The Year in Books: June
My book for June is The Story: Love, loss and the lives of women: 100 great short stories edited by Victoria Hislop. June is going to be a bit of a manic month (moving flats, finishing off the corrections for my PhD and working at a local high school during the exam season) so I'm not sure I'll have the time or concentration to read a whole book - short stories sound much more manageable! My mum gave me this anthology for Christmas, and I haven't yet started it, so now seems as good a time as any!
The House of Dolls by David Hewson I reviewed here, it was engaging but no more crime fiction for me for a while. The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 I reviewed here, it was a good read from a new-to-me author.
Back in February I read The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. I was confused as to how I felt about it, I enjoyed reading it when I was reading it, but it took me ages to read as I never seemed to want to pick it up and read it some more. Lots of people have said to me that Iris Murdoch is one of their favourite authors and I should persevere with her books, so this month I read The Bell. Well. The same thing happened again! I enjoyed reading it, but it took me ages to get through; I admit I did skip a good number of pages as I just wanted to get to the end and some sections just seemed to drag. I can't even really say what the book is about. I think I can see why other people love her books, but I'm going to say that she is not for me.
My book for May was Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, which I had received as part of a book swap. It's YA fiction, something I do enjoy occasionally, but this book just didn't engage me. It's about two siblings, aged 16 and 17, who fall in love with each other. I quite enjoyed some of the plot, although I found it a tad annoying in places, but the final third of the book was just odd and I found it all highly improbable. I'm glad I read it, as it was something different from what I'd choose usually, but I think I'm going to remember it solely because it made me feel uncomfortable, and I don't think that's a good thing.
So that was May - another varied month! A few more books read from my bookcase and then given to charity, so fewer things to pack, win-win for everyone!
I probably should get back to the packing...or work...or corrections...keep going!
Joining in with Laura.
The House of Dolls by David Hewson I reviewed here, it was engaging but no more crime fiction for me for a while. The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 I reviewed here, it was a good read from a new-to-me author.
Back in February I read The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. I was confused as to how I felt about it, I enjoyed reading it when I was reading it, but it took me ages to read as I never seemed to want to pick it up and read it some more. Lots of people have said to me that Iris Murdoch is one of their favourite authors and I should persevere with her books, so this month I read The Bell. Well. The same thing happened again! I enjoyed reading it, but it took me ages to get through; I admit I did skip a good number of pages as I just wanted to get to the end and some sections just seemed to drag. I can't even really say what the book is about. I think I can see why other people love her books, but I'm going to say that she is not for me.
So that was May - another varied month! A few more books read from my bookcase and then given to charity, so fewer things to pack, win-win for everyone!
I probably should get back to the packing...or work...or corrections...keep going!
Joining in with Laura.
What a mixture! :)
ReplyDeleteNothing like a bit of variety!
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