Friday, May 31, 2013

May reading roundup

 


I haven't posted in a long while but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Au contraire -- I've been reading a lot -- making the time to get to my computer has been, however, another story.  Oh well.

Here's what happened this month.

literature/fiction:
The Daughters of Mars, by Thomas Keneally  --read, discussion coming in June 
Constance, by Patrick McGrath -- read, discussion coming in  June 
The Asylum, by John Harwood -- read, discussion coming in June 
  Harlequin's Costume, by Leonid Yuzefovich 

 odd/weird fiction
They That Dwell in Dark Places, by Daniel McGachey

crime fiction/mystery
Original Skin, by David Mark
The Asylum, by Johan Theoriin -- read, discussion coming in June 

nonfiction  

just stuck my nose into
Evil and the Mask, by Fuminori Nakamura


And now, the  other book-related stuff:
1) The book group read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen in May -- I'm not a huge fan of Jane Austen, but for some reason, I really liked this one -- maybe it was the play on Gothic fiction.  

 2) Added to the  wishlist this month (as usual, mostly obscure titles):
     crime fiction:
none
      general fiction:
Port Mungo, by Patrick McGrath
Trauma, by Patrick McGrath

the weird, the strange, supernatural etc:
The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories, ed. Michael Cox


     nonfiction:
The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century  Literary Imagination, by Sandra M. Gilbert

 3) Books bought this month (again with the obscure titles, I'm sure!)
The Aftermath, by Rhidian Brook 
TransAtlantic, by Colum McCann
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain, by Jack Saul
Maurice, by E.M. Forster
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Widow and Her Hero, by Thomas Keneally  (I probably should have signed up for this year's Aussie Author Challenge with as many books as I plan on reading by this author)
Bring Larks and Heroes, by Thomas Keneally
Codebreakers: The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park, by Sinclair McKay


4) Currently reading: 
Evil and the Mask, by Fuminori Nakamura
The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters
The Longest Road: Overland in Search of America, From Key West to the Arctic Ocean, by Philip Caputo


****5) Books I'm giving away this month --  just one, I'm afraid -- for US readers only.    -- Unlike many other things in life, for you, it is  absolutely 100% totally free;  I'll even pay postage to get it to its new home.  All you need to do is to be the first to leave a comment here, and then email me at oakesn@gmail.com with contact info INCLUDING A HOME ADDRESS, PLEASE!!


  • The Asylum, by John Harwood (just FYI -- a couple of raindrops spilled on a page or two, but it's still in nearly perfect shape)
That's it ...





3 comments:

  1. I'd love to read this one! I really liked The Seance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you and it's yours! Also, my thanks for the email. I'll get it in the mail next week.

      Delete
  2. A great bookish month Nancy. I'm interested to hear what you thought of Constance.

    ReplyDelete

Say what you will, but at least try to be nice about it.