By popular request (by that, I mean 2 of you; out of the regular 4 of you[1]) here is my list of Good Books I read this year, Part 1. Its not part 1 because I have the time to read so very very much, as simply because I do indeed waffle on about what I’ve read, so very very definitely much. ( And I very very very much wish I had acres more time to read...!)
I was tempted to get all organizational and break it up into themes, but I’m leaving it as higgledy piggledy as I first read them. In order. (With the not so good ones left out, of course – though they had some of the most interesting notes. Maybe I should also do a ‘Flawed Books Read in 2011’ List…?)
Ok. Here it is…
1. Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut, by Emily White (2003)
(The title says what its about, really. [I detest the expression ‘does what it says on the tin’ that’s all over the place the last couple of years, and WON’T say that about this book.] An exploration of how people myth-make on this subject, who the myths get tagged on to, possibly why, and how it affected them. This has to be the most lyrically written feminist book I have ever read. Of course, it doesn’t have the bonkers poetry of Irigaray or Cixous, but it made sense [unlike some of Irigaray or Cixous!]. The first 2 chapters and the last 4 chapters were excellent. The middle sagged a little, and was repetitive. But I really enjoyed the book, and the way it managed to be thoughtful and rigorous without being dry at all. It’s made me put a lot of theory books on my wish list to read. I don’t know if we have the exact same archetype going on over here, and going to an all girls secondary school, I couldn’t tell you precisely. But the ostracism and bullying tactics – they seem to be similar no matter the breed of outcast you are. I understood and remembered some of them from being the booky 'well spoken' outcast. She does a good job of highlighting the problems with racial and class stereotyping, when seeking an all-encompassing explanation. She also, rightly I think, sites ‘boy craziness’ as one of the major reasons girls are set against each other – all their lives; bred to mistrust. There were many good points here, too many to note. A keeper. I recommend anyone interested in the theme to get a copy of this!)
(The title says what its about, really. [I detest the expression ‘does what it says on the tin’ that’s all over the place the last couple of years, and WON’T say that about this book.] An exploration of how people myth-make on this subject, who the myths get tagged on to, possibly why, and how it affected them. This has to be the most lyrically written feminist book I have ever read. Of course, it doesn’t have the bonkers poetry of Irigaray or Cixous, but it made sense [unlike some of Irigaray or Cixous!]. The first 2 chapters and the last 4 chapters were excellent. The middle sagged a little, and was repetitive. But I really enjoyed the book, and the way it managed to be thoughtful and rigorous without being dry at all. It’s made me put a lot of theory books on my wish list to read. I don’t know if we have the exact same archetype going on over here, and going to an all girls secondary school, I couldn’t tell you precisely. But the ostracism and bullying tactics – they seem to be similar no matter the breed of outcast you are. I understood and remembered some of them from being the booky 'well spoken' outcast. She does a good job of highlighting the problems with racial and class stereotyping, when seeking an all-encompassing explanation. She also, rightly I think, sites ‘boy craziness’ as one of the major reasons girls are set against each other – all their lives; bred to mistrust. There were many good points here, too many to note. A keeper. I recommend anyone interested in the theme to get a copy of this!)
2. The Vampire Tapestry, by Suzy McKee Charnas (1980)
(Wonderful book. Today there is a strange over obsession with vampires going on in fiction and film. This was way before all that. Life of a real vampire, a product of evolution: seen through the eyes of several interludes with others, then gradually, through his own eyes. How he sleeps and comes awake a clean predator, but is gradually more and more taken by his prey, until he has to sleep again, as his distinction between himself and them has hazed too much for him to be effective. No fangs, no massive sexiness, except that which people attribute to him. He is a mutation, a biological plausible anomaly. He seems to be the only one. Fascinating read. Cold, yet very sweet on the ear. A real page-turner. And Katje de Groot – there’s a character I don’t think I will ever read again, so un-PC now. But so honestly done. Really enjoyed. 20/10)
(Wonderful book. Today there is a strange over obsession with vampires going on in fiction and film. This was way before all that. Life of a real vampire, a product of evolution: seen through the eyes of several interludes with others, then gradually, through his own eyes. How he sleeps and comes awake a clean predator, but is gradually more and more taken by his prey, until he has to sleep again, as his distinction between himself and them has hazed too much for him to be effective. No fangs, no massive sexiness, except that which people attribute to him. He is a mutation, a biological plausible anomaly. He seems to be the only one. Fascinating read. Cold, yet very sweet on the ear. A real page-turner. And Katje de Groot – there’s a character I don’t think I will ever read again, so un-PC now. But so honestly done. Really enjoyed. 20/10)
3. The Aspern Papers, by Henry James (1888)
(Excellent. Some of Henry James can be so very overly wordy [and this from a person who loves to over-saturate a sentence], but this was more conversational, less turgid. Loved the sly and acquisitive narrator. Loved the interplay of the characters. Loved Miss Tina – an unlikely woman. Men always seem to write women as stereotypes of one kind or another. This one was an actual person. And I loved the twist at the end. Made me gasp. And you know how much fun it is to be made to do that by a book!)
(Excellent. Some of Henry James can be so very overly wordy [and this from a person who loves to over-saturate a sentence], but this was more conversational, less turgid. Loved the sly and acquisitive narrator. Loved the interplay of the characters. Loved Miss Tina – an unlikely woman. Men always seem to write women as stereotypes of one kind or another. This one was an actual person. And I loved the twist at the end. Made me gasp. And you know how much fun it is to be made to do that by a book!)
4. Into the Darkest Corner, by Elizabeth Haynes (2011)
(Excellent! The most page-turning book I’ve read in ages. Shan’t do the plot, it needs to be read. Desperate to know what was going to happen next. Loved the way the heroine was not an angel by current moral standards, yet utterly did not deserve what she got – echoes of The Accused, there. It was a book about overcoming fear and anxiety, in many ways. Excellent too that this book was by a relative rookie and a result of National Novel Writing Month [NaNoWriMo] – hope for me yet. Will definitely read anything else she puts out.)
(Excellent! The most page-turning book I’ve read in ages. Shan’t do the plot, it needs to be read. Desperate to know what was going to happen next. Loved the way the heroine was not an angel by current moral standards, yet utterly did not deserve what she got – echoes of The Accused, there. It was a book about overcoming fear and anxiety, in many ways. Excellent too that this book was by a relative rookie and a result of National Novel Writing Month [NaNoWriMo] – hope for me yet. Will definitely read anything else she puts out.)
5. Affinity, by Sarah Waters (2000)
(If I could write as well as this I would be eternally happy, I am sure. An amazing, excellent, page-turner of a book. 20/10 J I’m not going to crit this – I think it should just be experienced: séances, ghosts, Victorian mental institutions…the atmosphere and the twist at the end alone – kisses fingers; this novel is as good as the best food.)
(If I could write as well as this I would be eternally happy, I am sure. An amazing, excellent, page-turner of a book. 20/10 J I’m not going to crit this – I think it should just be experienced: séances, ghosts, Victorian mental institutions…the atmosphere and the twist at the end alone – kisses fingers; this novel is as good as the best food.)
6. The Frost Fairs, by Jon McCullough (2011)
(My old Open University A215 tutor, the best one I ever had. I bought the poems because he was nice to me, and very encouraging; I wanted to be supportive of a fellow writer-person. I read them, and re-read them and was amazed by them, because they are mad and brilliant. He loves words. Excellent collection. Some so sad, some so clever [‘Tropsheric’ blew me away], some so tender. More, nice John. Even if you don’t like poetry [and I mostly don’t], I think you’ll enjoy the way he loves words and paints pictures.)
(My old Open University A215 tutor, the best one I ever had. I bought the poems because he was nice to me, and very encouraging; I wanted to be supportive of a fellow writer-person. I read them, and re-read them and was amazed by them, because they are mad and brilliant. He loves words. Excellent collection. Some so sad, some so clever [‘Tropsheric’ blew me away], some so tender. More, nice John. Even if you don’t like poetry [and I mostly don’t], I think you’ll enjoy the way he loves words and paints pictures.)
7. Valiant, by Holly Black (2006)
(Another Excellent, she is a brilliant writer. This is a ‘Young Adults’ book; but it doesn’t read like one – just reads like regular fantasy. We’re in a world related to Faerie, here. Imagery is intense; and in this one, realism of a nasty situation intense too. And very good G.K. Chesterton quote at the head of one of the chapters – that reminded me of me. This is my nature: ‘Strike a glass, and it will not endure an instant; simply do not strike it, and it will endure a thousand years.’
(Another Excellent, she is a brilliant writer. This is a ‘Young Adults’ book; but it doesn’t read like one – just reads like regular fantasy. We’re in a world related to Faerie, here. Imagery is intense; and in this one, realism of a nasty situation intense too. And very good G.K. Chesterton quote at the head of one of the chapters – that reminded me of me. This is my nature: ‘Strike a glass, and it will not endure an instant; simply do not strike it, and it will endure a thousand years.’
8. The Triumph of the Moon, by Prof. Ronald Hutton (1995)
(Brilliant!!!!!!!!! The BEST THEORY AND HISTORY BOOK I HAVE READ IN YEARS! Both so stimulating, so angering, so arduous, so fluent, so engrossing, enthralling, enchanting…so much information, so much truth after obfuscation…I have learned so much. WONDERFUL book J And took me a month and half to read, on baby time…every single spare minute, and note taking. It’s about the modern explosion of witchcraft, specifically Wicca, and where it got all its iconography from – where it would like you to think it did, and really believes it did…and where it actually did. The lack of unbroken centuries of lineage seems to bother some practitioners; as if only old ‘traditions’ could be valid. But all ‘traditions’ have to begin somewhere…and Professor Hutton shows where and how.)
(Brilliant!!!!!!!!! The BEST THEORY AND HISTORY BOOK I HAVE READ IN YEARS! Both so stimulating, so angering, so arduous, so fluent, so engrossing, enthralling, enchanting…so much information, so much truth after obfuscation…I have learned so much. WONDERFUL book J And took me a month and half to read, on baby time…every single spare minute, and note taking. It’s about the modern explosion of witchcraft, specifically Wicca, and where it got all its iconography from – where it would like you to think it did, and really believes it did…and where it actually did. The lack of unbroken centuries of lineage seems to bother some practitioners; as if only old ‘traditions’ could be valid. But all ‘traditions’ have to begin somewhere…and Professor Hutton shows where and how.)
9. Sleepwalking, by Julie Myerson (2006)
(Gripping, yet a very sad and depressing book. Very well written. Strangely a perfect book to read after giving birth. Its darkness matches some of my own. But the grandmother, Queenie, making the children cakes with pins in…her casual and measured cruelty, and the father, making the children read the affidavit…the way it all leaks down, the bad parenting, from generation to generation…spot on. I must try and love Fluffhead well. And not make the mistakes of fear I made with Fry, that paralyse him to this day. This was a good book, but so dark I won’t keep it, I will sell it.)
(Gripping, yet a very sad and depressing book. Very well written. Strangely a perfect book to read after giving birth. Its darkness matches some of my own. But the grandmother, Queenie, making the children cakes with pins in…her casual and measured cruelty, and the father, making the children read the affidavit…the way it all leaks down, the bad parenting, from generation to generation…spot on. I must try and love Fluffhead well. And not make the mistakes of fear I made with Fry, that paralyse him to this day. This was a good book, but so dark I won’t keep it, I will sell it.)
10. Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto (1997)
(In places incredibly original and well written. But also something oddly cold and detached. Kitchen was a novella and was accompanied by Moonlight Shadow, a short story. Both good. The second somewhat supernatural, almost a ghost story. The Japanese writers do these very well.)
(In places incredibly original and well written. But also something oddly cold and detached. Kitchen was a novella and was accompanied by Moonlight Shadow, a short story. Both good. The second somewhat supernatural, almost a ghost story. The Japanese writers do these very well.)
11. Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami (2002)
(Another most wonderful writer, with a great sense of wandering through life, randomness, and yet specificity. A missing person story. Not a whodunnit, but a …sad song of a story. Soft. Sparely written, very involving, hardly a novel, really. A sense of spaciousness uncommon to a novel. Immensely well done. Where did Sumire go???)
(Another most wonderful writer, with a great sense of wandering through life, randomness, and yet specificity. A missing person story. Not a whodunnit, but a …sad song of a story. Soft. Sparely written, very involving, hardly a novel, really. A sense of spaciousness uncommon to a novel. Immensely well done. Where did Sumire go???)
12. Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett (1987)
(A re-read. The adventures of various characters in Discworld, going about their business and reflecting on our own society, as always is the way. Didn’t remember this one, it’s been so long. I first read Pratchett over 15 years ago. Still adore him. How can you come up with so many brilliant metaphors and excellent out of the box ways of seeing things, be so funny and also such a good plotter and character creator?? The man is a god, as Mozart was!!)
(A re-read. The adventures of various characters in Discworld, going about their business and reflecting on our own society, as always is the way. Didn’t remember this one, it’s been so long. I first read Pratchett over 15 years ago. Still adore him. How can you come up with so many brilliant metaphors and excellent out of the box ways of seeing things, be so funny and also such a good plotter and character creator?? The man is a god, as Mozart was!!)
(No time to do links again, apologies, 4 faithful readers, and will not make a habit of this unlinked postage – but all these are available on the trusty Amazon or elsewhere in the real go out and remember to put your mittens on world; all findable.)
I feel that’s enough for a part 1. Part 2 to follow, hopefully next week. Though time is getting incredibly truncated now. Have a Christmas Lunch with Saint Mum and Fry, last minute gifting to be done, a Pre-Op assessment, then an Op: the day before Christmas Eve, no less…there goes Christmas!!
Hmmmm – fear of that alone will send me diving for distraction from now till then…which is a bit awkward and difficult to do, what with small Fluffhead not wanting to remain in one room for more than 10 minutes at the moment, but rampage through the house; so watching things on TV is a bit out of the question. Friends far away, so visiting not really an option. Can only read when Fluffhead sleeps. Ah well. What a time to be in need of some Zen thoughts…This is what books were invented for – to take you from your own life (and fears) and give you perspective, by placing you squarely Elsewhere, for a while, where your mind can play and think and fly free…
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