Friday 19 February 2010

The Current Stack

It's been book week around here lately. I just finished reading The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt. It was ok. In my list of all books I've ever read it comes below The Children's Book, a very long way below The Time Traveler's Wife, and far far above White Teeth.

It was interesting but not gripping. I didn't really care what happened in the end, and sometimes it was hard to follow - you'd read a conversation and then find out that one of the participants has been dead twenty years and it's all in the other person's head. It was a bit too pleased with being clever for my liking. Which makes it sounds awful and it wasn't at all. I did like the deatils of everyday life, the forays into the past and how the characters got to where they are. Those things gave it a bit of depth. So not great but not bad either. If you get a chance to read it and the blurb interests you, I'd say go for it - otherwise I wouldn't bother seeking it out.

Anyway, on to the main point of this post. This is my current stack of books to be read:

{Top to bottom: Night Train to Lisbon, The Piano Teacher, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Remember Me, A Most Wanted Man, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Her Fearful Symmetry.}

So my questions - which should I read next? Have you read any of them and what were your thoughts? Or do you have any recommendations to add to the stack?

7 comments:

  1. I read A Thousand Splendid Suns... it was amazing! Same author as the Kite Runner (which I actually haven't read).... anyway it was really good and gives you a lot of insight into muslim culture and history.

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  2. Let me know what you think of The Elegance of the Hedgehog- we're supposed to be reading it for book club but I'm hearing it's a bit slow and hard to dive into!

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  3. I have to confess, I haven't read any of these books, but I have read The Kite Runner, which was brilliantly written (although harrowing!), and have heard lots of good things about A Thousand Splendid Suns.
    Thankyou so much for your lovely comment about my cushions! You so should get a sewing machine if you can, they're a lot of fun!

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  4. Read A Thousand Splendid Suns, it sounds like something I've been wanting to read but am waiting for a review on it.

    I read Her Fearful Symmetry because I loved Time Traveler's Wife... it was such a completely different book. I didn't much like it, so I would like your opinion on that too! :)

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  5. I have no idea which book I would read next. I've heard so much about Niffenegger, I might read that.

    But perhaps I would read A Thousand Splendid Suns, because I really enjoyed the writing style of Hosseini in The Kite Runner.

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  6. I love this photo. There is nothing like stacks of books and sunshine. I haven't read any of these, but I have my own line-up waiting for me. I'll let you know what I love.

    Thanks for your sweet comment. I love love love your blog!

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  7. Oh I've read the elegance of the hedgehog and I thought it was a bit like the emperor's new clothes-it claims to be really clever, so the critics agree just so they don't look stupid! Didn't enjoy that one!
    xxx

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Thanks for reading! What are you thinking?

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