Snapshot August 2016
July came and went in a blink of the eye. August will likely go just as quickly and then all we’ll hear about for the next few months is that dreaded word Christmas. I’ve already seen promotions from a hotel and a local restaurant even though some people have only just headed off for their summer holiday. I know retailers in the UK have been moaning about low sales because of the crap summer weather so far but it’s depressing how the commercial world seems intent on pushing the Christmas season earlier and earlier. I’m going to turn a blind eye to it all and just focus on the month ahead.
So as a new month begins this is a bit of a wrap up of what’s I’ve been reading recently and what I’m planning or the month ahead.
Just Finished
July was a good month during which I managed to read 4 books for the #20booksofsummer challenge and make a little space in the TBR pile.
It’s taken me a few years to get around to reading Sheri Fink’s Five Days at Memorial.(reviewed here). The subject matter made it challenging but it was worth the effort – the issues raised by Fink about medical ethics during times of disaster have made for some heated discussions among friends and relatives. I also read the wonderful Bel Canto by Ann Patchett -my first experience of her writing but I know it will not the be the last. July saw the completion of two Booker prize winners – Last Orders by Graham Swift and The Life & Times of Michael K by J. M Coetzee. I had planned to read to short story collections but so far have managed just one of them – The Thing Around My Neck by Chimamanda Adichie with the help of advice in response to my question on how to approach a collection of short stories. Most people recommended I read them in bite size pieces which helped hugely.
Reading Currently
I have two books on the go at the moment. Tree of Life: A Novel of the Caribbean is a 1992 novel by the Guadeloupean writer, Maryse Condé. It’s the story of three generations of one family and their rise from poverty against a backdrop of racial tension and world events like the construction of the Panama Canal and World War 1. It’s my choice for #womeninliterature month. I’m about a third of the way through and finding it OK but not that engaging. Certainly not as riveting as my other read which is Moskva by Jack Grimwood. Set in the 1980s it features a British intelligence officer sent to Moscow to avoid an investigation over his actions in Northern Ireland. Shortly after his arrival he gets roped in to help find the Ambassador’s daughter who has gone missing. This is a page turner that was highlighted by the Daily Telegraph as one of the best crime novels of 2016.
On the Horizon
If it’s August then it has to be AllAugust/AllVirago of which I’ll be reading A Favourite of the Gods by Sybille Bedford and posting a few reviews for Viragos I read earlier in the summer but haven’t got around to reviewing yet. I have a few NetGalley review copies requiring my attention including The Sleeping World by Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes which is set in 1970s post-Franco Spain and The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke. What comes after that I haven’t yet decided since I don’t like making detailed plans which feel constraining. There’ll certainly be a Booker title in the mix but I know I’m not going to get around to making much of an impression on the 2016 longlist other than reading some samples of each title.
I love Christmas but I hate how early they try and push it – stretching it out over so many months ruins it for me. I hope we’re both able to ignore any super early promotions for it in the coming months 😛
This might be another year where i steadfastly refuse to even say the word C…. until Dec 1. Drove my family crazy but i was happy
I loved “Last Orders” and it excitingly has a scene set at the bottom of the road I was living on when I read it (when they get stuck on the South Circular in New Cross), so that was exciting. I’m currently reading Books 14 and 15 of 20Books and there are some Viragoes coming up, and one women in translation. I have two trips coming up, so some travelling reading time hopefully!
that would have made it pretty special. Good progress on the 20books challenge – with a bit of luck that travel should see you nail it
Don’t plan! It always turns out better that way! 🙂
I try not to but then some mean people go and start up challenges and little projects that sound so good I absolutely have to get involved 🙂 Which reminds me – what’s the next year you plan to do a challenge on??
1947 – starting on 10th October so you have plenty of time to get prepared! 🙂
I see from my copy of Anthony Burgess’ 99 Novels he identified two from that year The Victim by Saul Bellow
and Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry neither of which I have unfortunately. But plenty of time to go looking for options
There are definitely plenty of less involving options – Agatha Christie for a start! I read Under the Volcano years ago and loved it, but it certainly isn’t a light read…
I’ll have a little peek at the copy I bought for my husband which he hasn’t yet read.