Currently Reading

The blog has recently been about what I've being doing, rather than what I've been reading, so thought I should give a quick update.

To my shame I've only read two books this month, Big Brother and The Silkworm. I've just been really busy. I usually read about 8, see my 'year in books tag' for my monthly reading list.

I have started 3 books though:-

• Toni Morrison, Beloved 
• Sam, Selvon, The Lonely Londoners
• Haruki Murakami, Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage 

Beloved and The Lonely Londoners are both library books, I really need to get a crack on with them as they need to go back.

I had a right parlava with the Murakami, I pre-ordered it from Amazon months ago, but when I received it I had to send it straight back as the copy was damaged. I'm very careful with my books, so was disappointed that the book jacket was all creased. It took another 3 days to get a replacement, so this has delayed my reading.

What do you think of my choices? Have you ever had trouble with Amazon deliveries?

Elizabeth Haynes, Into the Darkest Corner

When photographing this book I was quite tempted to find the darkest corner in my house, but then realised that was a daft idea.

Into The Darkest Corner won Amazon Best Book of the Year 2011, but I missed the buzz. I read about in on a blog (sorry can't remember who) recently and thought it sounded worth a try.

Trigger warning: rape, domestic violence, OCD, post-traumatic stress, death, torture, compulsions, crime

Into the Darkest Corner - photographed not in a corner
ISBN: 9780956251572

The Plot: Catherine is young, bold and up for a good time. Happy to be single, she is is smart enough to realise what a great catch Lee is when she meets him on a night out. Charismatic and good looking Lee has soon won Catherine over, but soon is becomes apparent that Lee is darker and more dangerous than he first seemed. Several years later Catherine is struggling with OCD but otherwise managing to cope, that is until she receives a phone call that puts her into a further tailspin.  

Rating: ««««¶ (4/5)

book haul

I've broken my self imposed book buying ban in a big way, but in my defence 3 of the 5 are second-hand.

Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death
After reading the kindle sample of this I was immediately hooked. *Trigger warning rape and violence.
Recently I've been interested in reading afro-futurism (inspired by my new found love for Octavia Butler) so this novel fit the bill.    

Octavia E. Butler, Seed to Harvest
Speaking of Octavia E. Butler, this collection of the Patternist series also got put in my shopping trolley. Seed to Harvest contains four novels and fits into the afro-futurism/ science-fiction genre. For my review of another of Octavia Butler's books, Kindred see here.

Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride and Bluebeard's Egg
I've mentioned several times on this blog that I'm a massive Atwood fan, and as both these books were going cheap second-hand on Amazon I couldn't resist. The Robber Bride is a strong contender for my favourite Atwood, so I felt I had to remedy the fact that I didn't actually own it. Bluebeard's Egg is a collection of retold fairy-stories (similar to Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber) so I had to have it. It's like a triple thumbs up, Margaret Atwood, yep! Fairytales, yep yep!, feminist re-telling, yep yep yep!

Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry
I was very impressed with Winterson's retelling of the myth of Hercules in Weight, so thought I should work my way through some more of her back catalogue. Sexing the Cherry is similar to Bluebeard's Egg, more fairytales.

What do you think of my book haul? Have you got any suggestions of what I should add to my reading list?

Buying Books & Booksellers

After recently visiting The London Book Review I started thinking about how I actually buy books. Ebooks have been a phenomenon, and according to an article I read this week an estimated eight million Brits now own an e-reader (17/04/13 Evening Standard). Although I own a kindle, and appreciate the convenience of  been able to cart around hundreds of books in my handbag without putting my back out, I will never stop buying physical paper books.

 I will also never stop supporting book stores, yes the internet is marvellous, but online shopping is impersonal. I find it easier, and more enjoyable to leisurely browse for books in a shop. You can read the blurb, feel the weight and appreciate the cover design in a way that is not possible when just clicking on links. 

I find it a real pleasure to spend hours in a bookshop, my arms overflowing trying to make a decision. It is one of the simple joys in my life to open a book for the very first time, the pages fresh and the spine crisp and unbent, you cannot experience the same sensory delight reading from a screen.