Current reading…

My classes this year require me to read three books almost immediately. (That doesn’t count Write Away – a guide to novel writing by Elizabeth George)Luckily I had aready purchased Toni Jordan’s debut novel Addition (which is my required reading for novel class) and was able to get Sir Thursday by Garth Nix (we are studying genre in Editing 2 and I got lumped with the fantasy genre) from the library and I have reserved The Sea by John Banville. Now all I have to do is put aside my ‘reading for pleasure’ to get some study done. Who needs a social life?  

 

Looking for Alaska – John Green

Looking for Alaska won the Centre for Youth Literature’s Silver Inky for the most popular book written by an overseas author. That, I decided, made it worth the read!

 

 It’s a gripping book right from the word go, as each of the chapter headings include ‘X days before’ giving the reader a view that something ominous is coming. Whilst tempting to skip forward to ‘1 day before’, I restrained myself and read with inrige and excitment right to the very end.

 

Miles Halter narrates his journey for Florida-loner to geek-prank-gang member at Culver Creek boarding school. Milles is not so much propelled by his lack of friends, but rather his need to ’seek a Great Perhaps’ in accordance with Rabelais’s last words.

 

What Miles finds is chain-smoking, alcohol chugging Chip and Alaska, who team up with Lara and Takumi to full some of the ‘Creeks best pranks. As the year progresses, so does Miles’s love of the already-taken Alaska. It is through her teaching, and Chip’s encouragement that Miles manages to leave his shy side behind to develop a life-long friendship.

 

As Miles seeks his Great Perhaps, he must tackle pre-calc, his first girlfriend, his first sexual encounter and his fear of being expelled, all whilst remembering to call his mother every Sunday.

 

The writing is powerful as Miles gets more than he bargained for at Culver Creek. 

Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer won the Guardian Prize for the best first novel in 2001 for Everything is Illuminated. He also won a number of other prizes, including the United States Jewish Book Award.

 

Everything is Illuminated is a story based of history, religion, family, war and understanding. The main charater in the book shares his name with the books author as he seeks to understand how his Jewish grandfather survived the second world war when his shtetl (village) and all of its Jewish inhabitants perished.

 

The book itself follows four stories which can make the reading heavy going at the begining. The first story is of the history of the grandfathers shtetl;  the second is the grandfather’s life; the third is the main characters search; and the final story is the retelling of the adventure by a second charater, Alexander, who is Jonathan’s tour guide and translator.

 

The writer uses a number of different writing techniques, including letters from Alexander, to tell the overall story. The reading is kept interesting by Alexander’s use of the English language, the dog which accompanies Jonathan, Alexander and Alexander’s grandfather on their journey and history of the fictious shetel, Trachimbrod.

 

Whilst the story may seem disjointed or even confusing, it is most definately worth persisting. Safran Foer has a wonderful way with words and when the stories begin to intertwine, it is almost impossible to put the book down. I gave up an entire night’s sleep once I became hooked.

 

My favourite quote from this book is: “…I love you also means I love you more than anyone else loves you, or has loved you, and or will love you, and also I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, and or will love you, and also I love you in a way I have loved no one else, and have never loved anyone else, or never will love anyone else.“

 

For more information see www.jonathansafranfoer.com 

 

 

The Dastardly Book for Dogs – Rex and Sparky

 

I received this for Christmas. I hope that it’s not for my dogs to read because it is full of great ideas for dogs to train their owners, not all of which I approve. Generally, I am against censorship, but on this occasion, my two 18-month-old dogs manage to cause more than enough trouble without any more ideas.

Although I haven’t even really began to read it yet, I recommend it for all pet owners as it is a funny addition to any book collection!

After Dark – Haruki Murakami

In true Murakami fashion, After Dark meanders through a Tokyo night where loose stories become intertwined. The writing is stunning, allowing the reader to hear the music of the night and feel the loneliness of characters.

Friends of mine have criticize this twelveth novel of Murakami as ‘boring’ and ‘missing a resolution’, but I disagree. I love the pace of the novel (albeit a short novel by usual standards), and found this very relaxing to read. I feel I understood the underlying story of the somewhat estranged sisters, a troubled Chinese immigrant and a trombonist debating his future. I particularly liked the ending, and felt that this edition of Murakami was all-too-short. 

I am so intrigued by the distinct, beautiful style of Murakami and I am going to ask a native Japanese speaker (who is a dear friend of mine) to see what she thinks of the Japanese version. 

In summary, bring on number thirteen Mr Murakami.

The Spellman Files – Lisa Lutz

I was first attrached to this book are it was recommended for watchers of one of my favourtie TV shows, Veronica Mars. I initially avoided buying the book as it was over $30 and I knew that I would gobble it up in one sitting. But, I saw it on sale at the weekend and curiousity got the better of me.The Spellman Files is narrated by 28-year-old Izzy Spellman who has worked in her family’s private investiagors firm since she was fifteen. Izzy has an eye for detail and a nose for trouble which leads to some very funny situations.Izzy takes on one final case for the family firm and finds herself in a sticky situation as the family of a 12-year-old missing persons investigation orders Izzy to close the case. In true PI form, Izzy continues investigating with interesting (but a little predicatable) results.This is a fun quick read, although it jumps around in time far too much. Different fonts represent different periods in the story, but the reader is left just a little confused.The next edition of the Spellman saga is due out in March next year and I will be reading it, although probably from the library unless I can get it at 40% off again. It is a fun read to break-up some of the heavier going stuff I plough through.The Spellman WebsiteBuy the Book

Norman Mailer passes away aged 84

Norman Mailer, a two-time Pulitzer prize winner, has passed away at the age of 84.

It seems that Mailer was an advocate of the ‘Here for a good time, not a long time’ lifestyle. He was married six times, fathered nine children, is rumoured to have abused alcohol and drugs and liked to carry his college boxing career into his professional life more than once. Mailer recieved a suspended sentence for stabbing his second wife at a party and feuded with fellow well-known authors such as Truman Capote and Gore Vidal.

Although Mailer did not win a Pulitzer Prize for his first novel The Naked and the Dead, this is widely regarded as the best account of World War II and catapulted Mailer to celebrity status at the tender age of 25. It is based on his personal experience of war.

Mailer won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967 for Armies of the Night, an account of the 1967 march on the Pentagon by anti-Vietnam War protesters, established him as a political spokesman for the Woodstock generation. His second Pulitzer was for The Executioner’s Song detailing the execution of Gary Gilmore in Utah.

Mailer was not only a talented writer, he began studying aeronautical engineering at Harvard University at 16. Mailer’s most recent book The Castle in the Forest recount’s Adolf Hitler’s childhood was released this year.

Harper Lee receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

I would have liked to have headlined this with ‘George W Bush finally does something worthwhile’, but it wouldn’t have been unfair to Harper Lee who throughly deserves all the kudos for her novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ which was first published in 1960.

This book remains one of my most favoured, even through I was forced to study it for two consecutive years in high school. (I transfered schools which gave me the honour of writing numerous essays on Harper Lee’s work.)

I’m sure that you are all very familliar with the book, so here’s what The Australian has to say on the award.

To Kill a Mockingbird

NaNoWriMo – 50 000 words in November

Most of you will be familiar with MOvember, where all sorts of people grow awkward, patchy or ill fitting MOs to raise awareness for men’s health issues. But NaNoWriMo is an online community of writers all striving for 50 000 words of a fiction novel in November.

I am completely aware of that this is an ambitious task, giving I have my proofreading exam on Tuesday so I am not really going to get into writing until then. But, I have never backed away from a challenge yet. The key for me is the focus on quantity, rather than quality. I have removed my self-conciousness and began tapping away on the keyboard already. (I know I shouldn’t have started until school was over, but I couldn’t resist!)

Anyway, place a marker in your electronic calendar for next year. Go NaNoWriMo!

Asterix to be rewritten – you be the judge

See the entire article from The Age here