Double Whammy
They say lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place. I beg to differ.
It is true that Barbara Kingsolver heads my list of favourite writers. I have deliberately not familiarised myself with her complete collection of work, preferring to happen upon something unknown to me from time to time. Last year I stumbled upon more of her books that I wasn't aware of.
I hesitated to buy 'Small Wonders' as it was a book of essays and I imagined it to be dry and above me, but decided to buy it anyway.
It turned out to be a delightful collection of thoughts, stories and observations, and toppled Prodigal Summer from it's previously secure perch of favourite book of favourite author.
Imagine my delight then when I recently discovered another such tomb, 'High Tide in Tucson'. I am desperately trying to limit myself to one chapter/essay a day. They are short, so it's very difficult not to rush on to the next one, but I want to digest and savour her thoughts and ideas until they sink in and take root. Like The Book Thief, I know I am going to finish it regretfully and wanting more.
It is however, giving me a chance to finish the two other books that I have on the go aswell.
It's my intention, time allowing, to post a little about each of the authors on the right there, give them their own little page, my favourite books by them and why I like them. Until then, I would highly recommend either of the BK books mentioned above, then you can find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.
Yes Man - Danny Wallace
I like Danny Wallace, I really enjoyed and got inspired by his book 'Join Me' and his telly show 'How To Start Your Own Country'. He makes me laugh alot. I thought about putting him over there on the right on that list of Favourite Authors but I have hesitated.
'Yes Man' is funny and it's typical Danny Wallace and maybe that's the reason for my hesitation. It's not really anything different or new, he's just capitalising on what he does best. Now I'm not saying that is a bad thing to do, but it's just a little ... disappointing.
Update: I've now finished the book and despite it being 'more of the same', there were lots of bits that were particularly delightful.
It has challenged my growing cynicism with life, the universe and everything, and left me determined to recapture a little more wonderment, excitement and positivity.
The Book Thief
I have, at least for the time being, abandoned The Golden Notebook, in favour of The Book Thief.
Written by Markus Zusak, The Book Thief is artistically crafted with a simplicity which makes it easy to read yet provokes some deep thoughts and feelings. This is the story of Liesel, aged nine who lives in Nazi Germany. A remarkable story of living inside enemy borders. It is an account of friendships forged in the fire of adversity, which transcend the circumstances that birth them.
I read quickly, sometimes devouring words like a half starved child. I approached The Book Thief in the same way, but found that as the days went by I slowed down. Firstly I started savouring the chapters, then I put the book aside for a night in order to enhance the anticipation as this was no ordinary book. It needed to be approached as I would a special meal out. Dressing myself mentally for the next instalment. Like memorable evenings, the nearer to the close I became, the more I wanted it to continue and it was with regret that I closed the cover on the last chapter. Knowing that the friendship, for now, was over.
Surely the mark of an extraordinary book.
On Reading
Yesterday, whilst in Borders in Leeds I happened upon a book. I don't know what I will make of the book though it has won the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007. It may turn out that the only thing I need from the book is contained in the forward by the author.
Here is something that I wholeheartedly agree with ... not just where literature is concerned, but the whole of life, although I do have a tendancy to forget it sometimes.
"... There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag - and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty - and vice-versa. Don't read a book out of its right time for you. Remember that for all the books we have in print, are as many that have never reached print, have never been written down - even now, in this age of compulsive reverence for the written word, history, even social ethic, are taught by means of stories, and the people who have been conditioned into thinking only in terms of what is written ... are missing what is before their eyes...
Everywhere, if you keep your mind open, you will find the truth in words not written down. So never let the printed page be your master... you should have been taught to read your way from one sympathy to another, you should be learning to follow your own intuitive feeling about what you need, that is what you should have been developing, not the way to quote from other people"
Doris Lessing wrote The Golden Notebook in 1962, a commentary of her time. Her quote above was made in 1971.
Recent Reads:
Eating Up Italy - Voyages on a Vespa by Matthew Fort - 4/5
The Mermaid and the Drunks - Ben Richards - 2/5
permalink="http://www.batspice.co.uk/permanent/link/to/Book History.html">