I'll start with the 'stuff' first. I'm still in a major reading slump, I'm barely finishing a book a week at the moment and keep gving up on books all over the place. Not sure why this is, but its not just affecting reading, also going to the gym, marking school books, crafting and studying have gone down hill.
Despite the slump I'm looking forward to the readathon next week, I'm going to pop to the library tomorrow and pick up my holds and a few grafic novels and picture books so my eyes get a break. As that weekend is the start of the autumn half term I'm going to attempt to stay up all night and cheerlead as well as read. I still haven't thought about what to read, I have tons of books out of the library, bookrings and other stuff I want to read laying around so will just have to see what I fancy on the day. Before then I have to finish Uglies by Scott Westerfeld as its due back to the library Saturday.
Have you ever had a big slump in concentration? How did you get through it?
City of Glass by Paul Auster.
This is the first Paul Auster I have ever read, and I shall certainly be reading some more in the near future. City of Glass is a novella of about 125 pages. The main character Daniel Quinn is a novellist who hides behind his writer's name not even meeting his publishers. One day he recieves a call from a mystery person looking for Paul Auster the detective. At first he passes this off as a wrong number, but when they call again he decides to pretend he is this detective.
Quinn sets off to meet his clients, finding a man in his twenties whose speech and mind are impaired as a result of his father locking him up and never speaking to him for a large portion of his childhood as a scientific experiment. The father is due to be released from prison and Quinn is hired to follow the father and report if he seems that he could become a threat to his son.
Quinn spends months followig this old eccentric man on his walks around New York and becomes more and more embedded in the case, distancing himself from his real life.
I'm off now to mark some coursework, make doughnut muffins to take into work tomorrow and attempt to get some crafting and reading done. Have a good Sunday.
Showing posts with label Sunday Salon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday Salon. Show all posts
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Sunday Salon: Today and a quick review
Today should be busy and I really should be getting on with lots of work at the moment, but its Sunday and I seem to be in a go-slow mood today.
I woke up and read my first Manga - Priests. I wasn't overly impressed but I'm going to try Manga Shakespeare next, hopefully I'll enjoy that more. Oh and I built a table - well a flat pack table!
I'm just about to pop off to the library to pick up my reservations then I should be filling out coursework forms for 50 pupils - this should be really stimulating, for each one I have to hand write in the title of their 4 or 5 essays that they are entering - I'm sure I could be doing something more worthwhile!
A Quick Review: Castle Waiting, Linda Medley
This is a big-ole graphic novel of 450 pages but a fairly quick and easy read. The fairy tale story is set is an old secluded castle where people retreat to in times of need. Through the novel we are told the stories of several of the lovable characters who come to live in the castle - like the bearded nuns, and a single mother.
The book has its funny moments and was an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. I thought it was an okay graphic novel, check out Eva's review she loved it.
Challenges:
The Graphic Novel Challenge
In case you missed anything I posted this week:
Orbis Terrarum - my picks for this years challenge
My thoughts on the excellent Fugitive Pieces
Library Loot
A Short Story Review: The Camel's Back
Two books others loved but I didn't, have you read them? What did you think?
I woke up and read my first Manga - Priests. I wasn't overly impressed but I'm going to try Manga Shakespeare next, hopefully I'll enjoy that more. Oh and I built a table - well a flat pack table!
I'm just about to pop off to the library to pick up my reservations then I should be filling out coursework forms for 50 pupils - this should be really stimulating, for each one I have to hand write in the title of their 4 or 5 essays that they are entering - I'm sure I could be doing something more worthwhile!
A Quick Review: Castle Waiting, Linda Medley
This is a big-ole graphic novel of 450 pages but a fairly quick and easy read. The fairy tale story is set is an old secluded castle where people retreat to in times of need. Through the novel we are told the stories of several of the lovable characters who come to live in the castle - like the bearded nuns, and a single mother.
The book has its funny moments and was an enjoyable way to pass a few hours. I thought it was an okay graphic novel, check out Eva's review she loved it.
Challenges:
The Graphic Novel Challenge
In case you missed anything I posted this week:
Orbis Terrarum - my picks for this years challenge
My thoughts on the excellent Fugitive Pieces
Library Loot
A Short Story Review: The Camel's Back
Two books others loved but I didn't, have you read them? What did you think?
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Sunday Salon: While I've Been Gone....
I'm finally back, I deleted the massive piles in my Google Reader as there was way too much to trudge through so I will get back to commenting soon. My computer problem turned out to be something that was fixed in 30 seconds!
Anyway this is going to be a post about the books I read whilst I wasn't blogging, I didn't get through as many as I had hoped as I seem to have been in a reading slump and had one week where I seemed to have eye strain constantly.
NORTHERN CLEMENCY - Phillip Hensher
This is one of the Booker Nominees of last year, it was a fantastic read so it gives me hope as I'm in a group reading last years short list.
This is a family saga spanning the 1970s till 2006. The ovel starts in Sheffield, a northern English town famous for its mines and the mining strikes of the 1980s.
The beginning of the novel is a shocking introduction to the street that the novel is primarily focused on, the new neighbours move in witnessing on their first day a mother stamping on her sons snake and also revealing all her marital problems.
The novel then travels through the families ups and downs, success, illness, hatred and love.
This took a while to read because of the hefty size and weight but was well worth it in the end.
CHALLENGES:
A-Z (Title)
999 (New Fiction)
The Complete Booker
The Chunkster Challenge (738 pgs)
Birthday Stories [ed] Haruki Murakami
The is a amazing collection of short stories from around the globe, Murakami set out to fine stories which all featured birthdays. There was only one story in the whole collection I didn't enjoy. Definately a must read.
CHALLENGE:
999 [Short Story Collections]
A-Z (Title)
100 Shots of Short
So Many Ways to Begin, Jon McGregor
I read McGregor's 'Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things' last year and jumped at the chance to grab this copy at my last bookcrossing meeting.
This novel is about the lives of David and Eleanor, childhood sweethearts from two different parts of the UK. The ovel explores the way that love has to cope with all the incidents in peoples lives, the painful memories from the past and the small, incidental happenings which can spiral into something much larger. As with Nobody Speaks... the language and the sense of atmosphere is lovely, warming and gripping. An author who deserves to be discovered by many more people.
Challenges
A-Z (Author)
Themed Reading Challege (Move 'em Along)
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Brecdel
I spotted this in the library, a graphic novel-cum-memoir (two challenges in one!).
Alison's father can be abusive, he struggles to restore their home to Victorian perfection, and he is a closet homosexual (a fact she doesn't learn to she comes out herself). Her mother reveals her fathers secret affairs, including those with young boys and the babysitters. From this revelation Alison looks back at her childhood and her own developing sexuality, along with her relationship with her father before his death/suicide.
Challenges:
The Graphic Novel Challenge
In Their Shoes
A-Z (Title)
I also read The Master of Margarita graphic novel, which I'm still not sure of. I think I need to have read the novel before I pass judgement.
Family Matters, Mistry
I won this fantastic novel from Bethany from B&B Ex Libris as part of the OT challenge last year, for anyone taking this challenge this year you should certainly stick this on your reading list if you haven't already read it.
The Chenoy family are living on the brink of poverty in a tine two roomed flat. Their jealous siblings, envy them their freedom. These siblings live in an 8 roomed apartment with plenty to eat, but with the burden of looking after their elderly step-father. When he breaks his leg and becomes bedbound he is simply dumped on his youngest daughters doorstep. Despite a lack of food and space she cares for his every need and his developing Parkinsons Disease. Her family struggle with the problems the grandfather brings with him but learn a lot in the process.
Challenge:
999 TBR
Anyway this is going to be a post about the books I read whilst I wasn't blogging, I didn't get through as many as I had hoped as I seem to have been in a reading slump and had one week where I seemed to have eye strain constantly.
NORTHERN CLEMENCY - Phillip Hensher
This is one of the Booker Nominees of last year, it was a fantastic read so it gives me hope as I'm in a group reading last years short list.
This is a family saga spanning the 1970s till 2006. The ovel starts in Sheffield, a northern English town famous for its mines and the mining strikes of the 1980s.
The beginning of the novel is a shocking introduction to the street that the novel is primarily focused on, the new neighbours move in witnessing on their first day a mother stamping on her sons snake and also revealing all her marital problems.
The novel then travels through the families ups and downs, success, illness, hatred and love.
This took a while to read because of the hefty size and weight but was well worth it in the end.
CHALLENGES:
A-Z (Title)
999 (New Fiction)
The Complete Booker
The Chunkster Challenge (738 pgs)
Birthday Stories [ed] Haruki Murakami
The is a amazing collection of short stories from around the globe, Murakami set out to fine stories which all featured birthdays. There was only one story in the whole collection I didn't enjoy. Definately a must read.
CHALLENGE:
999 [Short Story Collections]
A-Z (Title)
100 Shots of Short
So Many Ways to Begin, Jon McGregor
I read McGregor's 'Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things' last year and jumped at the chance to grab this copy at my last bookcrossing meeting.
This novel is about the lives of David and Eleanor, childhood sweethearts from two different parts of the UK. The ovel explores the way that love has to cope with all the incidents in peoples lives, the painful memories from the past and the small, incidental happenings which can spiral into something much larger. As with Nobody Speaks... the language and the sense of atmosphere is lovely, warming and gripping. An author who deserves to be discovered by many more people.
Challenges
A-Z (Author)
Themed Reading Challege (Move 'em Along)
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Brecdel
I spotted this in the library, a graphic novel-cum-memoir (two challenges in one!).
Alison's father can be abusive, he struggles to restore their home to Victorian perfection, and he is a closet homosexual (a fact she doesn't learn to she comes out herself). Her mother reveals her fathers secret affairs, including those with young boys and the babysitters. From this revelation Alison looks back at her childhood and her own developing sexuality, along with her relationship with her father before his death/suicide.
Challenges:
The Graphic Novel Challenge
In Their Shoes
A-Z (Title)
I also read The Master of Margarita graphic novel, which I'm still not sure of. I think I need to have read the novel before I pass judgement.
Family Matters, Mistry
I won this fantastic novel from Bethany from B&B Ex Libris as part of the OT challenge last year, for anyone taking this challenge this year you should certainly stick this on your reading list if you haven't already read it.
The Chenoy family are living on the brink of poverty in a tine two roomed flat. Their jealous siblings, envy them their freedom. These siblings live in an 8 roomed apartment with plenty to eat, but with the burden of looking after their elderly step-father. When he breaks his leg and becomes bedbound he is simply dumped on his youngest daughters doorstep. Despite a lack of food and space she cares for his every need and his developing Parkinsons Disease. Her family struggle with the problems the grandfather brings with him but learn a lot in the process.
Challenge:
999 TBR
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Sunday Salon
I was thinking I wouldn't get much reading done in the last week, but actually managed to finish two books and read another. I have my last week of school coming up, and then from Friday I am free (after the dreaded Christmas works do!). I'm probably only going to read one book during the week, but then I will be reading lots more over the holidays, around exam marking, lesson preping and studying, oh and spending time at home for Christmas.
Just a quick note to say you should check out this story - The Parade of You, by Barth Anderson, it's a very perculiar story about a death ritual but beautifully written.
Just a quick note to say you should check out this story - The Parade of You, by Barth Anderson, it's a very perculiar story about a death ritual but beautifully written.
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