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nicnic

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I'm now reading Short Cuts which is a short story book by Raymond Carver. You may remember the Robert Altman film of the same name, the film is based on these stories.

 

Oh I loved that film. I remember being tempted by the book after watching the film, but never got around to it.

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Oh I loved that film. I remember being tempted by the book after watching the film, but never got around to it.

 

I can send it to you if you like? I won't be reading it again and as it's not in perfect condition I doubt if I will be able to sell it. It won't cost a huge amount to post. Let me know if you would like it!

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I finished The Sinner ages ago, but forgot to mention it! It was really rather good, I think I have read some Gerritsen before and liked at least another one of them. As I've said, I generally don't read fiction from a particular genre, but I liked this. It was believable, kept my attention and was set in a 'world' I know little about - convents, catholicism etc.

 

I'm now over halfway through a book I borrowed from my boyfriend Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola. I am loving the subtext of the beginnings of consumerist society and the parallel lives of the two characters, the shop owner and Denise, the sales girl. It is incredibly well written and I feel a great sense of place when reading it.

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I'm now over halfway through a book I borrowed from my boyfriend Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola. I am loving the subtext of the beginnings of consumerist society and the parallel lives of the two characters, the shop owner and Denise, the sales girl. It is incredibly well written and I feel a great sense of place when reading it.

 

I read this last year - I'm trying to read the whole of the Rougon-Macquart series over time (there are 20 books in total). I thought Au Bonheur Des Dames was brilliant and it was interesting how much of today's business techniques - loss leaders etc were in existence over 100 years ago.

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I've now finished (I think I finished it on Sunday!) Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola, I feel quite inspired to read more Zola, I will certainly keep an eye out for cheap copies of other Zola novels.

 

I decided I would re-read Blood - Janice Galloway. It's a short story collection I first read late last year and didn't remember a huge amount about. The first story in the collection stands out now though. It is incredibly Freudian and ripe for some sort of analysis! Some of the others are good, some poor and some I simply don't understand.

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Wow, so long since I updated this! I've managed to read a bit more lately as it was half term.

 

I finished Blood - Janice Galloway. There are some excellent stories in this collection, but for me, they aren't of the standard of her novel 'the trick is to keep breathing.' Few of the stories really stand out and many seem like just brief sketches rather than a fully formed short story. They are artistic and experimental, but to me, don't quite 'work'. It is very dream-like at times.

 

For a silly laugh, I read America: The Book. It is a 'fake' school textbook about American politics, democracy, the judicial system and other aspects of the USA. Very funny in places and rather satirical.

 

Next I chose a book that I'd tried reading before and never got into. However, once you get past the first chapter of The Secrets She Keeps - Helen Cross it does keep your attention. It wasn't my usual style, as in a sense it is about celebrity culture. What made it different for me was the first person narration by the male nanny, the narrator is definitely someone you come to like. The 'secret' that the blurb mentions is, in my opinion perhaps introduced too late, you keep expecting something to happen in the novel and towards the end, it does. To me, it also felt like that the story wasn't quite finished. The plot is wrapped up, but I wanted to hear more of what happened to the characters and their future.

 

Back to the silly books now though! The Areas of my Expertise - John Hodgman was given to me by my boyfriend to read. It's a bit crazy, it is a book of facts, none of which are true. It's all rather funny, silly and a little bit mad. So far I've enjoyed it, but some of the stuff is lost on me as this is an American book and I'm British. Not all the cultural references make sense to me!

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I'm getting so bad at updating, but haven't given up on it yet!

 

So...I finished The Areas of my Expertise - John Hodgman and although it was enjoyable and funny, I wasn't hugely struck on the humour of it and as I mentioned, many of the cultural references were lost on me. It's pretty much what I would consider a 'loo' book. In other words, one to dip in and out of when you have a bit of time to spare, rather than one to read.

 

I moved onto something I have read before. Border Crossing - Pat Barker I didn't remember a huge amount about it and wanted to give it another try. It's quite an easy read, but very well written and quite compelling from the outset. It certainly keeps your attention as there is an element of mystery to it. However, I found that although it came to a satisfactory conclusion, there were too many loose ends for me and questions left unanswered. Definitely worth reading though.

 

I'm now reading American Gods - Neil Gaiman. When I initially read this book a few years ago, I had high hopes for it. The reviews it had were excellent and although I'm not a fantasy reader, this was sufficiently different fantasy for me to want to give it a try. So far, I've only read the first chapter and there is something about the style of writing that doesn't quite grab me. But I'll persevere...for a while at least.

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Unfortunately, I've given up on American Gods already. I'm in a bit of an impatient mood regarding books today and decided just to sell it on ebay rather than giving it a second try.

 

I'm now going to re-read another book that I read late last year I believe. It's The Women's Room. I'm reading it quite slowly this time and giving it the time it deserves. Am really enjoying it again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I managed to finish The Women's Room - Marilyn French quite a few days ago. I loved it even more the second time round. It is very powerful, following the lives of many women, particularly one over the course of many years. However, I don't think I feel it's full power reading it right now in 2008. It is a feminist novel and at times it does seem to be desparately trying to make a point about the oppression of women at the time, but this was most necessary at the time. I still feel it's relevance to my life - double standards, rape, domestic abuse etc still exist. One slight criticism is that there are very few male characters in the book that seem progressive, most of them are stuck in their ways. Overall, however, it's excellent.

 

For something a bit more funny, I next read a book given to be by my partner. Things Snowball - Rich Hall is a collection of amusing stories and anecdotes by the comedian and writer. Most are centred around American and British culture, both of which can be rather amusing. It's full of wry humour and is definitely laugh out loud funny.

 

As well as tackling my tbr pile, I also like to read books for the second time. The next one up is The Traveller - John Twelve Hawks. I heard some excellent reviews of this and bought it a while ago. I attempted reading it and it didn't capture me. This time, I'm persevering with it and rather enjoying what it brings. It is a bit more future/sci-fi/suspend your disbelief type stuff than I am used to and is set in the near future. Not sure whether I'll last through it. It seems to be developing into a Futuristic thriller. We'll see!

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The next one up is The Traveller - John Twelve Hawks. I heard some excellent reviews of this and bought it a while ago. I attempted reading it and it didn't capture me.

 

I attempted this one last year, and just couldn't stick with it. From the blurb on the back I thought it would be an excellent thriller, but it just seemed to go off on these odd tangents, too much for my liking. :blush:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh my, how long since I have updated. The Traveller - John Twelve Hawks was okay, I did like it and I want to read the second book in the trilogy, if only to find out what happens as the book didn't really end in a satisfactory way. I loved the thriller aspects of this and it was rather fast paced. I felt I had to suspend my disbelief when it comes to the supernatural aspects of the novel.

 

I decided to read Bad Behaviour - Mary Gatskill for the second time. For the second time also, I wasn't hugely impressed. The stories seemed dated and a little overly concentrated on affairs and cheating.

 

I'm now giving The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde a second go. I didn't manage to get all the way through it last time but once I've got past the first few chapters, I am enjoying it a bit. The plot is a little slow and I'm not that keen on the characters, but am intrigued as to what happens next.

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This time, I managed to finish The Abortionist's Daughter but it wasn't hugely worth it! This seemed, to me, to be a very ordinary crime novel dressed up as literary fiction. There were some interesting themes in it but they were downplayed in my opinion. 'Whodunnit' is almost obvious from the start and I think readers of the crime genre would also be unimpressed by it, it isn't intricate enough to hold interest.

 

After that, I picked up Teach Yourself - Writing a Novel. I got it free with writing magazine which made it a real bargain. The Teach Yourself series are very good indeed, and this is no exception. It doesn't really intend to teach you to write a novel but is an excellent starting point for a beginner like me. I particularly want to try out some of the exercises they suggested. It will work best for those who already have an idea for a novel but haven't got too far with it.

 

Next up Generation X - Douglas Coupland. I haven't read this book in ages and although it is his most famous novel, it's the Coupland novel I remember the least about. My distinct memory of reading this book the first time round is sitting under a tree, on a sunny day in London in Hyde Park. Yep, I went to London...did I see this sights when I was waiting for my friend going to the US embassy....no, I read a book....

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  • 2 weeks later...

My lack of updating to this list lately isn't a lack of reading, but lack of a reliable internet connection. I am writing this from my Mum's, but as soon as my laptop arrives back in my arms all safe and fixed, updatage will commence!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yay, that laptop is fixed and back home with me where it belongs. I'm determined not to give up on listing all the books I've read so here goes...marks out of 10 rather than a review style thing...normal service, however, will resume

 

Wicked - Gregory Maguire 6/10

The Virgin Suicides - Jeffery Eugenides 10/10

Hey Nostradamus - Douglas Coupland 8/10

Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland 10/10

My Booky Wook - Russell Brand 8/10

Generation X - Douglas Coupland 7/10

Taming the Beast - Emily Maguire 8/10

 

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This is the second time I've read an Ali Smith book and been left scratching my head. I've just read a book of short stories called Other Stories and other stories. I will read this one a second time around, if only just to take in what is going on in this collection of odd short stories. I did find some of the stories rather boring, and slightly pointless.

 

Now reading a book called Straight Sex - the Politics of Pleasure. Not rude or erotic, but about sexual politics.

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  • 1 month later...

Bad girl! I haven't updated my thread, but tried to keep a list of what I've been reading..I've missed a few out but here goes.

Microserfs - Douglas Coupland 10/10

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins 7/10

Anticlimax - Sheila Jeffreys 5/10

Us - Richard Mason 7/10

The Lieutenant's Lover - Harry Bingham 7/10

Flight from Deathrow - Harry Hill 6/10

First Love, Last Rites - Ian McEwan 6/10

 

The Cement Garden - Ian McEwan is my current read, or more correctly, re-read. I always feel in two minds with McEwan books apart from this one, which I love.

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