15 Feb 2008

A Change in Taste…Perhaps!

Along with my desire not to write, I find I don’t feel like reading either. However, I refuse to stop reading. It’s something I’ve done since day dot.

I have many book shelves at home. Most of them are crammed full (two rows deep and high) with fantasy books. I’ve loved these stories for so long. But every time I look at the books now, I cringe. I think I might be sick to the core of fantasy.

It’s time to change my reading habits, I believe.

Last night, I made a special trip to the library. There was one rule I had to follow. No fantasy books! I’m drawn to them because of the excellent covers, but this time I made sure I picked up anything and everything else. I deliberately picked books at random that I wouldn’t normally entertain. I figure that the cover doesn’t maketh the book and maybe, hopefully, I’m missing out on a really good story. I plan to find out.

I chose chic fic, detective, Australiana, humour and romance. With only three weeks before the due date forces me to return the books, I doubt I’ll read more than one of them, but I wanted to be sure I had options in case I didn’t like whatever I decide to read first…or second…or third! You get my drift.

First book of the rank will be Last Family in England by Matt Haig. This book was highly recommended to me by Alan Baxter. I will let you know what I think.

If you have a non-fantasy book you’d like to recommend, please go ahead and tell me about it.

Filed Under:

« Happy Valentine’s Day
The Last Family in England »

Responses

I’d recommend Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, or anything by him for that matter. Great lit fic writer that really draws you in.

By: Benjamin Solah
on 15 February 2008
at 5:56 pm

I would second the Haruki Murakami recommendation, but apart from Norwegian Wood, his other books verge on Fantasy (or Weirdness. In fact they’re totally Weird, which is why I love them!)

I read a great book this time last year, that I still think about even now. It was a non-fiction memoir - The Abode of Love by Kate Baxter. I got that from the library near me, in fact I would never have read it otherwise - it’s not the sort of thing I would have ever sought out, because it’s about a guy who proclaimed himself as the Messiah in Victorian England (and this is a true story!)

I read two other books last year that I would never have looked at if a friend hadn’t lent them to me - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, and Regeneration by Pat Barker. I would highly recommend both of them.

By: Helen
on 15 February 2008
at 6:38 pm

I adore anything Maeve Binchy. She tells simple stories about people and their relationships. Very easy reading, which was one of the reasons I first picked her up. The stories are usually set in Ireland but you’ll find yourself warming to her characters and wanting to find out what happens to them. Some favourites:
Light a Penny Candle
Tara Road
Firefly Summer
The Copper Beech

Happy Reading! :)

By: Sasha
on 18 February 2008
at 10:10 am

Hmm, I’m not sure I’m ready for weird just yet, but I’m put Haruki Murakami on my list of authors to read anyway.

I think I already have a Maeve Binchy book on my shelf somewhere. I’ll have to have a dig through them and see.

By: Scribe
on 22 February 2008
at 11:14 am

If you want some children’s books - some of the ones I’ve read recently and loved are:
1- Hattie Big Sky (Historical YA)
2- A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Contemporary MG)
3- Hope Was Here (Contemporary YA)
4- Rules (Contemporary Mg)
5- A Northern Light (YA Historical and amazing)
6- Pictures of Hollis Woods (Contemporary MG)
7- How to Steal a Dog (Contemporary MG)

All of those are great reads.

By: Jennifer
on 25 February 2008
at 9:37 am

Scribe~

I would recommend the following non-fantasy books for you. These are ones that really caught me:

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Johnathan Saffran Foer

“Ahab’s Wife” by Sena Jeter Naslund

“Peace Like A River” by Leif Enger

“The Muse Asylum” by David Czuchlewski

By: Steve
on 12 March 2008
at 3:54 pm

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