progress with it now, although I will probably change my mind when I get to James Joyce's Ulysses... I'm totally dreading that book, and I might cheat and give it up altogether if it's as tedious as I fear it will be. Why did I even buy it?

Rant over. Ahem.

First up we have One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

I actually didn't love, adore or cherish this book as much as I thought/hoped I would. That said, I still enjoyed it very much. The rhythm of the plot gives the book a haunting atmosphere, as do the occasional supernatural occurrences throughout the story. It's often quite sad, in a sort of poignant, reflective, melancholy way, and often very beautiful as well. Yet at the same time, the characters are imbured with so much life I didn't notice just how sad parts were until I reflected back on them.

While I don't have a particularly strong opinion about the book now, due to the writing style and the themes throughout the book, I do think that the feel of it will linger with me for quite a while. I always like it when that happens with a book, though I'm never sure if anyone else ever gets that feeling?

I've just finished reading A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. I enjoyed this novel immensely, so that brings the total of Dickens novels I have loved up to 2 out of 2. Go me. 

I wasn't particularly taken with the subject of the novel at first (the French revolution) - I thought it would be overly political, and little bit dry. Clearly I don't know Dickens very well, as it was less about politics, more about love and bloodshed, liberty and equality, tyrannism and morality. It was a little slow to start with but became increasingly gripping halfway through. Plus, as before, excellent writing throughout.

A Tale of Two Cities wasn't quite as enjoyable as Great Expectations, for me. I think that's because there was more scope for humour and witticisms in Great Expectations, whereas of course that wasn't appropriate for A Tale of Two Cities. Nevetheless, it was still a fantastic book and I am again smarting that I didn't give him a chance earlier. I know what's going on my shopping list once my book-buying ban is over!

Snow and books, a good combination (The Book List)

I have another two books to tick off the list this week, on account of the snow we had over the weekend - there's nothing better to do in bad weather than curl up with a hot drink and a book.

Apart from going sledging and building snowmen. Which I also did.

 

 

I do like taking pictures of the snow.

But anyway. Onto more literary pursuits..

First up is the Diary of a Madman and Other Stories, by Nikolai Gogol. It's a collection of short stories, which I picked up at a carboot sale purely because the title sounded intriguing and short stories are always less of a commitment than a full-length novel. 

I'm not quite sure whether I liked these stories or not. They were certainly easy to read, but I didn't really get much sense of feeling or atmosphere from the author; that said, I liked the madness of most of the stories. Quite absurd and ridiculous, even while being mundane at the same time. I probably wouldn't read anything else of Gogol's though.

A Hungarian Quartet. Another carboot sale find I think, purchased purely because it featured Hungarian writers. I'm half-Hungarian and I'm always interested in the culture of my roots. I did attempt to learn Hungarian once but that fell by the wayside a long time ago, on account of the complex (to me) grammatical structures.

Anyway. Tangent! I liked this collection of stories more than Gogol's. Variously, there were interesting premises, engaging and atmospheric writing, emotions bubbling below the surface, and haunting and evocative imagery. Maybe I should take up learning the language again, so I can try read the stories in their original language...


~~~~~~
This is my first week back at work, so I'm trying to re-adjust my life to having less leisure time on my hands. I aim to continue blogging, though it will most likely be less frequently - I still aim to post 2 or 3 times a week though.

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.

so many books, so little time

I have a slight problem with books. I keep collecting them. I buy more than I have time to read. Financially this isn't a problem, because I almost exclusively buy second-hand and they only cost me pence. Unfortunately, though, it is a problem for my bookshelves, which are wobbling under the weight of my collection and resentful that I haven't even had the courtesy to read many of the books they're holding up.

I have, therefore, decided that I am going to make an attempt to rectify this. I have collated a pile of all of my books that I either haven't read, or have started at some point and then abandoned, and I am going to do my best to get through them all before I go back to work in February. I have the time, and I can't walk around too much, so I figured I might as well use this time wisely to get my head in some books.

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get through all of the above in just over a month, no matter how fast a reader I might be! I have also cheated slightly, and have not included in my list The Iliad or the Odyssey (just too much like hard work!), nor The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm also not letting myself buy any new (to me) fiction books until I finish my pile, or until I go back to work - whichever comes sooner, I figured by the time I'm back at work the list should at least have reduced significantly.

The books in my pile:

~Milan Kundera // The Unbearable Lightness of Being
~VS Naipaul // An Area of Darkness
~Gogol // Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
~Various // A Hungarian Quartet
~Gabriel Garcia Marquez // One Hundred Years of Solitude
~Charles Dickens // A Tale of Two Cities
~Charles Dickens // Great Expectations
~Kazuo Ishiguro // The Unconsoled (I did actually start to read this a few years ago but found it really difficult to get into. I'm going to try again, re-encouraged by my love for Never Let Me Go)
~Paulo Coelho // Eleven Minutes
~Dostoevsky // The Brothers Karamazov (another I started a while ago but got disheartened with)
~Tolstoy // War and Peace
~William Thackeray // Vanity Fair
~Vikram Seth // A Suitable Boy (this is massive! not sure I'll get through this one)

I can't make a start on this straightaway, as I am currently halfway through reading Women In Love by DH Lawrence, and figured abandoning one book in favour of another would kind of defeat the purpose of this exercise. I'm going to dedicate myself, though, so should be able to make a start in the next few days. Plus, I'm a sadsack and have no plans for New Year's Eve, so I will probably spend my evening reading and waiting to ring in the new year, then go back to bed.

What a life.