The Sunday Salon: Giving Up and this weeks reading.

I was just wondering what peoples views are on giving up books you are not enjoying. I was speaking to a friend earlier this week and he claimed that he has never started a book then not finished it, even if he really dislikes it! Personally I give books 50 pages - if I'm not interested by then I'm not willing to waste anymore time on it. I have about 300 books on my tbr pile so I would rather go off and tackle one of those than struggle with a book that fails to hold my attention. This week I gave up on 'I am Charlotte Simmons', the book seemed well written but I just didn't care what happened to her and the pretentious students she seemed to be surrounded by, certainly not bothered enough to read another 600 pages. Giving it up meant I had plenty of time to read the fantastic Paulo Coehlo novel, The Alchemist.

This week is half term, so as a teacher I get a blissful week with plenty of time to read (hopefully if the weather picks back up, I'll be reading in the garden).

I'm planning on finishing A Walk in the Woods, Bryson and Daughters of Fortune, Allende. I then will be reading The Plague, Camus and Sour Sweet, Mo and potentially starting Gravity's Rainbow.

The Classics Challenge: July - Dec 2008

Trish has set up The Classics Challenge - yet another challenge that I can't resist!

RULES (keep reading for the bonus):
OPTION 1: Read FIVE classics.
OPTION 2: Read FIVE classics from at least TWO different countries
OPTION 3: Read FIVE classics with any combination of at least TWO different countries and TWO different genres (see above for genres).
Cross-posting with other challenges is allowed (and encouraged!); Audiobooks are fine; books must be finished after July 1st to count for the challenge although re-reads are acceptable.
Lists don't have to be set in stone; you can change your selections at any time.
Have Fun. Oh ya...there will be a drawing for a prize or two. To be entered you must complete any one of the above options. You do NOT need a blog to participate.
Am I going to define what a classic is? Nope! There are lots of definitions offered on the Internet, but essentially we all have different opinions so don't stress too much--and see the bonus below.
BONUS!!
As you can see, I'm requiring FIVE classics for six months. For the sixth book, I would like the participants to offer suggestions for books that may not be considered classics but that you think should be or books that you think will be a classic one day. Leave your suggestions in the comments below. I'll compile a list of the suggestions and you choose a book from the list and make that your sixth read. I realize this means you may have to wait to make your list if you choose to participate in the bonus round, but I'm hoping this is a modern twist on the old classics challenge.
For example, I am going to suggest The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguro.

I'm going to be doing Option 2 as I feel that otherwise I will fall into inly reading English classics which I have read a lot of in my studies.

At the moment I'm not coming up with a definitive list just possibilites, I will definately be poking around others sites looking for inspiration.

So far I'm thinking:

Bleak House

Jude the Obscure

The Awakening

War and Peace

Les Miserable

Gone With the Wind

The Sound and The Fury

The Water Babies

And as for the bonus it could be any of these:

Gilead

Poisonwood Bible

American Gods

Cold Mountain

All the Pretty Horses.

The Books I have actually read:

Junky, Burroughs (Cult Classic)

Siddartha, Hesse

Breakfast at Tiffany's, Capote

Gone With the Wind, Mitchell

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Kids Classic)

Neverwhere, Gaiman (Fantasy Classic)

My Thoughts: The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

This is the second novel I have read by Paulo Coelho and I have loved them both, its a shame I didn't discoved his works earlier in life!

'The Alchemist' is a short novel about the journey of a young shepherd to follow his dream to discover treasure in the Eygptian desert. The novel covers his journey from Spain across Africa and the Sahara. As with The Devil and Miss Prym the novel includes lots of philisophical thoughts and arguments, a belief in the self and some great descriptions.

I particuarly loved the boy's spirit, and the way he was free to follow his dream.

For a different opinion see here.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

My Thoughts: A Kestrel for a Knave - Barry Hines

I've been reading this book with my Year 10 pupils as part of their exam preparation. I had never read the book, having only seen the film I managed to pick it as their essential read for a two year course! I really enjoyed it and thought it created a fantastic state of place so thought I'd review it on here in case anyone is interested. It also fits in with the Novella Challenge perfectly.

The novel is set in Nothern England in the 1960s. Set in a small working class town dominated by the coal mines, boys grow up pretty secure in the knowledge that they are heading for a working life spent in the mines just like their fathers and their fathers before that.

Billy, the novels main charcter is determined not to end up working in the mines. His life pretty much sucks! He lives in a single parent family (when those things were rare!), with a mother and brother too interested in drinking and gambling to pay attention to matters such as ensuring their is enough food in the cupboard, or that Billy is at home staying out of trouble. School isn't any better, the boy is bullied by both teachers and pupils, the classes just fill his day untill he is able to leave school and go start working life.

Billy's only escape from this is through training a kestrel, its the one thing in life that he is good at, the one thing he enjoys.

The descriptions in this novel create vivid pictures in your head of the various areas of Billy's life, from the cold bedroom, the council estate to the countryside surrounding the town.

Booking Through Thursday: Books vs Movies

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

For me what I want from both books and films relies completely on my mood at that time. Sometimes I'm looking for something quick, easy and grabbing - A Jodie Picoult novel or a cheesy or comedy film. Other times I want things which will make me think - like a book about another country or religion, or a film depicting a life very different from the one I lead. With books I'm often looking for stunning language and depictions of scenes and characters, I also enjoy this in film it isn't what draws me to a film.

I would say that with films I'm more likely to accept cheese, romance and comedy because films are quick and instantaneous, I don't mind spending a few hours on something like this. As reading takes longer I tend tend to see these lighter things as something that I use to read alongside some big and/or serious book, or as a break between serious books.

Another Challenge! Book Awards 2

3M is hosting this again, I signed up last year then had loads of problems getting internet access in my new place so I'm going to try again this time. The aim is to read 10 award winners over 10 months, the books must come from at least 5 different awards. This will run from August 1 2008 till June 1 2009.


I'm just coming up with a list of possibilites at the moment:
1. The Gathering by Anne Enright - Booker (2007)
2. The Sea by John Banville - Booker (2005)
3. The Famished Road by Ben Okri - Booker (1991)
4. Wild Swans - Chang - British Book Award (1994)
5. Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy - Commonwealth Writers' Prize (1994)
6. Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang -Commonwealth Writers' Prize (2001)
7. Richard Flanagan, Gould's Book of Fish - Commonwealth Writers' Prize (2002)
8. Andrea Levy, Small Island -Commonwealth Writers' Prize (2005) Costa (2004)
9. Charles Frazier Cold Mountain - National Book Award (1997)
10. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson - Pulitzer (2005)

Alternatives/Extras
1. Fugitive Pieces - Michaels - Orange (1997)
2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - World Fantasy Award (2006)
3. Alice Munro — Runaway -Giller Prize (2004)
4.Mal Peet, Tamar -Carnegie 2005
5. Mary Norton, The Borrowers - Carnegie 1952
6. Spell of Winter - Dunmore -Orange 1996
7. The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman - Pulitzer
8. Sunshine, Robin McKinley (Mythopoeic)
9. The Fair Folk, Marvin Kaye, World Fantasy
10. The Hours, Cunningham

My Thoughts: The Shadow of the North - Phillp Pullman

This is the second in a triology about a young woman, called Sally Lockheart, living in Victorian London. I read the first book a few months ago and really enjoyed it so I snapped up the chance to read the next one.

In this book Sally, a financial consultant discovers some dodgy dealings with an investment a client of her has made, she sets out on a voyage of discovery alongside her friends Fred and Jim, private investigators. Embezellment, fraud, photography, contacting the dead and bigamy fill the pages.

The story sounds very YA but actually has a fairly adult side to it as well. Its also well worth the read for the descriptions of Victorian London, the characters and the intricate plots that Pullman manages to create yet again.

If you have read this book feel free to comment or leave a link to your own review.

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