Month in review - February

Let's not beat around the bush. February was a poor month on the reading front. This as a result hit the blog because it's hard to post about very little without sounding rather desperate.

With only three books read things hit a new low. It wasn't too depressing because on other fronts targets were hit - particularly in my efforts to run a decent number of miles this year. But my credentials as a book blogger, which are flimsy to start with, will no doubt have taken another knock.

Anyway onwards and hopefully volume wise upwards into March.


February
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
Gonzo Republic by William Stephenson

The gift of reading

My eldest son, who has dyslexia had his birthday and one of his presents was a book from the publishers Barrington Stoke.

I picked the book after asking people on Twitter for recommendations about reading choices for reluctant readers and the name Barrington Stoke came back from several people. I chose First Ninja by Chris Bradford as a good place to start and we sat down and my son read us all the first chapter before he went to bed last night.

I was then woken by the alarm this morning and headed downstairs to find my son on the sofa with the book just finishing the last chapter. Okay so it's a short book but it's the first he has read at that speed for a long time and he was bouncing around the place afterwards. He was full of the joy that reading and enjoying a book can give you.

He has promised to come on to the blog and share a review of the book with you later this week.

Month review: January

Got to admit it's been a pretty pleasing start to the year reading wise. Haven't cycled much but the reading has been on track as a result. Not always going to be able to do that but good to kick off in January with some positive reading.

The theme was American and the authors were a mix of new and old. Good experiences all round and I'm sticking with US writers for a bit longer.

Anyway here are the books read last month:

Bagombo Snuff Box uncollected short fiction by Kurt Vonnegut
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Falconer by John Cheever
A Generation of Swine by Hunter S. Thompson
You & I by Padgett Powell

Reading on the fly

It can be cold, a baby can scream for what seems like hours and the food can be inedible. But one guaranteed joy of flying a fairly long distance is the chance it gives you to read.

As the hours stretch out before you the chance to lose yourself in a book without the worry that the phone or internet will distract you is something rather wonderful.

These days it's very rare for me to fly but when it happens I pack the books and enjoy every second of the reading time.

Reading plans for the rest of the month

It might have started to become obvious but the reading plans for this month are all around American writers. I have to travel to the US for work next week and so am taking a few books with me that represent writers from that country.

The trip has been on my mind for a while so it perhaps influenced the decision to take off the shelf and dust down the Vonnegut and McCarthy I started the month with.

Whenever I go away if possible I try to take a writer to read from that country and ideally from the place I am going to. In this case I sadly didn't have the time to research and plan to take books by writers from Boston but hope that a range of American writers will provide an interesting backdrop to my stay.

Looking back at 2011

Not the best of years reading wise with a fairly low number consumed. What was perhaps more disappointing was the failure to get a rythmn going during the year. Booker prizes passed me by as did most other literary events and at times it felt as if just finishing a book was a major challenge let alone keeping up with the world of literature.

Of course the hope is that this year will be different and that I will not only read more but get into the swing of things and stay there for a bit.

Anyway here's the list of stuff read last year:

January
1. The Islanders and A Fisher of Men by Yevgeny Zamyatin
2. 2017 by Olga Slavnikova
3. Short stories and Prose Poems by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
4. One Hot Summer in St Petersburg by Duncan Fallowell
5. Uncle's Dream and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
6. The Village by Ivan Bunin
7. Master and Man and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy

February
8. Count D'Orgels Ball by Raymond Radiguet
9. Taking it to Heart by Marie Desplechin
10. The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
11. Holiday in a Coma by Frederic Beigbeder
12. Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky
13. The Princess of Mantua by Marie Ferranti
14. A Day in the Country and Other Stories by Guy De Maupassant

March
15. The Terrorists by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo
16. Parallel Lives by John Tagholm
17. The Long Good-Bye by Raymond Chandler
18. The Mournful Demeanour of Lieutenant Boruvka by Josef Skovorecky
19. Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James
20. The Suspicions of Mr Wicher by Kate Summerscale
21. Headed for a Hearse by Jonathan Latimer

April
22. Next World Novella by Matthias Politycki
23. The Lost Honour of Katherina Blum by Heinrich Boll
24. Lineman Thiel and Other Tales by Gerhart Hauptmann
25. The Call of The Toad by Gunter Grass
26. Death in Venice, Tristan, Tonio Kroger by Thomas Mann
27. The Decision Book by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler

May.
28. Country Dance by Margiad Evans
29. The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys
30. Dearest Father by Franz Kafka
31. The Lives of Animals by J.M. Coetzee
32. Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake

June.
33. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
34. Laikonik Express by Nick Sweeney
35. Mercedes-Benz by Pawel Huelle
36. Paris Metro Tales edited by Helen Constantine

July.
37. How I won the Yellow Jumper by Ned Boulting
38. Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali
39. Can We Borrow Your Husband? by Graham Greene
40. The Hare With the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
41. King of Tuzla by Arnold Jansen op de Haar
42. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
43. Les Belles Images by Simone de Beauvoir

August
44. The Whores of Coxcomb Hall by Egg Taylor
45. Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
46. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
47. Rome Tales stories translated by Hugh Shankland
48. The Ascent of Isaac Steward by Mike French
49. Stabat Mater by Tiziano Scarpa
50. The Scarlet Plague by Jack London

September
51. Hello America by JG Ballard
52. Busy Monsters by William Giraldi
53.
54.
55. The Queue by Vladimir Sorokin

October
56. The Wanderer by Knut Hamsen
57. Made in England by Gavin James Blower
58. A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
59. Engineers of the Soul by Frank Westerman
60. Incognita by William Congreve

November
61. Unthology 2 by various authors
62. Ten Stories about Smoking by Stuart Evers
63. Dark Steps by Martin Pond
64. Departures by Tony Parsons
65. What we talk about when we talk about love by Raymond Carver
66. Break it Down by Lydia Davis

December
67. An introduction to English poetry by James Fenton

books read in 2012

January
1. Bagombo Snuff Box uncollected short fiction by Kurt Vonnegut
2. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
3. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
4. The Rich Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Falconer by John Cheever
6. A Generation of Swine by Hunter S. Thompson
7. You & I by Padgett Powell

February
8. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
9. To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
10. Gonzo Republic by William Stephenson

March
11.The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
12. New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani
13. Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin
14. Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld
15. The Names by Don DeLillo

April
15. The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
16. Pastors and Masters by Ivy Compton-Burnett
17.From the Mouth of The Whale by Sjon
18. The Great Fire of London by Peter Ackroyd

May and June wiped out by baby being born

July
19. Walks kin the Wheatfields by Richard Jefferies
20. Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings
21. Kiera's Quest by Kristy Brown
22. The Tour de France...To The Bitter End by Guardian writers

The month in review - October

With my commuting reading time gone as a result of cycling a pattern of reading at night and in chunks over the weekend has emerged and as a result so has the average number of books I get through a month started to become clearer. Five is not as many as I used to be able to get through but neither is it as low as sometimes it has threatened to be so I'm fairly pleased with things.

It means that of course the volume of books I get through this year is not going to match last but after having thought about it I'm more philosophical now than I have been and more prepared to just be grateful for the reading time I get.

Books read in October:

The Wanderer by Knut Hamsun
Made in England by Gavin James Bower
A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Engineers of the Soul by Frank Westerman
Incognita by William Congreve

Month in review: August

Managed to have a month of good reading building on the back of a strong July, where the books were great holiday companions. When I can the aim is to get through seven books a month and so to do that two months running is great after a real dip the previous couple of months.

I guess the highlight of the month was probably the quirky but fun Red Plenty and the Italian prize winning Stabat Mater. Also enjoyed the eclectic mix of Rome Tales which took you on an alternative tour of that great city through a collection of short stories.

Onwards and upwards in September hopefully.

Books read in August

The Whores of Coxcomb Hall by Egg Taylor
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Rome Tales stories translated by Hugh Shankland
The Ascent of Isaac Steward by Mike French
Stabat Mater by Tiziano Scarpa
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London

A few thoughts on discussion on The Good of the Novel

Last night I attended a discussion at the London Review Bookshop provoked by the book The Good of the Novel, which has been published by Faber.

The evening threw up lots of interesting thoughts and there are perhaps not surprisingly more questions than answers when it comes to discussing the position of the novel now as well as the future direction it might take.

The evening started off with a few comments from Ray Ryan, co-editor of The Good of the Novel before asking a panel for their opinions.

I sat there with my phone and made a few observations based on what each person said and hope they might make a poor but fleeting record of what was said and provide an idea of the thoughts that were expressed on the night.


Ray Ryan, co-editor The Good of the Novel
The novel is always in society therefore difficult to analyse it independently of history.

Each novel sets it's own agenda and makes it's own demands of the reader.

Novelistic truth is not documented.

James Wood, well known critic
We go to it for pleasure. It gave me great feeling of freedom against the backdrop of a strict religious upbringing "An experience of realising reading the novel an area of freedom anyone could be represented thinking anything."

Very few outright tragic novelists. Secularism. Seeing the ways in which Dostoevsky could argue against himself in the Brothers Kasmanov. Began a movement away of whatever religious leaning I had.
Quite important now last decade a revival on both sides of atheism and envangelisism trying to pin us down.

Mental lives are flickering intermittent the novel as a form it alone can do. Hadn't yet had great novel that deals with atheism and fundamentalism perhaps it's coming.

Lee Brackstone, editorial director at Faber
Lee gave a publishers perspective: Publishers position often thankless. Position in chain of command between writer ad reader. We are the first people to cast artform into literary mold.
Lucrative narrative form. I tell other publishers to just buy what you love but Faber needs these things so just how useful is this advice? What pressures of the market to qualify taste? If market and everyman readers didn't exist what would we be publishing? Do the structures bring us the novel we deserve and if not what might that novel be?
Navigate between the gospel of the novel and the demands of a brutal market?
Visceral. To make these decisions and have responsibility in maintaining this list at Faber is a privilege. Novelist ability to deconstruct and surprise and reconstruct. Worries me that element of surprise will disappear where character, plot and style over come place and different voices.
Do readers want entertainment or challenge to comfort? Not novelist responsibility to represent the world but to make it a more uncertain place.

Frances Wilson, author and critic
What I'm interested in is the anti-novelism of novels. Intimacy kureishi it's not a novel might as well call it a fish a book whose intimacy spoke only to her. Rarely like scandal Of fiction that operates one inch from life. Novels should be dangerous or a risk you should be prepared to leave a different person.
Genius in the way kureishi re-framed the real.
If novels are meant to be vecihles of interiority take you inside the heads of Novels being morally uncertain. Deal with the complexity of thought and emotion.

Amit Chaudhuri, author and academic
Disliked the novel as a form for a long time. Viewed the cult of the novel with suspicion. Geoff Dyer berates the form. Always meant to be a poet. Larkin wanted to be a novelist but I always wanted to be a poet. Drawn to was rereadability one of my first experinence belief that certain sentences were enough and whole novel around it were a Nuisance. Get rid of it but do what? Feel like starting anew with each sentence. Novel became a series of fresh beginnings. Heard it had to do with plot and story and the problematic character. Wasn't going to novels for character was going to them for something spatial. Background. Description. which can be a criticism. I was drawn to description and background. Think of the story in a different way not about things happening but about a space. Found myself inhabiting and producing novels.

Novel became more successful with globalisation. Brought in rhetoric of plenty. Leaked into the novel. People were reading more. So what? World of infinite communication and plenty into which the novel had fallen the debate is not so much about the novel can elaborate on various views of the world whole thing haunted by main a happening in literature is the transformation in the interruption. Not the novel but what is the literary?
From critical theory and philosophy. Masterpiece only used by pr agencies not used in literary departments.

Then there were some questions and I picked out a few memorable comments and thoughts in response to queries from readers about what makes novels good and what the role of it is in society.

Lee
The good of the sentence rather than the good of novel.

New technology will allow novelist to look at form in a new way. David Foster Wallace was challenging it but no longer.

Novel performs function of a benign mirror happy to see something like us as well as something less pleasant.

James wood
Confirmation of the world and invention of the world. Realism can be very frustrating.

The month in review - April

April was a difficult month reading wise. A lot was happening in my life with the division of the company I work for being sold and as a result concentrating on reading or finding the time was a challenge.

Sadly that challenge is set to continue even more this month as I move offices and start a commute that denies me any reading time.

Still here is the look back over April with the following books read. Only managed to get six books read:

Next World Novella by Matthias Politycki
The Lost Honour of Katherina Blum by Heinrich Boll
Lineman Thiel and Other Tales by Gerhart Hauptmann
The Call of The Toad by Gunter Grass
Death in Venice, Tristan, Tonio Kroger by Thomas Mann
The Decision Book by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler

Time to catch up on the TBR pile

April is going to be a month of catching up with some of the books I have been sent or requested. So there is no overall theme for this month other than hopefully getting on top of the to-be-read pile a bit.

Starting with the beautifully produced Next World Novella by Matthias Politycki from Peirene it's the chance to dive headfirst into something that should be thought provoking.

From there it's going to be Laikonik Express by Nick Sweeney and then from there hopefully some other new writers.

Onwards...

The month in review - March

Crime writers seem to enjoy delivering stories that come in at the 300 page mark and so the month's reading was slower going than I'd hoped. There were some good things consumed and some books were taken off the to-be-read pile but there still remain a fairly large number of crime stories and thrillers to be tackled later in the year.

March reading:

The Terrorists by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo
Parallel Lives by John Tagholm
The Long Good-Bye by Raymond Chandler
The Mournful Demeanour of Lieutenant Boruvka by Josef Skovorecky
Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James
The Suspicions of Mr Wicher by Kate Summerscale
Headed for a Hearse by Jonathan Latimer

A strange month

Haven't managed to get the reading pace I wanted this month but it's been difficult because there has been a lot of uncertainty at work which culminated in an announcement that the magazine I work for has been sold.

That has obviously led to a lot of conversations in corners and a dip in concentration as we all try to work out what it means for us all.

One fact is already clear, that it will change a daily routine I have been in for years and will change relationships with colleagues that stretch back in one case over a decade.

As a result the reading has been hard because the mind has been elsewhere but hopefully April might improve reading-wise.

The experience of giving

Months ago I send my details and waited to see if I would be chosen as a book giver for World Book Night. Rather than choose one of the more contemporary and probably sought after titles I chose a classic, All Quiet on the Western Front. It also helped that I'd read the book so if challenged I could recommend it with a degree of confidence.

But I just wanted to share some observations here about the experience of giving.

* Suspicion - the first reaction of most people I tried to give a book to was one of suspicion. Did it cost anything? What was it in aid of and why were they being given a copy?

* Confusion - the more I tried to explain about World Book Night the more it became obvious very few people knew about it.

* Satisfaction - get over those hurdles and the reward was a smile, thanks and that wonderful feeling of having passed on a good read.



Really hoping that the books I have given out will circulate and bring pleasure to a large number of people. They say that giving is better than recieving and when it comes to books it certianly can be.

Well done World Book Night and I hope those that got copies from me really enjoy them.

World Book Night

If you love books then the idea that they are to be celebrated in Central London is something rather special. World Book Night in Trafalgar Square was an occasion that was worth braving the cold for.

The women next to me had come down from Shrewsbury because "this is part of history" and it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement and agree with them. As Graham Norton took to the stage and introduced a host of literary household names the feeling that all these people had come together to celebrate books was a palpable one.

The highlight of the evening was not just watching the likes of Alan Bennet and Margaret Atwood take to the stage but to meet other 'givers' of books and to share an evening with so many book lovers.

Hope that when the feedback comes and the million books are tracked those behind it deem it to have been a success and can then extend the concept beyond the UK and Ireland.

World Book Day

This year more than ever with libraries closing left, right and centre and charities like Book Start getting its fuinding cut the need to celebrate books and reading is more important than ever.

Getting the young to develop a passion for reading is so important and yet again the selection of books for children is great this year. The flip books, with two stories, provide two experiences that children really enjoy. Over the last couple of years my household have been strong supporters of World Book Day and already the sights are set on the Spy Dog book that is in this year's offering.

Happy World Book Day to you all and may a love for reading long continue to be something that hits headlines and grabs attention across the globe.

Month in review - February

It felt like a very short month and so getting the usual seven books under the belt was a challenge and the rteading went to the wire.

Didn't get a chance to read some of the Balzac I had put to one side but happy with what I did manage to get through. As a result of some good charity shop buys managed to discover some fresh voices, particularly Desplechin and Ferranti. Both are authors that given a bit more time and a chance would read more of.

Ended with De Maupassant who really is starting to stand head and shoulders above the rest with his writing ability. Books read in February:

Count D'Orgels Ball by Raymond Radiguet
Taking it to Heart by Marie Desplechin
The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
Holiday in a Coma by Frederic Beigbeder
Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky
The Princess of Mantua by Marie Ferranti
A Day in the Country and Other Stories by Guy De Maupassant

Ill but not the type that's good for reading

Apologies for the absence recently. I was struck down with flu. There are those moments when you get ill and it can result in some time off work and some decent reading but other times when there is a constant headache and it's hard to find energy to keep the eyes open the books sadly remain closed.

This was one of those times. It has left me scrambling to try and get some books finished tonight and tomorrow to keep my reading on track this year.

Fingers crossed that happens.

Un grand choix

If you think about the great names in French literature there is a good smattering across both 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century you get to enjoy the likes of Gustave Flaubert and his Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education, Balzac, Guy de Maupassant and Bel Ami and Stendhal The Red and the Black.

But move into the 20th century and you come across some of the biggest names in modern literature with Albert Camus, Marcel Proust, Andre Gide, Jean-Paul Satre and Francoise Sagan to name just a few.

One of the great things about choosing to read a bit of French literature is the deep well you can draw from and hopefully some of the above names, which have appeared on this blog before, will be reappearing either later this month or sometime in the future.