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I've read two Atwood books now, Lady Oracle and Moral Disorder (which I've just reviewed in my reading blog) and the thing I've noticed with both, is that they require you to think. I'm not sure if I can say I've enjoyed either book, but have been challenged by both, and will probably attempt some more (we have a few on the bookshelves at home that I haven't read yet) but my experience so far is that they do require time and dedication to appreciate them.

Title: Moral Disorder Author: Margaret Atwood Publisher: Bloomsbury Rating: 2/5 Synopsis (from blurb on book cover): Margaret Atwood has frequently been cited as one of the foremost writers of our time. Moral Disorder, her new work of fiction, could be seen as a collection of eleven stories that is almost a novel or a novel broken up into eleven stories. It resembles a photograph album - a series of clearly observed moments that trace the course of a life, and the lives intertwined with it - those of parents, siblings, children, friends, enemies, teachers and even animals. And as in a photograph album, times change; every decade is here, from the 1930s through the 50s, 60s and 70s to the present day. The settings are equally varied: large cities, suburbs, farms, northern forests. Review: This book was an oddity for me. I hadn't read the synopsis in the book jacket, and had no idea what the book was about, so at first it seemed like a series of disjointed short stories, all told from the female perspective, but after the sixth story/chapter, things started falling into place. I realised that the first chapter was the main character in old age, then from the second chapter onwards, we were seeing a snapshot of a different time or event in her life, moving onwards to understand how she became the person she was back in the first story. Although there is a narrative running through the stories, my feeling was that they were really about how we perceive, judge and rationalise people and events within our own minds, giving a very introverted take on the life of an individual. Once I was able to embrace this concept (at chapter six), I could better appreciate the book, and I actually went back and skim read the first five chapters again before finishing it. Having said that, the first chapter is still a bit of an enigma to me; is this supposed to be an alternate world or society? I still don't understand the relevance of the political references in the first chapter and how it fits in with the rest of the stories, which all seem to be much more "normal" and in line with our own society. I'm still not sure if I enjoyed the book, although once I understood what was going on, I did feel more encouraged to continue with it. It did make me think about the difference between what we think in our own minds and how we express and portray ourselves to others, and that made it an interesting and thought provoking read.

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Spanish football - Barcelona v Sevilla

It began with my father not wanting to see the Last Rabbit and ended up with me being eaten by a carnivorous plant. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

I have to pass some of the credit on to ii as she recommended it in the first place!

Watched one of OH's favourite films this evening, Black Narcissus. Never seen it before, and it was superb. Jack Cardiff is a legend and surely the best cinematographer ever.

Finished Moral Disorder this evening - finally! Need to contemplate before writing review. Picked up two books from the library yesterday, and both were brand new, never been loaned out before so it'll be just like reading my own copy Bought a couple of books in Waterstone's, and those will have to be my last for a few months I think - may try and save some pennies for a while, so that when I've reduced the TBR shelves I've got a little pot to dip into and buy some lovely new books

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I'm actually quite inclined to try some things if they're popular and hyped up, just to see what all the fuss is about. I was looking for a book to take on holiday and go onto Amazon and see these two books about Harry Potter, then remembered I'd heard something about it on the radio, but couldn't remember what it was. Decided to give them both a go, and what do you know, by the time I go on holiday, the hype is EVERYWHERE! Ignoring that, I read the first book on a two hour train journey followed by a one hour flight, and started the second book the next morning, and was completely hooked. On the flip side, I'd seen so much coverage of The Da Vinci Code, that when it came up in my book group, I gave it a go, and absolutely hated it - terrible, clunky dialogue, awful one dimensional characters, in fact, the only benefit was that it was fast read (a long evening in front of the fire). I hope that I'm open minded enough to be able to try most things whether they're popular and hyped up or not, and make my own decisions on the material on its own merits. And, I think it's perfectly acceptable to like something, even knowing that it has flaws. (e.g. Twilight)

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