BBAW: Reading and Blogging

I wasn’t planning on participating in the Book Blogger Appreciation Week, besides reading great blogs and meeting lovely people on twitter that is, but I find today’s topic very interesting. Here it is:

“Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!”

So, I read a few posts today and noticed that a lot of book bloggers are saying that blogging not only changed how fast they read and how many books they read in a year, but it has also changed what kind of books they read. The former I totally understand, but I find the latter a bit strange since for me this has not been the case.

I’ve always liked reading the classics, and literary fiction books*. So it’s only very rarely that I’ll be reading a book that can be found in a ‘new releases’ list. Blogging has not changed that. I still read the books I would have read anyway. Which unfortunately means that I’m not reviewing terribly popular and ‘of-the-moment’ books, but I don’t mind that one bit.

Actually, I get a little peeved when all the posts in my google reader are reviews of the same newly released (or even not yet released!) book. And it more often than not happens to be a YA book. Which is totally fine, I’ve liked some YA books like The Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy, but isn’t there so much more than that? I know there are some brilliant bloggers (like Adam and Bina and Kristie) and a whole community out there who are not talking solely about YA books, I just think that we could have more variety. It seems to me that the majority of active bloggers like their YA literature a lot. So they are mostly talking about books I haven’t read and probably never will, which sadly means that I’m not as involved in the blogging community as I would like.

There also seems to be a lot of love for audiobooks, which I don’t share. I always felt that nothing beats reading a book, holding it in your hands and turning the pages. I know that audiobooks would allow me to ‘read’ a lot more books, which is something to think about, but for the time being I don’t mind that the number of books I read in a year is significantly smaller than that of other’s.

I suppose, basically, this post could be titled “On how stubborn I am” since I seem to be resisting any change to my reading habits. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you are a blogger, have your reading habits changed because of blogging? How?

*Of course, I do read books that belong to other genres occasionally.

Monday log

Last book finished

Cranford & Other Stories by Elizabeth C. Gaskell

A really great collection of Mrs Gaskell’s shorter stores which I really loved. You can read my thoughts on it here.

Currently reading

Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language by Bill Bryson

This is not as funny as Notes from a Small Island or Notes from a Big Country, but it’s full of interesting trivia. I am actually enjoying all the references to the complicated and sometimes illogical spelling of some English words that often trouble foreign people, it’s good to know I’m not alone.

Next on the TBR list

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Ok, this time I really intend to read this. I was rather troubled with the strange title, but luckily I found this enlightening article about it.

Books read – December

Ok just a quick post for my December books. So it was a very very busy month, but I somehow managed to finish four books.

• The secret lives of people in love by Simon Van Booy
• Dead to the world by Charlaine Harris
• Dead as a doornail by Charlaine Harris
• The boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyne

I’ve already posted my review of Simon Van Booy’s collection of short stories, it can be found here.

As for the Sookie Stackhouse series books, just like the previous three these are light, easy to read and rather addictive. I like how Sookie is becoming more independed and strong. What I don’t particularly enjoy are the sex scenes which are a little bit porn-like and very cheesy.

My thoughts on The boy in the striped pyjamas will come soon because I feel that it deserves a separate post.

The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy

I picked up this collection of short stories after reading Emily’s review over at Books, the universe and everything.The author has a very unique way of writing, he can find the extraordinary in the most common, trivial things and can convey his characters’ emotions, hopes and thoughts in a moving way. The main subjects in all the stories are love and loss. Most of the characters are people who are left behind, lonely, isolated, perhaps even tragic.

This is definitely not a cheerful read. I read on my morning commute, but the stories are powerful and I found they stayed with me, making me a little bit gloomy through the day. Still, I would definitely recommend this book because in the end, it is a collection of beautifully written, thought provoking stories. Just make sure you follow this with some P.G. Wodehouse for instant lift of spirits!

A few parts that I liked:

“When somebody leaves this plane – or, if you like, goes into another room – those left behind sometimes try and stop loving – but this is a mistake, because even if you have loved only once in your life, you’re ruined.“

“Perhaps photographs can fake happiness, but never grief.“

“You might say that praying is useless if I don’t believe in God anymore, but let me tell you my opinion: praying for someone is a way to love them without ever having to know them.“

“Now I see it was such an insignificant event to the world. But then every beautiful moment in my life has been an insignificant event to the world.“

Incidentally, I found this beautiful article by Simon Van Booy in the Guardian. Check it out!

Books read – November

I swear I don’t know how people do it. I read book blogs of people with jobs and families and social lives and it amazes me how they find time to read. I’ve been really struggling to find time to read… I spend a lot of time at the library or in lectures, and usually when I come home at night I’m too tired to read, so for the past month most of my reading was in the tube commuting to and from college. So, I read three books in November:

• Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
• Ring for Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
• Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse

My thoughts on Her Fearful Symmetry can be found here. With the whole plot being centred around death and Highgate cemetery, finishing this book left me wanting something cheerful. I cannot think of anything better than P.G. Wodehouse for some sunny, happy reading.

So I picked up the next Wodehouse novel on my list (I’m reading them in chronological order) , Ring for Jeeves. This book does not feature Bertie Wooster and his unique storytelling, so it was certainly different. Still, the plot is hilarious, as always there are huge mix-ups, people are caught in dreadful situations and Jeeves seems to be the only one who can set things right. Even in his absence though, Bertie still managed to make me laugh… The thought of him going away to a special school to learn how to mend his socks and make his own breakfast is just ridiculous!

I was glad to have Bertie back in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit. It is just a perfect P.G. Wodehouse novel, this one made me laugh out loud on the train a lot (people were looking at me funny but who cares). Bertie faces aunts, uncles, Roderick Spode’s, Stiton Cheesewright’s and accidental engagements, but still manages to escape unscathed using Jeeves brilliance.

Here is some of Bertie Wooster’s brilliant relationship advice, I think we could all use…

“Love is a delicate plant that needs constant tending and nurturing, and this cannot be done by snorting at the adored object like a gas explosion and calling her friends lice.“

“Dash it, I mean, you don’t go telling people you will break their spines in four places if they come oiling around the adored object unless you have more than a passing fancy for the bally girl.”

Her fearful symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I was really looking forward to reading this book, since I loved The time traveler’s wife. I was a little bit disappointed. Her fearful symmetry is not bad, it’s ok, but nothing spectacular.

The book starts after the death of Elspeth and deals with the extreme effects this has on the lives of her estranged twin sister, her husband and their twin daughters Julia and Valentina. The main subjects of the book are death and identity. All of the main characters in the book lose someone or something important to them and they deal with it in their own way. There’s also quite a lot about identity since it revolves around two identical “mirror” twins. If you are so identical to someone else, are you your own person or are you just two parts of one organism? And if everyone sees you as the same, how do you make them see you as two different people? How do you live separate lives without actually separating?

The plot is interesting, it is actually larger than life, but somehow finishing the book left me feeling a bit ‘meh’… As for the major twist towards the end, I kind of saw it coming so I wasn’t exactly blown away. I do think that the most disturbing thing in the book, something a main character does, is kind of rushed and not quite properly dealt with, so that annoyed me a little… I feel that the author tried to make Her fearful symmetry something really grand and complicated and thought provoking but didn’t quite achieve it.

A quote I liked:

“He had never realised, while Elspeth was alive, the extent to which a thing had not completely happened until he told her about it.”

And I really loved Martin’s speech about what being in love feels like:

“Being in love is… anxious… Wanting to please, worrying that she will see me as I really am. But wanting to be known. That is… you’re naked, moaning in the dark, no dignity at all… I wanted her to see me and to love me even though she knew everything I am, and I knew her. Now she’s gone, and my knowledge is incomplete. So all day I imagine what she is doing, what she says and who she talks to, how she looks. I try to supply the missing hours, and it gets harder as they pile up, all the time she’s been gone. I have to imagine. I don’t know, really. I don’t know any more.”

Books read – September

Just a quick post to list the books I read last month…

• The elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
• What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami
• Dead after dark by Charlaine Harris
• Living dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
• Club dead by Charlaine Harris

My books are literary in a different country and there is no amazon conduit which means no pictures and no reviews for September’s books. But don’t worry, my friends have reviewed some of these books so go on and check these out:

Emily’s, Michelle’s and Dominique’s thoughts on The elegance of the Hedgehog, also Dominique also read the first 3 books of the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Hm, a month without P.G. Wodehouse… Surely it is time to go back to Bertie and Jeeves!

Books read – August

Ok I’ll admit it, I have an addiction problem. I can’t seem to stop reading Jeeves and Wooster novels. These are the books I read in August:

• Her Ladyship’s guide to modern manners by Lucy Gray
• The code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
• Joy in the morning by P.G. Wodehouse
• The mating season by P.G. Wodehouse

The code of the Woosters was my airplane book because I felt it would put me in a ‘british’ mood for my trip to London. It was as always a hilarious, incredibly written story and it made the 4,5 hours flight seem much shorter.

I picked Her Ladyship’s guide to modern manners at Buckingham Palace’s gift shop after our tour of the state rooms (which was fantastic, the audio guides offer really detailed information). I thought it would be a fun read, you know with all the savoir vivre rules telling you how to sit, speak, eat etc. However, I failed to take into account the modern part of the title. This book does not tell men which hand to use to raise their top hat when greeting a lady, instead there are chapters about emails, travelling by public transit and dinner parties. So it wasn’t funny, but it was still informative and wasy to read. (Plus, the cover is this gorgeous purple colour…)

I then returned to Wodehouse and remained in the sunny world he created till the end of the month. It is seriously amazing how warm and fuzzy these novels make you feel. No matter how shitty things may be, Bertie can surely make you forget about your problems and just laugh!