2010

It never occurred to me to review my year of reading until I realised that this seems to be the way things are done in the book blogging world. My reading seems to go in phases … I stumble upon a few stunning texts and then fall into a lull where I can’t read anything of consequence and indulge effortlessly in endless thrillers which require little brain power or application. They are easy to put down and come back to, they don’t consume me and they are forgotten as I read the last page.

So, upon reviewing the year of my reading, I am not surprised to see this trend play itself out and to find myself wondering whether it correlates to anything specific in my life – school holidays for example are prime time for thriller consumption.

I will start at the bottom. For those who’ve been reading with me, it is clear that the book that I hated the most this year was The Finkler Question. With that setting the bar, it is difficult for me to allocate any other books in this category.

The bulk of my reading was good but not brilliant.

My top books, in no specific order are as follows:

Cutting for Stone

Let the Great World Spin

A Lesson Before Dying

Le Bal

I enjoyed Solar, The Imperfectionists, Freedom, Room and The Help, but I don’t think that they would rate on a ‘Top Reads’ list. ‘ I think that Nick Cave’s book The Death of Bunny Munro deserves a mention because it was such a shocking read and has really stayed with me for so many reasons.

To think about the year in a slightly different way, I would like to name my favourite authors: Virginia Woolf, Irene Nemirovsky and Colum McCann. These are writers to whom I will constantly return, in awe of their talent and the breadth of their ability to weave a tale and captivate readers.

I am looking forward to some more reading productivity in the coming year, and am waiting, specifically, for the new one from Marcus Zusak!

The shelf.

Ok, so I made the big mistake of glancing over at that buckling shelf next to my bed which couldn’t possibly hold another piece of dust, let alone another book that I really should read! It used to be that a position on this shelf meant imminent consumption by me, the reader. But, over the last however long, perhaps since I’ve started to sink into digital reading spaces, I have been seriously neglecting this shelf and I can’t imagine that any of these poor tomes are happy! I have to admit that in a buying frenzy (the store was going under and liquidating all of its stock, I had to buy!) I have actually added to this shelf, knowing that it would probably be years before I could tickle these new pages.

In short, I am feeling guilty about abandoning these books so I thought I would give them some public recognition and recommit myself to reading them, well, at least some of them … Ok, maybe just one? … at some point in the near future.

So here goes. This list is in order of appearance. No favouritism implied.
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi – I am half way through this book. I have been half way since it was published in 2003! Not a good sign.
2. Solar, Ian McEwan – I have read some of his other books and really enjoyed them so I am interested to experience this one, although the reviews were not so fabulous.
3. Shiver, stiefvater – I am filled with enormous anticipation about this one!
4. The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman – I bought this one based on a great review that I read in the Sydney Morning Herald.
5. Stones Into Schools, Greg Mortenson – this story grabbed me. I am in awe of ordinary people who manage to change the lives of others in such a positive way.
6. The New York Trilogy, Auster – those of you following my blog will know that I have almost given up on this one, unable to finish reading the first in the trilogy. I have kept it on the shelf because I am holding a little flame in the hope of reigniting my desire to uncover the austereness of this author.
7. Deception Point, Dan Brown – a bit of light escapism.
8. Maps for Lost Lovers, Nadeem Aslam – promises to be a “dramatic and moving portrayal of Muslim life … Richly poetic and poignant.”
9. The Hungry Tide, Amitav Ghosh – I loved The Glass Palace so it seemed logical to buy this one!
10. The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littel – amazing concept, I had to read this one! Or at least have it on the shelf.
11. Peacock Throne, Sujit Saraf
12. The Angel’s Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Shadow Of the Wind was one of my favorite books and I have great expectations for this one!
13. The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt – one of my all time favorite authors.
14. Things I’ve Been Silent About, Azar Nafisi – I bought this just because I respect this author… Not that I have managed to read any of her books, but I respect her life.
15. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie – my confession, I have never read this book, shame on me. I have read almost everything else that Rushdie has written, not sure why I missed this!
16. The First Hour I Believed, Wally Lamb – I think the size of this one is somewhat of a deterrent. But that seems to be a Lamb trait. I loved his other works so hoping this one will be a winner.

The rest of the shelf is filled with some theory books about memory and remembrance. All yet to be read.

Clearly I have some serious reading to do!

Going digital

Well, I’ve plunged into the deep and am moving digital, trying to get into reading and blogging from my shiny new iPad. I’ve now spent literally hours cruising through the different ereader apps and trying to suck all the “free” reading life-blood from the sea that is the Internet. Talk about exhausting! Clearly, all the classics are free, mostly courtesy of the amazing Project Gutenberg (spelling?) so it’s a wonderful opportunity to revisit some of the greats that might’ve slipped by the wayside. On my ishelf is Tolstoy’s War and Peace which I vow now to read: Watch this space!! Thankfully I couldn’t find a free version of Joyce’s Ulysses (read: i never looked for one) which I never conquered in paper!
I’ve yet to venture into the dens of B&N or Kindle, but I can certainly reveal that Wattpad is a wonder and while I know that bookdepository offers free ebooks to tantalize one’s tastebuds, I’m yet to explore whether or not they are compatible with the iPad format.
So far, I’m aglow with iPad joy, awash in the awe and wonder that is modern technology and dismayed by the look of envy that flushed eldest child’s face when he glimpsed the new apple of my eye!
Here’s to finding a good hiding place for this apple!