Books you've read in 2020

I remember reading Catcher in Year 7 and writing about it as my book report. I don't think I particularly got it and spent the whole thing rambling about how lovely his relationship with Phoebe was.
 
Beverley said:
@Mats have you read any Yuko Tsushima? We read a little for class and it was really EXCELLENT
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yes! I read Territory of Light last year and thought it was so moving, and it reminded me of my own childhood as well. I've even translated a chunk of it just for fun. still thinking about continuing and contacting publishers
 
Mats said:
yes! I read Territory of Light last year and thought it was so moving, and it reminded me of my own childhood as well. I've even translated a chunk of it just for fun. still thinking about continuing and contacting publishers
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OMG you must! :disco: There's only two books translated in English, no? I must get them both. I'd been saving her father's books until my next trip to Japan, but seeing as that's not happening any time soon, I must have to dust them off too. :(
 
I love stumbling on really lovely hard backs in second hand shops. I think these cost me 50p and a pound a piece.

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Beverley said:
OMG you must! :disco: There's only two books translated in English, no? I must get them both. I'd been saving her father's books until my next trip to Japan, but seeing as that's not happening any time soon, I must have to dust them off too. :(
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yes, the one I mentioned and Child of Fortune. I have it but not got to it yet. which did you read from? I've only read No Longer Human of Dazai's, bleak stuff. crazy family story!
 
Mats said:
yes, the one I mentioned and Child of Fortune. I have it but not got to it yet. which did you read from? I've only read No Longer Human of Dazai's, bleak stuff. crazy family story!
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We did Territory of Light too, which I loved so much (the 30 or so pages that we read) because we were discussing the Japanese tradition of the 'I' novel - i.e. autofiction. I just need to get through with the fucking Knausgaard I'm reading so I can get back to the stuff I actually LIKE!
 
Knausgaard is such a megalomaniac! I do not get the appeal at all and I hate how his books turned autofiction into navel-gazing, especially in the media. you can't seem to read an interview with an author without the journalist asking 'BUT DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN TO YOU, IS THE CHARACTER NOT ACTUALLY YOU' anymore. beside the point, dimwit, back to school!
 
I think they're full flabby, deeply undisciplined writing. And they're not political books either, not like the autofiction that I have read and loved, such as the Edouard Louis or Annie Ernaux or (and we really should talk about her properly on this forum) Elena Ferrante
 
I’ve been meaning to dip into Elena Ferrante! What would you recommend Bev? “My Brilliant Friend” like EVERYBODY else?
 
jivafox said:
I’ve been meaning to dip into Elena Ferrante! What would you recommend Bev? “My Brilliant Friend” like EVERYBODY else?
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'The Lost Daughter' is the first real suggestion of the themes that she goes on to explore in the Neapolitan Quartet. If you were reticent, I'd tell you to try that. But really, the series is like crack, as soon as you get into 'My Brilliant Friend', I think you'll be HOOKED.
 
Beverley said:
I think they're full flabby, deeply undisciplined writing. And they're not political books either, not like the autofiction that I have read and loved, such as the Edouard Louis or Annie Ernaux or (and we really should talk about her properly on this forum) Elena Ferrante
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all just very male gorilla parade, isn't it? at least Louis and other contemporaries have developed the good old social novel (<3) where the experience of the individual is put in a broader, societal and political perspective. Knausgaard to me is lengthy gossip lit
 
A lot of people are reading and recommending The Plague by Camus now because of youknowwho. I’m putting it on my list. Should we consider it for the book club?
 
I have to say, I'm about two thirds into Cleanness now and I am not really feeling this one at all. I don't particularly care for the graphic sex descriptions - not because of a pearl-clutching prude, but it just feels unnecessary. Anyway, I still love What Belongs to You naturellement; but unless he pulls something miraculous out of the bag towards the end I would be inclined to say that Cleanness is very much a distant second. Sorry @Beverley & @Chlammy (HASHTAG, not sorry I'm afraid.)
 
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RaspberrySwirl said:
A lot of people are reading and recommending The Plague by Camus now because of youknowwho. I’m putting it on my list. Should we consider it for the book club?
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Well naturally I adored The Outsider, so I'd be happy to further delve into Camus.

Are we definitely doing Lolita for May? Shall we have a double bill of both? You can choose one or both! :disco:
 
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Either a double or The Plague can wait for June.

(still haven’t started on The Sea...)
 
jivafox said:
I just had Alan Hollinghurst’s “The Line Of Beauty” arrive. Has anybody read it?
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Yes and it is absolutely wonderful! Make sure you watch the TV mini-series afterwards - it was very good as well.

I also read The Sparsholt Affair last year, which I think had mixed reviews, but I still enjoyed it.

I've got another one of his on my shelf. I know @Shirley also enjoys a bit of Hollinghurst.
 
:cry:

I have about 120 pages of Dorian Gray left which I hope to get to finish today as I’m planning to stay in. Will start The Sea as soon as I’m done.
 
This came in the mail yesterday and so now I have ten more books to read (or rather 1000 pages in same book).



(I actually feel cheated because they said 10 books in one package, didn’t think they meant shoving all ten in same book. :evil:)
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
A lot of people are reading and recommending The Plague by Camus now because of youknowwho. I’m putting it on my list. Should we consider it for the book club?
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‘Exile And The Kingdom’ is fantastic as well. In fact I like that much more than ‘The Plague’. Also, it’s short stories which are ideal for these days of atrociously low attention span. (Well, that might just be me :tongueout:)
 
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I liked The Outsider as much you can like an A Level text. We compared it to Catcher and I was done with existentialism by May.

Still slowly getting through Wuthering Heights. I have to say that it's just alright for me. :(
 
Zu-Klara said:
‘Exile And The Kingdom’ is fantastic as well. In fact I like that much more than ‘The Plague’. Also, it’s short stories which are ideal for these days of atrociously low attention span. (Well, that might just be me :tongueout:)
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It’s not just you...
 
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After a week of lazily listening to In the Shadow of the Banyan on Audible and neglecting reading, I'm finally 70 pages from the end of Wuthering Heights.

I would love any recommendations for when I start afresh on Monday. LGBTIQ+ or otherwise.
 
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If you fancy something a bit darker in the LGBTIQ+ vein this is an absolute labyrinth of a novel.

I need to buy another copy as a one night stand stole mine. :evil:
 
jivafox said:
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If you fancy something a bit darker in the LGBTIQ+ vein this is an absolute labyrinth of a novel.

I need to buy another copy as a one night stand stole mine. :evil:
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Thanks Jiva.

Kindle just gave me a free book today because I signed up for a newsletter so I might just invest.
 
According to my Goodreads...

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai
The Empty Family: Stories - Colm Tóibín
Being Various: New Irish Short Stories - Edited by Lucy Caldwell
Cleanness - Garth Greenwell
Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín
Labels - Louis de Bernières
The South - Colm Tóibín
Aria - Nazanine Hozar
Mysteries of the Home - Paula Meehan
The Girls of Slender Means - Muriel Spark
You Will Be Safe Here - Damian Barr
An Honest Man - Ben Fergusson
Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin
Swimming in the Dark - Tomasz Jedrowski
Lie With Me - Philippe Besson (Molly Ringwald)
Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada (Michael Hofman)
Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
In the Shadow of the Banyan - Vaddey Ratner

Currently reading:
The Rest Just Follows - Glenn Patterson
 
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