Here's a confession. I am very promiscuous when it comes to books. I will read anything and everything and I have several on the go at once. So what have I read this month?
Last night I finished two books I started last week. One was "A Fly In The Ointment" By Anne Fine about a woman who unashamedly sets her sights on what she wants out of life. I won't say anymore if you are planning to read it but I love Fine's acute observation skills which elevates the seemingly ordinary to the extraordinary.
I also completed reading Celia Brayfield's book "Bestseller: Secrets of Successful Writing." I have read many books on the theme of how to write a novel but this has to be one of the best. It's easy to read and it certainly rewarded me with some lightbulb moments. Even if you aren't planning to write a novel it is very useful for the reader too.
This month I have also read "Point of Rescue" a contemporary crime fiction novel by Sophie Hannah, "Out of Fashion", a collection of clothing related poetry edited by Carol Ann Duffy. It's worth reading for two great poems, "Warming Her Pearls" by Duffy and "Dreaming of Rubber Gloves" by Southport's very own award-winning poet, Jean Sprackland.
I loved "Borrowed Light" by Joolz Denby which is set in a small Cornish sea-side village and explores the horrifying impact an unworthy "Golden Child" has on the community.
I also read a play called "State Affair" which was written in 2000 by Robin Soans. It is a fascinating insight into the lives of the people featured in the play "Rita, Sue And Bob Too" which was made into a film featuring Formby actress, Lesley Sharp. A State Affair is the product of a series of interviews the playwright conducted with people living on a Bradford housing estate, not far from the one where Shannon Matthews lives. All of the lines have come out of the mouths of people living on the estates and reveals a world corrupted by crime, poverty and drugs.
So what am I reading now?
Ben, my seven-year-old is reading Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to me. I am reading Anne Fine's "Ivan The Terrible" to him. In my own time I am reading Patrick Gale's "Notes From An Exhibition" and "Dear John" by Nicolas Sparks.
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Jenn Ashworth wrote...
I always have several books on the go at once too - I think it comes with working in a library, which is like living in a cake-shop if you are a bookworm like me. I write all the titles of books I've read down in a special notebook and so far in March I have managed to plough through:
The Talented Mr Ripley, Ripley's Game and Ripley Underground - all by Patrica Highsmith. I love crime novels where you get into the head of the villain, and hers are the best - although 'Carol' is my favourite Highsmith novel.
Carol Topolski's Monster Love - which I reviewed over at Vulpes Libris (I'm allowed a tiny little plug, aren't I?)
Robert Finn's Underlife - which is available for download for free, and is a kind of prequel to his two other novels published by Snowbooks but is a gripping and well told story in its own right
and The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall - which was wonderful, and my favourite book of this month.
All a mixed bag, just like you.
Posted by: Jenn Ashworth | March 27, 2008 9:12 PM