Shortlist for the Booker Prize

The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize was announced last week and, once again, I feel like the more I read the more I haven't read anything at all. I am only familiar with one of the six titles, and haven't read any. (Had anyone read Wolf Hall before it was announced the winner last year?)

Parrot and Oliver in America - Peter Carey

Room - Emma Donoghue

In A Strange Room - Damon Galgut

The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson

The Long Song - Andrea Levy

C - Tom McCarthy

One of the judges for the Booker Prize, Andrew Motion, wrote an interesting piece in The Guardian that details the difficulties of choosing titles for the shortlist, let alone the winner. He also touched on a point that I feel is sometimes overlooked by readers: "Too many publishers publish too much. Not nearly enough novels get the editing they need. Some novels are so clearly manifestations of distress, they might be better described as "a frieze of misery" (in Larkin's phrase) than a work of fiction. But for all this, the second-rate books all felt worth reading (as a way of range-finding) and also valuable (as a way of fertilising the ground for those other and better books that rise above them)."

I look forward to hearing who will win October 12th.

Check out the list of past winners here.

Happy Birthday, to Me!

Today has consisted of book buying, opening presents, apple picking, and gorging myself with food. 

That Mad Ache (La Chamade) by Françoise Sagan

This is my second Sagan (after Bonjour Tristesse) and once again, she did not disappoint. In That Mad Ache we are introduced to Lucile, a young woman who finds herself torn between two lives; one that involves an older man, Charles who offers her the world - but who she does not love, and another younger man, Antoine, whom she is crazy about but must sacrifice her posh lifestyle to be with.

Set in Paris in the 1960's, Lucile isn't a one-dimensional as she may seem, although she does exude characteristics of Scarlette O'Hara and Catherine with her detest for responsibility and refusal to grow up completely. She is only interested in the present, neither dwelling on the past nor planning for the future.

Was there anything left in this world that could still imbue childhood with some charm, after all the sad wailing of novelists, the obscure theorizings of psychoanalysts, and the fatuous outpourings of random souls encouraged to vent themselves on the theme, "When I was a child"? Only the nostalgia for those days of utter, absolute irresponsibility, now long gone. But for her (and this should would never have admitted to anyone), those days weren't gone at all. She still felt totally irresponsible.

Of course leading this kind of life never goes unpunished, and Lucille finds herself having to chose between an easy life or that which she loves most. The story is altogether heartbreaking and hopeful, written in a didactic tone, and explores the conflict of passion and understanding. It is less a love story than it is a novel that examines the choices we make and their greater ramifications.

But now she had a day and a half to make up her mind - and "prendre une decision" was among the most terrifying phrases in the entire French language to her.

If you are looking for an interesting, straightforward read, I'd recommend That Mad Ache. However if you haven't read Sagan yet, I would suggest you start with Bonjour Tristesse. To learn more about Sagan herself, check out my earlier post Françoise Sagan, My New Favorite.

Publisher: Basic Books, 2009 (English edition)

Ebooks: The New Homewreakers

"By the end of this year, 10.3 million people are expected to own e-readers in the United States, buying about 100 million e-books, the market research company Forrester predicts. This is up from 3.7 million e-readers and 30 million e-books sold last year. The trend is wreaking havoc inside the publishing industry, but inside homes, the plot takes a personal twist as couples find themselves torn over the “right way” to read. At bedtime, a couple might sit side-by-side, one turning pages by lamplight and the other reading Caecilia font in E Ink on a Kindle or backlighted by the illuminated LCD screen of an iPad, each quietly judgmental."

-Via The New York Times "Of Two Minds About Books"

Goodbye Summer Reading

It's time to replace sunshine with warm blankets. 

R.I.P V Challenge

I'm really excited about this challenge! Mostly because Fall is my favorite season - hands down - and Halloween is in the top 3 of my favorite holidays. Anyhow, this is the 5th annual R.I.P. Challenge (Reader's Imbibing Peril) and is hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. "It is time to celebrate things that go bump in the night; that favorite detective that always gets his man, or woman, in the end; that delicious chill of a creak on the stairs, of the rogue waiting in the dark, of the full moon and the flit of bats wings." Yes, yes it is!

I will be participating in Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fits my very broad definition of scary. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Fleming or Edgar Allan Poe…or anyone in between.

Tentative titles:

Treasure Island - Robert Lewis Stevenson

The Book of Illusions - Paul Auster

In the Woods - Tana French

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Turning of the Screw - Henry James

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach

Something by Agatha Christie (gasp - I've never read her)

Shared Laughter

Reading now: La Chamade (That Mad Ache) by Françoise Sagan

Enough cannot be said of the benefits, the dangers, and the power of shared laughter. It is no less central to love than are affection, desire, and despair. 

Earlier this summer I read Bonjour Tristesse and feel in love with Sagan. La Chamade is shaping up to be right on par with her earlier work. 

2010 Summer Reading Challenge - Complete

I started this back in June and am finished! Hosted by Coconut Library (now Unputdownables ) this challenge just asked it's participants to read 3,000 pages in three months. I liked this challenge because my reading tends to slow down in the summer and this helped keep me motivated.

What: A challenge to get you reading all through the season.

Why: So that you will have motivation to keep those pages turning!

When: 12 a.m., June 1st - 11:59 p.m., August 31st

Where: On your couch, at the beach, on a plane or a train... anywhere you can read. Check back here to let us know your progress. We can keep each other motivated by doing it together!

How: This season your goal is to finish 3,000 pages in the course of three months.

So, here is what I read, June 1st - August 31st:

Wurthering Heights: 400 pages

Memories of My Meloncholy Whores: 128 pages

The Angel's Game: 544 pages Rabbit, Run : 274 pages

Water for Elephants: 335 pages

Glamorama: 546 pages

Bonjour Tristesse: 130 pages

Driving With Dead People: A Memoir: 323

Washington Square: 264

The Woman Warrior: 209
Oryx and Crake: 389
Zeitoun: 325

Total: 3,867 pages. Yay!