BOOKS
BOOK REVIEWS ARE BASED ON PERSONAL CHOICE WHETHER YOU WORK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES OR A BLOG THAT PRACTICALLY NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT. IT'S GOOD TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE OTHER OPINION, EVEN IF IT'S JUST SO WE CAN DISAGREE.
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THE GREEN ROAD
There's a short list of modern Irish novels I would describe as being privileged to have read - Amongst Women by John McGahern and The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor for example. The Green Road by Anne Enright is the newest entrant on that very short list. Anne Enright has been appointed the first Irish Laureate for Literature and this novel alone will demonstrate exactly why that role is so well deserved.
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THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS
I think it's only fair to admit I'm a big fan of John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels and I opened this book with high expectations of a standard of writing that elevates a modern novel towards real literature; I wasn't disappointed. The language and descriptive prose are of Connolly's usual high quality, but it at no time overpowers the story or the flow of the narrative. In fact the subject matter lends itself well to the considered turn of phrase that characterises this author's work.
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THE BIG BOOK CHALLENGE – UPDATE
Okay so I’ve wracked my brain to come up with a list of books for the Big Book Challenge (see my earlier post for details). Given the fact I have two years to complete the challenge I’m sure some of these will fall by the wayside, but a good start is half the journey as they say. So here they are –
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BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS
I've been one of King's 'constant readers' ever since I came across a second-hand copy of his first short fiction collection Night Shift in the 70s. As with most writers with a canon of work as vast as his (and there aren't that many), he has sagged a bit from time-to-time but in my opinion his short fiction collections never let you down.
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THE BIG BOOK CHALLENGE
I’ve never been someone who rose to the bait of a challenge but when paparali.com challenged me to read (and review) 20 books over the next 24 months I couldn’t refuse. Having worked most of my adult life in adult education and principally adult literacy, I feel this is a challenge worth accepting. The list of book types in the challenge is reproduced below in case you want to take part. If you do use the hashtag #thebigbookchallenge. Keep an eye out for the updates and reviews. The first will be the book by an author I love – Stephen King.
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5 FAVOURITE FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
I have all my life loved detective characters from books, movies and TV. When well written they're always well developed, colourful and clever with a keen eye for detail and an easy command of the application of logic. Most of all though they read people, a skill I value very highly. It's very difficult for me to whittle down all of those intelligent men and women to a list of five favourites but I've really enjoyed trying.
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5 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT BOOKS (CHALLENGE #4)
I have a confession to make…I have loved books all of my life. Now, there it is, off my chest. I feel much better now. Of course no confession would be complete without answering one key question: “Why?” Well there are 5 things about books that made me fall in love with them and for that love affair to have lasted almost half a century and here they are- 1. Escape from Reality In an age when TV is obsessed with ‘reality’ and Twitter and Facebook record every detail of the mundane nature of most people’s lives, the huge vista that novels open up to us is infinite and infinitely enjoyable. A good book can transport you back or forward in time, to any part of this world and any number of other worlds, or even inside the mind…
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MOVIE REVIEW: THE HOST
"What the heck", I said to myself, "why not review both the novel The Host by Stephenie Meyer and the subsequent movie of the same name?" "Why the heck not?" exclaimed the little voice in my head, but something deep beneath the surface of my tiny mind kept screaming out a warning.
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ALIF THE UNSEEN
Alif The Unseen by G. Willow Wilson would appear to have it all - well drawn characters, a good plot and enough pace to make you turn the pages, but even though I really enjoyed reading it there wasn't any moment throughout the book that made me think "ah!". Set in a fictitious 'city' in Arabia ruled by a corrupt Emir and his regime, with a plot played out against a backdrop of the Arab Spring, linked to the rich tapestry of middle eastern mythology and focusing on a main character steeped in the world of technology has to be a formula for success and the author handles all of these aspects with finesse.
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HOUSE ON AN IRISH HILLSIDE
House On An Irish Hillside by Felicity Hayes-McCoy was a bit of a shot in the dark for me because I wasn't sure what to expect. I bought the book because I wanted to read more autobiographical or memoir based writing to help me with another project I'm working on and so the concept seemed appropriate. In fact, the book, while most definitely a memoir, is much more significant than simply an account of one life (or in this case two).
