January Read or Reading

This week I am reading The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides and Night Music by Jojo Moyes

Felt compelled to read The Virgin Suicides after finishing Middlesex by the same author. Love his style and prose. Imaginative and creative writing at its best, stunning in many ways. Read a review of Middlesex somewhere that echoed my feelings "that I could never be a writer after finishing Middlesex" The double meaning of Middlesex is revealed in the centre of the novel- a novel that begins as it ends-perfect.

Half way through The Virgin Suicides at the moment and enjoying it.  Not as big as Middlesex in terms of timeline represented but weighty in that it deals with multiple suicides. I like the way it is told from a different viewpoint and looking back.

I am reading Night Music alongside The Virgin Suicides and enjoying it greatly. This is a tale of deceit love and longing and well told indeed.  It reads in a totally believable and plausible way and is very natural.  One event flows to the next-very well told and delivered. Love,lust and longing.  The Spanish House with a haunting musical accompaniment. 

Down The Rabbit Hole

From my love of books, escapism through books, books on science fiction and modern day "magical realism" Lewis Caroll has taken me on a journey down the proverbial rabbit hole through those early reads to the books of modern reality.

So that most of my day to day reading takes place in modern day realism.  Novels concerning people and where they are in their relationships and in themselves.  Of the intricacies and predicaments of the same. 

All journeys "above the surface" but as with all books escapism to some extent as the reader is taken into other character's lives, relationships and place of being....

Recent Recommended Reads

Amnesia Clinic James Scudamore
Strip Tease and Skin Tight Carl Hiasson
Eating Animals Jonathan Safran Froer
Gardens Of Water Alan Drew
Dance Dance Dance What I talk About When Running Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami
Laurie Lee Cider with Rosie
Wilderness Samantha Harvey

Recently read, reading...

Dark Matter


Mix and match; occasional light matter, occasional dark matter.

This week I am reading:

Jonathan Kellerman Billy Straight.  Well crafted crime thriller.  Engaging easy read with heart.

Previous reads, well worth mentioning

• Andrew Vachss Haiku. Half way through
• John Gribbin Almost Everyone's Guide to Science. Excellent introduction to the sciences.
• Frank Abagnale Catch Me If You Can.  Interesting, unbelievable life of the master conman.  Is the book a con?  Written as a novel?  Probably.
• Kathryn Stockton The Help What a book!  Humanity in abundance.  Superb writing, sad without being overly sentimental.  Insightful and rewarding; the plight and tragedy of black maids in1960's America
• Ron Jeremy The Hardest Working Man in Show-business.  Light relief if you'll pardon the expression!  Memoirs of a (male) Geisha; funny interesting character and unusual occupation- plump actor!

Support Cancer Research

Super

Word of the week-ephemeral.  Each word I get a word stuck in my brain that rattles around like a pea in a can.  Prompted by looking into Facebook and the other social networking addictions.

The super-chef, super-size, superficiality of everything is where we are as people; but superficial as a word didn't do it for me, ditto at present-Facebook.