Author: kepagewriter

I am a writer of literary fiction. My first novel Shattered Reflections will be out in the next couple of months and available through Amazon and Kindle. I am currently working on my second novel.

TBR Challenge 2015

On By kepagewriterIn Reading, TBR Challenge 20151 Comment

2015tbrbuttonI really enjoyed doing the TBR challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader this year. It is good for a number of reasons. First of all, it draws attention to books that have been on your shelf for a while and reminds you that at some stage you did want to read these books. For the most part, I wondered why I had left it so long to read them. Even better, I managed to remove three to the charity shop. Actually creating space on  my bookshelves is a new experience and makes doing the challenge again worthwhile. For next year’s challenge I’ve focused a bit more on classics as this is an area I feel I need to read more in.

For more information see Roof Beam Reader’s site.

Here is my list:

1. Jane Austen – Persuasion (1818) – November

2. Ann Cleeves – Raven Black (2006)  – July

3. R. J. Ellory – The Anniversary Man (2009) -February

4. F. Scott Fitzgerald – Tender is the Night (1933) August

5. My Brilliant Career – Miles Franklin (1901) – March

6. Graham Greene – Brighton Rock (1938) – April

7. Radcliffe Hall – The Well of Loneliness (1928) – June

8. Nick Hornby – A Long Way Down (2005) – May

9. Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns (2006) September

10. Jean Rhys – Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) January

11. Walter Scott – Rob Roy (1817) – December

12. Zadie Smith – The Autograph Man (2002) – October

Alternatives:

13. Maggie O’Farrell – The Hand That First Held Mine (2009)

14. The Reader – Bernard Schlink (1995)

Books Read in 2014 – 64. The Face That Must Die – Ramsey Campbell

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Genre: Horror

Narrative Style: Third person from various points of viewUnknown

Rating: 3/5

Published: 1979

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: Horridge becomes obsessed with a face that he sees at a window. It haunts him and he comes to realise that it is the face of a killer. He knows what he has to do. that face must be destroyed. 

I used to read a lot of horror when I was first at university and I think if I had read this then I would have loved it. (I’m not sure how I managed not to read any Campbell at that time. I was obsessed with Stephen King and James Herbert.) I hesitate to say my tastes have matured because that sounds snobby. Maybe it’s better to just say they have changed. I’ve read a lot of literary fiction since then and maybe that has spoiled this sort of book for me. Okay, that still sounds really snobby. I suppose what I mean is that I wish I could have enjoyed it more.

Campbell certainly gets into the mind of Horridge who is paranoid, delusional and extremely bigoted. In fact, some of his thoughts are quite hard to deal with – he is sexist, racist and homophobic. All of which fit with his delusional state of mind and are believably written. Horridge has had a tough time and no control over his life. His delusions spring from this lack of control and the way he perceives the system as helping others that he feels don’t deserve it. All of that doesn’t make it any easier to read though.

The plot moves between Horridge’s view point and that of his victims, often switching during their encounters. A good idea, I admit but every encounter followed the same pattern and so it soon became boring and made the novel seem a little clunky.

Perhaps reading this novel in 1979 would have been a lot more shocking. I was expecting it to be more horrible, more gory than it was. I enjoyed (if that is the right word) Horridge’s development as his psychosis worsened but it didn’t particularly shock or surprise me. After all, that sort of thing is ten a penny now. That isn’t the fault of this novel, of course but it did make it seem a bit jaded.

 

Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Authors read in 2014

On By kepagewriterIn Top Ten Tuesday3 Comments

7aabb-toptentuesday2Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This weeks list is Top Ten Authors read in 2014. I’ve read a lot more than 10 books this year so I consulted Goodreads in order to see what I had rated the highest.

1. Iain Banks – Complicity 5/5

2. Val McDermid – The Distant  Echo 5/5

3. John Ajvide Lindqvuist – Let the right One in 5/5

4. Damien MacNicholl – A Son Called Gabriel 5/5

5. Margaret Atwood – Science Fiction and the Human Imagination 5/5

6. John Boyne – The Absolutist 5/5

7. Christos Tsiolkas – Barracuda 5/5

8. Theodore Sturgeon – Some of Your Blood 4/5

9. Ira Levin – The Stepford Wives 4/5

10. Evelyn Waugh – Brideshead Revisited 4/5

Books Read in 2014 – 63. Death Comes for the Archbishop – Willa Cather

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Genre: Religious, American History

Narrative style: A series of happenings that involve the same characters but are not connected by an over-arching narrative. Third person.

Rating: 3/5

Published: 1927

Format: Paperback

Synopsis: An epic novel spanning the life of Father Jean Marie Latour as he becomes9780679728894_p0_v1_s260x420 Vicar Apostolic to New Mexico. The novel takes us from the beginning of his career through to his becoming Archbishop and eventual death. 

Reading Challenges: TBR Challenge

Time on Shelf: This is one of the oldest unreads on my shelf. I bought it while at university some twenty or so years ago. I had come across Cather’s name in books on feminist writing and so when I saw it second hand I picked it up. However, I then didn’t really fancy the subject matter, hence it languishing on the shelf for quite so long. 

There is no denying that this is beautifully written. Cather can certainly turn a phrase and for me to have kept on reading this, despite my lack of interest in matters of religion is testament to the strength of her prose. The countryside and the characters are all impeccably described and vivid to the reader. Latour and his assistant and friend, Father Joseph Vaillant, were interesting in their missionary zeal even while I could not share their enthusiasm. Both were based on real men and many of the events were based in reality which only makes it more remarkable.

The main reason I didn’t rate this higher was the structure of the novel. I’m not even sure that novel is the right word. There isn’t one storyline here, no overarching plot but a series of scenes, all as important as the other. This led to a lack of tension and I felt there was no reason for reading on. There were no hints of what was to come and little reference to what had been. It was perhaps like a series of short stories which just happened to involve the same group of people.

While I am not really interested in religion, I am interested in the period of history described and if nothing else, this book has reminded me of that and ensured I will read more about it in the future.

Books Read in 2014 62. Tears in Rain – Rosa Montero

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Genre: Science Fiction

Narrative Style: Third person from different points of view. Largely chronologicalUnknown

Rating 2.5/5

Published: 2012

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: Bruna Husky is a technohuman or a replicant. She is also a private detective. One morning, her next door neighbour – also a rep – goes mad and attacks her before plucking out her own eye and dying herself. More stranger murders / suicides start to happen and reps become equally feared and despised. Bruna is called upon to investigate and soon finds herself involved in a conspiracy that goes right to the very top. 

I was offered this as a free kindle book from Amazon when I downloaded some classic sic-fi. There was a choice of four and this seemed the most interesting. Otherwise I don’t think I’d have picked it up. I prefer my Science Fiction to be of the dystopian kind not the robots and aliens kind.

Having said that, this did have dystopian elements. There was certainly a strong moral objective about difference and equality and at first, I thought I would enjoy it more than I did. It was clearly indebted to Bladerunner, both in its choice of heroine and in its landscape but I didn’t mind that. Bladerunner is a great film and there are certainly worse things to base a novel on.

The main problem was the writing was a bit flat. I’m not sure if this is a problem with the translation or also present in the original but there was little in the way of style and the narrative was often slowed down by the leaden prose. There was the misuse of the word literally –  as in she was literally sick everywhere. Oh, I know that the OED have added this use of the word to its definition because it is so widespread but that doesn’t make it any less wrong. There were redundant sentences of the “it really had been a dreadful night” variety which just irritated me. I found that the writing distracted from what could have been a rollicking adventure.

The characters were equally flat. Bruno’s personality was all over the place. She was whatever was required of her by the narrative rather than having any personality of her own. The other characters responded to her and were equally without personality. Some appeared and disappeared without really even touching the narrative and you had to wonder what the point was.

In the end, there were few surprises. It was always obvious who the love interest would end up being, who the bad guy was and what the outcome would be. When I finished, I felt as though a good had idea had been wasted. But maybe that’s not quite what I mean. After all, Bladerunner was the good idea and there is probably no way for that to actually be bettered.

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 new to me authors that I read in 2014

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks Top Ten is new to me authors that I read in 2014. I have managed to keep from falling back into old habits and just reading a small number of authors that I know and love. I’ve read more than ten new authors this year so these are the ones that I liked the best.

1. Christos Tsiolkas

2. Val McDermid

3. John Ajvide Lindqvist

4. Marcus Clarke

5. John Updike

6. Damien McNicholl

7. David Pearce

8. C.J. Sansom

9. Theodore Sturgeon

10. Craig Silvey

 

 

My kindle book collection is bigger than your kindle book collection

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As a supply teacher, on my lunch, I usually read my kindle because I don’t know anyone and because I’m rubbish at small talk with strangers. I’d always rather read than have a banal conversation about the weather or whatever. Usually people are polite enough to leave me to it but occasionally the kindle itself becomes the focus of conversation. This happened recently when the guy sat opposite me – also a supply teacher and also with kindle – started to cough in that deliberate way that lets you know they want your attention. Okay, I thought, maybe he’ll ask what I’m reading and we can talk about books. It could be worse.

In fact, the first words out of his mouth were, “how many books have you got on it? Have you got lots? I’ve got..” Well, I’ve forgotten his exact number but it was a lot and a lot more than me. I had to say that I didn’t know. He seemed surprised. He went on to detail all the book collections that he had, the complete works of Tolkien, George R. R. Martin and many others that I’ve forgotten. The bigger and bulkier the better as if the knowledge that you should be reading a weighty tome somehow added to the pleasure of reading on the kindle.

I hadn’t really thought of my kindle as a possible repository for every book I have ever wanted to read so that you could be carrying around your very own version of the British Library. Needless to say, he hadn’t read that many of them but that didn’t seem to be the point. The collecting was everything.

This is the very opposite of my attitude to my kindle. Until very recently, I didn’t have any books other than the one I was reading and the ones I had read. I would read a book and then when it was getting near the end, buy another. I didn’t want to be faced with making a decision about what to read next when I am out and about, I suppose. Now, I have two or three unread ones, thanks mostly to the daily kindle deals which seem to good to be missed. Still, I don’t want the kindle to turn into the main repository for my books. I still buy physical books and standing in front of my bookshelves trying to decide what to read next is a pleasure in a way that flicking through titles on the screen just isn’t.

In the end, I asked him what he was reading and it was one of those Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter type books which he gushed about for a bit but he still didn’t ask me what I was reading. His parting shot, I’ve lots more books on my memory stick if you want some. I’ll show you, if you like but I had to decline the offer of a visit to his virtual library as the bell rang for lessons to start again. Just as well, really.

Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015

On By kepagewriterIn Eclectic Reader Challenge 20152 Comments

eclecticreader15I’ve been excited for the last few days about what books to pick for next year’s challenge but I felt I couldn’t post about it until I had finished this years challenge. I finished Travels in the Congo this morning so here is the new list.

For those of you who don’t know, what you need to do is select a book from each of the following categories and when you have read it, post a review. It is hosted by Book’d Out.

I haven’t decided on all categories yet. These are the ones that I already have on my shelves. As for the others, I haven’t a clue at the minute. I’m more than happy to take recommendations especially for contemporary romance, definitely not a genre I normally read.

1. Retellings (of fairytale, legends or myth) The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood
2. A book set in a country starting with the letter S (eg. Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Slovakia) July’s People – Nadine Gordimer (Set in South Africa)
3. PI Crime (fiction featuring a private investigator) Farewell, my lovely – Raymond Chandler
4. A novel published before you were born Carmilla – Joseph Sheridan La Fanu
5. Contemporary romance How to fall in Love – Cecelia Ahern
6. Fiction for foodies (fiction featuring food/food related business) Babette’s Feast – Karen Blixen
7. Microhistory (Non Fiction) Just my Type – Simon Garfield
8. Science Fiction set in space Consider Phlebas – Iain M. Banks
9. Sports (Fiction or Non fiction) The Fight – Norman Mailer
10. Featuring diversity I am J – Cris Beam
11. Epistolary Fiction (fiction written in the format of letters/emails/diary entries) Before I Go To Sleep – S. J. Watson
12. Middle Grade/YA Adventure  – The Giver – Lois Lowry

Eclectic Reader Challenge – Finished at last.

On By kepagewriterIn Eclectic Reader Challenge 20142 Comments

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I decided to play it differently this year. I spread the challenge books out instead of reading them one after the other. The net result of which was a slight panic that I wouldn’t get the last one read in time. It took me a month to read Travels in the Congo, my final book so I’m glad I didn’t leave it any later.

It was a more difficult challenge this year. Largely, I think because the genres were further removed from what I normally read. I don’t particularly like romantic comedies, I never read travel writing and also a couple of the books I chose, I didn’t love. Patricia Cornwell springs to mind here as well as Dorothy L. Sayer.

Nevertheless, I think it is a good thing to read in different genres and I did also read some excellent books – Travels in the Congo by Andre Gide was very good, as was John Boyne’s The Absolutist.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I certainly will be doing it again next year.

Books Read in 2014 – 61. Travels in the Congo – Andre Gide

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Genre: Travel

Narrative Style: First person recollection2036108

Rating 4/5

Published: 1927

Format: Paperback

Reading Challenges: Eclectic Reader Challenge – Genre travel.

Synopsis: Gide wishes to discover Africa, to go to places that have barely been discovered, to witness new landscapes and people. He travels through the Belgian Congo as it then was and makes observations about the colonial system that prove to be politically important. 

There were a couple of reasons for picking this book. At first, I was going to read one of Michael Palin’s travelogues, a couple of which have been bought for us. I don’t do much in the way of reading travel writing so there wasn’t much to choose from on my shelves. I could have picked a Bill Bryson up, sure in the knowledge that I would like it but that would seem to defeat the point of this being an Eclectic challenge. All the same, I wasn’t really looking forward to reading the Palin, enjoyable as the accompanying tv series were. Then I inherited a lot of books and this Gide was among them. I’ve wanted to read Gide for a while and I was also curious as to what it would be like for him travelling through Africa at the point in history. Even then, this remained till the very last. I kept putting off picking it up.

I don’t know why. It was exquisitely written. Gide has a novelists eye for detail and his descriptions of the landscape are often quite poetical. He describes their hardships and delights unsparingly and doesn’t flinch from his own stupidity or embarrassment. He is clearly knowledgable about plants and insects which he also describes in detail.

This isn’t the main interest though. Seeing Africa through the eyes of a white, privileged man gave a strange image of the times. Gide is clearly a reasonable and intelligent man and he treats the natives he meets with respect and even though he is prone to calling them simple, he allows them a dignity that I imagine was lacking in a most of the dealings between colonialist and colonised. He spends long hours teaching Adoum, one of their entourage to read and is genuinely bereft when he has to leave their company. He disapproves of the way the blacks are ripped off by the colonists and is always fair, sometimes paying a higher rate than they would normally get. He suggests that the exploitation of those working to produce rubber was akin to slavery. Indeed, on publication, the book influenced anti-colonist movements and inspired reform.

Alongside this, is Gide the hunter and Gide the butterfly collector. It seems strange to our sensibilities that whenever a new animal is spotted, the first recourse is to the gun. Indeed, they succeed in shooting a hippopotamus which they then skin and cut up, parts of which turn the whale boats they are in into abattoirs with blood running over the boards. Gide has a curious mind and is clearly excited by each new butterfly or insect that he sees. Unfortunately for the creature, that usually meant that its fate was sealed as it is then killed and preserved.

Overall, this was interesting as a historical document as well as a travelogue. The map at the front of the book is now completely different and you can’t help but wonder exactly how different the landscape and the people would be, if you visited today.