what am i reading? of blogs and books
A while ago I wrote about looking for book review blogs- I love reading blogs, I love reading books, and a blog that helps me find new books has got to be a good thing. I've done a bit of wandering in the blogosphere, which has been good, and I has been reflected in my last trip to the library. Here's what I borrowed:
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. I found this here, and was immediately intrigued. Tove Jansson! Writer of Moomintroll! Writing something completely different! It took me a couple of library visits to find it, but I was not disappointed. What a beautiful book. Set on a Finnish island it tells the story of Grandmother and Sophia with a style that is in fact similar to the Moomintroll books, but without the outlandish adventures and therefore allowing the characters more room to shine.
Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson. Having been reminded of Tove Jansson I couldn't resist borrowing a Moomin book, especially as I'm not sure I've read this one before. When you start dreaming about reading a book I feel that means you should read it!
The Changeover by Margeret Mahy. This one kept popping up all over the place. It's described as 'a supernatural romance', which I would usually find off-putting, but it's by Margeret Mahy, who I love (I read 'The Door in the Air' so many times as a kid, if you haven't read it I recommend it highly) and so many people loved it I had to give it a go. Again, I wasn't disappointed, very much enjoyed it.
Those are all books by authors I've previously loved. I did buy 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie' by Alan Bradley (which I thought I saw on this blog, but can't find now, but I swear it was on some blog somewhere). Really enjoyed that.
Next up: I've found that 'Demons' Lexicon' by Sarah Rees Brennan (written about here among other places, though I haven't read that link yet since I'm avoiding spoilers) is in the USYD library, so I'm going to see how that goes. Other books I'm thinking about reading include:
Something by Sarah Waters- maybe Fingersmith to start?
'The City and the City'- China Mieville
'The Knife of Never Letting Go'- Patrick Ness
'Howard's End is on the Landing'- Susan Hill
'The Winter Book'- Tove Jansson
'At Home: A Short History of Private Life'- Bill Bryson
'At Home: A Short History of Private Life'- Bill Bryson
Oh ... I just finished the city and the city ... really liked it. I enjoyed Looking for Jake as well ... (Its sooo nice to have a great library nearby).
ReplyDeleteI have had no luck with finding 'The City and the City' in libraries. :(
ReplyDeleteHadn't heard of 'Looking for Jake'- sounds intriguing!
I read a copy of The City and the City that I borrowed from one of the City of Sydney libraries, so hopefully you'll be able to track on down there.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're trying The Demon's Lexicon. I love it so much, and Sarah Rees Brennan is one of my favourite bloggers and human beings. (I also met her at a book launch, and she was really nice.)
I, too, read The Changeover on the recommendation of Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestier. (The only Mahy I'd read, like you, was The Door in the Air, which I read repeatedly as a child.) It's a wonderful book. Don't be put off by the 'supernatural romance' tag. It's actually about growing up, and how scary that is. And it's set in New Zealand! How cool is that?
Yeah- I really liked 'The Changeover'! I love Margeret Mahy and its nice to see a New Zealand author get so much recognition around the world. I wasn't sure if people outside of Australia/NZ would have heard of her. I love that she is so versatile, she can be magical, silly and real... Her books really vary in tone.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit it took me a while to get into 'The Demon's Lexicon'... But I was definitely into it by the end, and just sad that the library doesn't have book 2.