Hello everyone!
I used to be an avid reader but in the last few years (like a lot of people, I guess) I've found I've been reading less and less books.
For me, it's been social media that has taken away my joy of reading (and to some extent: my ability to concentrate on reading). Over the last few years I've finished very few books (maybe one or two a year).
So at the beginning of the year I resolved to quit social media (accept Hive). I also stopped watching TV and films.
It took a couple of months to build up my concentration again, gradually increasing the number of books I read each month
In April I read 7 books (I'm including the last one even through I finished it at the beginning of may!)
The first book I started in April was To Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. Her first book To Kill A Mockingbird is considered a classic. It was one of the few books I had to read in school that I loved (1984 by George Orwell was another one, from the top of my head).
To Set A Watchman is set 20 odd years after the first novel, and we visit many of the characters in the first book. Like the first book it is concerned with racism in the South of America.
I enjoyed the book and the subject it tackles is handled well and leaves you thinking afterwards. Do I love it as much as To Kill A Mockingbird? No. The main character has grown up (the first book is told from the child's perspective) and some of the magic of seeing the world through the eyes of a child is gone. And adults see things differently from kids, and see things perhaps they don't want to see. But if you've read To Kill A Mockingbird, and enjoyed it, you should definately read this book
Next up, was The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien.
This book was mentioned by someone (musician, I can't remember who!) on the radio and thought I'd check it out. It's quite a sureal and (mostly) fun read. There are a lot of footnotes that I found quite distracting (and not always as witty as you'd hope them to be). But I enjoyed it and the ending made me want to re-read it (sometime) but next time I'll skip the footnotes!
Next I read Spin by Peter Zheutlin
This is based on a true story (although the "facts" it is based on is somewhat fluid as the person it is based on was by her own admission a bit of a liar!). It is an entertaining read, based on a woman who bet she could cycle around the world.
Next up: Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This is a lovely book by a Japanese writer. If you could visit someone in the past what would you say to them? It is a series of four stories that are linked together by the place (the café) and the characters.
Next book: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
This is the 2023 Booker Prize winner. It was recommended on a podcast I was listening to. Its a dystopian novel set in Ireland, sometime soon, as a newish rightwing governement begins to crack down on unions and other targets. The style of writing (present tense, long paragraphs, dialogue without quotation marks) really adds a sense of urgency to the book. Some people will not like it because of the style, some because of the subject matter (dystopian), but I loved it so much I ordered all of Paul Lynch's previous novels.
Back in time to 1989 for the next book: 1989 by Val Mcdermid
I've read a couple of this author's books (crime mostly). The main character in this book is a journalist working on some big stories in 1989 (a lot happened in Europe in that year!). It was an entertaining book and I found the first in the series (1979) so that's on my to read list now.
The final book of April (I began reading it in April and finished in early May) is Brick Lane by Monica Ali
This is a book I have been meaning to read for a long time (it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2003!). It is the story of a Bangledeshi woman's arranged marriage to a man 20 years her senior and her new life in London. I really enjoyed this book.
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Of all 7, my favourite was Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. My least favourite was The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien (but it was still worth reading)