Showcase Sunday #32

Last week, I found out I won a book - Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham - via a competition on Vicky's blog, and it arrived from the publishers at Orion this week!

It has a cool double cover going on...

Looking forward to reading this one, it's been a while since I've read a crime novel that really grabbed me and I'm hoping this one will be good.

I also bought Mendelssohn is on the Roof by the Czech author Jiří Weil - this caught my eye a while ago in the Kindle sale but I resisted at the time. When I looked again, I noticed it has a foreword by my favourite author, Philip Roth, so I decided to treat myself. :)

It's also been a week of adventures - term starts soon and I'll be teaching 3 days a week, and researching the other two days, so I've been trying to cram in as much as possible before then. I spent the week in Brighton with the boy, and we biked to Peacehaven and back (about 12 miles round trip), along the coast path.

This weekend one of my best friends came to stay and we drove to Wales - the border isn't too far from Birmingham, and despite having lived halfway around the world I've never actually set foot in Wales before! The scenery was pretty amazing, and we got to see the Knighton Carnival in action...

Recent reviews:
All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue (7/10)
Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld (9.5/10)

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea.

Top Ten Books of 2013 (so far)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Top Ten Books of 2013 (so far), and I decided to participate and share some my favourites since January! Some of these are 2013 releases, but for the most part they're just my top reads.

1. Life In Outer Space - Melissa Keil
Quirky Australian YA with a great, believable trio of teenage boys at its centre.

(The US edition of this book looks to be currently 'Read Now' on Netgalley, if you're interested!)

2. The Dinner - Herman Koch
Dutch novel that busies itself skewering the middle classes over appetisers.

3. Steal My Sunshine - Emily Gale
More Australian YA, this time focusing on an uncertain teenage girl and the secrets of her grandmother.

4. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Twisty, genuinely gripping thriller that everyone and their aunt seems to have read by now!

5. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins
A worthy follow up to Anna, and another YA novel from Perkins with real, heart-warming characters and one of the coolest protagonists I've met in a while.

6. Speechless - Hannah Harrington
This one totally exceeded my expectations - bratty girl is transformed by her pledge to remain silent after a horrifying incident.

7. Geek Girl - Holly Smale
Fun British YA - smart and daft and highly recommended.

8. Nemesis - Philip Roth
Roth's final novel, and a poignant one at that, focusing on the polio epidemic in New Jersey in 1944.

9. Be Awesome - Hadley Freeman (review coming soon!)
Friends with kids, terrible dating advice, magazines that do nothing but tear women's bodies apart - and how to deal with it all. Extremely funny.

10. My Mad, Fat Teenage Diary - Rae Earl
It's 1989, and 17 year old Rae is writing her diary in the depths of Lincolnshire, agonising over boys, analysing shitty friendships and writing bad poetry. A wonderful, hilarious book.

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!

Review: Nemesis, Philip Roth

Nemesis

Philip Roth

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Goodreads

In the "stifling heat of equatorial Newark," a terrifying epidemic is raging, threatening the children of the New Jersey city with maiming, paralysis, lifelong disability, and even death. This is the startling theme of Philip Roth’s wrenching new book: a wartime polio epidemic in the summer of 1944 and the effect it has on a closely knit, family-oriented Newark community and its children. At the center of Nemesis is a vigorous, dutiful twenty-three-year-old playground director, Bucky Cantor, a javelin thrower and weightlifter, who is devoted to his charges and disappointed with himself because his weak eyes have excluded him from serving in the war alongside his contemporaries. Focusing on Cantor’s dilemmas as polio begins to ravage his playground—and on the everyday realities he faces—Roth leads us through every inch of emotion such a pestilence can breed: the fear, the panic, the anger, the bewilderment, the suffering, and the pain. 

Moving between the smoldering, malodorous streets of besieged Newark and Indian Hill, a pristine children’s summer camp high in the Poconos—whose "mountain air was purified of all contaminants"—Roth depicts a decent, energetic man with the best intentions struggling in his own private war against the epidemic. Roth is tenderly exact at every point about Cantor’s passage into personal disaster, and no less exact about the condition of childhood. Through this story runs the dark questions that haunt all four of Roth’s late short novels, Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling, and now Nemesis: What kind of accidental choices fatally shape a life? How does the individual withstand the onslaught of circumstance?

Nemesis is classed as the final of Roth's four short novels, published between 2006 and 2010, and the final Roth novel full stop, if the reports in late 2012 are right, as Roth himself declared that he was "done". While I struggled a little with The Humbling, the earlier two novels, Everyman and Indignation, were both excellent, particularly Everyman. Nemesis, happily, falls (for me) into this second camp.

It tells the story of Bucky Cantor, who spends the summer of 1944 as director of the Chancellor Avenue playground in Weequahic, Newark, New Jersey, a largely Jewish section of the city that is being ravaged by polio. What starts with a couple of boys at the playground quickly turns into an epidemic, and Bucky starts to agonise over how he can keep the kids safe. I liked Bucky - he is gutted that he's been excluded from the army, where his two best friends are fighting in Europe, and instead he focuses all his attention on this unexpected war at home, against a virus that in 1944 has no known cure. Bucky loves the playground kids, and is dedicated to getting them involved in sports, and when he's not at the playground he's caring for his elderly grandmother, who brought him up, and missing his girlfriend Marcia, who is working at a summer camp in the Pocono Mountains.

There is a horrible sense of inevitability throughout the book, as more and more kids get ill, and a choice that Bucky makes partway through the novel has much wider ramifications, or at least it seems that way to Bucky. Roth does not offer up any kind of happy ending here, and the last section of the book concerns Bucky as a middle-aged man in 1971, meeting one of the kids from the playground, Arnie Mesnikoff, and recounting how his life turned out after that fateful summer. The book is actually narrated by Arnie (there is one clue to this, early on, before Arnie himself appears near the end), and is meant as a record of the conversations Bucky and Arnie have had on these weekly lunch meetings over twenty five years later.

The blurb suggests that these late Roth novels have dealt with themes of "choice" and "circumstance", and certainly Nemesis owes more to circumstances than to choices: though Bucky makes two big decisions in Nemesis, it is deliberately unclear whether either of these have altered the course of events in any significant way, which just adds to the agony of the story. As the final book of Roth's career, it deals with death, God, and the anguish that comes with a fundamental lack of control: not a particularly happy read, but one that sticks with you long afterwards.

Overall rating: 9/10

Book source: Borrowed from the library.

Showcase Sunday #15

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea.

This weekend I walked IN THE SNOW to the library. Granted, the snow didn't settle, and it didn't stay around for too long, but SNOW, people. I love snow. In Doppler, Doppler himself says:

"Snow is the only weather I really like. Nothing makes me less grumpy than snow." (He goes on to say that "Furthermore, I like the fact that there are people who don't like snow. Who become irritable when the snow arrives. Who, after a whole lifetime in Norway, haven't managed to accept snow and still allow themselves to be riled by it.") I, too, am a fan of snow, although I much prefer the thick, crunchy snow to it's-raining-white-rain stuff.

Anyway. Spending so long in the library didn't do much for the four pints of milk I was carrying in my rucksack (because I had just come from doing my food shopping, not because I'm a milk fiend), but I did find some books that I'm excited to start reading.

Andrea Camilleri - The Voice of the Violin (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery)

Not a series I've read before, but this one caught my eye. As a bonus, it will also count towards my 2013 Translation Challenge, as this has been translated from the original Italian by Stephen Sartarelli.

Kiersten White - Paranormalcy

The first book in the Paranormalcy series, and a complete deviation from my usual genre of YA, but I have been following Kiersten on Twitter and reading her blog for a while now, and I thought I'd give it a go!

Meg Cabot - Ten Out of Ten (Princess Diaries #10)

I've read a few of the PD series, mostly the earlier books, and though I enjoyed them I was never inclined to seek out the later books in the series (mostly because the library seemed to have lots of #6 and none of #8, or at least you get the idea!). But it'll be fun to see how the series ended, and I do like Mia. (I think this is titled Forever Princess elsewhere.)

Gah, shiny book covers.

Yes, that is Philip Roth's Nemesis at the bottom of that pile, as featured in a Showcase Sunday from a while back. I only read a couple of chapters before having to take it back to the library before Christmas, but it was available again so I picked it up.

Reviews posted this week:
Jane Austen - Pride & Prejudice (7.5/10)
Terry Pratchett - The Wee Free Men (6.5/10)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I choose you! Top ten books to read in 2013

Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've participated in a Top Ten Tuesday, as hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but this week's topic was Top Ten Books You Have Resolved to Read in 2013, and I thought it would be a nice way to kick the blog into the new year. (Gently, of course.)

1. The Treasure Map of Boys / Real Live Boyfriends (Ruby Oliver #3 and #4) by E. Lockhart

I voted this my favourite series read in 2012 after reading books #1 (review) and #2 (review), and I really want to find out what happens next!

2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Because I loved Anna like most other people loved Anna, and I've been waiting for the paperback to be released, which is finally happening in April!

3. Nemesis by Philip Roth

As regular readers will probably have picked up on by now, Roth is one of my favourite authors. This is his last book, published in 2010. He has since announced his retirement from writing.

4. Transparent by Natalie Whipple

I started following Natalie's blog while I was taking part in Nanowrimo a few years ago, and during that time she got her first book deal. Transparent is her debut novel and I'm excited to read it!

5. Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling #1) by Megan McCafferty

I am a big fan of contemporary YA, and Tara at The Librarian Who Doesn't Say Shhh has mentioned these books a few times (along with lots of other bloggers!) - they sound exactly like my kind of thing.

6. Doppler by Erlend Loe

For a tiny slip of a book, Naive. Super by Erlend Loe is one of the books I go on about the most. Until recently, I hadn't been able to find any of his other books translated into English, but Doppler was released recently and I can't wait to read it!

7. Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Krakauer is perhaps my favourite non-fiction writer, and this is his most recent book (although I think it's a couple of years old now), which I have yet to read.

8. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti

I first became aware of Valenti as the editor of Feministing, a position she has since moved on from. A part of my doctoral research has coalesced around sexuality in American culture, and this looks like an interesting book I've been meaning to read for a while.

9. Grimm Tales for Young and Old by Philip Pullman

I've always been intrigued by Grimms' Fairy Tales in their original, slightly creepy forms, and I'm interested to see what Pullman has done with them.

10. Persuasion by Jane Austen

A friend of mine, hearing that I was reading Pride and Prejudice, suggested that I might enjoy Persuasion more, so I'm going to give it a go!

Exit Roth: "I have dedicated my life to the novel."

This weekend, it emerged that Philip Roth - probably my favourite author - is no longer writing novels. Nemesis, published in 2010 and currently sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, is apparently Roth's last book.

As Robert McCrum writes in this short article, its not beyond Roth to have "one last piece of literary magic" up his sleeve, but at 79 and with dozens of novels to his name, it seems fair to take Roth at his word for now.

I was first introduced to Roth's books as an undergraduate, when I took a Jewish-American lit module as part of my degree (taught by my absolute favourite lecturer at the time, and still the best lecturer I have ever had the pleasure of being taught by, Dr. Abramson, who is now retired). We read Portnoy's Complaint, and my housemate and I, who were in the same class, spent most of the week we'd been given to read it reading out the rudest bits to each other. (For the record, I think the most-repeated section was the part where a young Portnoy masturbates into a joint of meat, which is later served to the rest of the family by his unsuspecting mother.) But apart from being gloriously funny and rude, it also made me want to run out read all of Roth's other novels.

Over the last few years, I have read a small number of them, against the backdrop of so many more than I have yet to read. (Of the 27 novels of Roth's, excluding collections and non-fiction, I have read 12.) Some of my favourite books of all time are on that list: The Plot Against America being the most obvious, but not discounting The Human Stain, Everyman, American Pastoral, and a raft of others that it has been (mostly) nothing but a joy to read.

Roth says he has stopped writing in order to be able to reread his favourite novels. I still have a long way to go until I come anywhere near to needing to embark on a reread of Roth to satisfy my love of his work - those other 15 novels should keep me busy for a long time - but I can't think of many writers who I have enjoyed so much as a reader, and it'll be shame to see him leave the field. I learned a lot from Dr. A in those Jewish-Am Lit classes, but I think my appreciation for Philip Roth is the most enduring legacy. Apart from knowing how to pronounce "Chaim" correctly, maybe... (And that whole Woody Allen thing.)

Showcase Sunday: New library!

So, for the first time in ages I am linking up with the lovely Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea for Showcase Sunday! Bibliotekit has been pretty quiet lately, because of lots of things (moving and teaching and new job and thesis and and and and and... sleep), but yesterday I ventured to my new local library and came out with some books.

Agatha Christie - The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrees

A trusty Agatha Christie collection of short stories, perfect for those ten-minute snatches of reading that seem to be all I can manage at the moment!

Dorothy L. Sayers - Gaudy Night

My first Sayers! I've been meaning to read one for ages, and this will be my first meeting with Lord Peter Wimsey...

Philip Roth - Nemesis

Philip Roth is maybe my favourite author. (It's generally a dead heat between Roth and Maupin, every time.) This is his last novel, from 2010, which I have yet to read. Even though I am struggling to find time to pick up a book at the moment, I couldn't resist picking this up.

My new library is small, like most of the other neighbourhood libraries in Birmingham, but it was nice to poke around some new shelves and spot some new (to me) books that I'll definitely be picking up in the future. I almost came away with a copy of Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin, but I think that might have to wait until next time. I didn't get chance to venture into the YA section, but hopefully there's some good stuff there too!

Recent reviews
Patrick DeWitt - The Sisters Brothers (6/10)

At the moment, I am still reading Fatherland, by Robert Harris - a great piece of alternative history and an intriguing crime thriller too. I have put Pride & Prejudice to one side for the moment, mostly because after a long day of working at my computer I have no desire to read a book off the screen on my Kindle app!

I have also been volunteering at the Birmingham Book Festival, so look out for some posts on that in the near future!

What have you been reading lately?

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. :)

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?

The lyrical, the meaningful, and the downright ridiculous: Top Ten Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week, the theme is Top Ten Quotes from Books.

I am quite bad at remembering book quotes, mostly because I read fast and I read a lot, and even when something leaps out at me at the time, there's not much chance of me holding on to it for long afterwards. However, after some deliberation and some searching, here are a selection of my favourite quotes:

1. "We tiptoed around each other like heartbreaking new friends." - Jack Kerouac, On The Road

2. "I'm not afraid to die. I'm not afraid to live. I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to succeed. I'm not afraid to fall in love. I'm not afraid to be alone. I'm just afraid I might have to stop talking about myself for five minutes." - Kinky Friedman, When The Cat's Away

3. "The pleasure isn't in owning the person. The pleasure is this. Having another contender in the room with you." - Philip Roth, The Human Stain

4. "Old age isn't a battle. Old age is a massacre." - Philip Roth, Everyman

5. "I have just realised I have never seen a dead body or a real female nipple. This is what comes of living in a cul-de-sac." - Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 and 3/4

6. "Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some." - Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

7. "She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you." - Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

8. "Fear cuts deeper than swords." - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones

9. "If a man opens a novel, he likes to have a masculine name on the cover; it's reassuring somehow. You never know what might happen to that external genitalia if you immerse yourself in imaginary doings concocted by someone with the goods on the inside." - Siri Hustvedt, The Summer Without Men

10. "Oh, and one other thing. Mallory is white and Jessi is black. But we don't care about that." / "Dawn is from California." / "Stacey is definitely the most fashionable of all of us." / "Claudia likes junk food and Nancy Drew mysteries." / "Kristy's stepfather is a millionaire." And so it goes. - Ann. M. Martin, The Babysitters' Club series