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Gill's Reads of 2013
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AUGUSTAlice Munro: The View from Castle Rock
Elif Shafak: The Bastard of Istanbul
Kevin Jackson: Constellation of Genius:1923:Modernism Year One (N/F)
Barbara Kingsolver: Flight Behaviour
Laurence Sterne : The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman
Gill wrote: "AUGUSTAlice Munro: The View from Castle Rock
Elif Shafak: The Bastard of Istanbul
Kevin Jackson: Constellation of Genius:1923:Modernism Year One (N/F)
Barbara Kingsolver: Flight Behaviour
Lau..."
What did you think of "Flight Behaviour", Gill?
Jenny, I was a wee bit disappointed with this Alice Munro book. In general I really enjoy her writing. With this book there seemed to be a lot of juggling of family history, some of it factual and some of it fictionalized, and Munro's own memories of her childhood and growing up. Imo it didn't really come off.
Shirley, I hated Flight Behaviour when I started it. If I hadn't been reading it for a face to face book group, I'd have given up very early on.I'm really glad I persevered. I thought it was an extremely interesting book in terms of the conservation type issues it raised. The characters were very well drawn, as was the interaction between them. There were several sections which were really quite comic and acutely observed.
Do you like Barbara Kingsolver?
Gill wrote: "Shirley, I hated Flight Behaviour when I started it. If I hadn't been reading it for a face to face book group, I'd have given up very early on.I'm really glad I persevered. I thought it was an ex..."
Gill, yes and no. I really liked reading The Poisonwood Bible, but struggled with The Lacuna, and eventually gave up on it. I think her books are full of detail about the politics of the time, which can be hard-going. However, if I'd been reading it for my book club, I would probably have persevered with it...
The only book I could read of Barbara Kingslover was Pigs In Heaven. It was the only book I could read of hers which was pretty good. tried reading the Lacuna but it was in English and Spanish and gave up.
I loved The Poisonwood Bible. I'd like to read more of her work
Amber wrote: "Have you ever read The Keep? I enjoyed that book by Jennifer egan."No, I've not read that one, Amber. I've read
A Visit from the Goon Squad which I enjoyed.
Cool. I'll have to add it to my to read list gill for next year. :-)
Gill wrote: "Jenny, I was a wee bit disappointed with this Alice Munro book. In general I really enjoy her writing. With this book there seemed to be a lot of juggling of family history, some of it factual and ..."You see it was the first collection of stories I read by her and I thougth they were beautiful, however, since I have been hearing lot's of slightly dissapointed reviews by people that know her writing well, I am now really curious what the other collections are like.
Jenny wrote: "Gill wrote: "Jenny, I was a wee bit disappointed with this Alice Munro book. In general I really enjoy her writing. With this book there seemed to be a lot of juggling of family history, some of it..."Jenny, I would definitely recommend trying other books by Munro as well.
SEPTEMBERCharles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Emile Zola: The Belly of Paris
Toni Morrison: Home
Seamus Heaney: Human Chain
OCTOBEROrga Irfan: Portrait of a Turkish Family N/F
Jane Austen: Mansfield Park
Gerald Brenan: South from Granada N/F
Margaret Atwood: Maddaddam
Tim Winton: Land's Edge N/F
J M Coetzee Foe
Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy
Samuel Richardson: Clarissa Harlowe Volume 1
Wow you have got your reading planned to October next year! I'm seriously impressed. I see you have put The Year of the Flood to read before Oryx and Crake. I read them the other way round which is the order they were written in, but they run concurrently in time so I will be interested to see your comments.
Oh no, I'm not that organized. This list is books I've read this year. Yes, I read the two Atwood books back to front (a long story!). It was fine but I think it would be better to read them in the correct order.
NOVEMBERChrista Wolf: A Model Childhood
C J Sansom: Dark Fire
Jojo Moyes: The Last Letter from your Lover
Emile Zola: The Conquest of Plassans
Vasily Grossman: Life and Fate
Elizabeth Jane Howard: The Light Years
A M Homes: May we be Forgiven
Dee Brown: Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee N/F
Ann Cleeves: Telling Tales
Gill, how did you like May We Be Forgiven? It is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. Also curious to hear your verdict on Life and Fate!
Mod
We could read it togerther
Jenny wrote: "Gill, how did you like May We Be Forgiven? It is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. Also curious to hear your verdict on Life and Fate!"May we be Forgiven was quite unusual, with several twists. I enjoyed reading it.
Life and Fate was worth reading. I think you'd find it interesting. I already knew quite a lot about the siege of Stalingrad, so there were no big surprises. The main thing that surprised me was that Grossman had hoped that Khrushchev would agree to it being published in Russia.
Mod
May we be F..."
Interesting; I'll write it down then ...
LauraT wrote: "Gill wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Gill, how did you like May We Be Forgiven? It is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. Also curious to hear your verdict on Life and Fate!"..."It is a long book, but quite straightforward.(That doesn't come out sounding quite right! There's lots to think about as you read it and a cast of many, many characters. On the whole it's chronological though, which I always find a great help.
LauraT wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Gill, how did you like May We Be Forgiven? It is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read!"We could read it togerther"
Absolutely! Same goes for 'Life and Faith' if you are interested. And don't forget: The Divine Comedy!
2014 here we come! ;)
@Gill, have you read Kolyma Tales by Shalamov?
Mod
The Divine Comedy is there for us, when my "trasloco" - moving - will be finished!!!
Jenny wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Gill, how did you like May We Be Forgiven? It is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read!"We could read it togerther"
Absolutely! Same goes for 'Life ..."
I've not heard of the Shalamov book, will look into that.
DECEMBEROlivia Manning: The Great Fortune
Dara Horn: The World to Come
John Milton: Paradise Lost
Jeff O'Neal: Start Here: Read Your Way into 25 Amazing Authors N/F
Jane Austen: Persuasion
Maggie O'Farrell: Instructions for a Heatwave
Orhan Pamuk: Silent House
Books read in 2013: 82 books
I liked it, Jenny. Sometimes I find Pamuk's writing a bit flowery and self-indulgent, but not in this case.
I should give myself one more chance with him then maybe. So far I've been absolutely unable to enjoy his writing.
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Books mentioned in this topic
May We Be Forgiven (other topics)The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso (other topics)
Kolyma Tales (other topics)
May We Be Forgiven (other topics)
May We Be Forgiven (other topics)
More...
JANUARY
Salley Vickers Aphrodite's Hat Audio
Kate Morton The Forgotten Garden
Russ Harris The Reality Slap N/F
Oliver Burkemann Help - How to be slightly happier and get a bit more done N/F
Tessa Watt Mindfulness a practical guide N/F
Eowyn Ivey The Snow Child
Anita Brookner Undue Influence
Anne Tyler Dinner at the Home sick Restaurant Audio
Jackie Kaye Wish I was here Audio
Peter Ho Davies The Welsh Girl Audio
FEBRUARY
Gillian Slovo Black Orchid Audio
Mark Billingham Good as Dead
MARCH
Margaret Atwood The Year of the Flood
Jennifer Egan The Emerald City and other stories
Richard Ford Canada
Rose Tremain Merivel Audio
Wilkie Collins The Moonstone
message 4: by Jenny
comment history Mar 31, 2013 07:53am
Gill how did you like "Canada" by Richard Ford? It's on my TR list as well.
message 5: by Gill
comment history
(last edited Mar 31, 2013 04:39pm) Mar 31, 2013 10:11am
I liked it a lot. It reminded me a bit of Marilynne Robinson's writing; in a rather elegiac way. Slowmoving - but that was fine
message 6: by Jenny
comment history Mar 31, 2013 12:47pm
Thanks Gill, Marilynne Robinson is another author that I haven't read yet, I've heard really good things about her though. And slowmoving is fine, I sense plenty of Icelandic mystery coming our way to provide for fast-paced ;)
message 7: by Lesley
Jenny wrote: "Thanks Gill, Marilynne Robinson is another author that I haven't read yet, I've heard really good things about her though. And slowmoving is fine, I sense plenty of Icelandic mystery coming our way..."
Jenny, Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping is our BOTM for July if you can wait that long!
@Gill - I loved The Moonstone! How was The Year of the Flood? I have only read one Atwood, The Blind Assassin…
message 8: by Gill
comment history Mar 31, 2013 04:38pm
Yes, 'The Year of the Flood' was very interesting; a bit unnervingly, almost believable. The story runs alongside that of 'Oryx and Crake' which MA wrote a few years ago. So I'd like to read that book now.
message 9: by Jenny
comment history Mar 31, 2013 05:15pm
I've almost enjoyed Oryx and Crake more than The Year of the Flood, but I will generally read pretty much any Atwood-novel that crosses my path. I am really looking forward to the third part of the MaddAddam Trilogy which is supposed to be released later this year if I am not mistaken.
@Leslie: True, I've already checked whether my library holds it, but they don't unfortunately. Well, there's still a bit of time to figure it out.
APRIL
Yrsa Sigurdardottir My Soul to Take
Anne Bronte Agnes Grey
Bernard Schlink The Weekend (only read half of it)
Jennie Rooney Red Joan
Hilary Mantel Bring up the Bones (audio)
Angeles Arrien The Second half of Life : Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom
Arnaldur Indridason The Draining Lake
Mohsin Hamid How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
MAY
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah
Emile Zola: The Fortune of the Rougons
Julian Barnes: Nothing to be Frightened Of
Alice Munro: Dear Life - Stories (audio)
Arnuldur Indridason: Arctic Chill
Sara Wheeler: O My America. Six Women and their Second Acts in a New World
Graham Greene: The Comedians (audio)
Colum McCann: Transatlantic
JUNE
Kate Adie The Kindness of Strangers: The Autobiography N/F
Emile Zola The KillLa Curée
Julian Barnes Levels of Life
Tan Twang EngThe Garden of Evening Mists
Orhan Pamuk Istanbul: Memories and the City
Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose Audio
Michael David Lukas The Oracle of Stamboul
Penelope Lively Consequences
JULY
Life After Life Kate Atkinson
Stoner John Williams
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood
Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness Jon Kabat Zinn N/F
The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd Audio
The Forty Rules of Love Elif Shafak
The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman
The End of Your Life Book Club Will Schwalbe Only read half of it
All That Is James Salter Only read half of it
message 14: by Judy
comment history Aug 04, 2013 11:52pm
You've read some really good stuff this year, Gill!! I see several personal favorites.
message 15: by Gill
comment history Aug 05, 2013 08:03am
Judy wrote: "You've read some really good stuff this year, Gill!! I see several personal favorites."
Anything in particular, Judy? I've made a bit more effort this year to look at reviews, and also to order books I want from the library (not just wait in the hope they are on the shelves!)
message 16: by Judy
comment history Aug 05, 2013 11:20am
You had to ask! *grin* The Secret Life of Bees, The End of Your Life Book Club, Angle of Repose, The Garden of Evening Mists and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. The Snow Child is one I haven't read, but really want to read.