I thought I'd do a little update on what I've read recently, what I'm reading now and what I'm hoping to read in the next few weeks.
I haven't had too much time for reading recently as work is really quite manic with the Christmas production but, happily, I have still managed to get through a few books. I think that fact they have all been good has helped the situation enormously. The week before Christmas I finally got around to reading The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson which has been hanging out on my shelf since it was released. I don't usually mind leaving books on the TBR pile for years but if I feel the urge to buy a hardback I like to read it fairly sharpish, at least before the paperback is out. After this chilling but immensely atmospheric read I picked up the sequel to Jane Gardam's Old Filth, The Man with the Wooden Hat. I love Gardam's writing style as it is so darkly humorous but also very revealing of the human condition. The character of Filth is wonderful and this is a very cleverly written sequel which retells the same story from a different point of view.
Over Christmas I decided to opt for something new rather than reread an old favourite. In the end I went for Mrs Dalloway as it is my intention to eventually make my way through Woolf's writing. Considering I used to think Virginia Woolf was the epitome of pretentious literature, I am quickly coming around the beauty of her writing. If only my college Lit teacher could hear me say that now...Anyway, I thought Mrs Dalloway was brilliant and I think it is quite remarkable how she gets inside the shell shocked mind of Septimus.
Over New Year I read The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore and then began Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford. Unusually it is the TV series that has encouraged me to read the novel, usually it is the other way round, I watch a series because I've read the novel. I was slightly worried I'd find Ford's writing style a pain because I wasn't blown away by The Good Soldier but I find I am actually rather enjoying it. I am reading it on the kindle though because it is a bit of a chunker! Also, cracking on with the 2013 translation challenge, I am about half way through The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. It is pretty deep but very interesting and I'll be posting a review when I've finished it.
I am hoping to read the books I have recently purchased (see previous post) by the end of the month but as I am such an unpredictable reader, who knows what I'll actually get around to!
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