On Tuesday morning my refreshing thumb was on fire on Twitter waiting for the Man Booker announcement for the shortlist 2015 and at 11am I was rewarded with the list. Here it is.
I am disappointed that just one of my favourites from the long list has made it to the shortlist. I'm currently half way though The Chimes and am surprised that it has not been selected. There was a lot of comments in the media about how the odds were against Anna Smaill's first novel which is a shame because I am enjoying it very much.
A Little Life has, as predicted, made it to the shortlist. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes romantic and utterly gripping are a few of the ways it has been described. Personally I am not a fan of massively harrowing stories and will be avoiding it even if it wins. It is also the largest book in the list which always makes me suspicious...You didn't read it; admit it, it was long and wordy and you want to burn the damn thing. I'm sure that isn't true but I am always suspicious of longer books on prize lists.
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy looks to be some kind of American psycho style story set against a corporate background and punctuated by the media that affects the main protagonist U. It sounds a little heavy to get through, and could be quite hard to follow and reviews confirm that it is "confusing". Not really something I'd consider a criteria for 'literary fiction'.
A Brief History Of Seven Killings
Following the story of an attempted assassination of Bob Marley, Jamaican writer Marlon James's third novel is reportedly written in a considerable amount of patois which some readers find difficult. The taste of the judges this year appears to be very conflicting with my own as so far we're half way through the list and I'm not excited about any of the subject matters so far.
The Fishermen
Okay here we go, some real fiction, some real originality makes it onto the list. The story follows four brothers who discover a prophesy which drives a wedge between each of them. The guardian has called it a promising debut novel and I am pleased to see a first novel on the list because I think that's important for the Man Booker Prize to be promoting new authors.
The Year of the Runaways
This one sounds a lot like The Island or What Was Promised about migrants in Sheffield. It's definitely got the topical element on its side but its not particularly grabbing for me. The guardian calls it a beautiful and brilliant novel and most reviewers give it 5 stars. A more promising second half of the list.
A Spool of Blue Thread
It so nearly made it onto my predicted shortlist! with a ton of prize nominations and best seller aclaim, Anne Tyler has got some serious character writing behind her which people LOVE to read. A Spool of Blue Thread tops my wishlist at the moment.
Overall I'm not loving the list but it's 50/50 love/hate so fingers crossed for them all. I hope I wasnt too critical, I am really looking forward to the winner being announced.
Thursday, 17 September 2015
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Sticking with your reading
I love reading, I love talking about books, I love spending time in book shops and reading on the train, the car, in bed. But sometimes I know that I am falling behind with my book. There are so many other distractions which pull me away from reading at the moment. I love how busy I am but it does mean squeezing my reading in between everything else.
One thing that helps me want to read is a good book. When I'm reading something that interests me it is easier to pick it up at every opportunity. Those are the days that I will roll over on a Sunday morning and refuse to leave my bed until I finish every page. Sometimes the book I'm reading isn't a cliff hanger read that forces me to return again and again and I end up spending my days listening to podcasts or music and playing candy crush because the story doesn't pull me back.
If that is the case, should I even be reading that book? I would argue that yes, I should be reading that book, even if I am struggling to fit it into my schedule. This is where my 50 page rule comes up AGAIN I feel indebted to the author and industry to read the whole book if I was sucked in by good writing at the start.
Another way I reconnect to my books is by actually looking at them. Reorganising my shelves and paying attention to what I actually want to read is my favourite way to get inspired to read more. Because there are always more books waiting to be read.
There has been a recent suggestion by a friend to start a vague bookclub so that we can talk about books together. And that has been a huge motivation to 'crack on' with my book and start talking about it with friends. It's something I really miss from university, when we were all reading the set text, getting to bitch about it for hours was brilliant and I think I might be about to get that back. The group of colleagues I have my tea break with are all avid book readers or students of literature and although we have very different tastes there is a ton of bookish discussion that has started, mostly by the Man Booker long list being announced.
Finally the last reason I keep reading is for this blog, it's a real motivator to finish a book by the end of the month so that I can write my reviews. Twitter is the main place I post about my blog, so if I am marketing my own writing I quite often have my eye on what publishers have coming out and what books people are blogging about. It's exciting to read about books and to write about them, so I have to do some of the primary research too and actually READ.
On that note, I have a book to finish.
Thursday, 3 September 2015
August Reviews
Laila Lalami
Periscope (Garnet) 30/7/2015 Paperback
4/5
Bought in Bookshop
The first on the list for the Man Booker Long list. I knew I wanted to get started with some of the chosen long list and when I wandered into the local bookshop near my work The Moors Account was both on my own personal shortlist AND was only £9.99. The story follows an expedition of Spanish soldiers and settlers out looking for gold in the new world of La Florida (sound familiar?). The twist is that the story is told through the eyes of a slave from Azemmour in Portugal.
The book is a fictionalised retelling of a genuine expedition which ended with just four survivors. Laila Lalami's novel is based on a single line in one of the survivor's records: "The forth survivor is Estevancio, an Arab Negro from Azamor."
The story looks into the developing relationship between master and slave when in survival situations. The gradual shift in the relationship back and forth is interesting to follow throughout each adventure in the 8 years that the expedition wanders, lost, through the wilderness. The skills of each man become more important as the situation worsens and improves and the hierarchy of the group continuously changes.
I loved this story, it has one of my style pet peeves which is that there are no speech marks which has been creeping into books more and more these days which I do not see the point of. It doesn't make the story hard to follow, however principally I find it difficult to find my place again if I ended on a chunk of speech and have to scan for the precise word rather than the rough approximation of where I was in the conversation.
Other than the small punctuation issue, I thought the book was descriptive, immersive and gripping. I was pleased with the ending and the story engaged me throughout although it was quite a long story and because there is no real beginning middle and end there is a slightly strange feeling to finishing it as if there is more to tell even though the adventure is over.
Thursday, 27 August 2015
July reviews
Robert Mason
Corgi 24/08/1984
4/5
Borrowed from S
I'll start by saying that I am proud to have stuck with this book to the end. It did pass my initial 50 page test, which generally means that I ought to persevere. It has taken a full month to get through which should suggest that it isn't one that directly pulls me in to read it. What I mean is, if I love a book and it is really up my street, I make reading my number one recreational activity. Everything takes a back seat to curling up with that brilliant book. With Chickenhawk, I had to force my self to pick it up.
That is not to say that once I was reading I didn't enjoy it. The story follows Bob Mason in Vietnam from his initial training to fly a helicopter, a sweaty, and frustrating couple of opening chapters which surprisingly held my attention despite all of the details about helicopter controls. It speaks for the writing that something so alien can become dramatic and interesting to anyone.
My worry about this review has been that this is my dad's favourite book. Its my boyfriend's ONLY book and it has to be considered a 'boys book'. It's about war, it's non-fiction, its machines and guns and helicopters and death. Sadly there is no female that I would be okay with suggesting this book to. Even if I praised the excellent writing, the easy reading, the amazing and captivating story, I just know that it's unlikely that any of my female friends would take the time to read this book. So I'm in this strange place, I wouldn't recommend it to girls, because I don't think they would enjoy it, BUT I did enjoy it and I surprised myself by enjoying it so maybe I should be recommending to men AND women.
I feel like I am being sexist by suggesting that this isn't a book for girls and it is only the fact that I desperately needed a book one night and got sucked in that I read it. I struggled to pick it up with the lure of other books winking at me and the only reason for that is because the subject matter just isn't what I would usually go for, I just don't find it that fun to read. Its a huge bundle of contradictions. It's a great book, I'm glad I've read it, but I don't immediately need to read it again.
Chickenhawk is an incredible true story that makes the Vietnam war more interesting than ever before. Its strength comes from the authentic memories of the author and the detailed and nuanced writing that makes each combat flight a cumulative build up of one mans experiences. There are some really hair raising moments and they're brilliant to read. It takes a talented author to introduce characters in such a way that immediately invests the reader and through each character we see the brutal and harrowing nature of war.
Of course war and killings and an under equipped army and politics and gorilla warfare is disturbing, you cant walk away from some of the images that Mason relays in his book. But the story is also an incredible experience, the men are so incredibly funny and their relationships have a depth beyond the wise cracking veneer.
I'm sorry it took me so long to read it, revealing my general struggle to read out of my comfort zone. I assume most girls wont want to read this book, but I think that women, and men SHOULD.
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Selling Out
So many of my classmates of the 2013 graduating class still harbour the ambition to become authors, journalists and publishers. I also still have that ambition but with our arts degrees and the pressure of living back at our parents' or suddenly burning through that last scrap of student loan sometimes the only option is to bite the bullet and get a job that doesn't immediately shout "dream opportunity".
I think it is important that graduates remember that their career is a long road, they could be in full time work for the next 50 years so it is not the end of the world if the first couple of jobs are not ideal. Everything takes time and in the grand scheme of things you only need to be at each stepping stone job for a year or two before it is acceptable to move on.
The other thing to remember is that transferable skills are everywhere. There are so many stories about my classmates not having enough office experience leading to them missing out on that application. My advice would be to aim for as close to the dream job as possible or for as similar a role as possible which will make the next step an easy transition and make the most of every position.
On the other hand maybe I am defending that route because it is the one I have been forced to take. I hope that this new job will be a stepping stone to my next. I certainly consider it to be more appropriate than my last. My new role is at a publisher of sorts and getting used to a company with a similar culture is helpful.
Always remember make the best of your situation, particularly if it is not exactly where you want to be and that should be enough of an armour against the accusation of selling out or selling your soul to the wrong industry. We've all got to climb the ladder from somewhere, why not let it be from a steady job that pays on time.
I think it is important that graduates remember that their career is a long road, they could be in full time work for the next 50 years so it is not the end of the world if the first couple of jobs are not ideal. Everything takes time and in the grand scheme of things you only need to be at each stepping stone job for a year or two before it is acceptable to move on.
The other thing to remember is that transferable skills are everywhere. There are so many stories about my classmates not having enough office experience leading to them missing out on that application. My advice would be to aim for as close to the dream job as possible or for as similar a role as possible which will make the next step an easy transition and make the most of every position.
On the other hand maybe I am defending that route because it is the one I have been forced to take. I hope that this new job will be a stepping stone to my next. I certainly consider it to be more appropriate than my last. My new role is at a publisher of sorts and getting used to a company with a similar culture is helpful.
Always remember make the best of your situation, particularly if it is not exactly where you want to be and that should be enough of an armour against the accusation of selling out or selling your soul to the wrong industry. We've all got to climb the ladder from somewhere, why not let it be from a steady job that pays on time.
Thursday, 13 August 2015
Books On The Underground
Every day thousands of people use the underground and so many of them are readers. It's the main place I browse for my next book by taking a look at other people's choices.
How great would it be if that person handed the book to you or left it on the seat? As you pick it up to shout after them you see a black circular sticker on the front cover.
I came across Books On The Underground on twitter about a year ago. They are an amazing organisation run by two book lovers. It's a very simple concept, you finish a book you love and you put a BOTU sticker on it and leave it on the tube for someone else to read. They also do promotions with publishers and authors to get books seen.
Everyone can get involved by emailing them to get your own stickers. I posted recently that I have trouble getting rid of my books once I'm ready to let them go. This is a slow but very satisfying way to do it. Why not definitely give your books a good home on the tube? Ofcourse you can just leave books lying around anywhere but I THINK that Books On The Underground have got some kind of agreement with TFL that the books are left where they are and not tidied away by staff.
Its a brilliant idea and one that is being taken up by a few different companies. I know a bag/wrapping company that makes bags designed for reuse with an online website that lets you know where your gift bag has travelled. Similarly books that travel the world being read over and over again with the help of a sticker on the front cover. And of course, the little free libraries that are starting to spring up around residential areas.
This is not a sponsered post, I just want as many people as possible to know that this exists and is a great way to share books. The larger the Underground library becomes the more likely it is that you will find one of these gems yourself. I've sent 6 books out on their journeys already.
Visit @BooksUndergrnd on twitter to see everything that they get up to and send them pictures of the books you leave! Order your stickers now and start sharing your books with London.
How great would it be if that person handed the book to you or left it on the seat? As you pick it up to shout after them you see a black circular sticker on the front cover.
I came across Books On The Underground on twitter about a year ago. They are an amazing organisation run by two book lovers. It's a very simple concept, you finish a book you love and you put a BOTU sticker on it and leave it on the tube for someone else to read. They also do promotions with publishers and authors to get books seen.
Everyone can get involved by emailing them to get your own stickers. I posted recently that I have trouble getting rid of my books once I'm ready to let them go. This is a slow but very satisfying way to do it. Why not definitely give your books a good home on the tube? Ofcourse you can just leave books lying around anywhere but I THINK that Books On The Underground have got some kind of agreement with TFL that the books are left where they are and not tidied away by staff.
Its a brilliant idea and one that is being taken up by a few different companies. I know a bag/wrapping company that makes bags designed for reuse with an online website that lets you know where your gift bag has travelled. Similarly books that travel the world being read over and over again with the help of a sticker on the front cover. And of course, the little free libraries that are starting to spring up around residential areas.
This is not a sponsered post, I just want as many people as possible to know that this exists and is a great way to share books. The larger the Underground library becomes the more likely it is that you will find one of these gems yourself. I've sent 6 books out on their journeys already.
Visit @BooksUndergrnd on twitter to see everything that they get up to and send them pictures of the books you leave! Order your stickers now and start sharing your books with London.
Thursday, 6 August 2015
Man Booker Shortlist Prediction! 2015
Last week the Man Booker long list was announced. The shortlist is coming out on the 9th of September so I've put it in my diary and I am on the look out for my invite to the announcement night. Just a heads up to any publishers reading... I would love to go.
So I've had a couple days to peruse the list and secretly reading reviews at work... in my lunch hour of course. The shortlist is always a bit more interesting than the long list and definitely gets the most prestige so I am really looking forward to the decisions. I thought I'd take the lull to think about my predictions for the short list, based purely on reviews.
There have been a lot of articles about the US books on the list dominating and elbowing out the opportunities for the smaller (only a bit) UK market of authors. But to me it looks like a really good spread, and I'm excited. But that's just my opinion, any way here is my first prediction of the Man Booker short list. It is ALSO my new Amazon wish list in case any of you want to get me a present; or maybe I'll buy my self a lil present or six.
1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Seemingly pinned as an early favourite, this story looks like it might be quite intense based on the trauma suffered by one member of a group of four room mates travelling to New York. Sounds a bit like it might be one awful memory after another but everyone seems keen.
2. The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
The only UK book that I'm interested in, purely for personal reasons as it centers around a character with dementia, which my grandmother had for many years. The novel looks into the way we remember and I think it sounds like a touching story that I would love to read.
3. The Chimes by Anna Smaill
Dystopian, alternate London, mind control. I mean, it sounds great and I think this will be the one that finds its way into teen hands very quickly. I love any book that takes place in a city I know even if it's an augmented reality through the story so I can't wait for this one. It seems like the only different story that doesn't follow the usual Man Booker style which means its a great story and well written to catch the judges eye.
4. Sleeping on Jupiter by Anurdaha Roy
An abused young lady returns to her village in India and examines violence, through her relationship with three older women. Very female centric I am fascinated by this one. I find the topic really interesting, I've enjoyed several books based in India and I think this one will do well in the press which means it could be a strong contender.
5. The Moors Account by Laila Lalami
From the perspective of a slave on a ship on its way to conquer Florida. I love historical fiction so this one should be interesting, I'm intrigued where the story will go.
6. Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Everything changes when a woman walks into a church. I know nothing else about this story but I love the idea that everything can change with two people meeting in that setting.
I hope to see at least a few of these on the final shortlist and I will endeavour to read some of them before the 9th of September. Fingers Crossed for all the authors.
So I've had a couple days to peruse the list and secretly reading reviews at work... in my lunch hour of course. The shortlist is always a bit more interesting than the long list and definitely gets the most prestige so I am really looking forward to the decisions. I thought I'd take the lull to think about my predictions for the short list, based purely on reviews.
There have been a lot of articles about the US books on the list dominating and elbowing out the opportunities for the smaller (only a bit) UK market of authors. But to me it looks like a really good spread, and I'm excited. But that's just my opinion, any way here is my first prediction of the Man Booker short list. It is ALSO my new Amazon wish list in case any of you want to get me a present; or maybe I'll buy my self a lil present or six.
1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Seemingly pinned as an early favourite, this story looks like it might be quite intense based on the trauma suffered by one member of a group of four room mates travelling to New York. Sounds a bit like it might be one awful memory after another but everyone seems keen.
2. The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
The only UK book that I'm interested in, purely for personal reasons as it centers around a character with dementia, which my grandmother had for many years. The novel looks into the way we remember and I think it sounds like a touching story that I would love to read.
3. The Chimes by Anna Smaill
Dystopian, alternate London, mind control. I mean, it sounds great and I think this will be the one that finds its way into teen hands very quickly. I love any book that takes place in a city I know even if it's an augmented reality through the story so I can't wait for this one. It seems like the only different story that doesn't follow the usual Man Booker style which means its a great story and well written to catch the judges eye.
4. Sleeping on Jupiter by Anurdaha Roy
An abused young lady returns to her village in India and examines violence, through her relationship with three older women. Very female centric I am fascinated by this one. I find the topic really interesting, I've enjoyed several books based in India and I think this one will do well in the press which means it could be a strong contender.
5. The Moors Account by Laila Lalami
From the perspective of a slave on a ship on its way to conquer Florida. I love historical fiction so this one should be interesting, I'm intrigued where the story will go.
6. Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Everything changes when a woman walks into a church. I know nothing else about this story but I love the idea that everything can change with two people meeting in that setting.
I hope to see at least a few of these on the final shortlist and I will endeavour to read some of them before the 9th of September. Fingers Crossed for all the authors.
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