thatdifficultfirstnovel

Reading Challenge - Book 55: 'A Visit From The Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan When I was younger, if I could have chosen to be anything when I grew up, I'd have wanted to be a rock star. Never minding the fact that I had no ounce of musical talent, I loved the idea of being part of a touring rock group, writing amazing songs that people would listen to in the comfort of their homes, as well as standing on stage at nights in front of huge audiences screaming back lyrics from the songs that I had helped create. Over time, that turned from a dream to an unrealistic wish, but I have always had an interest in music, even if my ability to keep up with latest trends has waned as I've grown older. 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' is effectively a letter to the power of music, of having a dream to make something of yourself within the industry, and the difficulties that would be faced in the never-ending struggle to be relevant and survive in an ever changing world. It charts the crushing reality of the lives of those who never quite made it, yet always had those times when they felt that the world was their oyster and they could truly be 'the next big thing'. It is impossible to talk about 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' without referencing the structure. It doesn't have a cohesive narrative, per se, and instead reads like a collection of short stories, each with a cohesive link to the 'main character' (if you can suggest there is one in this book) Bennie Salazar and the band 'The Flaming Dildos'. Each story spins off to look at snapshots of the lives of Bennie, and others who were in some way interacted with him through his career. Each chapter can technically be read as an individual story if you so want, and this structural choice allows Egan to do some interesting things, such as a chapter that is presented in the form of a Powerpoint-style presentation. There is a sense of kinship and loss pervading all the stories, as we see the wistful memories of times gone by coupled with the difficulties of modern living once the dream has died. In some stories, Egan is particularly cutting about the dissolute lives of the people who had once interacted with Salazar in one way or another, yet it is this honesty that helps keep up the momentum of the book; not every story is a happy ending in real life either. Without wanting to spoil the ending for you, the final chapter does go some way to reconciling a lot of the stories that have gone before, as well as acting as an endorsement (I feel) of music as a way of bringing people together. No matter who you are, good music has a way of linking people in society that way that very few other things can. Even as we move from the heady 70s-80s (the time in which I believe the book starts) to an unspecified modern time, with all that entails in terms of technology, it is essentially music that wins out. As our access to to art is arguably devalued by the rise of pirating and the ease with which one can now access pretty much any piece of music, book or creative endeavour with relative ease, I feel the book seeks to champion the ability of music to triumph over these types of adversity. This has been a book that had been on my list since I began to read a lot more about reading in general - it was hard to find a top 10 list of modern novels without this book sitting somewhere near the top. It is clear to see why. Not only does Egan manage to use unique structure to create a book that is unlike many people will have read, it also shares a message that I feel is important, without being preachy or hitting the reader over the head with it. It's simple really - never underestimate the power of a good song (or in this case, a good book.)

I need to get back into doing a bit of running. I went from a fairly base level of fitness to running a marathon in twelve weeks, but have done sod all in the year and a bit that has followed. Feel like I might need to sign up for another one to get me motivated. Good luck with the rest of the programme, it is always surprising how quickly the body begins to develop and improve on these types of schedules.

I've read Firefight by Brandon Sanderson, which is more superheroes than fantasy. I'm enjoying the first book in the Mistborn trilogy, but did have a big gap in reading it about quarter of the way through for some reason. Just started to get motoring on it again.

Still a few more things to do. Mostly geared around the wedding cake, as my missus and her Mum are making it. It needs to be decorated next week. Excited but will be glad when it is finished - been a bit all consuming. Have you read the Mistborn trilogy or The Gentleman 'person of dubious parentage' series, out of interest? Working my way through the 1st of Mistborn, and have eyed up the second series for a bit (and have two of the books, as you can see from the pics).

Listed 26 that I have read - the ones in bold are the ones I own but haven't read yet. It looked more impressive than it probably would be without Collections on Kindle and free books on Kindle also. In the process of reading 'Sputnik Sweetheart' and 'War and Peace'.

I read GotM on my Kindle, got half way through and then got confused and kinda gave up. Managed to pick the three up from a charity shop, so thought I'd give them another go. Will give them a go after I've finished reading the first book in the Mistborn trilogy. Can generally only have one fantasy book on the go at once, or I get confused! They also had (annoyingly enough) Book 5 and Book 8 (I think), which I didn't pick up due to the gaps in the middle. Thanks for the kind words - Saturday 8th of August, so not long now!

I'd been tempted to do this for a little while, but it wasn't until I noticed it in another topic that I thought I might as well. Over the past couple of months, I've bought a huge number of books. Currently (more or less), these are all the books that I have bought (outside of the last two of the Mistborn trilogy and one or two other random books) recently. Slowly....slowly making my way through them.

Do you read any yourself? Either Marvel/DC, or just graphic novels in general?

Thank you for your kind words. I've been meaning to read more Bennett, just seems to keep slipping to the bottom of my pile. Bit of a change up, as I do my yearly attempt to get more engaged in comic books/graphic novels. Reading Challenge - Book 54 'Marvel Comics: The Untold Story' by Sean Howe and Book 57 'Secret Wars' Ever since my move to using a Kindle (as well as tried and trusty paperback books), I've had a yearning to try and experience the world of comic books. Outside of Asterix books when I was young and Persepolis when I was older, I'd never made a concerted effort to read anything from Marvel, DC or any of the other companies producing graphic novels. Primarily, this was due to the difficulty in working out the continuity - a story with fifty potential years of backstory is difficult to get your head around, and a jumping on point is not always obvious. Also, the ability to acquire the comics/trade paperbacks for a reasonable cost was often difficult. Enter Marvel Unlimited. For £9.99 a month, I'm in a position where I can check out most of the old Marvel stuff, covering years, storylines, characters and major events across the timeline. Rather than feeling I need to read everything leading up to a story arc, it allows me just to pick and enjoy. However, I did feel that I needed to get the most out of it and read around the subject a little more - I was recommended 'Marvel Comics: The Untold Story' and purchased it straight away. For someone wanting to get an overview of the machinations behind the development of Marvel as a company, from the initial production all the way up to the heady heights of the Avengers movie release, you can't ask for a better book. As a comic novice, some of it went over my head, but Howe tries to do his best to explore the characters behind the comics, as well as give some over-riding understanding as to the development of the superheroes on the page. Maybe I'd have got more out of the book if I had a working knowledge of some of the people who worked in the industry, but I didn't feel like it necessarily hampered me and I left the book feeling like I had a better knowledge with which to tackle the Marvel Universe. The big issues coming from the book center around the peaks and troughs of the comic book industry - riding high and selling huge at times, barely registering culturally at other points. At times, it feels like Marvel survived in spite of the management of the company, with owners bumbling from one failed venture to another, yet with workers creating stories and characters that continued to appeal to an audience over the course of fifty years. Another problem over the half century that arose several times was the idea of who the characters belonged to, with some writers battling Marvel for the rights to better remuneration for their intellectual property. Finally, we saw the battles between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (often centred around this idea of intellectual property) as their relationship turned sour, and arguments pervaded over who created the foundations for the Marvel Universe. It is fitting that it ends at the time of the Avengers film release, as almost fifty years is spent trying to get Marvel onto cinema screens in a lucrative manner. Stan Lee comes across as melancholic at times, yearning for the red carpets of Hollywood, yet stuck in the Marvel bullpen churning out comic stories. The book highlights this desire effectively, thus giving the ending a sense of a real peak and the accomplishing of a dream, at least on Lee's part. During the 1980s, the Marvel writers decided (as another gimmick, amongst Number 1 issues and fancy covers) to have an event that brought many of the main characters together in one place. 'Secret Wars' was really the first of its kind, as heroes and villains are taken away by the Beholder, and tasked with fighting to the death in competition for the Beholder's promise to grant the victor's true desires. The fact that Howe's book suggested that this was a cash-grab designed to shift comics and merchandise doesn't detract from what must have been a huge deal for comic book fans at the time. Even now, it holds up...relatively well. There are a lot of chances for the heroes and villains to go at it in large (impressively rendered) set pieces, and any opportunity to see Doctor Doom or Galactus in action is worth reading. That nothing really changes by the end (a staple concept within the world of the Marvel 'Event' style, seemingly) outside of Spiderman's new suit - a concept developed during the Venom storyline later on in the canon - and that the women are presented how you might expect women to be presented in a male dominated creative industry in the 1970s is something that, as a modern reader, you are forced to get your head around. Still, as an oppurtunity to check out the biggest names in Marvel in one neat, packaged storyline, it works well and is an excellent jumping on point for a newcomer. At the least, it is the first full storyline I've read from Marvel, and it has me excited to check out more. Note: I finished the book and waited until I finished the comic to write this. Therefore, I've got two other books that I've not yet reviewed waiting in the wings, thus the numbering.

'The Uncommon Reader' by Alan Bennett In two weeks, I am due to get married. An exciting new step in me and my fiancee's life, following the purchase of our first house in the summer last year. Due to both of our occupations being that of secondary school teachers, major events are always timetabled into the six week holiday in an attempt to make the most of the long period of rest and relaxation afforded to us following a tiring and turbulent year. Preparation for a wedding leaves little time for reading. When coupled with the inevitable parties and functions that liberally litter the end of a school term, I've felt like I had stalled in my progress. Sure, I was reading books, but I just wasn't anywhere near completing one - not something so important per se, but as my attention has spiraled from one book to the next, nothing has really gripped me, leaving me feeling adrift and unengaged. I needed a 'quick win': a book I could read and finish, picking up some much needed momentum along the way. Taking back to the library a selection of books on poetry (my latest attempt to break the back of that beast, to moderate success), I saw a copy of 'The Uncommon Reader' by Alan Bennett. Slim, small and by an author that I had begun to dabble in during this year, it fit the profile of the 'quick win' I needed, so I loaned it out (along with a book about making a good wedding speech). Forty five minutes later, I'd finished the book and added one more to my challenge. However, it would be crass to view this book as something as little as another notch on the metaphorical literary bedpost of my year. It is a delightfully funny, if slight, look at the Queen's burgeoning love of reading, inspired by an altercation with a traveling librarian. Soon, she is spending more time reading than actually being Queen, with even her most basic duties supported by a hidden book away from the gaze of the public. This is neatly contrasted with the responses of her help, as confusion reigns as to why the Queen might want to read. The idea of reading being an act of exclusion, due to the number of people who don't read, is an interesting concept which is explored throughout the book. This book is effectively a love-letter to reading, which is an easy sell for anyone who enjoys books as much as many of my fellow readers do. It celebrates the ability to explore worlds outside of your own in a truthful manner, rather than the highly polished representations you may get through other media or even presented to you face to face. It allows you to delve into the mindset of people who live myriad different lives to the one you lead, even if you are someone as well traveled and exposed as the Queen, for example. There is a melancholy within the book that I can empathise with: I'm never going to read all the books that I want to read, and wish that I'd started to read as voraciously when I was younger. Other ideas that the books seeks to explore in its mere forty minutes (or thereabouts) are the all-encompassing strain of reading on your time, coupled with the concept that, as wonderful as reading is, it is not the same as actually experiencing or doing. At some point, it should be a gateway to develop your own voice and creativity - something that has been awoken in me over the past few years. Some of the prose stylings of Bennett I do find difficult - I'm not sure why. Whilst his narratives are good (considering I've dipped into a few of his other stories this year), I feel that the written word doesn't flow off the page as easily as I would like to. It isn't the use of complex vocabulary per se, but the narrative voice can feel a little stilted for me personally, yet probably wouldn't be an issue for many others. Just a word of warning, really. So this was how I got my 'quick win' and my reading mojo kickstarted. I finished another book the same day, which I'm sure I would have done anyway, but felt that the Bennett tale reignited a desire in me to read and finish some of the books I had in front of me. .....now back to the wedding planning.

To be fair, I think I got caught up between my desire to talk about the book, which was just released, and the rumours/spoilers that had been floating around in the week up to it. My spoilers technically only cover the spoilers that most people had been subjected to which was what I meant to refer to, but it does read as if I'm talking about the book.

Reading Challenge: Book 52 - 'Go Set a Watchman' by Harper Lee This is a very difficult review to make, and it can realistically be tackled in several different parts. (I've spoilered the rest for those who still haven't read it...it doesn't contain massive spoilers outside of what has already been aired about the book, but still...)

Book 51: 'Platform' by Michel Houellebecq I was recommended 'Platform' with the suggestion that it would be 'brutal', and a more succinct and correct review of the book there couldn't adequately be. It is, at times, brutal and unflinching in its depiction of relationships, violence and sex, but at heart, there is a fairly simple and effective love story right through the core of this story. It is this element of a story that I didn't quite expect from someone such as Houellebecq that allows the shocking elements of the narrative to really stand out, and provide the book with its emotional wallop. Michel Renault is the main character, and in a similar nature to his namesake in 'Atomised', he is a man who skirts around the edges of society, a fact that is highlighted effectively within the first part of the novel, a description of a tour around Thailand. His boredom of, and frankness to, the other guests is contrasted with his enjoyment of the sexual tourism side to Asia. As seems to be a common thread in Houellebecq's novels, he is graphic in his depictions of sex, with it often showcased as a primal human desire that usurps many of the desires we are made to feel are necessities within life, such as friendships and relationships. Even with his occasionally caustic nature, he is able to woo one of the women on the trip to the point where, upon returning to France in the second part of the story, they strike up a relationship. It is this relationship that surprised me and was so brilliantly used to create a real emotional impact on me as a reader. Unlike in 'Atomised', Michel seems to be truly happy with Valerie, the woman from the trip, and this love is unquestioned throughout. She is as sexually adventurous as he is, which helps, but the love which we see through the protagonists eyes feel real and tangible. We are left to believe in their love without question, which makes the events of the story all the more compelling. It is also way that this love story, which would be powerful at the center of a romance novel, is developed against the backdrop of sexual tourism, a subject that would be considered taboo to many. The narrative thrust of the story sees Valerie working with her boss to help turn around the fortunes of a travel agency. With help from Michel, they are able to develop holidays catered specifically to those desiring sexual tourism, looking to effectively cut out the middle man and assuage the feelings of those let down by the lack of company found on holidays of this nature. The success the industry has within the book could be seen as a promotion of this type of excursion from Houellebecq, though it may be more of a celebration of the carnal desires inherent within every person. Once again, it is difficult to make a defining judgement on the morale or the message, and there is definitely more bubbling under the surface for the discerning reader. As stated in reviews before, I don't want to ruin endings or give spoilers, and this is no exception, as the ending is paramount to my enjoyment of the book. All I can say is that I felt as if I'd been punched when I closed the book for the last time, emotionally and physically drained in as positive a way as you can suggest that as a concept. The book, once again, is not for everyone, but at its base, it is a beautiful love story with ultimately tragic consequences, and who doesn't enjoy a good tearjerker every once in a while, even if it is surrounded by a lot of nudity and sex in the process?

I might buy now. Feels most churlish to not get in on the action.

Was just about to post that. Am considering picking up Starship Troopers (as I love the film) and Ender's Game.

It just confuses me. Surely, English as a subject should focus on writing in the English language, wherever that may come from.

I like Sign Of Four, but don't think there is enough meat to it. Didn't like Jekyll, but there is meat to it, yet it is much too difficult for many pupils. Animal Farm is where I'd be looking, since that is still an option I believe.

It's getting removed from the GCSE curriculum. Bigger focus on writers in England, rather than writers who write in English. Fairly narrow minded choice. Will teach Jekyll and Hyde and The Sign Of Four starting next year. Neither excites me from a reading or teaching perspective. I guess it could be taught lower down the school, but the push will naturally be towards books of a similar context/ilk.

I'm a teacher, and am annoyed that I won't be able to teach OMAM anymore. A good book that the pupils generally always enjoyed.

Debating about: My Brilliant Friend Lords of the North Iron....something World of Yesterday Armageddon Prince of Fools Invisible Library Damn Kindle sales!

I felt inspired to offer something up by the kind words, so here is my latest blog entry. Books I Haven't Read: 'Notes of a Dirty Old Man' and 'Hollywood' by Charles Bukowski Note: This was going to be an article about 'Lord of the Rings', but I worried that it would just begin to look like the books I didn't read were books that were too long. 'NOADOM' and 'Hollywood' are both relatively small - no complaints to be had! Reading my first Bukowski novel was a revelation. This may sound like hyperbole, but having reflected on my formative reading experiences recently, it is the only way I see fit to describe it. This is not to say I read badly before Bukowski per se, just that I'd never read an author with such a distinctive voice. A gritty, unapologetic voice. Whilst it would be unwise to suggest that all my reading before Bukowski had been sunshine, lollipops and unicorns, I honestly believed I hadn't encountered someone so willing to lay bare the seedier aspects of life. The work by Bukowski was recommended to me by a friend I knew from secondary school, at a time I was working in a betting shop to help fund my way through university. He used words to the effect of 'maybe you should become like Bukowski', which seems to suggest a desire for me to sleep and drink my way through a completely unfulfilled and unstable adult life. Still, these words made me choose to seek out one of Bukowski's books - I chose 'Factotum' - and see what the fuss was all about. The book was short, the narrative simple, it was all over in a matter of days...yet it was hard to shake what I had read from my mind. Bukowski was able to allow me, for 200 pages, to inhabit life in the US from the view of someone on the bottom rung of society. A life that saw more value in the next glass of wine or the next bunk up over and above the staples of employment, relationships and family. It was unflinching in its crassness, and I was completely enthralled. Looking back at a synopsis (I read this over ten years ago), I even begin to question now how much of Bukowski I embody. Sure, I've got a fiance and a daughter and the staples of what would be considered a 'good life', but doesn't a certain unsatisfactory edge lie, bubbling, below the surface? How much solace and enjoyment do I get out of the next drink, and how much does the next drink help mask my own flawed creativity? Maybe there were elements of the writer that my friend perceptively teased out within my own personality. I digress. A few years later, I walked into HMV and saw the two aforementioned books on sale for £2 each. I remembered the exhilaration of reading 'Factotum', and decided that I couldn't really pass up the offer. I bought both books, and looked forward to delving back into Bukowski's world, with all that entailed. I opened up 'Hollywood' and read the first fifty pages or so. I never picked it up again. 'Notes from a Dirty Old Man' didn't even get the proverbial literary test drive. Whilst I appreciate that 'Hollywood' is in no way a spiritual link to the Henry Chinaski stories told in books like 'Factotum', I felt like I had grown up in the years the followed my initial reading. What was once shocking or engaging just ceased to grab me in the same way. There is no doubt in my mind about my own perceived quality of Bukowski's writing, and how important the one book I did read came to be to my reading odyssey, but I couldn't recreate that moment or that feeling. I had moved on and left Bukowski behind. Will I ever look to read him again? I truly doubt it. I would argue that I have since read books by novelists that take his self-destructive narratives and applied them in more interesting and exciting ways. Does this devalue my original experience with Bukowski? Not at all. If I hadn't have read Bukowski, would I have moved towards the books of Michel Houellebecq, J.M. Coetzee or even Patrick Hamilton? Though not all of these novelists are obvious successors to Bukowski, they all have elements that I may not have enjoyed had I not previous read 'Factotum'; the crass discussions of violence and sex in Houellebecq; the simmering tension of Coetzee; the explorations of social obscurity within Hamilton's work. In some ways, Bukowski was the gateway, and even if I never read a book by him again, I will have no difficulty trumpeting the value of my limited time spent reading his work.

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm quite busy writing on a different blog I do (about the wacky world of wrestling - probably couldn't be more polar opposite in nature!) so haven't had time to write anything for a little bit - feel like its also eaten into my reading time somewhat as well, so mid-way through a lot of books without any particularly close to being finished. Will throw up something over the next few days, though it might be a what I haven't read one more than a what I have read. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is a very good book, so would second the recommendation in the last post. Well worth that price.

I didn't hear many, it was just that of the few people I heard talk about it, they were much more ''meh' than 'yay'. There is a meandering beauty to what he writes. I think people either 'get it', or it is just baffling. There is a dreamy, ethereal quality at times to his prose, that is just perfect for slipping into and being carried along by. I can see why someone wouldn't like Marukami, but in terms of the people I read, he is one of the more interesting for sure in my eyes. Maybe I could suggest reading 'The Elephant Vanishes' - it is a collection of short stories. They may come across as fairly pointless, but it is his essence of writing distilled down.

What books do you have?

Here is another look at a book I haven't read (I hope people don't mind me posting these types of reviews!): '1Q84' by Haruki Murakami For some, I'm sure I'm preaching to the converted when I say that Haruki Murakami is a brilliant writer. In terms of style, there are very few authors that match him, and his style is authentically his own, making him a unique talent. You know a Murakami book within the first few pages; his elegant style covering the meanderings of life, the supernatural and jazz music (amongst other things) with ease. I liken my first time reading Murakami to the first time I read Bukowski, Barnes or, more recently, Houellebecq and Coetzee. Each page was a veritable feast, and I was carried along by the mixture of the prose style and the narrative that followed. Some of these authors have had more staying power within my personal collection; Barnes taking up reasonable space on my bookshelf with Bukowski conspicious by his (relative) absence. Each writer became notable above and beyond the novel that they had created. I was left thinking '.....people write like this?', before reaching for their next book. The first Murakami book I read was 'Norwegian Wood'. It was bought based primarily due to a Waterstones 'Buy 2, Get 1 Free' offer and the tag 'Soon to be made into a major film', rather than any real knowledge. Considering the main themes of 'Norwegian Wood' are arguably sex and suicide, I left the book feeling uplifted by my uncovering of a new literary interest. I even gave the book to a friend of mine who lived in Denmark upon visiting, which I've very rarely felt the need to do to a book. I soon read 'The Elephant Vanishes' and 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle'. I'd been warned that 'Norwegian Wood' didn't necessarily explore the more surreal side of Murakami's work, but my eyes were wide open to this by the time I'd finished the two. In some ways, I thought that Murakami can work better in the short story form, as distilled nuggets of life or surrealism, just long enough create an image before moving on to the next, equally engaging, sequence. For some reason, I didn't seek out anymore of his work - maybe issues of cost as much as anything else. However, I read that he was due to release a new book, and I couldn't have been more excited. This would be the first time I'd be in 'on the ground floor' so to speak, enjoying a new Murakami release in the moment. '1Q84' was released, it sold millions within days and people delved into a new Murakami masterpiece. But I didn't. For some reason, I felt a reticence to buy it - maybe due to my general lack of buying hardbacks. I chose to wait, wait for the paperback to satiate my desire for new Murakami. Eventually, it was released in paperback and bought it - and then never read it. What had changed in those six months or so? I'd read reviews. At least I say I'd read reviews. I saw star ratings. I read the odd comment from people on forums I frequented. The reviews weren't bad, per se. It was eminently readable, it just wasn't the mind-blowing literary event that many people had expected. Yet, I'm sure if I dug deeper into the realms of the internet, there were people who thought it was the best thing that had ever been produced. I was just unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to people who were fairly vocal on its...'meh'-ness, or at least that was how they perceived it. I didn't want to sink my time into a book of that side and come out of the other end unhappy. I wanted my time with Murakami to remain unsullied by anything that could be considered mediocre. I will read it one day, I'll just wait until I care a little less about what people who've read it before me think. As ad addendum, I did read 'Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage' when it was released a couple of years back. I read it and enjoyed it. More importantly, I didn't read anything about it before hand.