Welcome to Question Two of our Readalong of Aristotle to Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti.
Q Do you prefer comedy or tragedy?
A What a great question. It depends on my mood a little and what I fancy reading at the time. Overall, I would say I prefer comedy. I like a novel that is full of hope and has a nice satisfying ending.
On the other hand I have read some really excellent tragedies. I recently read Silent Riders of the Sea by John Gerard Fagan. This is a good example of a tragedy which was excellent to read but was bleak and brutal.
Have you been reading spooky books this month? I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to horror but I have squeezed in a couple of spooky titles.
It's been a good month for reading, and there has been a mixture of book reviews, spotlights, excerpts and cover reveals. I'm also changing the format of my monthly roundup. What do you think?
Books I Have Read This Month
The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer
This was my favourite read this month and I highly recommend it. You can read my review by clicking here.
This is the second book this month that I read by this author. He is a firm favourite now and I'm looking forward to reading more. You can read my review by clicking here.
This graphic novel tells the story of Biddy Early, a well known witch in the west of Ireland who was born in County Clare in 1798. I enjoyed this very much and was a five star read for me.You can read my review by clicking here.
This book made for interesting reading and I think that it will provide middle grade/early teenage readers with much food for thought from reading this novel. You can read my review by clicking here.
Well, here we are at the end of August already! At this point in the year, I am hit by realisation that Autumn is not far away. There have been reports in the news recently that the trees think it is autumn already due to the unusually high temperatures that we have seen.
However, as I sit here writing this post, I can see only lush green leaves on the trees visible from my window, and I shall enjoy it while it lasts.
It has been a busy month, and I have not reviewed all of the books that I have read as the days and weeks have just whizzed speedily by. Still, I have read some good books and there have been some interesting and exciting features on the blog.
I was thrilled to interview Lorenzo DeStefano, author of the outstanding novel, House Boy. You can read the interview here, and my review of the novel here.
Carolyn Clarke told us about her Desert Island Books and you can read her interesting post here.. Carolyn is the author of the brilliant, And Then There's Margaret. You can read my review by clicking here.
There has also been a cover love posting featuring, The House Beneath the Cliffs by Sharon Gosling which you can read by clicking here.
In addition, my top ten new releases for September can be accessed here, and a library loans post here.
Have you had a good reading month?
Books I Have Read
The Keepsake by Julie Brooks - I have recently taken part in the book tour for her previous book, The Secrets of Bridgewater Bay, which I preferred to this more recent book. If you would like to read my review you can do so by clicking here.
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie - This was so almost my book of the month but the ending let it down.
Dark Music by David Lagercrantz - Translated from Swedish this is the first in a planned series. It was okay but I am not planning on reading the next one.
After Silence by Jessica Gregson - This wonderful book was my favourite this month. You can find my review by clicking here.
Nightshade by E.S. Thomson - This is number five in the Jem Flockhart series of books.
Pamela by Samuel Richardson - I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had read it in a physical form rather than on my kindle.
Before the Dawn by Emma Pass - I have not previously read anything by this author and I enjoyed reading this.
Shadow by Michael Morpurgo - This is an amazing story, written for children but to be enjoyed by all. You can find my review here.
Books I Didn't Finish
Four Riddles for Jane Austen by Gabrielle Mullarkey - The only reason I didn't finish this is that I had too many other reading deadlines to meet. What I did read I was enjoying and I will be going back to it at some point.
For those of you who are not familiar with Anne's work, she is the author ofSugar and Snails, Underneath and Matilda Windsor is Coming Home. You can read my reviews of two of these titles by clicking on the title links.
She is also the author of a book of prize winning short stories, Becoming Someone.
Do hop over to her website where sheis kindly offering a free e-copy of her other collection of short stories, Somebody's Daughter, to anyone who subscribes to her website Annethology
So, Anne, how do you think you would get on if you were stranded on a desert island?
I doubt I’d thrive on a desert island. Although I made a double bed years ago in woodwork class, I’m not very practical. I’d struggle to build a shelter and catch my own food. Plus, although content with my own company, solitary confinement could tip me over the edge. These eight books might prevent me going mad.
Just William by Richmal Crompton
As a child, I loved the Just William books, although I was never as adventurous as the eponymous hero, who would probably have looked down on me as I wasn’t middle-class and I wasn’t a boy. Richmal Crompton’s series is far superior to the other classics of my 60's childhood – such as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five – because, through the humour, we can both identify with William and see the error of his ways.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
With time to kill on my desert island, I’m sure I’d enjoy George Eliot’s Middlemarch much more than when I studied it for English A-level. I reckon I’m finally old enough to get the humour, the pathos and the politics, and to appreciate the patience of Mrs Blair, who had to teach it to a bunch of uncultured teens.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Another classic I’d like to take with me, which I read unprompted in my slightly younger teens, is Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. I want this less for the story of the orphaned girl who won’t to be beaten than for reminders of the Peak District, where I lead a guided walk around the settings believed to have inspired the novel. (Yup, that’s Derbyshire, not Yorkshire, the better-known Brontë territory!)
Third-Class Ticket by Heather Wood
I travelled a lot in my 20's, 30's and 40's; although my feet have now stopped itching, trapped on that island, I might get nostalgic for those times. I’ve chosen a non-fiction book, Third-Class Ticket by Heather Wood, as a reminder of the five months I spent on the Indian subcontinent, staying in rural villages as well as seeing the famous sites. This is a moving account of a journey made in 1969 by forty Bengalis who, being poor and uneducated, never expected to leave their village, and the Western woman who had the privilege of accompanying them for 15,000 kilometres over seven months.
The Examined LIfe by Stephen Grosz
My travels punctuated my career as a clinical psychologist in mental health services in the NHS. The book I’ve selected as a memento of that part of my life was actually published shortly after I had taken early retirement: The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz is a collection of psychoanalytic case studies that read like short stories. There’s so much wisdom in these pieces, I could reread them a thousand times and never get bored.
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
One novel that almost as illuminating and compassionate about how we humans delude ourselves is Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. At the heart of the novel is a premise familiar from schmaltzy movies: Enid Lambert wants her three adult children to spend one last Christmas in the family home. Yet the reader soon gathers that Enid wants the impossible: the family she and her husband, Alfred, have fashioned is beyond repair. It’s the perfect antidote to loneliness in solitude: feeling lonely among our nearest and dearest is far worse.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Another novel I find particularly psychologically astute is Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, about a woman whose teenage son commits a terrible crime. To what extent is Eva culpable in how she’s raised him? How much are the family dynamics shaped by trans-generational trauma? One of the strengths of this novel is how, although (we think) we know the ending from the beginning, the tension is electric.
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
I wasn’t sure if I should ask for a bumper notebook for my final choice for all the masterpieces I’m bound to write on my island retreat. If that’s not allowed, or it’s already there, I’ll have another doorstopper novel: Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son. After nearly 600 pages in the Democratic Republic of North Korea, I’ll be grateful to be marooned far from cruel dictatorships or any human society at all. A love story, a thriller, a dystopian political satire, a heart-warming tale of the endurance of the human spirit or a trauma narrative; for me, it’s about the wasteland of a world where the individual is divorced from his/her own story and fiction is an instrument of control.
What a fantastic selection of books, and I would definitely take some of those along if I were stranded. Thank you Anne for sharing your choices and for being the first author to launch this series of blog posts.
If you are an author and would be interested in taking part then please let me know.
August has been a very special but extremely busy month for me. There's been a special family birthday celebration, as well as a wedding. Both were super occasions and I enjoyed every minute. The wedding was book themed and the above photo is one of the decorations that were dotted around the reception venue. Isn't it lovely?
I have read some excellent books this month and without further ado, here they are.
Books I Have Read in August
Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear - I love the Maisie Dobbs series and this is number twelve. I have read the previous eleven which I really enjoyed. You can find my review of the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs,by clicking on the title. Also, Pardonable Lies, (number three), Messenger of Truth, (number four) and Leaving Everything Most Loved,(number 10).
Some Kind of Company by Nan Ostman - This short novel was a delight to read and my favourite book this month. You can read my review by clicking here.
Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal by Renia Spiegel - You can find my review by clicking here.
Sisterhood by V.B. Grey - This was an excellent book and I highly recommend it. You can read my review by clicking here.
The Witches of Cambridge by Menna Van Praag - an entertaining book which I enjoyed.
Lily's Promise by Lily Ebert and Dov Forman - This is due for release on the 2nd September. It is well worth reading and I will be posting my review on the 2nd.
Come with Me by Nicola Viceconti - a delightful short novel. I will be posting my review of this book very soon.
Books I am Partway Through
No Child of Mine by Olga Gibbs
What have you been reading this month? Anything that you would recommend?
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