If I'm crushed to death, you'll know why
Sep. 29th, 2009 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadesfireSince apparently I don't deal with enough books in my work time, I always seem to end up with more library books than someone without good reading habits can get through. Recently, any free time that could have gone on reading has gone on writing, and once you lose the habit, it's hard to re-acquire. My current thought is that I'm going to try to give my lunch-hours over to reading, to get me away from the computer and doing something different with my brain. It'll definitely do me good.
Having said that, I've been meaning to tell you about what I read on my holiday:
More From Our Own Correspondent edited by Tony Grant
If anyone is unfamiliar with this BBC Radio 4 series, I urge you to go have a listen. It's a programme that allows reporters more room than they get in a news broadcast, or to reflect on a story that wouldn't have been suitable for the 6 o'clock reports, but is still utterly fascinating. When you watch/listen to the news, it's easy to forget that reporters are based there 24/7. They have to live, eat, shop and work there, as well as trying to untangled the country's politics and customs.
I'd heard some of the stories in this collection already (I'm an avid listener!), but many were new to me and utterly fascinating. They range from the bizarre (most people aren't woken by an eagle smashing through their hotel window) to the moving (Alan Johnston's account of his kidnap in Gaza), with everything in between. It's an easy, interesting read and highly recommended.
Pirates: a history by Tim Travers
I picked this up because I thought it would be useful background reading for my 'Port Call' ficverse (look, it's one story at the moment, okay? It's a whole world in my head), which just goes to prove that not all research is useful research.
The author is a history professor, which I honestly found hard to believe, because while there were a lot of facts in the book, it read more like an anorak's guide than a real history book. There was almost no analysis, nothing about the general social/historical context, nothing to indicate why the people went into piracy, or if there's no evident, possible reasons they went into piracy. It was hard to find decent evaluation of the sources, and even the stories themselves were told in list-form. Added to a methodology that was supposed to be chronological, but at one point skipped back 250 years, then went on as though nothing had happened, I only managed to get about 1/3 of the way through before I had to give up. According to J, I should have stopped sooner, since then I wouldn't have read quite so much out to him and caused him literary distress as well.
The fundamental problem for me was that the author didn't seem to have decided whether he was compiling an encyclopaedia or writing narrative history. Given his prose style, I would have thought the former was more appropriate. I'll go back to the book if I need a reference, but as a 'history of pirates', I'd give it a miss.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I should confess at this point that I've read very little Gaiman. Much (I'm sure) to the horror of many of my flist, I found Sandman incredibly difficult to get into, even though I had all the issues at once. And although I enjoyed Neverwhere, I've never managed to sit down and read a Gaiman all the way through. Until now, and I literally sat down and read it all the way through. I think it took me 3 reading sessions to finish the whole thing.
It's hard to know where to begin with a novel this epic, except to say that I loved it. As someone with a long-standing interest in mythologies of all kinds, the interweaving was fascinating (and yes, I identified most of the characters within two lines - that's what made it fun!). One of my favourite things was the way Laura's story was worked through Shadow's, and the ultimate coming together of the two. I have such a weakness for this kind of story-construction, where you're constantly having to change your perceptions of a character. I found Shadow (appropriately) difficult to get a grip on, and kept wanting to prod him to see what he'd do. He felt...blank and fleshed out at the same time, which doesn't make much sense now I write it down, because it's more of a feeling than something I know. And while Laura freaked me out at various points in the book, I came to root for her in the end.
Most of all, though, it's the sweep of the novel that I loved, and the way it stays with you, in the way a lot of writing doesn't. I can still watch scenes from the book in my head (yes, I read visually as well as writing visually - I can't turn it off), and I don't think that's going to stop any time soon.
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Oh dear. Look, I'm really sorry everyone who told me I'd love the Dresden Files, but...well. I don't. I don't like Harry, I don't like the writing style, and I'm not keen on the supporting characters. For whatever reason, they just don't quite work for me.
Actually, I know why they don't work for me. I find the tone of the books really, really hard to get a grip on, as they seem to vascilate between an almost Pratchett style sarcasm/satire and Chandler-noir. This is probably why they work for other people, but I find myself thrown about by them and just can't get a grip.
I've read three now, and I don't think I'm going to attempt any more. Sorry, folks!
The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
For me, this was very much a book of two halves. The first half is Ida's, the girl who becomes a woman and who falls for the Pirate of the title, Errol Flynn. The portrait of Flynn in the novel is wonderfully honest, not flinching from his dark side, while showing how he drew to him the hundreds of women he's said to have slept with. Ida is a wonderful character, just the kind that I love. She's not stupid, but she acts foolishly. She's not unloving, but she's hard-headed. She's tough and fragile and incredibly well-rounded, and I absolutely loved her, possibly more than the reader is supposed to.
The title character, Ida's daughter May, I had a harder time warming to. Her story is the second half of the book, and I spent most of it wanting to give her a good slap. To me, May seemed selfish, vague and languid, especially when compared to Ida's energy and directness. On the other hand, the narrative skims much more with May than it did with Ida, not always to her credit. Thinking back on it, I like her better than I did while reading, and it's true that she comes into her own for the very last portion of the book.
There is a 'dark secret' lurking behind the book, but its denouement didn't do much for me. The real joy of the book is its celebration of Jamaica, both its people and the landscape, and it's what all the characters are truly in love with, whatever their feelings towards each other. It's a cracking holiday read, and I was only slightly disconcerted that my copy came with "suggested discussion questions" in the back. Since I had no one to discuss them with, I skipped them, but it does suggest that the publishers see it as a good 'book club' book. While I'm sure that sells copies, I think the book speaks for itself, and the issues it raises - class, racism, teenage sex, drug taking, May/December romance, loyalty, patriotism - are right there on the surface. The characters discuss them within the narrative, and you'd have to be reading with your eyes closed to miss them. I'd definitely recommend this one as a swift, interesting read.
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
I should probably begin by saying that I love Kate Atkinson's writing. A teacher tried to convince me to read Behind the Scenes at the Museum when I was sixteen, and when I actually read it a few years ago, I kicked myself for waiting so long. Her short story collection Not the end of the world is also brilliant, and I'm slowly working my way through the rest.
One Good Turn picks up a character from a previous novel Case Histories, but you don't need to know that for the story to make sense. I also want to add here that one of the running themes of the book is what people's relations to animals says about them, and there are some startling remembrances of animal cruelty, so there are some folk on my flist that I'd recommend don't read this book, or at least not without being aware of that (I had to skip one of the last scenes when I saw what was coming).
In some ways, running threads is what Case Histories is all about. Ostensibly, it centres on people brought together by an incident of road rage. The victim, the perpetrator, the 'have a go hero', the detective and two witnesses. The stories intertwine so much that in the middle, you start wondering if anything is ever going to make sense. Gradually, everything coalesces and while you can sort of see the ending coming, there are still some twists thrown in there for good measure. Most of all, these characters are gripping. You get completely caught up in their lives, for better and worse, and although I wouldn't say you fall in love with them, the detailed look that we get at their psyches makes them compelling and captivating. It's the kind of book that ends up in the 'literary fiction' section, because it's so beautifully written, when really it's a mystery, or a pschological study or a noir thriller set in Edinburgh. Okay, perhaps not the last one, but there are some exciting moments, and there's a thread of darkness to the plots that definitely give it a noir edge.
Highly recommended.
Moving on from what I have read to where I go next, I think I need some help. The list below is by no means everything I have out of the library, and I'm working my way through Frank Gardner's memoir Blood and Sand as well as How to talk about books you haven't read, which is very light and fun. But after that, I have a problem: where to go next.
Help!
[Poll #1464031]
And yes, I deliberately made it radio buttons, because otherwise, I get the feeling you're just going to tell me to read everything! Which would you pick as a good follow-on from a BBC reporter's story and a book about not reading books?
Having said that, I've been meaning to tell you about what I read on my holiday:
More From Our Own Correspondent edited by Tony Grant
If anyone is unfamiliar with this BBC Radio 4 series, I urge you to go have a listen. It's a programme that allows reporters more room than they get in a news broadcast, or to reflect on a story that wouldn't have been suitable for the 6 o'clock reports, but is still utterly fascinating. When you watch/listen to the news, it's easy to forget that reporters are based there 24/7. They have to live, eat, shop and work there, as well as trying to untangled the country's politics and customs.
I'd heard some of the stories in this collection already (I'm an avid listener!), but many were new to me and utterly fascinating. They range from the bizarre (most people aren't woken by an eagle smashing through their hotel window) to the moving (Alan Johnston's account of his kidnap in Gaza), with everything in between. It's an easy, interesting read and highly recommended.
Pirates: a history by Tim Travers
I picked this up because I thought it would be useful background reading for my 'Port Call' ficverse (look, it's one story at the moment, okay? It's a whole world in my head), which just goes to prove that not all research is useful research.
The author is a history professor, which I honestly found hard to believe, because while there were a lot of facts in the book, it read more like an anorak's guide than a real history book. There was almost no analysis, nothing about the general social/historical context, nothing to indicate why the people went into piracy, or if there's no evident, possible reasons they went into piracy. It was hard to find decent evaluation of the sources, and even the stories themselves were told in list-form. Added to a methodology that was supposed to be chronological, but at one point skipped back 250 years, then went on as though nothing had happened, I only managed to get about 1/3 of the way through before I had to give up. According to J, I should have stopped sooner, since then I wouldn't have read quite so much out to him and caused him literary distress as well.
The fundamental problem for me was that the author didn't seem to have decided whether he was compiling an encyclopaedia or writing narrative history. Given his prose style, I would have thought the former was more appropriate. I'll go back to the book if I need a reference, but as a 'history of pirates', I'd give it a miss.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I should confess at this point that I've read very little Gaiman. Much (I'm sure) to the horror of many of my flist, I found Sandman incredibly difficult to get into, even though I had all the issues at once. And although I enjoyed Neverwhere, I've never managed to sit down and read a Gaiman all the way through. Until now, and I literally sat down and read it all the way through. I think it took me 3 reading sessions to finish the whole thing.
It's hard to know where to begin with a novel this epic, except to say that I loved it. As someone with a long-standing interest in mythologies of all kinds, the interweaving was fascinating (and yes, I identified most of the characters within two lines - that's what made it fun!). One of my favourite things was the way Laura's story was worked through Shadow's, and the ultimate coming together of the two. I have such a weakness for this kind of story-construction, where you're constantly having to change your perceptions of a character. I found Shadow (appropriately) difficult to get a grip on, and kept wanting to prod him to see what he'd do. He felt...blank and fleshed out at the same time, which doesn't make much sense now I write it down, because it's more of a feeling than something I know. And while Laura freaked me out at various points in the book, I came to root for her in the end.
Most of all, though, it's the sweep of the novel that I loved, and the way it stays with you, in the way a lot of writing doesn't. I can still watch scenes from the book in my head (yes, I read visually as well as writing visually - I can't turn it off), and I don't think that's going to stop any time soon.
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
Oh dear. Look, I'm really sorry everyone who told me I'd love the Dresden Files, but...well. I don't. I don't like Harry, I don't like the writing style, and I'm not keen on the supporting characters. For whatever reason, they just don't quite work for me.
Actually, I know why they don't work for me. I find the tone of the books really, really hard to get a grip on, as they seem to vascilate between an almost Pratchett style sarcasm/satire and Chandler-noir. This is probably why they work for other people, but I find myself thrown about by them and just can't get a grip.
I've read three now, and I don't think I'm going to attempt any more. Sorry, folks!
The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
For me, this was very much a book of two halves. The first half is Ida's, the girl who becomes a woman and who falls for the Pirate of the title, Errol Flynn. The portrait of Flynn in the novel is wonderfully honest, not flinching from his dark side, while showing how he drew to him the hundreds of women he's said to have slept with. Ida is a wonderful character, just the kind that I love. She's not stupid, but she acts foolishly. She's not unloving, but she's hard-headed. She's tough and fragile and incredibly well-rounded, and I absolutely loved her, possibly more than the reader is supposed to.
The title character, Ida's daughter May, I had a harder time warming to. Her story is the second half of the book, and I spent most of it wanting to give her a good slap. To me, May seemed selfish, vague and languid, especially when compared to Ida's energy and directness. On the other hand, the narrative skims much more with May than it did with Ida, not always to her credit. Thinking back on it, I like her better than I did while reading, and it's true that she comes into her own for the very last portion of the book.
There is a 'dark secret' lurking behind the book, but its denouement didn't do much for me. The real joy of the book is its celebration of Jamaica, both its people and the landscape, and it's what all the characters are truly in love with, whatever their feelings towards each other. It's a cracking holiday read, and I was only slightly disconcerted that my copy came with "suggested discussion questions" in the back. Since I had no one to discuss them with, I skipped them, but it does suggest that the publishers see it as a good 'book club' book. While I'm sure that sells copies, I think the book speaks for itself, and the issues it raises - class, racism, teenage sex, drug taking, May/December romance, loyalty, patriotism - are right there on the surface. The characters discuss them within the narrative, and you'd have to be reading with your eyes closed to miss them. I'd definitely recommend this one as a swift, interesting read.
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
I should probably begin by saying that I love Kate Atkinson's writing. A teacher tried to convince me to read Behind the Scenes at the Museum when I was sixteen, and when I actually read it a few years ago, I kicked myself for waiting so long. Her short story collection Not the end of the world is also brilliant, and I'm slowly working my way through the rest.
One Good Turn picks up a character from a previous novel Case Histories, but you don't need to know that for the story to make sense. I also want to add here that one of the running themes of the book is what people's relations to animals says about them, and there are some startling remembrances of animal cruelty, so there are some folk on my flist that I'd recommend don't read this book, or at least not without being aware of that (I had to skip one of the last scenes when I saw what was coming).
In some ways, running threads is what Case Histories is all about. Ostensibly, it centres on people brought together by an incident of road rage. The victim, the perpetrator, the 'have a go hero', the detective and two witnesses. The stories intertwine so much that in the middle, you start wondering if anything is ever going to make sense. Gradually, everything coalesces and while you can sort of see the ending coming, there are still some twists thrown in there for good measure. Most of all, these characters are gripping. You get completely caught up in their lives, for better and worse, and although I wouldn't say you fall in love with them, the detailed look that we get at their psyches makes them compelling and captivating. It's the kind of book that ends up in the 'literary fiction' section, because it's so beautifully written, when really it's a mystery, or a pschological study or a noir thriller set in Edinburgh. Okay, perhaps not the last one, but there are some exciting moments, and there's a thread of darkness to the plots that definitely give it a noir edge.
Highly recommended.
Moving on from what I have read to where I go next, I think I need some help. The list below is by no means everything I have out of the library, and I'm working my way through Frank Gardner's memoir Blood and Sand as well as How to talk about books you haven't read, which is very light and fun. But after that, I have a problem: where to go next.
Help!
[Poll #1464031]
And yes, I deliberately made it radio buttons, because otherwise, I get the feeling you're just going to tell me to read everything! Which would you pick as a good follow-on from a BBC reporter's story and a book about not reading books?
