Reading Horizons: Episode 4
Reading Horizons, 9 May 2018
Currently reading
G by John Berger
I’ve returned to my Booker Prize project
which is now in the final stages. G won the Booker in 1972 and is one of the least-known of the winners. I’ve reached page 30 but have yet to meet the main character G. He’s the off spring of an Italian merchant who has an adulterous escapade with a free-spirited Anglo-American girl. I hope it moves up a gear soon otherwise this is going to be a slog of a read.
Since I anticipate needing some light relief I have picked up Andrew Taylor’s Bleeding Heart Square. It’s a historical mystery/thriller set in a decaying cul-de -sac in 1930s London. This is where the aristocratic Lydia Langstone seeks refuge when she leaves her husband. Unknown to her she is stepping into a dark mystery – what has happened to a former occupant of Bleeding Heart Square and why is someone mailing human hearts to the lodging house?.
Recently Finished: The Whale Caller by Zakes Mda
This started out as a strange book and continued in that way until the end. I am now equipped, should the need arise, to answer a multitude of quiz questions about whales. I know they lobtail, filter plankton through baleen and can be prone to sea lice. Oh, and they must never, ever be described as a fish……
Reading next
I’m off on Sunday for a two week sojourn in the heart of England, starting in the Peak District and taking in Stamford (a historic stone town much loved by film crews) and Stratford Upon Avon. I hope to get some reading time in between the eating of cream teas and imbibing of few glasses of wine. With me will be Kamila Shamshie’s Home Fire which is our book club selection for June and either an Elizabeth Taylor or a Barbara Pym. I’m sure there will be a few bookshops I can visit for a top up if necessary.
Reading Horizons is linked to WWWednesday, a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It involves answering 3 questions:
The three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Ooo I hope you enjoy your sojourn to the Peak District, Stamford and Stratford Upon Avon 🙂
I love the WWWednesday – the ideas people keep coming up with! I’ve done too many posts recently – my father tells me I (and the commenters) are keeping him too busy, so I’ll just answer here. I’ve just read Sarah Krasnostein’s biography The trauma cleaner, about an unknown person, Sandra Pankhurst. An astonishing book. I’m now reading a little novella by Aussie writer Nick Earls, called NoHo. I’ve had it for over two years and decided to sneak it in between must reads. And next I’m going to juggle a hefty non-fiction book, volume 1 of the letters of Christina Stead, and an historical fiction novel about a war bride, The passengers by Eleanor Limprecht.
I know you blog regularly but it never feels like too much!
That’s really kind if you to say, Karen, thanks.
I like this meme. In fact, I love knowing what people are reading! I am currently reading Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton, a bit too much romance but learning lots about the Cuban revolution and its effects. I recently finished Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, one of my favorite American authors because he is not quite like anyone else. Next I plan to read The Martyred by Richard E Kim, #7 on the 1964 bestseller list, part of My Big Fat Reading Project. The author was Korean/American and the book is about the Korean War from the vantage of Christians vs Communists. Whoa!
One of the things I love about reading is that I learn about places and events that I have no knowledge about. the Cuban revolution is one on which my knowledge is next to zero
Bleeding Heart Square sounds like fun! Have a lovely trip – hope the weather stays bright. 🙂
I hope it gets a bit warmer than it is currently
Hope you have a wonderful time, Karen!
Thanks Paula, Derbyshire is a place I have wanted to visit for so long (even more so when I saw the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice which was partly filmed there)
That’s interesting – I’ve only glanced at my copy of G so far, but I kind of got the feeling it might be a bit of a slog… Perhaps his non-fiction is better than his fiction!
Slog is the right word – I find I can read only about a few pages of it before the eyes droop
Enjoy your break, Karen. Hope the sun shines on you!
Stamford is lovely — I’ve been there a few times for a nature conference. I hope you enjoy your trip. I just read Home Fire last week and it was terrific.
I feel like i should be reading Middlemarch when I visit – its where the BBC version was filmed I believe
Andrew Taylor is one of my favourite authors but I haven’t read Bleeding Heart Square. It sounds very good. Good luck with G, it sounds rather heavy going. And enjoy your trip!
it’s a good yarn indeed Margaret and full of atmosphere
Sounds like a lovely trip, enjoy! I am about to embark upon G as well, though I suspect it will be my live for Berger’s other work that will see me through…
I’ll watch out for your comments on G. So far I am finding it very dull
Have fun on your trip – it sounds fabulous. (As do your holiday reading picks too!)
I hope the Booker book picks up for you. I envy your journey through parts of England. I hope you write about it and if you visit any bookshops, photos please. Have a pleasant trip.
Bleeding Heart Square sounds like my kind of read. Enjoy!
I think you would indeed enjoy it Laurel