Can I admit to being a little bit of a book snob? Well I think I just have. It’s stupid really because I have plenty of friends who read and adore, well, let’s call them airport fiction – you know the books stacked high and slavishly pushed at the front of WHSmiths or Waterstones. They’re rarely…
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Kate, I think I’m going to have to go straight to Toni Morrison. You’ve totally sold her to me in this blogpost. I’ve never read any of her writing and I think I’ve got some serious catching up to do. Thanks for this!
Great blog post Kate… I understand the book snob thing, as I am most definitely a cake snob… cheap, trashy cakes are to me what Jilly Coopers are to you! With the exception of McVities Jamaica Ginger cake and the odd Fondant Fancy (of course). I am going to try and read one of these books, not sure which one yet and not sure whether I will actually get it read by the end of the month, but I will certainly try!
I’m a book snob too but I love to slum it…
My ‘chick lit’ recommendation is Rosie Thomas – just found some more by her that I haden’t seen before. Also like ‘The secret history’ by Donna Tartt though I read it years ago.
Blogger’s block. I’ve had it this week. Sounds painful, doesn’t it? Despite a healthy little schedule of blog posts and a sane achievable plan of action, it seems the roughage of available content hasn’t been enough to GET. THEM. DONE. So I’ve done the only thing that will ensure they get written and published. No…
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Read it and hated it! Just a series of disconnected narratives that left me depressed. But then I’ve never liked collections of short stories – they remind me of James Joyce and the misery of ‘Dubliners’!
I didn’t think it would be so difficult to select the books for this little book group. Wander into Waterstones, have a browse, like the cover of one, avoiding the stickers on most and generally enjoying the process. Wrong. Instead I’ve been scouring my bookshelves for inspiration, looking for something lingering there that has been…
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how have I not read your blog before ! …..I LOVE the way you write ………and am off to kindle said book ! will let you know how I get on …..and your right…it looks very much like duck poo to me ! lol
[...] There’s lots of things to look forward to in June – I’ve got a new session type to launch, lots of client sessions to blog, more personal projects to show and a brilliant offer to tell you lovely lot all about. But until we get there, I’ve got a book to discuss and two to announce. So let’s start with my largely rambling thoughts about Book 3, Junot Diaz’s Drown. [...]
This post was supposed to come on the back of a blaze of rugby glory. It was supposed to start with this image: Unfortunately two unpleasant things happened during the week I was scheduled to write my review of Emma Donoghue’s Room. Firstly, the Irish denied us the grand slam. Swines. Secondly, my lovely, slightly…
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Ah Kate, I have been waiting for you review of this book and it hasn’t disappointed! I think you should write a book as you have such a wonderful way with words 
Anyway, I really enjoyed the book, once I got into it. If it hadn’t been a 3.5hr train journey to Birmingham then I would have written it off after 10 mins. I didn’t like the way it was written to start with, it irritated me and I thought “there is no way I can put up with this all the way through” … but of course I didn’t need to.
I didn’t think that Jack would escape. Would Old Nick really have let him go after all those years. He seemed to run away too easily (or did I skim read that bit and miss something major??!).
The comment from Ma also made me stop and think. “In this whole story, that’s the shocking detail?” … she was trying to cling to something normal in a very abnormal world.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book – 2 fantastic choices so far Kate, here’s hoping for a hat trick!!
Wow, Kate- brill blog post! I really feel for you with your break in- and understand your feelings entirely. Bummer! And as for your review of Room, you nailed it. I can add very little. It was not an easy read, but as you say, sometimes the things you work for are the most rewarding. Roll on the next book!
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I was haunted by this book, and even had a few bad dreams as a result of reading it. It’s one of those few books that manages to have you on the edge of your seat, but I have to confess to being a bit disappointed by the second half of it. While I know that much of the point of the novel is in how Jack and his Ma manage to adapt to life outside Room, for me it just didn’t succeed in sustaining the intensity of the narrative based inside Room. Emma Donoghue recreated perfectly the harrowing claustrophobia of Room through Jack’s innocent narrative. For me, the second half was less interesting because that powerful claustrophia obviously wasn’t there. There were a few bits (which I won’t describe here in case I ruin the story for anyone) that I just didn’t believe. Reading back over this, I seem overly critical, but on balance I thought it was a powerful, thought-provoking read.
[...] If you are looking for the review of Book 2, Emma Donoghue’s Room, you can find it here. I’d love to know what you thought about it. Getting to learn more about what you enjoy (or [...]
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