For the writing
Her, Harriet Lane
One of my favourite books that I've read in the past few years. The story completely blew me away and the writing was very clever. Similarly to her first book the flawed protagonist is weirdly likeable and terrible at the same time and I loved reading it.
Blackberry Wine - Joanne Harris
One of her less famous books, I don't know why blackberry wine captivates me. But this is a book that I've read several times and travels with me to every home I move to. If this one isn't on my shelf I feel like it's not my bedroom. I think it's earned a re-read for its loyalty.
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin
Obviously. A childhood favourite for the story and a new favourite as I only read it for the first time in the last few years. I will never be able to read it as many times as I've seen the BBC TV series or the film adaptations... but I can give it a damn good try.
For the memories
Outlander - Diana Gabledon
The book I took on my gap year and which consequently has completely come away from it's bindings and is impossible to read comfortably at the moment. I would love a new copy of the full set of Outlander books, once Diana finishes the series. Then I intend to read them all again.
Max's Millions
Amazingly, I actually couldn't even find the author of this book and it maybe that I have not remembered the title correctly. I've read this book about 9 times at least. It's a short book for young teens about a boy who builds a video game while he's off school and on bed rest. He makes a million and it's all about what he does with it. Brilliant and cosy.
The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
One of the best proposals in the history of literature. A bit weird as it happens between characters that I perceive as children, but it is gloriously sweet and genuine. This book captures the imagination with love and myth and magic and is beautiful to read and read again.
Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
Although one of the more recent books I've read, I read EPL at a very difficult time in my life and it was incredibly inspiring. Yup, I am one of those people! But it is true and it is definitely a book I would pick up again. I love the film and I loved reading it and I can see it helping me in the future.
For the social commentary
The Handmaids Tale - Margaret Atwood
The more this book is in people's consciousness the better to be honest. It is harrowing and well written and well thought out. I think it's important to read books like this one and see how these things start out and gradually devolve. It's a very human book and that is what is so terrifying, I can see it happening because the drives are based so clearly in the characters.
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
I would love to take another look at this. It's incredibly funny and holds a mirror up to the life styles of rich Americans and the black labouring classes. It highlighted the ingrained racism that most people don't even realise goes on and even with the best of intentions.
Showing posts with label Eat Pray Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eat Pray Love. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 August 2017
Thursday, 8 September 2016
August Reviews
The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick
1/5
Penguin 01/01/1962 Kindle
Bookclub
To quote the rest of the bookclub: "The Man In The High Castle can take a flying leap". Worst book ever was also bandied about. It was a total disaster of a book. I am amazed that Philip K Dick is described as an unsung genius of his time in the introduction. Nope. Let's actually get into the reasons I would not recommend this book.
It's an alternative history, what if Hitler had won the war? Great idea, and very interesting, interesting enough to be adopted by the TV series. The book is short, which earns it it's single star, but it was difficult to read and difficult to follow in terms of writing style and story arch. Even Dick himself admitted to the unsatisfying ending that he wrote and spent the rest of his life trying to write a closing chapter that would explain. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. This is the Edwin Drood of SciFi except that he actually handed in this unfinished piece of fiction to publishers who, schmucks that they are bowed and went on to publish it.
In cases like these I can only imagine that the editor couldn't get through it themselves. I spent much of the book feeling lost and not knowing whose side I was meant to be on. I know it's all shades of gray, but things needed to be clearer I was lost. I don't know what the significance was of any of the characters. Apparently everyone was connected, but I was so confused the whole time.
Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
5/5
Bloomsbury 16/11/2009 Kindle
Selfhelp
I am sorry to say that all of the negatives that people feel about this book, the trope of a sad woman going off to find herself, the exploitation of secular spiritualism, the cookie cutter love story. I have to say, they're all wrong.
My personal approach to this story was probably like most of the depressed women who reach out for a tiny piece of inspiration. I am incredibly sad, and I still am, the book didn't save me, it didn't save my life, but much of the thought processes appealed to me. Liz Gilbert is not saccharine, she's incredibly down to earth and empathetic. I was worried that that namaste approach was going to make me hate it but I didn't, and that's because she struggles with her life as much as I do. She get's distracted and is incredibly human.
The story is set out very beautifully and the love story is beautiful, real and touching. I say real because it's not perfect, just like every love story there's some potholes. The only struggle is that I inevitably was reading with a Julia Roberts voice over, which isn't the worst thing in the world... but it is a bit distracting.
I will admit that I think I read this at a very appropriate time for me. But nevertheless it is a well written and interesting exploration of food, language, relationships, freedom, travel and so much more. It's great. I'd even read it again. Maybe I'll read it when I'm happy again and get a new perspective.
Leaving Atocha Station
Ben Lerner
3/5
Granta 02/02/2012 Kindle
Holiday Read
If you were anywhere near me when I started reading this you know the noise I made when thinking about, talking about and reading this little gem. 100 pages took me a shameful 15 days. I should be able to read that it in an afternoon. That's just an indication of why I struggled.
It wasn't until someone pointed out that it is meant to be funny. You're meant to recognise the absurd nature of the character's thought processes that I managed to get through it. I was so close to giving up, but I felt like I needed to finish it because failing to read such a tiny slip of a book would be a new level of being a terrible reader.
I'm frustrated that I needed to be told that it was okay to hate the character, but I just had no sense of humour for the pretentiousness of the thinking even at a ridiculous level. It was also very dense to read because of the subject matter. Talking about art and writing in a deliberately pretentious way is pretty difficult to get through and even though it's meant to be ridiculous, that level of density was too much. I will say that eventually I did find myself chuckling at it, which earns it a 3 star rating.
Philip K. Dick
1/5
Penguin 01/01/1962 Kindle
Bookclub
To quote the rest of the bookclub: "The Man In The High Castle can take a flying leap". Worst book ever was also bandied about. It was a total disaster of a book. I am amazed that Philip K Dick is described as an unsung genius of his time in the introduction. Nope. Let's actually get into the reasons I would not recommend this book.
It's an alternative history, what if Hitler had won the war? Great idea, and very interesting, interesting enough to be adopted by the TV series. The book is short, which earns it it's single star, but it was difficult to read and difficult to follow in terms of writing style and story arch. Even Dick himself admitted to the unsatisfying ending that he wrote and spent the rest of his life trying to write a closing chapter that would explain. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. This is the Edwin Drood of SciFi except that he actually handed in this unfinished piece of fiction to publishers who, schmucks that they are bowed and went on to publish it.
In cases like these I can only imagine that the editor couldn't get through it themselves. I spent much of the book feeling lost and not knowing whose side I was meant to be on. I know it's all shades of gray, but things needed to be clearer I was lost. I don't know what the significance was of any of the characters. Apparently everyone was connected, but I was so confused the whole time.
Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
5/5
Bloomsbury 16/11/2009 Kindle
Selfhelp
I am sorry to say that all of the negatives that people feel about this book, the trope of a sad woman going off to find herself, the exploitation of secular spiritualism, the cookie cutter love story. I have to say, they're all wrong.
My personal approach to this story was probably like most of the depressed women who reach out for a tiny piece of inspiration. I am incredibly sad, and I still am, the book didn't save me, it didn't save my life, but much of the thought processes appealed to me. Liz Gilbert is not saccharine, she's incredibly down to earth and empathetic. I was worried that that namaste approach was going to make me hate it but I didn't, and that's because she struggles with her life as much as I do. She get's distracted and is incredibly human.
The story is set out very beautifully and the love story is beautiful, real and touching. I say real because it's not perfect, just like every love story there's some potholes. The only struggle is that I inevitably was reading with a Julia Roberts voice over, which isn't the worst thing in the world... but it is a bit distracting.
I will admit that I think I read this at a very appropriate time for me. But nevertheless it is a well written and interesting exploration of food, language, relationships, freedom, travel and so much more. It's great. I'd even read it again. Maybe I'll read it when I'm happy again and get a new perspective.
Leaving Atocha Station
Ben Lerner
3/5
Granta 02/02/2012 Kindle
Holiday Read
If you were anywhere near me when I started reading this you know the noise I made when thinking about, talking about and reading this little gem. 100 pages took me a shameful 15 days. I should be able to read that it in an afternoon. That's just an indication of why I struggled.
It wasn't until someone pointed out that it is meant to be funny. You're meant to recognise the absurd nature of the character's thought processes that I managed to get through it. I was so close to giving up, but I felt like I needed to finish it because failing to read such a tiny slip of a book would be a new level of being a terrible reader.
I'm frustrated that I needed to be told that it was okay to hate the character, but I just had no sense of humour for the pretentiousness of the thinking even at a ridiculous level. It was also very dense to read because of the subject matter. Talking about art and writing in a deliberately pretentious way is pretty difficult to get through and even though it's meant to be ridiculous, that level of density was too much. I will say that eventually I did find myself chuckling at it, which earns it a 3 star rating.
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