Reading on Mondays

This week’s RoM.

Finished:

• Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau. Fantastic and unique read but I suspect a lot of the beauty of the story was lost in translation.
• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. Another great read and also the winner of the 1998 Booker Prize. The second McEwan I’ve read (the other being Atonement many years ago) and I’ve decided he has the most beautiful, quiet writing. It’s effective without being garish.
• The Child’s Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper. This is part of my attempt to read more Australian writing but this is also a book I’ve been meaning to read for some time. I was not disappointed. It’s a thrilling and, again, unique and different read. Not bad for a debut novel.

Reading:

• The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre. I’ve had this for a while but I’ve been waiting for a time where I’ll be able to get right into it. I was on an existentialist movement a few months ago and got a little burnt out. This is a fantastic and, surprisingly, accessible read. Another great existential novel.

Lined up:

Nothing definite but perhaps another classic. And I’ve got a few books waiting at the library about books which are my favourite type of non-fiction – books about books. I have finally tracked down Nicholas Basbane’s A Gentle Madness.

Reading on Mondays

This week’s RoM:

Finished:

I had a really good reading week – probably since I’m lazing around at home and job hunting.

• The Seance by John Harwood.
• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffennegger. It was … interesting.
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. This was a re-read and it was amazing.
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This was such a cute little book and I can see its longevity appeal.

Reading:

• The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. I’m still dipping in and out of this. I have more time now (a curse and a blessing) that I can concentrate more on it.
• The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. Why not complete the entire Sebold reading list? She’s one of my favourite writers and many have said this did not live up to her standards. I’ll have to read and see.

Lined up:

Nothing! I have a huge pile of library books as well as the recent buys. I think I’ll just close my eyes and pick one.

Reading on Mondays

This week’s RoM:

Finished:

• The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson. AMAZING! I’m really impressed by this series and it’s such a shame Larsson died before he could see the popularity of his books. And it’s sad that there will never be new material from him but I’m grateful he finished the trilogy before he died.

Seems like a slow week. I started placement work so I’ve been pooped and Girl isn’t exactly a slim volume.

Reading:

• The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson. The final book in the trilogy and recently released. I’m glad I waited until all three were released so I didn’t have to wait! *pat on the back*

And I’m still working my way through The Seance, Emma and The Myth of Sisyphus.

Lined up:

Sadly, no more Girl books. No real strong line up except to finish the four books I’m magically simultaneously reading.

Reading on Mondays

This week’s RoM.

Finished:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. WOWWOWWOW!!! This book is absolutely amazing!! I initially thought it was a book about China when it was released a few years ago. Then I found out it was simply a Swedish crime/detective novel and I thought, ‘so what?’ and didn’t really understand why it was so popular. But WOW!! The plot is so amazing. It’s like Agatha Christie on steroids and crystal meth. I highly recommend it. I finished it in one day.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. This is re-read since I didn’t really like it when I first read it but I was 16 so I think that played a part. On the latest re-read, the first as an adult, I really did enjoy it.

Unfinished:

The Children’s Book – A.S. Byatt. I’ve sort of given up on this. I’m about 150 pages in but it’s really plodding and I have a pile of other books to read – mainly library books which are pushing me along. I’ve rested it and I might go back to it. It’s good, but just plodding.

Reading:

The Girl who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson. The second book in the millenium trilogy.

The Seance- John Harwood.

 

Reading on Mondays

This week’s RoM.

Finished:

I most recently finished Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland which was amazing. I also finished Bibliotopia by Steven Gilbar which was a fun little read. It’s basically a little book with facts about bookish things but very American centric.

Reading:

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt. It was a slightly difficult beginning and it’s a hard slog sometimes but everytime I think of giving up, something grabs my attention. It’s a VERY heavy book!

I also started re-reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I didn’t like it when I first read in high school but due to raves of many bibliophiles, I wouldn’t do it justice if I didn’t give it another go. So far, so good.

Lined up:

Nothing really lined up aside from my huge pile of library books and huge piles of new books and huge piles of TBR books. Getting slightly overwhelmed!

Reading on Mondays and Updates

This week’s RoM

I’ve gone slightly deranged and have been overzealous at accunulating books. And my attention span has gone out the window with most of my attention focusing on assignments with its due dates looming large.

Right now, I’m still reading all those books listed down the side bar on the right AND i’m halfway through Disgrace by J.M Coetzee. I’m in love with him. This is the first book of his I’ve read and I picked it up only because a lecturer told me a short story of mine reminded her of Coetzee’s book (not gloating or anything here but WOW!! What a compliment!)

I’ve also managed to rejoin the library. Those who read this blog know about my horrible tendencies to accumalate fines. I have joined about 5 libraries and I can’t go to any of them due to fines. But I did manage to rejoin a local one because it’s been awhile. I also discovered that my uni library has some pretty great books too and I’ve been ordering them in a frenzy. Who knows how on earth I’ll be able to finish these books on time. To make matters worse, I still haven’t managed to finish the 5 books I have going at the moment!

Books lined up:

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson

The Accidental by Ali Smith

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

The Memory Room by Christopher Kock

The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.

Reading on Mondays

What I’m Reading on Mondays.

Finished:

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. I read it before I went and saw the play with Cate Blanchett as Blanche!

Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl. This has been my travelling book and short stories are perfect for it. Each story was captivating and thrilling while at the same time able to be picked up and put back down. This book just cements Roald Dahl as one of the best and most creative and imaginative writers ever. He’s also very sly and manipulative as a writer too.

Reading:

Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to start this because I don’t want to put it down. It’s also a large paperback so it can’t be carried around in my bag.

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. Ongoing relationship with all things existentialist.

Bibliotopia, or, Mr. Gilbar’s Book of Books and Catch-all of Literary Facts and Curiosities compiled by Steven Gilbar. A marvellous little book I found at the book stall in the Sydney Theatre while waiting for the play to start. It has little facts and figures of bookish things. Very American biased but still fun to read. It’s designed to be picked up and put down.

What I’m Reading on Mondays…

First timer for this meme.

Finished:

I finished The Plague by Albert Camus this week. Marvellous and awe-inspiring. It’s one of those books that has so many layers that you already know from the beginning that you’re going to have to read it again and again to fully understand it.The book took awhile to finish due to several reasons: a) Bombarded with uni work and have been working non-stop and b) Camus isn’t really something you can take onto the crowded train filled with screaming teens and drunks. One needs to savour Camus and that environment really isn’t ideal.

Reading:

I’m halfway through In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and it is bloody fantastic. The story is shocking, of course, and it isn’t really ideal bedtime reading because it is so brutal but the writing! The writing! The way Capote builds up suspense and characters and settings – it’s all tremendously effortless and effective. I replaced Camus with Capote for my train/tram rides.

Lined up:

This is How by M.J. Hyland. As if I haven’t raved about her enough. Prepare for more raves and sickly gushes.