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benjamin zephaniah, carlos ruiz zafon, cats cradle, charlotte perkins gilman, civil war, emila zola, herman hesse, ian fleming, irvine welsh, Its monday what are you reading?, jm barrie, kurt busiek, kurt vonnegut, margaret atwood, mark millar, marvels, matt moylan, meme, mohsin hamid, patricia melo, Paul Auster, Paul Gallico, paul jenkins, peter pan, raymond carver, roberto bolano, siddhartha, stephen galloway, streetfighter world warrior encyclopedia, the angel's game, the cellist of sarajevo, the dream, the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society, the skating rink, the spy who loved me, the year of the flood, the yellow wallpaper, trainspotting, violette leduc, wolverine origins
Welcome to Monday Meme’s! (‘Mailbox Monday’ by Marcia at The Printed Page and ‘It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?’ by Sheila at The Book Journey are fun weekly meme’s that allow book-bloggers to share their reading progress and the books they have yet to read.
July has been a hectic month, but also fruitful in terms of books. Since I haven’t had time to post that often (due to my novel-writing) I’m taking this opportunity to pick up from where I left off in March. Here’s a review of the titles that have either wowed me, or left me a little disappointed:
Books Read | March/ April
(click for reviews)
Lost World by Patricia Melo (1/5)
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster (5/5)
Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano (4/5) – review pending
Kung Fu Trip by Benjamin Zephaniah (3/5)
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico (5/5)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (3/5) – review pending
The Informers by Brett Easton Ellis (3/5) – review pending
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1/5) – review pending
The Paper House: A Novel by Carlos Maria Dominguez (4/5) – review pending
Books Read | May/ June
(click for reviews)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (4/5) – review pending
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut (5/5)
The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette LeDuc (1/5)
Peter Pan by JM Barrie (5/5)
The Yellow Wall-paper and Other Stories by Charlotte Gilman (4/5)
Beginners by Raymond Carver (5/5)
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (4/5)
The Dream by Emile Zola (5/5) – review pending
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway (5/5)
Other reviews:
The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (4.5/5)
Books Read | July
Streetfighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia by Matt Moylan (4/5)
Marvels by Kurt Busiek (5/5)
Wolverine: Origins by Paul Jenkins (3/5)
Civil War by Mark Millar (3/5)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (5/5)
Currently Reading/ August Outlook
What a pick-n-mix! As someone who never just reads one book at a time, I’ve started off first with Bolano’s “The Skating Rink”, which is a strange mix of romance, political scamming, figure-skating and cold-blooded murder. This is my second Bolano book (gearing myself up for ‘2666’) and the story seems to be chugging along quite well, despite the weird elements he’s thrown together to make it. Meanwhile I’m also poking around in “Trainspotting”, which unbeknownst to me is written in a very thick Scottish accent! I’m slowly getting used to it (fitba = football, hame = home, jaykits = jackets). It would be useful to have a glossary, but on second thought might spoil all the fun. After all, the best thing about ‘The Clockwork Orange’ was the strange Russian street lingo.
The one I can’t let go of at the moment is “The Spy Who Loved Me”. It is quite cheesy (as most Fleming books are) and it does feel a lot like one of those guilty comfort reads. The Bond of the movies and the Bond of the novels are so very different! However if there is one book I class as top-grade reading material, it is the Atwood. I practically have to ration her out for fear of guzzling through her entire works. She is so AMAZING! “The Year of the Flood” is the second in the MaddAddam trilogy, the first being ‘Oryx and Crake’, and loosely follows on from it. I can’t wait to lose myself in the plot. Can’t imagine what Atwood has dreamed up for us dystopian fiction lovers. Oh bliss…
What are you planning to read this week?
Related articles
- Review: Kurt Vonnegut: Letters by Kurt Vonnegut (edited and with an introduction by Dan Wakefield) (stephenormsby.wordpress.com)
Wordly Obsessions 
Hi zee…hisashiburi 🙂
You have a lot of review pending there. i have watched Trainspotting and didn’t like it much…hope you enjoy the book.
Hi Novroz!!! I know, I’m a very naughty girl… I have no excuses. This year isn’t going at all to my plans. I haven’t watched it yet, but the book is interesting. Very humorous actually. But dark at the same time.
Enjoy your weekly reads too 🙂
I think we all have those guilty comfort reads. For me, it’s all the Jane Austen variations. 🙂
True, true 😛 It was a very nice break from all the heavy stuff. It’s the kind of novel my mother would adore. I’m going to recommend it to her.
You are reading quite the variety! I hope you love them all.
Me too. I just saw your little pile and I wonder where you find so many different books I’ve never heard of 🙂 Have a great week of reading!
So many great reads! I love that!
I have The Year of the Flood on my Kindle…need to get to it! Cat’s Cradle is one I haven’t read in a long time…I’ll be watching for your reviews. Enjoy your reading.
Here’s MY MONDAY MEMES POST
I had a little look at ‘Year of the Flood’ and it it seems like Atwood again delivers the goods. Yes, finding time to get to them is the most challenging thing!
I’ve heard such good things about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I almost bought it at the book store the other day!
You should have! You won’t regret it.
Enjoy what you’re reading. The wackiest book I’m reading this week is Bagelmania. Please come see what else I’m reading.
That’s quite a list!
My monday post: http://booksinthesun.blogspot.com/2011/07/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-25-july.html
Wow, you have been super busy! And did you say you are writing too? Where do you find the time ~ LOL!!
I’m still kinda new to the Monday, What are you reading’ meme , but have added so many new books to my already too long list!! Too many books, so little time….
Have a great week!
Monday meme is a good one. I also think Teaser Tuesdays are well worth it too. It helps me focus on what I’ve achieved/ need to do. I hope you have a great reading week everybody!