Following the Murakami bingo from a couple of weeks ago, here is a breakdown of a Murakami novel in pie chart form, taken from the paperbackgirl blog and sent to me by Jay Rubin.
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June 18, 2012
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Books Read: 2013
Miss Read: Winter in Thrush Green
Comfort reading? Perhaps, but there is nothing wrong with that. Miss Read revisits Thrush Green for the first time in this novel from 1961. Some wonderful lines but not as much of the barbed sentiment of her previous work. (***)J M Coetzee: The Childhood of Jesus
When this isn't being allegorical it is being philosophical. Neither approach really goes anywhere. (***)Marc Leverton: Glastonbury Festival Myths and Legends
Fun little pocket book with snippets of stories from across the many years of the festival. To be honest, it could have all been covered in a magazine article but might be a nice memento of your visit. (***)Miss Read: Fresh from the Country
A standalone novel, outside her two main series, about a young teacher's first job in a big school in a large town. Good story, lots of great characters. Surprised she didn't follow this up with any more. A shame. (****)Brian Aldiss: Frankenstein Unbound
A somewhat bonkers sequel which is hugely more entertaining than the original. (****)Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
God, what a disappointment. Plot holes the monster could walk through without having to bend down. Ridiculous. (**)Will le Fleming: Central Reservation
A remarkably measured and accomplished debut. A story about loss, families, survival and that awkward transition into adulthood. A writer to watch. (****)Kerry Hudson: Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma
Best first line I've read this year: 'Get out, you cunting, shitting, little fucking fucker!' were the first words I ever heard. And the rest of it is just as good. (****)Jen Campbell: More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
It arrived in the mail, I opened it up to dip in, next thing I knew I had finished the whole thing. (****)Peter F. Hamilton: Misspent Youth
What a science fiction novel would be like if written by Judith Krantz. Utterly ridiculous but actually quite good fun. (***)Miss Read: Thrush Green
Part of my Reading Miss Read challenge. The first in a parallel series to the Fairacre books and of an equally high standard. Looking forward to finding out what happens next. (****)Miss Read: Storm in the Village
Latest instalment in my quest to read all the Miss Read books this year. This one moved away from the school setting somewhat and focused more on goings on in the village. A bit more gossipy and less social commentary as a result. Enjoyable comfort reading. (***)Angela S. Choi: Hello Kitty Must Die
A novel about traditional Chinese families in modern America with a bit of hymen reconstruction surgery and serial killing thrown in for good measure. (****)Carlene Bauer: Frances and Bernard
An epistolary novel based on the friendship between Robert Lowell and Flannery O'Connor. I picked it up and found it hard to put back down again. Polished it off in three short sittings. Excellent stuff. (****)Jeremy Paxman: The Political Animal: An Anatomy
Genuinely enlightening study of politicians in the this country. Why they do it, what makes them tick, what their jobs entail and what happens when they are booted out. (****)Richard Cowper: A Dream of Kinship
Second in an almost forgotten fantasy trilogy. Not quite as good as the first but still a cracking tale. Looking forward to the final part. (****)Gilbert Adair: The Death of the Author
A murder mystery which doubles up as a satire on the world of literary criticism. A niche market, perhaps, but I really enjoyed this. (****)Fiona Maddocks: Hildegard of Bingen
Fascinating biography of a 12th Century abbess who is recognised as one of the first composers as well as being a visionary, naturalist and feminist. (****)Miss Read: Village Diary
Book two in my reading challenge and every bit as entertaining as the first. (****)JMR Higgs: KLF: Chaos Magic Music Money
Witty, thought-provoking, jaw-dropping at times, this is one of the best books about the music industry you will ever read. (****)Jennifer Egan: A Visit From the Goon Squad
I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this, I didn't even know what it was about, but was most pleasantly surprised. An original piece of storytelling which never forgets it is trying to tell a story. (****)Miss Read: Village School
A year in the life of a fictional village school during the 1950s. A much misunderstood modern classic and a fascinating slice of social history. (****)Stephan Mendel-Enk: Oh Sweden! Oh Israel!
One of the most accessible Jewish novels (for me as a non-Jewish reader) that I have come across. A quirky family story. Very short. Not amazing but some impressive stuff in there. Thought the £12.99 RRP for a book coming in at under 150 pages was a bit steep. (***)Apostolos Doxiadis: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
A graphic novel about Bertrand Russell. I shit you not. And it is proper fascinating and everything. (****)Guy Delisle: Burma Chronicles
An account of a year the author spent living in Burma told in comic book form. Genuinely interesting and engaging if not particularly earth shattering but well worth a read if you want to find out a bit about the country and its people. (****)Junichiro Tanizaki: Some Prefer Nettles
A somewhat restrained novel about the breakdown of a marriage in 1920s Japan. Offers considerable insight into Japanese society at the time. (***)Kent Haruf: Benediction
A quiet masterpiece. (*****)Alison Moore: The Lighthouse
Simple, unpretentious prose. Beautifully observed. Slightly off-kilter story. Really rather splendid. (****)Brian Aldiss: Bury My Heart At W. H. Smith's
A memoir, of sorts. A glimpse at a writer's life. Full of great anecdotes and shameless namedropping. (****)Brian Aldiss: The Brightfount Diaries
The diary of a fictional bookseller. Brian's first published book started out as a series of columns in The Bookseller magazine in the 1950s and is a delightfully amusing portrait of bookselling in the middle of the last century, much of which hasn't really changed a great deal. (****)
My Books
21st Century Dodos
A guide to the many inanimate objects that are sadly on the verge of extinction. The Guardian called it ‘chummy 1970s and 80s nostalgia’.It Is Just You, Everything's Not Shit
My first book was published way back in 2007 and is an optimist's encyclopedia, of sorts.21st Century Dodos
Also available as an ebook. How very modern.It Is Just You, Everything's Not Shit
The ebook is currently only 99p, so what are you waiting for?
Free Ebooks
Darren Craske: The Equivoque Principle
'Boisterous comedy and hairpin plot twists.' THE TIMES
Twittering
Blogs & Links
- Asylum
The web's best book reviewer. - BookCunt
A refreshing and foul-mouthed change to the usual literary review blogs. - Dovegreyreader Scribbles
The first lady of blogging. - Lines from the Horizon
A wonderful blog looking at Japanese books in translation. A must-read for any fans of fiction from that country. - Me And My Short Stories
My other blog where I read and reviewed a different short story for every day of 2011. - on friday
Two writers. One weekly challenge. Most Fridays. - Rhian Winslade Ceramics & Art
The wife.
Dipping Into
David Bellos: Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: The Amazing Adventure of Translation
He has translated most of Perec's work so I am intrigued by this book on the art of translation itself.Kuhaku & Other Accounts from Japan
A beautiful collection of non-fiction pieces from and about Japan.Julian Barnes: Through the Window: Seventeen Essays (and one short story)
So far, an entertaining collection.
Kindle Sampled
Simon Gough: The White Goddess: An Encounter
Awful cover, especially for an ebook, but the contents are really rather interesting. The author grew up in the 40s and 50s, his parents were actors and his great-uncle was Robert Graves. In later years he became a book dealer and battled with serious illness. Like what I have read so far. (****)David Harvey: Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution
An introduction which proves to be dense and impenetrable - unless you have an extensive knowledge of philosophy, town planning and the history of Paris - means I won't be reading this one any further. (**)
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Now Playing
No 1
Christina Vantzou: No 1
Ambient weirdness. (****)Anais Mitchell: Young Man In America
Sounds like my old Victoria Williams records, and that is no bad thing at all. (****)
Quick Flicks
Various: Adventure Rocketship
Great concept, brilliantly executed: a paperback anthology of SF writing including essays, stories and interviews themed around the subject of music. One for all SF fans and musos. Lots to enjoy here. (****)Samantha Shannon: The Bone Season
The first in a much-hyped new YA series which bombards you with so many concepts and so much made-up technology in the opening pages that you almost miss the fact that the writing is pretty ordinary. (**)Rayya Elias: Harley Loco
Not sure how well this New York post-punk memoir of sex, drugs and hairdressing will travel, and it will be massively reliant on publicity if it is going to work at all, but it has some remarkable episodes and it is an entertaining read. (***)M. Jonathan Lee: The Radio
The author seems like a nice chap on Twitter but I have to be honest, this has a terrible cover, including a typo on in the blurb, and it is perhaps one or two drafts away from being able to punch its weight alongside more professionally published fare. (**)Marianne Levy: Ellie May is Totally Happy to Share Her Place in the Spotlight
The latest in this very funny series. Perfect reading for daughters, precocious or otherwise. Sons might like them too. (****)Jessica Soffer: Tomorrow There Will be Apricots
Pitched as the new Elegance of the Hedgehog, this tale of the unlikely friendship between an elderly widow and the troubled teenager she teaches to cook definitely has a similar charm. A book that mothers will buy for their daughters and vice-versa. (***)Kenneth Harris: Attlee
I know nothing about him, really, so when his name started popping up everywhere after Maggie shuffled off I ordered this. On first inspection it is proving to be a most interesting biography. (****)Angela Jackson: The Emergence of Judy Taylor
As honest a portrait of a marriage as I have read in a long time. This one could be a bit special. (****)Thomas Wright: Circulation: William Harvey's Revolutionary Idea
This book beat one of mine to the Wellcome Trust Book Prize. Despite my deep-seated and understandable resentment I must confess that this is really rather good - accessible and fascinating. (****)Tim Willocks: The Religion
Big, solid, earthy historical fiction. Need to see where the plot goes before knowing for sure but pretty good so far. (***)John Fuller: Who Is Ozymandias?: And other Puzzles in Poetry
A challenging look at the art of reading a poem. I do not agree with the author's central premise - that the best poetry is a puzzle that needs solving - but am prepared to go with it for now as he makes some interesting points. (***)Jasper Gibson: A Bright Moon for Fools
A novel written by one of the founders of The Poke. It is very funny and reminded me of the Mortdecai trilogy. (****)Peter F. Hamilton: Great North Road
I found Hamilton's frankly daft Misspent Youth oddly entertaining. This 1000-page novel is a different beast entirely by the looks of it. More Science Fiction and less Shopping and Fucking. (***)Adam Thorpe: Flight
The Times quote 'A breakneck, knuckle-whitening thriller' could be rendered more accurate by adding the words 'This is not' at the beginning. (**)David Vann: Dirt
The problem with novels that feature New Age characters is that they are often as annoying as New Age people are in real life. (**)Tim Parks: Sex is Forbidden
Chaste commune fiction lacks any real punch. (***)Diana Souhami: Coconut Chaos
A hybrid novel/history/biography concerning the Bounty and the fate of its mutineers and their descendants. (****)Ciarán Collins: The Gamal
So far this is a really quite exciting debut. Original. Different. I like it a lot. (****)Various: London Fictions
If you can get past the terrible cover then this is an interesting book in which various Londoners write about books set in London. (***)Philip Sington: The Valley of Unknowing
A novel about an East German novelist. Really lovely font used in this. The actual words are pretty good too. (****)Ben Marcus: The Age of Wire and String
The most pointless and pretentious collection of so-called stories it has ever been my misfortune to read. (*)Charles Rangeley-Wilson: Silt Road: The Story of a Lost River
There is a real resurgence in natural history writing at the moment, especially examples written in a high literary style. This is a bit too high for my tastes but if you are part of the New Wave of British Natural History then this will be right up your dyke. (***)
New Arrivals
Wu Ming-Yi: The Man with the Compound Eyes
Set on the coast of Taiwan. Lovely cover.Tanya Byrne: Follow Me Down
Latest novel from a two-time Book Swapper!Sharky & George: Don't You Dare
An activity book for kids. Looks suitably daft. Martha has nicked it.Ben Mezrich: Straight Flush
The new one from the bloke who wrote Bringing Down the House. This time about online poker.B.W. Jones: All Woman and Springtime
A novel set in North Korea. Interesting.Various: Adventure Rocketship
A weird little anthology of SF-related stories, interviews and essays.Marc Leverton: Glastonbury Festival Myths and Legends
A dinky little book with some stories from the festival.
Interviews
Coming Soon From The Friday Project
Matt Delito: Confessions of a Police Constable
The next in the successful series of true life stories. Over 500,000 of them sold so far.Harry Karlinsky: The Evolution of Inanimate Objects: The Life and Collected Works of Thomas Darwin (1857-1879)
Paperback edition of the Wellcome Trust Book Prize longlisted novel.Brian Aldiss: Dracula Unbound
Brian's take on the Dracula story.Rosie Dixon: Confessions of a Night Nurse
Reissue on ebook of a 70s sex comedy.Brian Aldiss: Finches of Mars
He claims this will be is final science fiction novel.
Currently Reading
Big Mouth at the Movies
Moneyball
I know very little about baseball but found this fascinating. (****)Crazy, Stupid, Love
A cut above your usual romantic comedy courtesy of some fine actors putting in good performances and a clever script with a couple of nice twists. (****)The Place Beyond The Pines
From the director of Blue Valentine. It's a mighty fine piece of film-making. (****)Land of Plenty
A Wim Wenders film that had passed me by. Two excellent central performances. A bit bleak but good. (****)A Late Quartet
A beautifully crafted piece of work. Quiet, subtle, splendid. (****)Confessions of a Pop Performer
This one actually has a lot less sex than the first, although it is still basically a 70s sit-com with added tits. (***)Confessions of a Window Cleaner
Watched this on YouTube as I have republished the ebooks. Was not without some charm. (***)Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Quietly bonkers art movie which fails to be anything more than an oddity really. Some bits were great though. (***)Withnail and I
It is probably best to watch this with a room full of people who have seen it hundreds of times. But it is good to watch it in your front room at the weekend as well. (****)
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