Norwegian book rocks!

It was a total breeze to read - I raced through it in about 3 days. Made me want to get a cat, but I'm banned from getting any animals.

I've moved on now to The Mercy of Thin Air, marketed as a cross between The Lovely Bones and The Time Traveller's Wife - which is true in as much as it's an enduring love story but narrated by a ghost. I love the fact that some of it is set in the late 20s, which is an era I wish I could travel back to for a visit.

I recently purchased two books not of the novel variety. They are sewing books (Sew U and Yeah! I Made It Myself) - I have dreams of making my own clothes (trousers that fit!). The problem is I need to get past the stage of the books sitting on my bookshelf, occasionally removed for perusal...to the point when I buy some fabric and get experimenting. If I wasn't teaching two evenings a week I would join an evening class for hands-on experience.

September - a teeny weeny bookgroup!

Last night we enjoyed quality rather than quantity, when we discussed Empress Orchid. On the whole we enjoyed the book, finding it in parts fascinating. Orchid was a character who could be sympathised with. Some scenes were felt to be too descriptive - some more dialogue would've served well in the place of events simply being described. Finding out that this is in fact the first of a trilogy goes to explain the rather abrubt ending.

As for our next book...well it had been a year since my sci-fi list and I worked hard to keep any off the list this year. I did sneak in a couple of books that could be possibly be found in the fantasy section of amazon but the canny group steered clear. I suspect that Lorraine has been scarred for life after being forced to watch The Princess Bride against her will. For any of you who might be a fan of the film, apparently the book (written in '73) is even better. Anyway, here is the shortlist.

Under the Skin Michel Faber
Anansi Boys Neil Gaiman
The Princess Bride William Goldman
Beyond the Great Indoors Ingvar Ambjornsen

And the winner is....

Beyond the Great Indoors Ingvar Ambjornsen

Have fun reading this Norwegian book. You'll be relieved to know it's also available in English translation.

Laughter or just a wee chuckle?

Hmmm can laugh out loud funny moments really occur in more highbrow literature? Dickens has some comic moments, I guess. Hardy, no, I recall mostly misery...D.H. Lawrence, nope, I don't recall laughing. Elizabeth von Arnim has made me chuckle in The Enchanted April, Vita Sackville-West also, Graham Greene, ... But have I actually laughed out loud, in the way I laugh when I watch a South Park episode? Probably not that often. However, TheManWhoFellAsleep's book did make me laugh out loud.

Personally I think there's a place for all kinds of literature. I don't think reviewers and critics decry books simply because they are highbrow. They might give bad reviews to dull books just as much as poorly written... This seems to hark back to a previous discussion we've had about well-written vs entertaining books. Sometimes a book is both. Sometimes it isn't. I sometimes like to read something I can get through in 2 days, with a great story and characters that pull me in. Sometimes I want to tackle something more highbrow. Hardy remains unread since my teenage years, '1984' just got re-read with gusto...

By the way I do agree with you about Big Brother, it's a pile of poo with extra poo on top. And David Baddiel probably gets paid way too much for his opinions. And Zadie Smith, well, shite sorry White Teeth made me yawn not laugh. So I haven't bothered with any of her other books since.

My most entertaining book of the summer was 'The Final Confession of Mabel Stark' by Robert Hough, all about the life of a circus tiger trainer.