A book blog by Books do Furnish a Room

[Books do furnish a room]

I've never done a blog before; here goes; I want to record what I've read and how I feel about it. I read avidly when young, often to escape the world and finds worlds different and more humane. The habit stuck and over the years has waxed and waned. Some of what I have read is academic course related and some job related, but mostly fiction.

I read a lot of religious books for a number of years, but that has changed and now I read more or less anything. I have accumulated many books and I am making an effort to read them. The death of my mother two years ago was something of a catalyst in setting off my current more organised reading; so many books so little time.

This is what I am reading at the moment;

 

Vanity Fair; Thackeray

White Teeth; Zadie Smith

Anthony Burgess; Roger Lewis

The Elephant Keeper; Christopher Nicholson

A Group of Noble Dames; Thomas Hardy

War and Peace; Tolstoy

The Resurrectionist; James Bradley

The Brutal Art; Jesse Kellerman

 

I try to read a little of each every day; sometimes a particular book will take over.

 

I have just finished "A Case of Exploding Mangoes" by Mohammed Hanif

It was a good read and reminded me of Catch 22; set in the Pakistan Army. It contains a well hidden love story between 2 cadets, but there are lots of comic moments with some completely bonkers characters. A well drawn satire on military life and dictatorships in general.

 

Reading is a very personal thing; I don't know if anyone will ever read this. Even if they do not I think expressing and explaining how a book has affected me will be helpful. Early this year I found a site called Bookarmy and on there you can record nall the books you have ever read. I found trying to remember all I have read difficult (it gets more difficult as you get older)but immensely interesting as I recalled books and authors I had long forgotten.

I'm rambling on as usual; time to go back to real life!!

[poppyshake]

Hello! I look forward to reading your blog. You've got some great books on your list and I'm impressed that you can dip in and out of Thackeray and Tolstoy .. when I read 'Vanity Fair' it took me every ounce of concentration I had to remember who was who and what was what (great book though.) I've read 'the Elephant Keeper' and enjoyed it, I love a good old elephant story (probably stems back to Babar!)

I loved 'Catch 22' so am very interested in 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' .. another one for the wish list.

This is a great place too for listing your books read etc, until I joined I had no idea how many books I'd read in a year etc. It helps spur you on to read more too. I look at my TBR list and I just think buck up!! you should have read some of those by now. Plus it's a great place for recommendations .. though I don't really need to add to my TBR's ... they are too numerous as it is.

As I said earlier, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the books listed.

[Books do furnish a room]

Thanks Poppy. I know what you mean about TBR lists; mine gets longer every day.

 

Just finished The Resurrectionist by James Bradley.

 

Mixed feelings about this. The story of a boy who is apprenticed to a surgeon. As the title suggests it all goes horribly wrong. There is a lot of gore and violence; much of which left me cold. It was easy to read because the chapters are short. If they had been much longer I might have struggled. There is a dream like redemptive second part which I found unconvincing, especially given what the main character had done in the first part. I'm supposed to be an old "liberal" who believes in redemption and rehabilitation, but this was unconvincing and I didn't believe it. There is a strong gothic element and it was atmospheric. As you can maybe tell I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

 

Next dilemma; do I score the books. I think so; for comparison's sake. For this one 4 out of 10

 

Forgot to add; I'm starting a book to replace the one just finished;

 

Tokyo by Mo Hayder

[~Andrea~]

Ooh you're reading War and Peace. That's one book I really do want to get around to reading.

I am impressed that you are able to juggle so many books at one time. I normally stick to one at a time but have been known to have 3 on the go before now.

How are you finding White Teeth?

Edited November 2, 2010 by ~Andrea~

[Books do furnish a room]

Hi Andrea; I manage to read so many at once because I compartmentalise; so when I leave one book I forget it until I return to it at a later time. It's something I learnt to do in a previous job. War and Peace is hard work but enjoyable, I'm still in 1805. White Teeth is a wonderful book and very funny.

 

Just finished Vanity Fair. A book on my TBR list for years. I found the narrator a little annoying, but I'm a sucker for a happy ending; just wish they'd got round to it sooner. Becky was at least consistent and a wonderful character; wouldn't want to know her in real life though. A good read.

 

Decided to start another of those books I've been meaning to read for years;

 

Middlemarch; I read The Mill on the Floss earlier in the year and didn't really enjoy it; but I'm willing to give this one a try.

[~Andrea~]

Oh I did The Mill on the Floss for A Level and absolutely hated it. Good luck with War and Peace

[Books do furnish a room]

Been book shopping today; my favourite pastime. Picked up a couple in a charity shop; The Cider House Rules was one. The other was the Ceylon Daily News cook book. There are some great curry recipies in there, but also some rather off the wall ones; fish custard anyone?

 

I also bought The Small Hand by Susan Hill and have just read it in one sitting. Very good ghost story in the tradition of her earlier books. Creepy and gothic with some nice twists. A good one to read in low light late at night; waiting for that small hand in yours.... A proper old fashioned ghost story.

[Scarlette]

Oh, I do enjoy ghost stories and I've read Hill's The Woman in Black, so I'll most certainly look into The Small Hand.

 

Also, The Cider House Rules is one of my favourite books and a very thought-provoking read. I look forward to your opinion on it.

[Books do furnish a room]

I started the elephant keeper by Christopher Nicholson with some scepticism. It was recommended but I was not sure I would enjoy it. However it was a really good read; a gentle and touching slow paced story about boy and elephant set in the 18th Century. Never judge a book by your prejudices. A letter learnt I think.

Scored it at 7 and a half out of ten.

 

About to start The Cider House Rules

[Books do furnish a room]

Just finished "The Brutal Art" by Jesse Kellerman. A strange mixture of a book; part detective, part family history, some love interest with a dash of dysfunction and thriller. Put like that it sounds like a hit; not really for me though. It is about an art dealer who "discovers" a new artist. The artist is absent but the work is made available. In the course of research by the main protagonist all the above come into play.

I found the ending a let down and just too swift. It felt like too much was thrown into the pot. It was an easy read with some interesting twists and turns, but the book didn't seem to know in which direction to go. Six out of ten.

 

Have started a collection of short stories by Stephen King; Just After Sunset.

Edited November 14, 2010 by Books do furnish a room

[Books do furnish a room]

My better half has been to an auction and come back with a box of books for me; all by a chap called Dornford Yates. I've vaguely heard of him; a bit in the John Buchan mould I think. There are about 20 of them!

[Books do furnish a room]

Just After Sunset (Stephen King) was a bit of a disappointment. Some of the shorter stories were quite to the point and well conceived. Most were very predictable. The one about the cat was just silly. I haven't read much Stephen King. It was enjoyable and Blaze was ok. Anyone recommend another one? I've recently bought Under the Dome but the length is putting me of at the moment.

Anyway 6 out of 10 for this one.

I have started The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Edited November 14, 2010 by Books do furnish a room

[Books do furnish a room]

Just finished a collection of short stories by Hardy; A Group of Noble Dames. They are very well written and somewhat bleak, although two of them have happy endings (well happy for Hardy). Not his best work and some of the characters are a little one-dimensional, but there are some creative moments and some clever endings. They all revolve around women who marry into or are part of what might be called the squirearchy and are generally set in the eighteenth century. True love rarely runs smooth.

7 out of 10.

 

I have just started Marion Fay by Anthony Trollope

[Weave]

I also bought The Small Hand by Susan Hill and have just read it in one sitting. Very good ghost story in the tradition of her earlier books. Creepy and gothic with some nice twists. A good one to read in low light late at night; waiting for that small hand in yours.... A proper old fashioned ghost story.

 

I enjoyed 'The Small Hand' too, old fashioned ghost stories are always the best

[poppyshake]

I want to read The Small Hand but it's in hardback!! Although it is a very pretty, small sort of hardback so it wouldn't spoil my bookshelves too much (I do like regulation.) I enjoyed The Woman in Black a lot so this one is a must really. Perfect for this time of year too.

[Weave]

I want to read The Small Hand but it's in hardback!! Although it is a very pretty, small sort of hardback so it wouldn't spoil my bookshelves too much (I do like regulation.) I enjoyed The Woman in Black a lot so this one is a must really. Perfect for this time of year too.

 

Its a very cute looking book with a scary story

 

I started the elephant keeper by Christopher Nicholson with some scepticism. It was recommended but I was not sure I would enjoy it. However it was a really good read; a gentle and touching slow paced story about boy and elephant set in the 18th Century. Never judge a book by your prejudices. A letter learnt I think.

Scored it at 7 and a half out of ten.

 

About to start The Cider House Rules

 

I am planning to invest in 'The Elephant Keeper', I am glad to hear its a good read

[Books do furnish a room]

White Teeth by Zadie Smith is a great story exploring the layers of multi-cultural Britain. Ranging from the Second World War to the millenium it follows two friends, their wives, offspring and friends. It is very funny with some laugh out loud moments and also rather poignant at times. It also makes some serious points about how we all rub along with each other and in spite of each other and the danger extremism presents to us all.

Eight out of ten

Just about to start "The Last Summer", a novella by Boris Pasternak

[Books do furnish a room]

Just finished The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. I've seen mixed reviews of this but I loved it. The story of a very old woman in a long stay institution about to close and her tragic life. the story is told by her and also the Psychiatrist in the home. The story explores how sane people came to be admitted to these places. I sometimes work with ex-residents of these places and for me the story rang true and I recognised traits in the main character. Not an edge of the seat read and it is rather bleak but good stuff.

8 out of 10

I have just started a collection of stories by Pauline Melville; "The Migration of Ghosts"

[Books do furnish a room]

Tokyo by Mo Hayder is rather bleak and disturbing; set in modern Tokyo it looks back to the Nanking massacre in WW2. The main characters are obsessive and flawed and some other the minor characters are very damaged and damaging. I felt (maybe wrongly) that there was a definite anti-Japanese bias. It sort of ends on a hopeful note (but that has a double edge), but what went before is so twisted that I wonder what the point is. As you may gues I am in two minds about this one. I don't mind bleak or disturbing and like a challenge, but maybe this went too far. I read some of the American crime stuff with disturbing imagery, but that seems comic book, this doesn't.

6 out of 10

 

I've started Murder Most Fab by Julian Clary. I worry about myself sometimes; I'm reading War and Peace and Middlemarch, but I also pick up a novel by Julian Clary ... what next Katie Price?!? I hope not.

[Books do furnish a room]

I've just finished a wonderful collection of short stories by Pauline Melville. There is a decent ghost story, love in older age, a long lived parrot, a sad story about friendship and death. The stories are geographically wide ranging, fresh and vibrant. One particular story; The Provenance of a Face, is in my humble opinion one of the best short stories I have read.

A definite 9 out of 10.

I have just picked up a book by Barbara Kingsolver; Pigs in Heaven

[Books do furnish a room]

the Last summer by boris pasternak is short and rather slight. A dream/recollection of the last summer before the first world war; an end to innocence (not so innocent in this case!). I must admit it did not grab me and I was expecting more. However I think it was intended to be a brief account and is partly autobiographical.

6 out 0f 10

I've picked up a book that's been on my to be read list for way too long; The Life of Pi

[Books do furnish a room]

I'm not sure what to make of Murder Most Fab by Julian Clary; a raunchy tale about a gay serial killer and the perils of celebrity lifestyle. There were some very funny moments and it is written with a certain amount of verve. It is not really a morality tale and the sex is somewhat vivid at times. However an easy and undemanding read. 6 out of 10.

starting something more seasonal; The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse.