January books

[slemslempike]

January
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
Above Suspiscion - Lynda La Plante
Scribbling the Cat - Alexandra Fuller
Ladysmith - Giles Foden
Iris & Ruby - Rosie Thomas
Espresso Tales - Alexander McCall Smith
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Rabbit, Run - John Updike
Up For Grabs - John Harries
Wendy Craig's Nanny - Jean Bowden
The Life of the Party - Maureen Freely
The Pact - Jodi Piccoult
Girls in Their Married Bliss - Edna O'Brien
Dead Souls - Ian Rankin
The Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara
The the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz - Michela Wrong
Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
Death at the Bar - Ngaio Marsh
Temeraire - Naomi Novik
How I Paid for College - Marc Acito
March - Geraldine Brooks
The Autograph Man - Zadie Smith
Because of the Lockwoods - Dorothy Whipple

This was the second half of my holiday, so it was a mixture of my Christmas presents, other people's presents I nicked in desperation, and whatever was at the various campsites. I really liked The Penelopiad, even though my knowledge of The Odyssey is minimal at best. I forget I enjoy Margaret Atwood when I'm not actually in the process of reading her.
I also enjoyed Tess of the D'Urbervilles, though enjoyed is hardly an appropriate term for Hardy.

Temeraire I absolutely loved, and I can't wait for the others to come out here in paperback. I added it to my wishlist precisely because someone said it was Master and Commander with dragons, and that's exactly what happened! How I Paid for College was brilliant fun, but March was more disappointing. Interesting, but a bit over-written and overly didactic.


I had to cancel a work meeting and a social thing because I am DYING. My head hurts and my nose hurts and I feel wobbly whenever I stand up and I don't know how I'm producing all this snot because it just won't stop and I am boiling yet shivery. So I am staying in bed with Beecham's and watching Boy Meets World on my new avi DVD player which is shiny and also has a usb port so that I can plug in my pen drive when I have downloaded things without having to burn them. Boy Meets World is just as gloriously awful as I remembered, but the love between Cory and Shawn is undiminished.

Comments

[morganmuffle]

Temeraire is absolute genius and (if you wish) I possibly have the American paperbacks of the next two which you're welcome to borrow (because I was lousy at waiting). The Penelopiad is sat by my bed waiting for me to finish Rupert Everett's biography so it's good to hear nice things about it!

Ever since Yuletide I've been getting nostalgic for Boy Meets World, enjoy *sends painkillers and a hot water bottle*

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

It's so bad. This episode, I am learning an important lesson about friendship.

Oh, that would be great if I can borrow them. How's Rupert Everett?

[morganmuffle]

Rupert Everett is... well the book is insanely badly written and some phrases he uses a lot are slowly driving me mad but it's also completely fascinating. His lifestyle is just so alien to anything I know and he namedrops like crazy so I'm drawn in despite myself. Plus he has one or two anecdotes that are going to stick with me for a while (did you know he was in Moscow when communism fell, and at the falling of the Berlin wall, and in NY on 9/11...)

I'll make sure they're somewhere reachable when you come for Equus (which is crazy soon now!)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Really soon. I'm so looking forward to it. What time is it, and have I already paid you for it?

I did not know that Rupert Everett was the lynchpin for so many political events. I can imagine he would be irriating but fascinating in life as well.

[lsugaralmond.livejournal.com]

Poor poorly you! I hope you feel better soon. Although those symptoms sound like a cold + chest infection to me so you had better get thee to a doctor if you don't feel better in the next day or two.

I LOVED How I Paid For College and I have never met anyone else who has even heard of it let alone read it. Yay for you! Wasn't it just like an '80s teen movie in book form?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

It was exactly like that! It was wonderful, and I was so happy at the end.

But I have to get better so I can go to London on Tuesday! I went and bought a raspberry sponge from the end of the road, which I'm sure will help. I didn't eat at all yesterday, and got sent home by my supervisors for "looking awful", so this is an improvement.

[gralyn.livejournal.com]

I read all of four books this month, so your list makes me jealous. my excuse is having to do lots of reading for uni. What you think of Alexander McCall Smith? I've read a couple of his and am just a bit ambivilant about them.

Also your DVD player sounds amazing and I love Boy Meet World!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I liked the ladies detective agency as a nice read, but wasn't that keen on the Scotland ones.

My DVD player is utterly amazing!