See Me Walking Down Fifth Avenue...

So, I'm off to New York tomorrow. New York, one of my favourite cities in the whole wide world. Broadway! SoHo! MoMA! Madison Square Gardens! Central Park! You get the idea, right?

It's just for a week, and it is on work, which means I won't get much time to take in the city as much as I've like to, but I do get a couple of afternoons free, which means I can go to the MoMA and the Met and if the weather holds, go horseback riding at Central Park. I really cannot wait, despite the fact that I am exhausted of traveling...

Unsurprisingly, I'm taking a few books with me - mainly fiction based in New York. A few months back, I had asked for some recommendations on books set in New York, and based on a combination of that and GoodReads, here's my New York Reading List.

Do you have any favourite books set in New York? Or, any places that I must see/things I must do?

Rambles and Digressions - Of the Booker, August Reading, September Reading and...

So, the Booker shortlist was announced yesterday. Y'know the funny thing? It completely passed me by. I didn't even realise it, and even while writing out my $0.02 worth of thoughts on The Slap, I was half-wondering when the shortlist was going to be announced. I could've googled it, but laziness took over.

I don't really have an opinion on the shortlist. Spent much of August reading books from the longlist, and barring a couple (Room and Skippy Dies), I was disappointed. Typically, only two of the six books I read made it to the shortlist which comprised of:

• Peter Carey - Parrot and Olivier in America
• Emma Donoghue - Room
• Damon Galgut - In a Strange Room
• Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question
• Andrea Levy - The Long Song
• Tom McCarthy - C

And as some of you might already know, I'm not a big fan of Peter Carey (despite only reading the one book by him - is that wrong?), so I will be quite disappointed if he becomes the first author to win the Man Booker Prize three times, specially considering I was rooting for Coetzee last year. Oh well, que sera sera... shout out your favourite(s) for this year's Man Booker Prize?!

I had big reading plans for August. Thought it would be fantastic to do this whole around-the-world thing. Turns out, I didn't read a single book from the list! Not a single book! See, that's the problem with plans - they just never turn out as they're supposed to (for me, at least). It's almost embarrassing, but heigh ho! Sometimes that's the way it goes!

I am still reading The Master and Margarita, and am feeling quite proud of myself that I've passed the 300 page mark, and am continuing on, despite long phases of complete bewilderment. I'm going to have to re-read this book someday, but... let me finish it for the first time first. Have you read Bulgakov's classic? Did you feel completely lost at times too, or is it just me?

So, what's my reading plans for September? Well, I can't expect any of you to take me seriously after the August I had... I'm just keeping it open! I've given up on the whole hundred books for the year thing - it's too much effort, and it's not worth it. Not for a statistic! So, at the moment, I'm focusing on finishing The Master and Margarita, which I'll probably follow up with either The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay or Specimen Days. I'm in the mood for a book set in the Big Apple, and these are the two I have on my shelf, so they'll definitely make the cut. Do you have any other recommendations on books set in New York?

So apologies for this completely random rambling post, which seems to be a just bits and bobs tossed together in a lame attempt at sounding coherent. I blame the insomnia - I've gone from being a girl who could sleep eighteen hours a day to one who can't sleep at all. You'd think that would increase my reading time, right? Well, it does, and here I confess my latest guilty pleasure - fan fiction! It's annoyingly addictive, although some of it is so worrying! Are any of you fans of fan fic? Recommendations please!

And with that little confession (which does beg the question: what's your guilty pleasure?!), I'm going to sign off for this evening. Toodle-oo!

Reading In August

I've had a relatively "busy" July. For the first time since January, the number of posts I created in a month has hit double-digits. It's just ten - nothing to write home about, but, it's still a nice feeling, if you know what I mean. I'm not comparing myself to some of you book bloggers out there, who stack up more than twice that in a fortnight! :) Read about nine books in July (two reviews are still pending), and thought it was a good month reading-wise.

I read three different books by Nobel Prize winners:

1. J.M. Coetzee's The Life and Times of Michael K
2. Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
3. Doris Lessing's The Fifth Child

And three books that appear on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list: (sorry, there's an overlap)

1. J.M. Coetzee's The Life and Times of Michael K
2. Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
3. Haruki Murakami's Kafka On The Shore

So, yes, I enjoyed my July, but for the fact that I didn't make a dent in my to-read pile, as I was at my parents, and then fell ill and then ended up visiting the library and reading books that were lying around there. So, August is going to be about hitting that massive to-read pile, and conquering it somewhat. It'll be a while before I do that, but a girl's got to try!

So, without much further ado, here's my proposed book-stack for August - likely to change, but it's what I plan on right now.

Yep, it's almost got an "around the world" theme to it, with books from India, Turkey, Russia, France, Nigeria and Czechoslovakia.

1. Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake
2. Irène Némirovsky's Suite Française
3. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus
4. Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red
5. Milan Kundera's Farewell Waltz
6. Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita

Also, if my library would be nice enough to get some of the books from the Booker longlist, I'll be reading those. Note for next year: do not exercise the self-imposed reading ban in the months of July, August and September. I'll be keeping an eye out on all the reviews, and come September, I'll be treating myself to a chunk of the Booker longlist and shortlist.

What do you have in store for August? Will you be tackling the Booker longlist?

The Booker Prize 2010

So, the shortlist for the Booker Prize was announced yesterday. Like many of you on the blog'o'sphere, I didn't do a post on what I'd expect to see on the longlist. There's a good reason for that - it's because I had absolutely no idea! I figured that Mitchell and McEwan would make it, but that's it. Hmm, even there I was wrong.

So, that's the longlist:

1. Peter Carey - Parrot and Oliver in America
2. Emma Donoghue - Room
3. Helen Dunmore - The Betrayal
4. Damon Galgut - In a Strange Room
5. Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question
6. Andrea Levy - The Long Song
7. Tom McCarthy - C
8. David Mitchell - The Thousand Autumns of Zacob de Zoet
9. Lisa Moore - February
10. Paul Murray - Skippy Dies
11. Rose Tremain - Trespass
12. Christos Tsiolkas - The Slap
13. Alan Warner - The Stars in the Bright Sky

I've read the David Mitchell, and enjoyed it despite finding it a bit of a difficult read. Not read the others, but I do want to read a few of them. Do any of you have any suggestions? I don't really intend to read the entire longlist...

I really don't want to read the Peter Carey (do you really think he'll be the first author to win the Booker Prize three times?), as I really really didn't enjoy the only one of his books that I have read. Yes, I've used the word "really" four times in the previous sentence....

I guess the ones that appeal to me most at the moment are :

1. Paul Murray - Skippy Dies
2. Rose Tremain - Trespass
3. Christos Tsiolkas - The Slap

Have you read any of them? What did you think?

Do you plan on reading the longlist this year? Maybe the shortlist? Or, just the winner?

At The Library

I love libraries. I came home for a break, which was supposed to be just a week long. However, ended up falling ill, and it's now been over five weeks, and I'm still here. And, it's probably going to be a couple of weeks more. Sucks to be me, at the moment. But - enough of that. I essentially wanted light "frivolous" reading, while trying to recuperate (notice the word "trying"?), but the books I'd dragged along with me were more or less not. So, I visited the local library - a place I haven't visited for about nine years. I barely read in my last two years of school (don't ask - it's one of the few regrets I have), and then I went away to university, and wasn't ever home long enough to visit the library.

The age-old librarian still recognised me, and asked me how I was doing. Reminded me of how oft' I used to hang out at the library, just reading for ages, without a care for anything else. However, he said I'd have to re-apply for the library cards, which would take a couple of days to re-issue. I was well gutted, as I really don't want to buy books at the moment. Something to do with not really knowing what I feel like reading. Anyway, I took a long shot, and asked him if my library cards were still at the library, as I normally used to leave them there back in the day... Long shot indeed; it's been nine years! However, a pleasant surprise awaited me as the librarian managed to find four of the six cards I used to have. Yay!

So, I went a-book-searchin', and I was quite pleased with the books I took home, specially as I stumbled upon Peyton Place by sheer chance. I was looking at books by Daphne Du Maurier, and it was just there! I'd heard of Peyton Place ages ago, when I first heard Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire. However, I had absolutely no idea what it referred to, until a few weeks back, when suddenly, I saw the name of the book practically everywhere in the blog'o'sphere.

The other books I checked out included Colleen McCullough's Angel, Adam Foulds' The Quickening Maze and Daphne Du Maurier's The Glass Blowers.

Friends have also recommended I read Vernon God Little and Northanger Abbey (along with Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse). I'm not really in the mood for Wodehouse right now though. Do you guys have any other recommendations? I'm averaging about a book a day at the moment, and have very little else to do (well, I have been watching Prison Break), so all recommendations would be extremely welcome.

They've Made It To My Shelf!

It's been a while since I've done one of the "recent acquisitions" post. Part of the reason is, I've not been on a book buying binge for quite some time. However, was down in the dumps recently, and book buying always cheers me up! Under ordinary circumstances, I would've felt guilty, but for once, I'm okay with it.

Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies : This book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2008. I've heard mixed reviews about this book - some people love it, and some people really don't. As 2008 was the year The White Tiger won the Booker, I'm curious to read the entire shortlist. I enjoyed Adiga's debut novel, but didn't think it deserved the Booker, so let's see what the shortlist was like!

JM Coetzee's Life and Times of Michael K : I actually love Coetzee's writing, from the time I read Diary of a Bad Year. This has been on my TBR forever, so I'm glad it's finally made its way to my shelf!

George Orwell's A Clergyman's Daughter : I'm slowly making my way through all the books by George Orwell. I was blown away by Nineteen Eighty-Four, and then wowed by Animal Farm. I've actually not heard much about A Clergyman's Daughter, but the gist sounded interesting enough.

Philippe Chaudel's Brodeck's Report : Loads of people on the blogosphere read this at the start of the year, as part of the Not The TV Book Group group read. It sounds incredible, and I'm hoping it will live up to my expectations.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon : I've only read one book by Fitzgerald, and I really want to change that. His writing's so beautiful, and it's so easy to get lost in his books. I'll probably be picking this one up next (once I finish Heliopolis).

John Wyndham's The Chrysalids : It's been quite some time since I've read a post-apocalyptic story! One that features in the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list is bound to be as good as it gets, right?

Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins' Is New York Burning : A post 9-11 novel. There's an atomic bomb in the heart of New York City, which will destroy the city unless the President of the United States doesn't force the Israelis to abandon all the land they've occupied since the 1967 war. I'm counting on it reminding me a bit of The West Wing!

Have you read any of these books? Which one would you recommend over all the others?

When Spring Began

I've been AWOL last few weeks, as I've been moving house, and working overtime! Not the best combination. The new place still doesn't have internet, but, thank god for tethering. I apologise for disappearing into thin air, but hopefully, I'm back! I've got two books still to review, from my reading in March, plus I just finished The Bloody Chamber so, lots to catch up on! March wasn't a great reading month for me, so I'd ideally like to finish last month's book stack this month. Not counting on it though, as I'll be travelling for about ten days in ten days time (seriously!), and work's just piling on as well.

Also, Claire's hosting the Angela Carter month this month, so, I'd recommend stopping by there irrespective of whether you're an Angela Carter newbie, or a fan. As already said, I've just finished The Bloody Chamber, and I'll be penning down my thoughts on the book tonight.

I plan to read a couple of more Carters this month, with Shadow Dance and The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman being the most likely. I'm really looking forward to reading them, as well as seeing what everyone else is reading, and how they're getting on with her works.

Finally, it would be almost rude to talk about moving home, and not sharing pics of my new work area and bookshelf. The bookshelf's already overflowing, but I absolutely love it. And I adore my new workspace as well. It's still missing my big screen, which is still at my old place, but I don't have the guts to attempt getting it on the tube, so, going to have to find someone willing to make the trek and give me a hand.

Spent all day yesterday building my favourite part of the room, and I am pleased with the results, so here goes...

Moving house is annoying, but, when the end result looks like that, there's some gratification. Don't you think so?

Also, what do you have planned for April, when spring's 'round the corner, and hopefully, we'll be able to put away our overcoats for the next six months? Can't wait!

Monday Meanderings

I've had a slow reading week! Still got hundred odd pages of Middlesex to finish - yes, I know I've been reading it forever, but, I've been busy, and driving up to Manchester midweek for the game didn't really help! Not that I'm complaining... what a cracking game that was! Anyway, I had an amazing present waiting for me when I got home from Manchester from Claire @ Paperback Reader: Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. It's a collection of short stories I've wanted to read for some time, and I fully intend to lose myself in the anthology next month, as Claire hosts the Angela Carter Month. Thanks very much, Claire. Love it - cover and the lovely note that goes with it. :)

As per usual, the books on my shelf increase at a faster pace than I can knock them off. Over the past couple of weeks, a bunch have found themselves sitting pretty on my bookshelf, and I really need to do something about the exponential rate at which the books seem to be growing. I'm going to impose a book-buying ban on myself until I read at least another eighteen books. No temptation, no comfort-book buying, no nothing. Rap my knuckles and tell me off, please! Or, just confiscate my credit card. Luckily (!), I'm not a member of any library, so at least that's not an added distraction. I'm clutching at straws now...

I am actually really excited about Tim, as I read The Thornbirds when I was a teenager, and absolutely loved it. Haven't read a Colleen McCullough since, and I think that's a shame.

Also, it's been over a year and a half since I read anything by Ian McEwan, despite going through a phase where I read six of his books in a month, so I just couldn't turn my back on The Child In Time.

Heliopolis was on the Booker Longlist last year, and at the time, it was a toss up between it and How To Paint A Dead Man for me. I figured Heliopolis would eventually fall off the radar, but I remembered the glowing reviews... I blame you guys!

Finally, there's Suite Francaise, which a friend lent me, praising it immensely. It's on the Waterstones Books Of The Decade as well, so, what are the odds of me going wrong with this one? Slim......

So, have you read any of the above? Comments?

And any new books find their way miraculously on your shelves recently? Do share... god knows, I could do with the solidarity!

Reading In March

I've had a pretty fantastic female reading month in February. It's not something I've ever done knowingly, or inadvertently before, so, I was ecstatic with the results! Seriously! I mean, a Sarah Waters book was the biggest disappointment - that's got to be a good reading month, right? So, following on from my Fantastic Female February, it's time to do a Marvellous Magnificent Male March! Alliterations - they always make me smile. :)

I'm moving house this month, and, most of these books are pretty chunky, so while I might not finish all of them, I'll hopefully finish at least five.

1. Jasper Fforde - Shades of Grey : I haven't read anything by Fforde, but in the last couple of months, there have been some spectacular reviews on this book. Also, at the risk of sounding superficial, I love the cover!
2. Simon Lelic - Rupture : Read a fantastic review of this, which claimed the book was a cross between We Need To Talk About Kevin and Notes On A Scandal. Based on that description alone, I thought Rupture is a must-read.
3. Milan Kundera - Farewell Waltz : I'm working my way through all the books by Kundera. Due to the finite number of books published, I'm just reading one Kundera a year, so, here we go. I love his style, and his writing always leaves me craving for more.
4. José Saramago - Death At Intervals : A recent blogpost by Jackie reminded me that I've been planning on reading Death At Intervals for absolutely ages. It was this review by Sarah that prompted me to add this book to my TBR in the first place.
5. Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex : I don't really think I need to say more. Everyone who's read this has loved it (well, everyone I know anyway!), so, it's my turn now.
6. John Connolly - The Book of Lost Things : Like Middlesex above, most people have raved about this book, and hold it to the highest regard. The plot sounds fantastic, and it's again one of those I've had on my to-read pile for ages.
7. Michael Chabon - The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay : I have wanted to read this book for quite some time now, but it kept slipping off the radar. I saw an interview with Marcus Zusak recently, though, and he claimed Chabon was one of his favourite authors. After hearing that, how could this not be bumped up the TBR?

So, how was your February reading, and what's in store for you in March?

Also, any suggestions as to which book I should kick off the month with?

February Reading Plans

I've disappeared into the oblivion again, but, in my defence, work's caught up with me and my exhaustion levels have hit new highs. This is just a quick post, about my February reading plans. I still have my weekly 2666 post to do, and another review coming up, but, let's put that on hold for now. So, February! I'm a sucker for alliterations, so here's to what I call Female February, i.e. a month of reading female authors only. I've not done that in ages. Plus, as March starts with the letter, "M," it makes good sense. Well, to me anyway. And sometimes, themed reading is a good thing!!

1. Toni Morrison - Song of Solomon : My first experience with Toni Morrison didn't go too well, but Claire mentioned that she's reading it this month, and asked me to join in. So, I'm giving her another shot, last week of the month.
2. Nancy Huston - Fault Lines : This book was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2008, and I picked it up randomly sometime last year... just never got 'round to reading it. Now is as good a time as any, I guess.
3. Alice Munro - Runaway : Again, I picked this up last year, and it just completely slipped my radar. Saw it on the Waterstone's Books of the Decade, and figured it's time I read it.
4. Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings : This has been on my TBR forever! Am really really looking forward to this one.
5. Sarah Waters - Night Watch : I've really enjoyed both the Sarah Waters I read last year, and intend to read all the books by her. Three more to go... reckon I can do it this year.
6. Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice : I've never read a Jane Austen novel! I might be the only one in the blogosphere who hasn't... Mee is hosting a readalong for Pride and Prejudice first timers. I fit the bill, so I joined in!

That's my February plan as of now. How 'bout yours?

Waterstone's Books Of The Decade

As some of you may already know, I was quite disillusioned with the top 20 books that defined the noughties, according to The Telegraph website. Yep, I know that was a list of books that defined the noughties, as opposed to being the best books of the decade, but, it still left a lot to be desired. While at Waterstones the other day (no book-buying, if I may add, ever so proudly), I picked up their leaflet Waterstone's Books Of The Decade 2000-2009. I was fully prepared to throw it at someone in angst, but, was pleasantly surprised, and hence, thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

Note: this list isn't in any order - just top fifty books. Nothing more. Nothing less.

1. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher - Kate Summerscale {2008}
2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz {2007}
3. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid {2007}
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini {2007}
5. Half Of A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie {2006}
6. Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney {2006}
7. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert {2006}
8. The Secret - Rhonda Byrne {2006}
9. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne {2006}
10. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins {2006}
11. A Short History Of Tractors in Ukraine - Marina Lewycka {2005}
12. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro {2005}
13. Arthur and George - Julian Barnes {2005}
14. Untold Stories - Alan Bennett {2005}
15. No Country For Old Men - Cormac McCarthy {2005}
16. The Secret River - Kate Grenville {2005}
17. Freakanomics - Stephen Levitt {2005}
18. *Runaway - Alice Munro {2004}
19. Small Island - Andrea Levy {2004}
20. Wolfbrother - Michelle Paver {2004}
21. The Master - Colm Toibin {2004}
22. Suite Française - Irene Nemirovsky {2004}
23. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell {2004}
24. *Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama {2004}
25. We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver {2003}
26. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke {2003}
27. *The Bookseller Of Kabul - Asne Seierstad {2003}
28. A Short History Of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson {2003}
29. Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss {2003}
30. *Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi {2003}
31. *Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts {2003}
32. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters {2002}
33. *Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides {2002}
34. The Crimson Petal And The White - Michael Faber {2002}
35. If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things - Alice Munro {2002}
36. Everything Is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer {2002}
37. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold {2002}
38. Atonement - Ian McEwan {2001}
39. Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman {2001}
40. *Austerlitz - W.G. Sebald {2001}
41. Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold {2001}
42. Life Of Pi - Yann Martel {2001}
43. The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen {2001}
44. It's Not About The Bike - Lance Armstrong {2001}
45. *True History Of The Kelly Gang - Peter Carey {2000}
46. The Human Stain - Philip Roth {2000}
47. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell {2000}
48. *Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon {2000}
49. *The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood {2000}
50. *White Teeth - Zadie Smith {2000}

So, I've only read seventeen of them, and have about ten of them on my TBR/wishlist (the ones preceded with an "*"). There's no Big Brother celebrity, no Ashley Cole, and no Twilight! Only 22 books overlap with the Telegraph's Top 100. Looks like, unfortunately, the books that defined the decade weren't actually the best books of the decade (guess there'll be no arguments there).

At least, after seeing the above list, my faith in the 2000s has been restored a little bit.

Top Twenty Books That Defined The Noughties

The Telegraph has done a feature on the hundred books that defined the noughties. I'm listing the top twenty here: 20. Schott’s Original Miscellany - Ben Schott

19. Snow - Orhan Pamuk

18. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

17. Madoff: the Man Who Stole $65 billion - Erin Arvedlund

16. The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

15. Samuel Pepys - Claire Tomalin

14. Boyhood / Youth / Summertime - J.M. Coetzee

13. 9/11 Commission Report - WW Norton

12. Jade: My Autobiography - Jade Goody

11. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

10. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

9. Atonement - Ian McEwan

8. White Teeth - Zadie Smith

7. The Savage Detectives - Roberto Bolano

6. Being Jordan - Katie Price

5. The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

4. A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius - David Eggars

3. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

2. Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

Am I the only one really depressed after seeing this list? Tabloid celebrities. Big Brother stars. 9/11. The Financial Crisis. And, Dan Brown. Are those the highlights of the last ten years? The things the noughties will be most remembered for?

I haven't read all the books on the list, but, surely, Dan Brown doesn't deserve to feature there. And, despite enjoying the Stieg Larsson, does it really merit a place in the top twenty books that defined this decade? I loved Summertime to bits, but, if a Coetzee has to be on the list, why isn't it Disgrace, or Diary Of A Bad Year. In fact, I would've thought the latter would be the default choice.

I know there's going to be a lot of debate about Harry Potter taking the number one spot, but, considering the raves, the queues, the anticipation and the waiting lines for the final book of the series, I'll go out on a limb and say I can't complain. At least, it's not Twilight (which is on the list, at 32).

The only book I've read in the above list, which hasn't taken me completely by surprise and horror is Ian McEwan's Atonement. I hope the tens (is that what this decade is going to be called?) ends with more substance...

I mean....

• Cormac McCarthy's The Road is at 52
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half Of A Yellow Sun is at 62
• David Vise's The Google Story is at 64 - Google and Apple have defined this decade in terms of technology! Madoff makes it to the top twenty, Google doesn't?
• Gregory David Roberts' Shantaram is at 69
• Ed Husain's The Islamist is at 73 - a story about a young extremist doesn't make it to the top fifty in the decade of 9/11 and 7/7?

What books define the decade for you? Do you agree with the above list?