Earlier in the year I vowed to read about 50 paperback books this year. So far this is all I got. Actually there is one missing because I loaned it to Mum. Beau Crusoe was a very excellent historical romance, with the proper mix of dark and light.
So, that's not the book I want to talk about. That's not the book that dragged me down and made me not want to deal with reading anything but the cheap, illicit thrills that e-books bring. No, this is the culprit:
I saw the TV series. I read good reviews. Sure Meggish wasn't enthralled but she can be a poo so I chose to ignore her. I made it through the first book, and about halfway through this second one.
Ugh.
I have this problem with a certain genre of mystery novels and for some reason Dexter, though not really similar in any other ways, shared this trait. Awful characters. I don't mean poorly written, I mean assholes. Every single one of them. Main character. Romantic interest. Suspects. Often in mysteries this seems designed to make it difficult to tell who is guilty, but usually it makes me lose interest. I hate these guys, so why should I read any further?
I didn't. I skipped to the end, read the last five pages, and then deposited it in my "read" pile without any guilt.
I sought comfort in the above mentioned e-books. I read dozens and dozens. Light, fluffy wonderful e-books. Short often at the expense of any depth, but good like a bag of skittles.
The truth is though, that writers need to read, and not just little fluffy happy e-books. I needed to read real good literature. Stuff that at least has the potential to be better than I could ever hope to write. With this in mind, I managed to pull myself together and finish The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. My favorite Murakami is still A Hard Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World followed by A Wild Sheep Chase, but as always, I enjoyed being confused.
Now, on to these. Three of these I've already started once, but think if I show just a little more fidelity I can finish them.Any suggestions on what should come next?
3 comments:
I'm not a big fan of Murakami (Hard Boiled Wonderland really turned me off), but I loved Norwegian Wood.
That said, of the next books, I say go for Gaiman.
Kirby really doesn't like Norwegian Wood for some reason. I may give it a try sometime anyway.
Hardboiled Wonderland is my favorite and I can't remember your reasons for disliking it beyond it being... weird and Murakami-ish. Not sure you'd like Wind Up Bird because it's long, but the main character is a bit more active.
I think Gaiman is going to be second because I want to finish one of the ones I've already started first.
Do you have any suggestions on books to read that aren't in my pile?
I am never a poo! I couldn't even be a poo if I wanted! Which I don't!
Read "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons and "Bergdorf Blondes" by Plum Sykes.
Jerk. =P
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