Krakauer on Koalas; or Auto-Buy Authors (Top Ten Tuesday)

This week, the theme of Top Ten Tuesday (as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is authors whose books I would always buy/read, regardless of what it might be about.

So, in no particular order...

Jon Krakauer
To be fair, Krakauer has written on a range of subjects, from his earlier books about mountain climbing and the 1996 Everest disaster, to the story of Chris McCandless in Into The Wild, to his more recent books on fundamentalist Mormons and the war in Afghanistan (told through the story of Pat Tillman and the cover up of his death).

Philip Roth
Having recently read and reviewed Roth's final novel, this is more a case of wanting to read all of the novels of his I haven't read yet (at last count, I had read 14/27). [Read my review of Nemesis here.]

Armistead Maupin
I feel like I am always eagerly awaiting a new Maupin novel, and the next one (focusing on Anna Madrigal, one of his best-loved characters) is no exception.

Stephanie Perkins
I think this is a case of really gelling with an author's style and voice, and I appreciate the way Perkins writes realistic conversations and gives her characters hormones! (I guess that sounds weird, but I like that she lets her characters think about sex in a normal way.)

Erlend Loe
There are quite a few Loe novels I haven't read, because sadly I can't read Norwegian... but as soon as more are translated, I will be scrabbling for a copy! [Read my review of Doppler here.]

Siri Hustvedt
I read Sorrows of an American a couple of years ago, and ever since then I have gone back and read all of her other books, too. Absolutely wonderful novels, particularly Sorrows and What I Loved.

Jeffrey Eugenides
Eugenides comes out with a book so infrequently, but they're always a joy when he does. [Read my review of The Marriage Plot here.]

Okay, so just seven this week, which is maybe just as well!

Don't forget the blog-birthday giveaway this week - two pairs of young adult books to win!

Playing Favourites: Top Ten Books I've Read Since Bibliotekit Started

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is: Top Ten Favourite Books Read in the Lifetime of Your Blog. I haven't participated in a TTT for a while, so here goes!

I have only been blogging at Bibliotekit since February of this year. Picking ten books, then, was quite an easy task. Rather than go back through and see which ones I rated the highest, I’ve just picked out those that I remember as being the most enjoyable, for whatever reason.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour – Morgan Matson (review)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I love road trip books, and this one was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed the maps, pictures and lists that interspersed the narrative.

The Lost Continent – Bill Bryson (review)

Another road trip, this time in real life. Back to 1989 with Bill Bryson, revisiting the America of his childhood after a lengthy expatriation in the UK. Funny and totally absorbing.

Cat Among the Pigeons – Agatha Christie (review)

I have read a few Christie novels since starting this blog, but this one is my favourite of the last few months. Murder and intrigue and scandal (oh my!) at an English boarding school, with a late appearance by Poirot to sort the whole thing out.

The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides (review)

A long-awaited new novel from Eugenides, and one that combined one of my favourite authors with one of my favourite settings: college. Disillusioned graduates and doomed love affairs ahoy.

The Boyfriend List – E. Lockhart (review)

Not just another YA novel. I picked this up expecting a fluffy high school romance and got the wonderful and slightly neurotic Ruby Oliver, whose boy traumas are myriad and often hilarious. I am waiting (impatiently) for my library to stock the last two in the series, but TBL and the second book, The Boy Book, are both excellent.

How To Be A Woman – Caitlin Moran (review)

I haven’t laughed this hard at a book in a long time. From being a teenager in Wolverhampton battling with fashion, doleful dogs and having a crush on Aslan the lion, to being an adult dealing with bras and sexism and whether or not to get married, this was incredibly funny and very, very true. And that’s even before the chapter on what to call “down there” in front of the kids.

Touching the Void – Joe Simpson (review)

More real life, this time Joe Simpson’s account of his climb in the Peruvian Andes that saw him break his leg and his climbing partner Simon Yates cut the rope that joined the two of them, believing Joe was dead. Stark and moving.

A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold – George R. R. Martin (review)

After the first book, perhaps my favourite of the series so far. The previous instalment (and the first half of ASOS) concentrated on the war; B&G concentrated on what came after the war, when everyone realised things hadn’t gone quite to plan.

Follow The Blue – Brigid Lowry (review)

A great coming of age YA novel focusing on Bec, who is left alone for the summer with her brother, sister and an unwanted housekeeper. It becomes a summer of juggling friends, boys, and finding herself (not to mention a lost guinea pig).

Twin Spirit – Matthew Thompson (review)

Children’s fantasy book that sees Rose transported to a galaxy of strange people and vibrant ‘sectors’, all at the behest of her dead twin sister Lily, who is eager to gain a body of her own.

Leave me your links and I'll check out your lists!

Is that an owl I see before me? Top ten most vivid worlds

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books.

Well.

To join the inevitable horde...

#1 will have to be the world created for the Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling.

My favourite part of this world is the elision between the wizarding world and the Muggle world. The cover ups and obfuscations when things go a little bit awry. The awareness that wizards and witches have of Muggles, but the obliviousness that Muggles express towards anything wizarding, even if it's, you know, a flying car or garishly coloured robes.

As a reader, reading these books for the first time,  I kind of wanted to jump inside.

#2 A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R. R. Martin.

There are MAPS! My favourite thing in books. The world is vast and intricate, with just enough references to the real world to make it seem plausible and acceptable (particularly in the first book), and just enough extra to make it such a compelling fantasy series. I always finish a book wanting to know more about the world and its inhabitants, the landscape, the customs, and all those places on the map that we have yet to visit...

#3 Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart


While I struggled with this book, the world in it - a futuristic nightmare of credit poles and see-through trousers, where everything is fit to be broadcast and shared - was vivid and a little bit frightening in its garishness.


#4 The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist


Childless women over the age of 50 are sent to a facility where their every whim is catered for - the only catch is, they might be called upon to participate in medical tests at any moment. Some of these tests are harmless; others can be fatal. Usefulness to society is valued over all. A brilliant book that sticks with you.


#5 The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy


My A-level English teacher would be proud. I read this when I was 16 and at college, and I can't say that any of us were particularly enamoured with it. It was, however, one of my first experiences of a book in which the landscape 'counted' as a character, and I can still remember the events that took place over a year and a day on Egdon Heath. Score one for school.


#6 Malory Towers series, by Enid Blyton


I imagine I filled in a lot of the details for myself as a kid, because these books weren't big on intricate description as I remember. But much like the Harry Potter books, I wanted on occasion to be a student at Malory Towers, and the school, with its four towers, the pool, the lacrosse pitch, and the offices for older students, all seemed gloriously exotic at the time.


#7 The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth


I love Philip Roth's books, and have done ever since I was introduced to Portnoy's Complaint at university by my Jewish-American Lit lecturer (my absolute favourite teacher, ever). This, like a lot of other Roth books, is set in Newark, NJ, and is brought to life wonderfully. TPAA is an alternate history, but Newark remains real. One of my all-time favourite books.


#8 The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt


A too-hot, too-humid Southern town bakes in the summer while Harriet attempts to solve, along with her friend, the mystery of her younger brother's death. This book really came to life for me when I was reading it, and the landscape envelopes you completely.


#9 Alone in Berlin, by Hans Fallada


A bleak Berlin under Nazi occupation. Deception, suspicion, and the gradual, horrible loss of hope, all along the grey, uncompromising streets of wartime Berlin.


#10 The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides


This sleepy Michigan neighbourhood is far from being other-worldly, yet it is rendered in such a dreamlike, half-remembered way that I think it qualifies. Vivid and blurry at the same time, you feel like you're there when the heat gets unbearable and the air is full of flies and cut down trees.

And that's all before you go through the wardrobe to Narnia, or visit Armistead Maupin's San Francisco, or the Ystad of Kurt Wallander, or attempt to take on Big Brother...

Top Ten Tuesday Unwrapped: Books to give as gifts

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme was a freebie, and after a few false starts, I finally decided to make a list of books that I like to give as gifts.


AKA: Books I think are awesome.

AKA: Books I hate to lend to people, so I just buy them as gifts instead.

via

(I have to choose the gift-receiver carefully, because my awesome may not be their awesome. So I guess these are the books I give as gifts in an ideal world.)

(I like lending books to people, on the whole. It's fun to share, and it's even more fun when someone enjoys the book you've recommended to them. And as someone who has dropped many a book in the bath, and carried them around in my bag, I don't tend to worry that they're going to break the spine or anything like that (although I draw the line at used condoms, which my mum, who works in a library, once found sandwiched between the pages of a returned book). But there are a handful of books that I just don't like to lend out. I like to have them with me, just in case I want to re-read them. I worry that they might not find their way back to me. Irrational, yes.)

Here's my list:

1. Into The Wild - Jon Krakauer

This is one of my favourite books. I like to know it's there if I want to read it, but more than that, I feel very strongly about it, and I'd be disappointed if the person I'd lent it to didn't feel the same.

2. Tales of The City - Armistead Maupin

A recurrent feature on my TTT, and another all-time favourite. I have lent this book out on occasion, but again, I'd be disappointed if it didn't go over well. My copy is a little worn these days. :)

3. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

I'd had this book for a long time, and I have given it as a gift once or twice to preclude me having to let someone borrow it - terrible I know!

4. For Esme, With Love and Squalor - J. D. Salinger

My copy of The Catcher In The Rye has been missing for a while (I think my brother has it), but For Esme is harder to get hold of, and I like to keep it close.

5. The Plot Against America - Philip Roth

I have lent this to my friend's boyfriend, but I like to give this as a gift just because it's such an amazing book. (See, I'm not a total book-hog!)

6. Naive. Super. - Erlend Loe

Another TTT mainstay. I can't help it. I love this book. The Boy has my copy, but that's as far as it goes.

7. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

If I give you this as a gift, it's normally accompanied by "READITREADITREADIT" in a scary whisper. Just FYI.

8. The Sorrows of an American - Siri Hustvedt

My first Hustvedt novel, and one I shove into other people's hands freely. In the nicest possible way. :)

9. Fever Pitch / High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

You know, when Nick Hornby was good. I wore my copy of Fever Pitch to death as a teenager.

10. Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola - Kinky Friedman

Or really, any Kinky Friedman mystery. I lent all the ones I own to my dad recently, who introduced me to these years ago. I like to give people copies in the hope of spreading the word. :)

Sandy toes and ocean waves: Top Ten Beach Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is: Top Ten Recommended Beach Reads.

I am a bit of a sun dodger in the summer, but I do love being by the sea, and beach + book is never a bad way to spend an afternoon!

1. Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie

Holiday murders and the heat of the desert.

2. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson

One of my favourite road trip books!

3. Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin

Short, snappy chapters and lots of fun characters.

4. The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

A nice beach-themed read.

5. The Rehearsal - Eleanor Catton

Blurring the lines of truth amongst a group of high school girls.

6. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

Delicious and absorbing.

7. The Boyfriend List - E. Lockhart

A quick, fun read perfect for a sunny day!

8. Five on a Treasure Island - Enid Blyton

The ultimate in beach-side adventures, where the kids have their own island to play on to their hearts' content.

9. Riding The Magic Carpet: A Surfer's Odyssey to Find the Perfect Wave - Tom Anderson

This is a little bit of a cheat, because I just received this book for my birthday, but it seems like exactly the kind of thing to read by the sea!

10. You could always have a snooze! (Remember the sun cream.)

Top Ten Tuesday: 30 years from now...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is: Top ten books published in the last 10 years that you hope people will still be reading in 30 years' time.

This exercise has mostly just convinced me of how old I am getting. :)

1. The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth (2005)

My favourite Roth book, and such a powerful comment on history and tolerance.

2. Naive. Super, by Erlend Loe (2005)

A book that appears on these lists a lot, because it's so simple and so heartbreaking and so uplifting all at the same time.

3. The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt (2002)

Mostly this is here because I love Donna Tartt, and I hope people will still be picking up her books in 30 years.

4. The Ruby Oliver books, by E. Lockhart (2005 - 2010)

Growing up, a lot of the YA books I read were from the 1980s, but the good ones always stuck in my mind, and the less-than-contemporary setting never bothered me. Teenagers are teenagers, and good YA is good YA.

5. Mary Ann in Autumn, by Armistead Maupin (2010)

Because if they're reading this, then they're probably reading the rest of the "Tales" series too...

6. The Sorrows of An American, by Siri Hustvedt (2008)

I am a big fan of Hustvedt's novels, and this is probably my favourite of hers.

7. The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist (2007)

Feminist dystopia for the win!

8. The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins (2006)

Not for everyone, granted, but this is an important book to me.

9. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)

Just sneaking in at ten years old... I love Eugenides' novels, and I would hope that they'll still be popular in years to come!

10. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins (2010)

Another excellent bit of YA that I think deserves to still be on shelves in a few years time!

What's on your list?

Review: The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides

The Marriage Plot


Jeffrey Eugenides

4th Estate, 2011

It's the early 1980s. In American colleges, the wised-up kids are inhaling Derrida and listening to Talking Heads. But Madeleine Hanna, dutiful English major, is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, purveyors of the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English novels.


As Madeleine studies the age-old motivations of the human heart, real life, in the form of two very different suitors, intervenes. Leonard Bankhead - charismatic loner and college Darwinist - turns up in a seminar, and soon Madeleine finds herself in a highly charged relationship with him. At the same time, her old friend Mitchell Grammaticus - who's been reading Christian mysticism and generally acting strange - resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his wife. Over the next year, as the members of the triangle graduate from college and enter the real world, they will be forced to re-evaluate everything.


Are the great love stories of the nineteenth century dead? Or can there be a new story, written for today and alive to the realities of feminism, sexual freedom, pre-nups, and divorce?

The Marriage Plot made it onto my to-read list as soon as I knew of its publication, mostly because I am a big fan of Eugenides previous two novels (The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex). My enthusiasm was slightly dampened by the less-than-complimentary reviews I glimpsed from some quarters, but when I received this book as a Christmas gift, I dove straight in.

Well, almost. I read the first few pages, in which I was hooked by the descriptions of Madeleine's bookshelves and her inner turmoil on the morning before her graduation. Then I got distracted by Christmas and Alan Partridge's autobiography (I, Partridge), and it took me a few weeks to come back round to The Marriage Plot.

I was pulled into Madeleine's story immediately, until I was pushed away again by the lengthy and seemingly unnecessary descriptions of semiotics and all the look-at-me-aren't-I-clever college students spouting their look-at-me-aren't-I-clever thoughts about religion and discourse. Once this has passed, however, the book became much more enjoyable again.

For some reason, I am obviously drawn towards New England college based novels (Prep and The Secret History springing to mind as two of my favourites). In this one, the three main characters have just graduated from Brown University. It's 1982, and they're all faced with growing up and finding themselves in a world that doesn't particular seem to want them (the parallels between the recession of then and now was interesting). Mitchell chooses escape - travel and religious experimentation. Madeleine, meanwhile, chooses to follow Leonard, who is attempting to manage manic depression.

As a result, the book alternates between Madeleine and Leonard's story, and Mitchell's travels around the world, their link being Mitchell's enduring love for Madeleine. The final third of the book was probably my favourite, in which everyone has returned "home" to find that they still haven't figured it all out. More importantly, it was here, finally, that Madeleine appears to discover what she wants, and makes a decision based on this, rather than on anyone else.

I will always enjoy Eugenides' writing - it pulls me in without me ever really knowing why, and what is a relatively simple story (underneath it all) was sufficiently rich to keep me hooked up until the end.

Overall rating: 8.5/10


Book source: My own shelf; received as a gift.

Shiny, shiny books

Well, shiny to me, anyway. (And EXTRA shiny, because I took this photo on my phone, right by the light in the bedroom. Brilliant.)

I have been wanting to read the Uglies series for ages, and finally tracked down a copy of Pretties in a different branch of the library system a couple of weeks ago. That sent me on a quest to get a copy of Uglies, so I could read them in order. I finally picked it up from the library today. At the moment I am about two-thirds of the way through The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, but Uglies is lined up for my weekend reading!

Also waiting for me were Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I recently read Levithan's Boy Meets Boy, which I loved. I am hoping that Nick & Norah (and Amy & Roger) will be just as enjoyable.

Of course, all of this may well be derailed when I see my brother this weekend. We are currently both making our way through George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, and he is now racing through Book 3: Part 2, while I have only just finished Book 3: Part 1. Some catching up may be in order! (Although, on the plus side, as he is nearly always ahead of me, he buys the books, and then I "borrow" them...)