Spring reads

I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time, and thought it was great, although not exactly what I expected. The characters are amazing and I love the way the story is told from the perspective of a child. Very moving.

Also started my first ever Stephen King book, and quite disapointed. I wanted to be scared! Instead I was jsut disgusted. It was Dreamcatcher and I read half of it before I realised that it was just plain gross. The horror was meant to be a mystery as well, but there was a bad ratio of plot to gore, leaving very little incentive for me to keep reading. Since I had so many high recommendations before I started, there is the possiblity that I might try a different book, but doubt I will ever finish Dreamcatcher.

In other news, reading more of The Magus (I know its taking forever, it's my long-train-journeys-book) and it's getting quite good. Although reading such a crazy book when tired does mess with your ability to perceive reality accurately.

I also read Who's Afraid of Mr Wolfe, a chick-lit novel written by a friend of a friend of my mums. Haven't read something so fluffy in a while, so it was a nice change. Predictable as usual, but easy to read and read quickly. Pretty funny as well, made me chuckle out loud in a couple of places which is fairly rare for a book.

On psychopaths and the Pirahas

So I finally got around to reading the Psychopath Test, after all this time! I have to admit, it didn't quite meet my (admittedly high) expectations. Perhaps it was because it doesn't really document the test in detail. Perhaps because although the content is immeasurably interesting, the book doesn't really have an arc of any sort. Jon gains knowledge about psychopaths, one ambiguous criminal gets released, and that's about it. I think its mainly that my preference for pure fiction is overbearing. Even if the story has good characters and follows an intriguing plot, if it's real, I lose interest. There are of course exceptions to this rule, including several brilliant real life diaries. Maybe my penchant for sci-fi/fantasy is taking over my ability to enjoy 'real' books.

In contrast to everything I have just said, my next book is also non-fiction, but a story so incredible it may as well be. It's about a missionary's trip to a remote Amazonian tribe and how he becomes the one to be converted, to different theories on language and life. Aside from being about everything I would ever want in life, this book is important linguistically and antrhopologically. And guess what??

Dan Everett, author of the book and owner of the life I wish I could lead, is speaking at Manchester University in a couple of weeks. And I've got tickets!! There really isn't anything more exciting that could happen to me. To be perfectly honest, I don't even care what he talks about, such is my awe that I will be honoured to simply be in the same room as him. 

Study says revisiting classics makes us happy

Shamelessly stolen from this week's Stylist, and endorsed by yours truly.

Study says revisiting classics makes us happy

How many times have you read your favourite book? Once? Twice? Nine times? Well, new research has shown that re-reading books that we first experienced during a happy time in our lives can have a comforting effect and be good for our mental health.

Academics, who studied people in New Zealand and the US, found that the repeated experience led to heightened pleasure and increased knowledge and awareness.

The study, which also looked at re-watching films and re-visiting favourite haunts, showed that the second reading of a book is also more ‘emotional’ as readers delve deeper into the layers of the novel. Think twice before throwing away that battered Penguin Classic then…

Source: Stylist

How Persuasion won me over

I am, as I have probably said before, not a fan of old books. By this I don't mean wonderfully musty books you've had for ages, or those passed down in generations, I simply mean literature that is anything less than modern. I don't really like the language and although the idea of 'classics' is appealing, the few I've struggled through I've found are just too boring.

Anyway, I do dislike the thought of missing out on all these books so many people admire. So I tried Persuasion. The fact that a major reason in me choosing this book was that it was a character from a film I like's favourite book is neither here nor there.

It was better than I expected, which was a nice surprise. I still don't like the style of writing, with sentences that go on forever with a minimum of ten clauses. It's difficult and unecessary and puts people, me included, off.

But after a slow start of trying to get into it, I found the characters interesting and the whole system of norms and pleasantries and politeness of good society made for a good story. Would I read it again? Probably not. But I may be more inclined to read something else by Jane Austen if it ever comes across my path readily. Perhaps it is an acquired taste that takes more than one experience to cement.

A short history of tractors in Ukranian

I got this through a book exchange - one of the best inventions ever! Unfortunately I didn't have a book with me to swap, but I gave a donation instead and took this book, one I'd been meaning to read for a while. It took me so long because even though I trust my friend's recommendations, personal (albeit irrational) prejudices can be difficult to overcome. In this case, it was the title. I knew (or thought I did) that the book wasn't actually about tractors. But still, everytime I thought about finding the book, a  little voice inside would complain 'But I don't like tractors! It will be boring!' So this fortunate set of circumstances that led me to the book exchange meant I gave it a chance.

And I am glad I did! It was a great book, very easy to read and the quirky broken English actually made the book more enjoyable, despite structural changes like this usually resulting in off-putting, or distracting language. It was also very interesting to see the difference this made to the atmosphere of the book, and how while every sentence is easily intelligible, the sense it gives to the story is fascinating.

I also liked it because it has a lot of crazy characters in it, crazy in the best kind of way, that reflects human irrationality. The book also shows how extreme circumstances can change our values and beliefs far more easily than we would have predicted.

It is also a very funny look at one 'dysfunctional' family and how strong those bonds of love are, regardless of how little we like particular members, or their habits. Again this reflects the paradox of holding contrasting attitudes to the same object simultaneously.

Shadows in Flight and other nonsense

New Ender's (well Bean's really) book is coming out soon aaaahhh! Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card is out on February 13. If anybody truly loves me, that is my valentines present right there. I adore the way this series is more a continually expanding network of awesomeness, rather than a linear set of sequels. It provides so much more possiblity for MORE!

Courtesy of Macmillan publishing, here is a delightful audio clip to whet your appetites!

On a calmer note, I have several books to read before this date so need to get on it. Also my re-reading schedule is getting a bit out of control, what with film versions coming out and final installments, I need to catch up on quite a few of my favourite books.

And I must get my hands on the Handmaids Tale, which I thought was all about medieval handmaids (e.g. historical drama which does not interest me in the slightest) but is actually all about a dystopian future. Excellent.

Final note: if you haven't eaten in the Waterstones restaurant, you should! Gorgeous food, huge portions and beautiful setting.

January reading

So after almost one month of recording my reading habits, its already quite interesting to look back and see what kind of things I'm reading. I can't wait until I have some more months to compare this with, to see whether I'm preferring certain genres/authors, or reading a lot at different periods of my life. It's also a way for me to remember what I've read, and which books were great, and which are best avoided.

The Stone Gods was the last book I read, and it was really enjoyable, regardless of having read it before. It makes you think long after you put it down, and the different stories weave together in a beautiful way. It highlights the terrible sides of humanity but also makes you realise how full of hope we are to keep trying, to keep making those same mistakes, keep creating and destroying in an endless cycle.

As for the book club, I couldn't find the book in time for the meeting, which is a shame. More because I still want to read it. I might pop in and see what the next book is because I feel it's still something I should try.

Book to film news:
Hunger Games is out at the end of March. Oh my, that's barely two months away, I thought I would have to contain my excitement until the summer at least.
Warm bodies is coming out in August. I'm very excited and very sceptical all at the same time, which is pretty much my standard reaction to the news that adaptions of my favourite books are coming out, but especially this one because I'm not sure how it will translate to the screen. The best parts of the story take part inside the central character's head, which starts as a foggy mess of consciousness- will this just all be voiceover narration? I have my doubts.