WEEK THIRTY-EIGHT - 'THE EYRE AFFAIR'

'The Eyre Affair' by Jasper Fforde
September 13 - 17, 374 pages

I enjoyed this. It's hard to go wrong with a book about books. And dodos. Most importantly dodos. I like dodos.

Yes this novel is very good. It has a mix of everything: love, crime, action, mystery and humour. I really liked how surreal the setting is. And how much everyone cared about literature. I did not, however, appreciate the questioning of the authorship of Shakespeare's plays. I am a staunch believer in them being his. But that's my only complaint. In fact I was pleased to hear him (and Dickens, too) mentioned.

I can't decide whether it is good or bad that I hadn't rad 'Jane Eyre' before. Made it more surprising for sure.

WEEK THIRTY-SEVEN - 'A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES'

'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole
September 8 - 12, 338 pages

Just quickly, that cover was a pleasure to draw. I'm glad I decided to pay a bit extra for this edition.

And now to what's inside the awesome cover. This book is very funny. Ignatius, the central character, is just in a class of his own. You can't help but root for him, despite being a selfish, deluded, yet very intelligent, obese slob who still lives with his poor mother. In fact, all of Toole's characters are great. In a way this novel is quite Dickens-esque: the many overlapping characters and sub-plots are as complex as the are hilarious, and culminate wonderfully at the end. This is a really good read. I learned so many new words!

Toole actually didn't live to see this book published. He committed suicide after he could not find a publisher, and his mother pushed to get it published after he died. The foreword in this book is by the man who accepted it. Good thing he did; it's a great book and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.

WEEK THIRTY-SIX - 'THE DARK ROOM'

'The Dark Room' by Rachel Seiffert

September 1 - 3, 278 pages

This is a really good book. It's made up of three completely separate stories; one set just before and during World War Two, one just after it has finished, and the last 52 years later. All are in Germany. All incite different emotions.

At first I didn't like the way I had to just leave the characters and say hello to new ones, but then I saw that this meant that I could see this terrible war from more perspectives: the book hosted a microcosm of society.

I think that books like these are important to read. And this one I struggled to put down. I especially enjoyed the photography in it, shame I had to leave it at the first story.

WEEK THIRTY-FIVE - 'TWELFTH NIGHT'

'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare
August 25 - 27, 90 pages

Yep, I'm back to Shakespeare. It's been a few weeks. It was time to return.

This was the first time I read a Shakespeare without notes on the page to translate into modern English. I was a bit nervous about this but it turned out fine. Admittedly the play is a fairly simple one, but still I found it easy to follow. Pat on the back for me.

I really enjoyed the play. It's funny, had some good lines. It was exciting to think how many other stories have been inspired by this most famous one. Pretty cool. 

This is my favourite quote from the play (especially as a vegetarian):
'I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit.'

WEEK THIRTY-FOUR - 'BLIND FAITH'

'Blind Faith' by Ben Elton
August 18 - 20, 320 pages

I enjoy novels about dystopias, and utopias for that matter. Although the two seem to overlap. Maybe there's some appeal in seeing society (with all good intentions) go to the extremes only to realise that life just isn't very nice and is much better the way it is for us now. Mass self-assurance, perhaps. Whatever the reason, I really like books like this and 'Blind Faith' was no exception. It was completely different to what I expected. For starters, it was funny. I enjoyed reading it. I also really like how 'current' it was; so relevant to everyday life. And, I don;t want to spoil it but I just have to say, I like how it ends with his faith in humankind to realise the error of their ways and put things right. Eventually.

WEEK THIRTY-THREE 'THE HITCH HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY' & 'TINKERS'

'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams
August 11 - 13, 159 pages

This is a very funny book. I really enjoyed it. I don't usually have much time for science fiction but this novel definitely made up for this by being so hilarious. I just don't know what else to say. A great length, too; short enough to be funny the whole way through without becoming tiresome.

'Tinkers' by Paul Harding
August 13 - 15, 191 pages

A beautiful book. I love the way it's written; like a tapestry. I like how it cited other works and wove its way back through time by following the lives of each son's father. Quite brilliant.
'Such a crooked and flimsy device could only keep the fantastic hours of unruly ghosts.'

Yep. A good week's reading. Although it did frustrate my slightly that on this copy of 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide' the title is spelled different on the cover and on the spine. The cover says 'The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy' while the spine says 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. Oh well, I'm sure I'll eventually get over it.

Some quotes from 'Tinkers':

'He grabbed for his hat because the mule had eaten it off his head once before, leaving the beast ill and gassy and he behind it with teary eyes and a sunburned nose.'

'My goodness, I am made from planets and wood, diamonds and orange peels, now and then, here and there; the iron in my blood was the blade of a Roman plow; peel back my scalp and you will see my cranium covered in the scrimshaw carved by an ancient sailor who never suspected he was whittling at my skull...'

WEEK THIRTY-TWO - 'A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'

'A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare' by James Shapiro
August 2 - 8, 333 pages


I love reading about Shakespeare just as much as I love reading his plays. I think that part of what makes him so interesting for me is not just his genius, but how we know so little about him. Still, today, even what the Bard from Avon looks like is speculation.


But moving right along. I was very impressed by the depth of research gone into this book. And not only that but how much that research told us about Shakespeare's sources and inspiration. I also was very interested to learn more of the world in which Shakespeare lived. A good read; heavy at times.


And imagine a year when he wrote Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet. What a year!