Reading round-up: May

This month was a really busy month. At the start of the month I was in London for two weeks working at a publishing company and the following week I was in Leuven, Belgium. I didn't have much time for reading but I finally finished The Three Musketeers! It's very long, but the last third of the book was really gripping. I also read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first volume in Maya Angelou's autobiographies in the last week in May, shortly before she passed away.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

I was inspired to read this when I watched the BBC TV series starring Luke Pasqualino of Skins fame as D'Artagnan and Peter Capaldi, the new Doctor Who, as the Cardinal. The Three Musketeers is set in Paris, and the main characters are three of the king's musketeers, Atos, Portos and Aramis, and D'Artagnan, a younger Gascon who is keen to join them. The book follows D'Artagnan and the musketeers on their adventures as they face opposition from the Cardinal, who abhors their street fighting and the king's poor leadership. The Musketeers is a ripping boy's adventure; D'Artagnan leaves the provinces for the big city to seek his fortune and find adventure, friendship and love. The men constantly tease each other, very much like 'banter' today, and yet surprisingly perhaps, more innocent in content (there are a limited number of sexual / profane jokes). One of the central characters is the archetypal femme fatale, Milady, who is a fantastic character; an incredibly smart and skilled woman, and is so central to the plot/action she has several chapters dedicated to only her at the close of the book. I was struck with how funny and accessible the book is and how much it would make a great school play. The story is based in history, featuring King Louis XIII, Anne of Austria, the Duke of Buckingham and his assassin, Felton (not of dog-walking fame ;) ). It was interesting, when I was visiting the National Portrait Gallery in London, to see paintings of the characters, and have the historicity of some events confirmed. I would recommend this book to those interested in historical fiction, but for those who are only interested in a ripping story, I would suggest an abridged version.

Something for the Weekend by Terry Wogan

I picked this up at work and read it while travelling this month. It's a collection of Terry Wogan's weekend columns for The Sunday Telegraph over the past ten years (2004 - 2014). It was a different kind of book for me, but was good to dip in and out of when on trains, as each column averages only two pages. Whenever I opened the book the subject matter of the column it fell upon seemed to match my activity at that time, for example, when on the Eurostar, I read the column on the difficulties of checked baggage when travelling, and on Eurovision weekend, I read the article on a past year's contest, as Wogan used to commentate Eurovision for many years. Something for the Weekend fairly accurately sums up British feeling on certain social changes / events over the past ten years, but with a slightly right wing / old school mindset (the columns were published in the Telegraph). I would recommend it to prior fans of Wogans and the hardback edition would make a good Christmas gift, as a book that anyone can pick up and have a quick read.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This was my favourite book of the month by a long way. It also happened to be the month in which Maya Angelou passed away. She has accomplished so much in her life, and her autobiographies, of which this is the first one, are an illuminating and interesting read. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, upon its release in 1969, was an defining text in increasing the visibility of African American female his(her)tory. Maya uses her education, both academic and pastoral, combined with a child's natural curiosity, to bring to the reader a revealing, insightful and intelligent description and analysis of life, and how circumstance and history shape it. In Caged Bird, Maya describes her childhood growing up in Arkansaw and later San Francisco, detailing her life up to the age of 17 and the birth of her first son. The content can at times be disturbing, particularly her rape as an eight year old, which is told from a child's perspective. The book's themes include racism, identity, language, and rape, and the language is poetic and sentence structure beautifully constructed. You can read my full review of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings here.

That's it for this month. To browse more of my monthly reading round-ups, click here.

Reading round-up: April

April was an average month in terms of reading. I read a lot of extracts and free first chapters of books- Kindle is great for this- but the following four are the only books I finished. Here's April's belated reading round-up.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

Jamaica Inn is a Gothic tale set on the ragged coasts of Cornwall and is a fun, quick read akin to a modern day thriller. The narrator is Mary Yellen, who is sent to live with her aunt and uncle at the notorious, barren and inhospitable Jamaica Inn. Mary finds her Aunt Patience a battered woman living under the violent thumb of her husband Joss Merlyn. Jamaica never hosts travellers, and Mary is suspicious as to how the Merlyns survive with no custom, but she soon discovers the reason why - Jamaica Inn is the centre of a smuggling ring. Mary struggles with her morality and who to trust. She confides in two men, the first being the local vicar and the second Joss's brother, Jem, who she is attracted to despite herself. The novel comes to a violent conclusion, beginning with a drunken confession of Joss's: the smugglers are, in fact, wreckers. I was interested to read this novel as the BBC released a mini TV series of this over the Easter weekend. I really enjoyed both watching the series and reading the novel, and would definitely recommend both. I would really recommend Jamaica Inn to most readers, particularly fans of thrillers and the gothic. I'd also recommend the novel to teens, both boys and girls, as the language is understandable and there is a lot to be taken away from the novel. I think it sets up some interesting discussions on morality, the roles of men and women, bravery and redemption. You can read my full review of Jamaica Inn here.

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Written by the COO of Facebook, Lean In was bound to be dissected on social media, and I was initially put off reading it due to the criticisms of the book written around the time of its release last year. Lean In is a business and self help book that focuses on the lack of women in leadership roles, the causes of this, and what we as women can do about it. One criticism of the book is that it does not discuss the history of the patriarchal structures that effects women in work. The book just stops short of stating, but implies, the idea that women have internalized sexist ideas of women in work, and focuses on motivating them to succeed and lead in the workplace. An additional criticism is that Sandberg ignores intersectionality; she does not give recognition to the fact that there is huge variety of women in work, or the plight of the many women being leaned on in order for other women to succeed at work (e.g. often non-white, underpaid nannies). Despite these problems I enjoyed the book; it was well researched and it was interesting reading Sandberg's personal experiences at Facebook and Google. I do think Lean In raises some pertinent points; such as how both men and women can both fail to recognise our own gender based prejudices despite recognising it in other people, and how as women we often mentally leave our workplace before we physically leave our jobs. If you're interested in feminism, equality at work, or a women looking to succeed in business, I would really recommend this book. It won't solve all your problems but it might make you think.

When Nights Were Cold by Susanne Collins

When Nights Were Cold was recommended by Blair on her excellent blog, and I picked it up for 99p in the Kindle sale. It's short and is nicely edited to form a well-paced story. At the turn of the century in Victorian London, Grace Farrington is living with an overbearing father and meek mother, both of whom insist their daughters must stay at home until they marry, despite Grace's passion for mountaineering. Mountains, particularly the Mattahorn, are at the heart of this novel as much as Grace is. Grace (or Farrington as she becomes known) obsesses over the latest expeditions of the time and forms a mountaineering club at her female college with four other girls. The club plan mountaineering expeditions, and slowly, cracks begin to form in the girls' friendships, culminating in a fatal trip to the Alps. We are told some details of the tragedy at the beginning of the story, but the more we read on, the more we realise it might not have happened as Farrington encouraged us to believe. I'd really recommend this book to everyone as it was a smart, interesting, quick read.

A Winter Book by Tove Jansson

A Winter Book is a collection of short stories for adults written by Finnish writer Tove Jansson, known as the creator of the Moomins. It’s a beautifully produced book, with textured paper and a soft dust jacket and accompanying photographs of Jansson in her native Finland. The collection of stories are on the theme of winter, and are deceptively simple, the first set of stories being told from a child’s perspective, and the latter from an adults. The stories focus on incidents in Jansson’s life, most seemingly innocuous, but when examined a little closer, reveal universal concerns about nature, life, art, hope and ageing. My favourite story in the collection is ‘Parties’. It is a telling perspective into a child’s understanding of adult parties (“I know a lot that I don’t talk about”), complete with music, hangovers and fry-ups. A Winter Book is a mixed bag of stories, and not always coherent in narrative and theme, but is a nice addition for fans of Jansson’s work. It would make a lovely gift for those who are a fan of short stories, stories of the sea, or stories told from a child’s perspective. You can read my full review of A Winter Book here.

That's it for this month. To browse more of my monthly reading round-ups, click here.

Reading round-up: October

October is usually a pretty good month for me in books as it's my birthday mid-month. I had some great reads in the last few weeks, including a book that I think will be in my top 10 this year (Filth) and a surprisingly good chick-lit book (Rachel's Holiday).

Filth by Irvine Welsh

Hands-down my favourite read of the month. I actually read it twice this month, and saw the film starring James McAvoy (which was excellent- if you're a fan of Trainspotting and/or James McAvoy, it's a must see!) Welsh, famous for Trainspotting and the drug-riddled film that launched Ewan McGregor's career, writes not unsympathetically about the underbelly of Scotland, particularly Edinburgh, and the filth that lies beneath its deceptively civilised veneer. Filth is about a corrupt policeman, Bruce Robertson, who is sexist, racist, homophobic, sectarian, and addicted to sex, porn and drugs. The book, written in first person, details his descent into the filth he surrounds himself with to escape from and deny reality, and his inability to deal with his underlying mental health problems. A second narrator appears about 1/3 of the way into the book, in the form of a tapeworm living in his intestines, and it's through the tapeworm we learn Bruce's backstory. Filth definitely benefits from a second reading as we learn to make sense of Bruce's backstory and why he deals with situations the way he does, and how and why his understanding of events differs from those around him.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

I received this book as a birthday present, and the hardcover edition is particularly pleasing. It's been a while since I experienced the new-book, hardcover Harry Potter smell. Bridget is now 50, with two young children, and, crucially, a widow. Mark Darcy has been dead for four years, and Bridget, although still mourning him, is attempting to get back on the horse...via Twitter. Some have criticised the novel for not being true to Bridget's voice, but I find it highly unlikely that Fielding would have been able to please everyone, whatever direction she chose. There are some genuinely hilarious moments, and I had to stifle laughter several times on the train. My favourite moments includes Bridget's Freudian slip when referrring to her screenplay 'The Leaves in his Hair' as 'the nits in his hair' while texting her toy-boy under the table in important meeting re: her children possibly having nits. I really enjoyed spending time with Bridget and her assorted cast of characters again, and I think any fans of her previous books will too. Look for my full review of this coming soon!

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

I've long heard good things about Patrick Ness, particularly with regard to his writing style being literary, which I love. I was also attracted to this novel as it is a retelling of a Japanese folktale. In the myth, a man comes across a crane, and shortly after this event, a beautiful woman enters his life who he falls in love with. She makes a number of creations (traditionally, clothing, in Ness' novel, artwork) which make money for the couple. Eventually he discovers how she makes them- by plucking feathers from her body. When he discovers this, she disappears. Ness' retelling was interesting but lacked both novelistic structure, personality, and character development. I didn't really feel for any of the characters and the writing style wasn't as literary as I had hoped. I was disappointed with this and don't feel encouraged to read more of Patrick Ness.

Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart

This was another birthday gift, as I'm a big fan of her TV series. This book is a collection of stories about her life, dealing with various topics such as music, hobbies, diets and dating, and is told with typical Miranda humour. Throughout the book she dips in and out of conversations with her 18 year old self, which takes a little getting used to, but is a fun way of delving into her life. I really enjoyed reading this and discovering more of Miranda's antics, however my favourite chapter was on the topic of beauty. For any fans of How to be a Woman by Catlin Moran, you must read this chapter! What Miranda said really resonated with me a lot more than anything in Moran's book. To give you a snippet, here's a quote:
"What [my friend] said was: 'Miranda, you've got to start taking yourself seriously as a woman.' She said this in response to the frayed, overstuffed handbag - and by handbag I obviously mean rucksack - that I've taken to carrying around with me. Is it just me who hasn't bought into the need for a £700 Mulberry handbag?"

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes

This is actually one of the books I was most excited to review. Marian Keyes is deservedly famous in the world of Irish fiction and chick-lit, but I'd never read anything of hers nor anything about her as a writer. I read this on my iPhone/iPad as I had got it as a free download from iTunes at some stage. It was an easy book to get into as Keyes' style is very chatty, easy to read and fast-paced. Rachel's Holiday, despite the dreadful title and cover art, is more serious than its title implies (although perhaps that's the point?). Rachel is a young, successful Irish woman in New York with a perfect boyfriend and perfect roommate. Oh, and she's a drug addict. The holiday in question is Rachel's stay in an Irish drug treatment centre, and the novel is an interesting exercise in the unreliable narrator. Rachel's Holiday is the best chick-lit I've read bar Bridget Jones, and I can see why Keyes gets the praise she does.

Reading Round-up: August

 
This month I got through a lot of novels, despite August being pretty busy work/social wise. Reading is just one of those things that fits naturally into my routine most of the time. A lot of people say to me 'I wish I had time to read', which is a phrase that can grate on me. It can give off a superior air and can seem like you're saying this: 'I'm too busy/important to spend my time reading. You, who do, obviously have nothing better to do with your time.' That couldn't be further from the truth with a lot of people who love reading. Take almost anyone who works in publishing or academia, for example. Most of the time it's just a matter of your priorities. Prioritising reading, in my opinion, is always worth it.

 
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

The Casual Vacancy was the first novel published by J.K. Rowling under her own name, since publishing Harry Potter. The Casual Vacancy is a novel about the small English town of Pagford, and the drama, politics, infidelities, drug use and secrets that often go on undetected. The novel opens with the death of parish councillor Barry Fairbrother, and the vacancy of the title refers to his now empty seat on the council. Barry's death has far reaching consequences that no one could have predicted, and soon the whole town, from the elderly to the teens of the council estates, are embroiled in Pagford's small-town politics. Reading The Casual Vacancy was not a pleasant experience- the subject matter is miserable, gritty, incredibly contemporary, and realistic. It almost reminds me of the British kitchen sink realism of the late 1950s/early 60s. Despite the subject matter, reading the beginning of the book was like coming home- as a firm member of the Harry Potter generation, Rowling's writing style is incredibly familiar and nostalgic to me. Overall, I am glad I read this and in doing so, gained more experience of where Rowling might be headed after Harry. You can view my full review of the novel here.

 
The Island by Victoria Hislop

I was interested in this novel for its descriptions of Spinalonga, the Greek island of the novel's title. I visited Spinalonga and it's neighbouring island, Crete, in June, and I was interested to read more about the former leper colony's history. This novel would be a good beach read if you were holidaying in Crete and wanted to feel more connected to the island. It was Hislop's debut novel and she has since written more popular fiction in a similar vein. I felt fairly let down by this book. The writing is some of the worst fiction I've ever read. It is plain, creative writing 101, terrible. The dialogue is particularly bad, although fortunately it is used sparingly. When characters speak, instead of gaining a personality, they loose one. Their dialogue doesn't seem natural, they speak the obvious, and their speech adds nothing to the reader's understanding. Aside from dialogue, the attempts at metaphor are simple and fall extremely flat. Often it reads like a child's creative writing exercise. I would only recommend this book to those whose desire to learn more about Spinalonga is strong enough to conquer the effects of reading bad writing.

 
Virago is 40: A Celebration

This is a collection of writings on the topic of the number forty, from a number of female authors all published by Virago. This was a nice collection to dip in and out of- the pieces are fairly short, and include personal experiences, creative writing and poetry. There are a fair amount of pieces on what being aged forty entails, the symbolism of 'forty winks', and, of course, the 'f' word (feminism), as many of Virago's writers are second-generation feminists reflecting back on Virago's founding principles and its achievements so far. 'Virago is 40' was a good way for me to get a taste of the writing style of some of Virago's authors, and I look forward to reading more of some of these authors in the future.

 
The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

I've read a lot of Ian McEwan, but this was one I'd never picked up before. It's pretty old-style McEwan; very dark, and very disturbing. His writing is beautiful, and every time I read him it's such a pleasure reading someone who has such great command of the English language. McEwan's writing is very atmospheric, and you can feel the tension building without knowing why you feel this way, until right at the end of the novel when he reveals the full extent of the horror. The novel is about an unmarried couple holidaying in what we assume to be Venice, who are befriended by a native couple. It is easy to draw parallels between The Comfort of Strangers and Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, both in its style of writing and heavily in its themes, namely: the mystifying pull of dark erotica in a foreign European country. It is obvious that McEwan drew inspiration from Thomas Mann, but all writers do, and The Comfort of Strangers is no less for it.

 
The Devil's Double by Latif Yahia

This is a book I've been interested in reading ever since I saw trailer for the film, starring Dominic Cooper, whose look for the film is excellent and convincing. The story is about an Iraqi soldier, Latif, who is forced into becoming the body double, or 'fiday', of Uday Saddam Hussain, Saddam Hussain's eldest son. Sadly the film didn't live up to expectations, and it's one that I would actually recommend seeing before reading the book. The book was gripping, often fast paced, and hard to put down. It was also incredibly graphic in parts, when describing Uday's more sadistic acts, including the rape of a bride on her honeymoon and the murder of her groom, the capture, rape and torture of a 14 year old girl, and the murder of his father, Saddam Hussain's trusted friend, Kammel Hannah, at a party. Although I learnt a lot about the Saddam regime at the time of the Gulf war, it is hard to say exactly how much of the novel is true. Some events, like the murder of Kammel Hannah are verifiable, but how much of Latif's story is true is up for debate, as even he is sketchy with the details when pressed by journalists.

 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

It is hard to read Perks for the first time without any preconceptions, especially if you have a Tumblr account. The hipster crowd have commandeered many phrases from the novel, such as "I feel infinite" and "We accept the love we think we deserve." As a self-identifying non-hipster my opinion is that these phrases are one of the weakest parts of the novel. Perks doesn't need them, and they are philosophy-lite, which, as a philosophy major, tends to get my back up. However, I loved this novel. Charlie was an identifiable and interesting main character who you understand more as the story progresses. The novel, although set in high school, hints at more serious issues throughout the novel. Teenagers would respond to this novel well, but anyone not in high school would also enjoy it, and that's the beauty of this novel. It reminds me a little of What Maisie Knew by Henry James. Both novels show the perspective of a child seeing things that adults do, but not understanding the implications of them until later. I would like to go back and read this again, knowing what I know now, and see if it improves upon further reading.

Reading Round-up: July

Last month I got through a fairly eclectic mix of books. I kicked off the month with mostly light reading, in response to finishing Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl' the month before.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

This is the novel that preceded the popular film starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. The film was good; it was funny and charming, as well as a visual stimulant for fashion fans. I picked up this book, despite it not being a genre I normally read, hoping it would be as good as the film. Unfortunately, it fell extremely flat and I found it really quite poorly written. The main character, Andy, is much less likeable than in the novel, both in her behaviour and in the language Weisberger uses to describe her. The novel deals with some darker issues than the film (Andy's best friend becomes an alcoholic), which might have peaked my interest a little more, but again, I found Weisberger's writing style lacking here. This novel didn't do anything to improve my perception of 'chick lit' and I won't be picking up the sequel, which is out soon.

Look Mom...I'm a Teenage Drug Lord by Lance Green

I downloaded this when it was free for a day on the Kindle store as a bit of light reading. I am not a fan of either the title or the cover, which are both very commercialised. With the popularity of Weeds and Breaking Bad I can see that this might peak people's interest. It is a true story written by a former teenage drug dealer from a wealthy family. I found it a fairly gripping read, and finished it in one sitting. Green's forays into drug dealing are a little like Jesse in Breaking Bad, if he had continuous amounts of capital behind him. At various points in the novel, when the game could have been up, Green is continuously lucky- he has regular near misses with the police, enough to render him- as with many teenagers- invincible. There is a fair amount of humour, and one very Breaking Bad scene where the police are about to break down his door at a house party and Green talks his way out of it. One criticism of the novel, though, is that the main character (Green) is fairly unrelatable and unlikable as a character. He often becomes an angry drunk and starts heavy physical fights, without showing any remorse or even showing a moderate attempt to think about past events at all. However, an interesting point in the book comes when Green introduces events in his past. He does so by hinting at what's to come with heavily ironic undertones, pointing at his wealth and education. Ultimately, he leaves it up to the reader to make their own analysis of his actions.

Adele - To Make You Feel Her Love by Neil Simpson

This genre, again, isn't one I would normally read. I downloaded this on a whim as it was free on the Kindle store. I read this in one sitting on the iPad, which is unusual for me. I don't normally read this way as it strains my eyes (I wear contacts) but the one thing I do love about reading on an iPad is how easy it is to enlarge the text. Back to the book, though. I thought the beginning chapters were quite sensationalist, and were obviously written to keep you reading. That clearly worked in my case, but I found that as I read on the writing got better. Most of the content is able to speak for itself- Adele's life is interesting and eventful without any need to frame it in a sensational way. I learnt some pretty interesting things about Adele's record-breaking achievements, such as sales records and awards she has won. If you're a hard-core Adele fan I would recommend this book. It is a fairly quick read and an interesting insight into her life.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

This was the biggest book I read in July, and what took up most of my time. I am currently trying to catch up with my reading of American classics, and this was one that I had never ventured into. Catch 22 tells the story of Yossarian, an American bombardier in Italy in the second world war, who wants to go home. His repeated requests for this are ignored by the generals, and this quest is the driving force of the novel. The novel is hard to get into at first, as it appears to start messily in the middle of the action. However, as you read on, it becomes apparent that this novel was carefully crafter by Heller. Each chapter is told from a different character's perspective, so as readers, our understanding of events develops the further on you read, and we read punchlines from jokes that we only had the first half of in a previous chapter. Due to this, the novel is a very slow burn- I was 25% of the way through the novel before I felt connected to and grounded in the world of Yossarian and his comrades. The major themes of the novel are the absurdities of authority, administration, war, language, and being sane vs being 'crazy'. I hope to do a more in-depth review of this novel soon. I would recommend this novel to those who are fans of absurdist literature and want a rewarding challenge.