TSS: Blog reading

It’s Sunday once again. This week has been crazy for me. I’ve attended several college open evenings and I’ve also been doing work experience at one of my local libraries (I still have another week to go). It’s been an eye-opening experience that’s probably deserving of a longer post someday when I get round to it.

To be honest, there’s rather a lot of things that are deserving of posts that I just haven’t written about…I think a concentrated effort to my act together is in order?

In fact, I’ve already started on that by rearranging my book blog subscriptions. I subscribe to more book blogs than all other blogs combined (and that’s quite a few!) so keeping on top of them is a nightmare. I know I’m guilty of feeling that I’ll never be able to read every entry and therefore not bothering, but I also know that I need to read book blogs because otherwise, I’d never have anything to read!

The solution I’m trying out is to have one folder for my favourite book blogs, which I plan to read every day. All the others have been divided into folders for each day of the week. There’s currently a large backlog, but hopefully, I should be able to work through it and also keep on top of new posts.

What about you? Do you have a strategy for dealing with book blog buildup?

TSS on Monday

Okay, so I really should’ve got myself organised and done this yesterday when I meant to, but I didn’t. I’ve been away (a week on a narrowboat on the Leeds-Liverpool canal) so it’s time for a holiday reading wrap-up.

I read 7 books while we were away, which sounds like a lot, but you get a lot of time to read when you’re not doing locks! Here they are:

• Morvern Callar by Alan Warner
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint
• The Rotters’ Club by Jonathan Coe
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg
• Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh
• Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler
• Anonymous Lawyer by Jeremy Blanchman

I also read about half of The Chelsea Girl Murders by Sparkle Hayter but gave up on it.

In Skipton, we visited a bargain bookshop (much recommended – take a look if you’re ever there, it’s right on the high street) and I picked up a couple:

• Anonymous Lawyer, as I said – a book made up of the blog and emails of a fictitious hiring partner at a major law firm
• American Gangster by Mark Jacobson
• The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
• Nice Girls Finish Last by Sparkle Hayter – another Robin Hudson mystery. I bought this before I started The Chelsea Girl Murders, and I’m getting rid of it unread, but it was only 99p so I can’t feel too bad about it.
• The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner – I enjoyed The Survivors’ Club, so hopefully this should be another good mystery/thriller.
• True Crime by Jake Annott

For once, I remembered to write down some notes about the books after I read them, so I’ll be posting some reviews soon.

The Sunday Salon

It’s been a funny week for reading. I’ve started 3 new books this week (and can’t remember what else I’ve been reading) and haven’t really gotten very far into any of them. Here they are:

You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers is absolutely excellent so far. In a nutshell, it’s the story of two men who travel – or try to – around the world giving away – or trying to – a huge sum of money. I read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and loved it for the amazing writing style, and this is just as good if not even better. I haven’t got particularly far into it, though, because I decided to stop reading it last thing at night because it kept me up for hours thinking of all the places I’d like to travel to. A silly reason, but it’s true.

My edition of The Bonfire of the Vanitites by Tom Wolfe has a much less interesting cover. I’ve really read only the first four or five pages, and mean to read more but last night I was seized with a desire to pick up a mystery, so chose Booked to Die. I’ve not read much of this one either, but it looks like it’s going to be one I’ll really, really enjoy. Tomorrow is a bank holiday, and while I have a very long list of things I should be doing, I’m pretty sure I’ll manage to find some time for reading, and I’ll be continuing with these three.

The Sunday Salon

This has been a pretty good week for reading. I’m still on holiday, so I’ve had plenty of time, and I’ve used it to finish (finally) Plus Ca Change by Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow and also to make some good progress with The Red and the Black, so hopefully I might even be able to finish that soon too. It’s taken me over a year to plough through it, and I’m not going to give up now!

I spent the afternoon reading Lolita outside on the bench in the sun, which was very pleasant. Initial thoughts are that the writing style is very unusual – it took me a while to get the hang of it, and I’m still not sure I’ve completely got it – and that it’s thoroughly bizarre reading a book that looks like it’s written in Chinese (I’m reading from a Chinese edition with the book itself in English but pretty much everything else in Chinese).

I’m also keeping up the bookmooching. This week, I’ve received Second Burial by Andrew Nugent (I haven’t actually read the preceding book, The Four Courts Murder, but my father took it from my bookshelf in the mistaken belief that it was one I’d recommended to him and asked me if it would be possible to Nugent’s other book) and Booked to Die by John Dunning. I’ve also mooched A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, which I wanted a copy of, and Catch Me If You Can, which was made into one of my favourite films.

Here’s to another week of reading!

The Sunday Salon

What I’ve been reading this week:

• The Prize by Irving Wallace. Still continuing with this; I’m enjoying it, but I seem to have reached rather a dull section. I’m more than halfway through, now, so it shouldn’t be that long until I get to the end. I’m really looking forward to reading about the research he did for it.
• Waiter Rant by A. Waiter. I read this book in its entirety, and while it was somewhat different from what I expected, I did enjoy it. The author is now working on a book about tipping, which I’ll definitely get when it’s finished.
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I’ve read this before, about two years ago, and pretty much haven’t seen it since: I loved it and lent it to a friend so she could enjoy it too, but then she passed it on to another friend, and another, and now two years later I’ve finally got my copy back! It’s a bit different to how I remember, but I’m not that far in yet; I’m looking forward to rereading the rest of it.

Time spent reading this week: probably more than usual, given that I read all of Waiter Rant, but it still doesn’t feel like much time at all.

What I’ve been blogging about this week:

• I reviewed Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton
• I got some new books from the library
• I received some nice shiny awards
• I reviewed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

What I’m planning on reading: I’ll probably start The Gum Thief, which is one of my library books, and I’ll also continue with The Prize. I have exams this week, so I can’t expect a lot of reading time, unfortunately, but I do want to try and make time for my books and waste less time on the internet!

The Sunday Salon

What I’ve been reading this week:

• The Red and the Black by Stendhal. I have been reading this book ever since about March last year, and i’ve finally made a determined effort to get through the rest of it. I’m now over halfway through (believe me, I’m surprised) and rather pleased to find that I’m actually enjoying reading it. The first part of the book is like reading gossip about people you don’t know in another time period. Sound interesting? I thought not. However, I ploughed on (at roughly monthly intervals) to see if it got any better, mostly because it looked like it would from the blurb. Also, the main character, Julien, is incredibly interesting and I’d like to know more about him. Things have picked up a bit now, so hopefully I’ll get this book finished soon!

• The Prize by Irving Wallace. I’m surprised to say I’ve been enjoying this, too. I chose this book because I bought another of his books, The Writing of One Novel, in Hay-on-Wye. The Writing of One Novel is about his experiences writing The Prize, so I figured I’d best read The Prize first to see what it’s about. It’s easier to read than I thought it would be, and even though it’s not really my kind of book, I’m enjoying it. I don’t know that I’ll go straight on to The Writing of One Novel after this (The Prize is almost 800 pages long, which should be enough Irving Wallace for a while!), but I certainly will read it as it would be interesting to hear about the ‘behind the scenes’ processes.

Time spent reading this week: More than I would in a regular week, but not as much as I normally do in the holidays, as I’ve been busy revising for exams and getting things completed for going back to school tomorrow.

What I’ve been blogging this week:

• Book review: Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre

Yeah, that’s it. Ah well; hopefully I’ll be able to post a little more this week. I do know that I neglect my posting, and that’s something that I really need to stop doing.

What I’m planning on reading this week: Probably more of the same. I don’t see myself finishing either of the books I’m reading this week, so I guess I’ll just continue. I also started watching the film Chocolat this afternoon, which should be interesting to finish as I enjoyed the book but found it a bit hard going. Also, I’ve ordered Waiter Rant, so I might start that as a bit of light relief if it arrives.

The Sunday Salon (for the first time ever!)

So, for the first time ever, I’m participating in The Sunday Salon. Here goes!

What I’ve been reading this week:

• Silks by Dick Francis. I’m a huge Francis fan and was very pleased when he announced he was going to start writing again. Under Orders, his last offering, was mediocre, but Silks was a true return to form. Look out for my review of it soon!
• Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller. This has been on my TBR stack for a while, despite my mother having told me that it wasn’t much good. Unfortunately, my mother was right: I didn’t really see what all the fuss was about. Look out for a review of this one too. I’m not sure if I’ll bother watching the film – I’ll give it a go if it comes round on TV, but I doubt I’ll go to the bother of renting it.
• Waiting for the Galactic Bus by Parke Godwin. I can’t remember how long ago it was that my father gave me this and told me I’d enjoy it, but it’s certainly been a long time. I read the first couple of pages once, but no more. Recently, I’ve been sorting out my TBR pile, and so I thought I’d give it one more shot and then either finish it or dump it. I read roughly the first 100 pages this afternoon, and while it’s a little hard-to-follow in places, it’s quite enjoyable. Keep an eye out for my review of it when I finish it.

Time spent reading this week: more than usual, I suppose. I started Silks last Sunday and finished it on Thursday afternoon, and I read the whole of Notes on a Scandal between Friday night and Saturday morning.

What I’ve been blogging this week:

• A post about voluntary proofreading and what you can do to help. Today, I heard about reCAPTCHA, a captcha system (you know, those irritating things you have to type in to prove you’re human) that follows the same idea, only one word at a time. Cool!
• A review of Panic by Jeff Abott, a thriller/chase novel I read a little while ago.
• I’ve also written about winter again, over at notinparis.

I’ve been neglecting my blogging lately, so this week, I’m aiming to get back on the ball. As for reading, I’d like to finish Waiting for the Galactic Bus and hopefully start The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, which I’ve been looking forward to for a long while. My local library’s catalogue should be back up sometime this month, so if they finally do, I’ll be able to run through the huge list of books I’ve been wanting to get. Still, I’m not holding out much hope for it!