Reading in Reykjavík

Year published: 2009 Genre: Fantasy Setting & time: Ankh-Morpork, can remember what year (it’s mentioned in the book) For some reason I have not yet been able to bring myself to finish Terry Pratchett's last Discworld book, Making Money , possibly because it failed to grip me in the first chapter, and also because I do not find Moist von Lipwig that interesting a character. I had no such problem with Unseen Academicals . It is interesting from the first page, and while it didn’t turn into a must-finish all-nighter for me, I did enjoy it. The humour is less dark than it has been in several preceding books, and the book sparkles with good humour throughout, even when nasty things seem to be about to happen, are happening, or have just happened. As with most of Pratchett’s other Discworld books, this one presents the reader with several interwoven story threads involving a number of characters that gradually come together into bigger strands and finally become one as the story ...

Year published: 1960 Genre: Science fiction, satire Setting & time: England, mid-20th century Two scientists discover an anti-ageing substance derived from lichen and put it to use in very different ways. When the public find out about the substance it is not, as one might expect, unanimously welcomed, and society is divided into different factions when people start to realise all the implications. I don’t quite understand why this book is labelled as science-fiction even if a scientific discovery and its consequences are at the centre of the plot. The science is explained in simple layman terms and doesn’t dominate the plot even though it is of course the factor that sets the plot in motion. This is an interesting moral satire on British society in the mid-20th century and an intelligent examination of what might happen in such a society if the people discovered that it was possible to double their expected lifespan. This is a fun read rather than a funny one, as the underton...

Read a biography or autobiography of someone you admire or are curious to know more about. That concludes the Wednesday reading experiences/suggestions. I will not be continuing this feature in 2010.

Merry Christmas Everyone! Originally published in June 2004, in 2 parts Book 22 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Candace Bushnell Year published: 1996 Genre: Social life and customs Sub-genre(s): Sex, dating, relationships Where got: Public library Came across this while browsing in the library and decided to give it a go. It will be interesting to see what the book that spawned the hit TV series is like. The Story: There isn’t really a story as such, this being mostly a collection of articles about the mating habits of New Yorkers that appeared in Bushnell’s newspaper column, but some of the same people pop up repeatedly and you get to know something about them and their relationships with each other and others. Sex, dating, marriage and the attendant social rituals are the order of the day, and are sometimes investigated through conversations between people comparing notes on the subject and sometimes as little story vignettes that illustrate the subject. Faithful viewers...

Read a sequel/prequel or rewrite of a famous novel that features some of the same characters but is written by a different author. This could be, for example, a modernisation of a famous novel such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as retold in Kate Fenton’s Vanity and Vexation or Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre retold as science fiction in Sharon Shinn’s Jenna Starborn . Examples of sequels and prequels (and spin-offs) include all of Jane Austen’s books (authors include Emma Tennant and Joan Aiken) and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books (authors include Laurie L. King and Nicholas Meyer). Additionally, you can find thousands of (mostly unauthorised) short stories and some novels that have only been published on-line, written by fans (and not all of it is slash fiction ). Most of it is not terribly good, but if you search hard you can find some gems among the rubble. Some questions to consider: How did you feel about reading about characters you knew and loved from the origi...

Originally published in June 2004, in 2 parts Book 21 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Shirley Jackson Year published: 1959 Where got: Public library Genre: Horror Sub-genre: Haunted house tale I started reading this book a couple of days ago and have finished the first two chapters. Although nothing supernatural has happened yet, a subtle sense of suspense and creepiness has started to build. So far, I’m reminded of the beginning of both the TV series Rose Red and the movie The Legend of Hell House , but I guess there are limited ways in which you can start a haunted house tale. -- Finished it this afternoon. This is a book that is best read in broad daylight – not that it kept me awake or gave me nightmares, but it took me quite a bit longer than usual to fall asleep after reading the first two chapters at bedtime. The Story: Two young women, Eleanor and Theodora arrive at Hill House, a fancy country mansion, to meet Dr. Montague, a researcher of psychic phenomena who ha...

Most of these books I bought or was given in India, but three I bought in London, two on the way to India and one on the way home. The first two were the guidebooks, and the third was Ulysses by James Joyce, because I couldn't find an edition in India that I liked. Some of the books pictured had been on my wish list for varying lengths of time, others were bought on speculation because I liked the look of them. The books that it's hard to see titles or authors in the photo are, from the top: 1. Incident on the Kalka Mail by Satyajit Ray. 4. Le Morte D'Arthur, part II by Sir Thomas Mallory (I have had part I for ages but never could find part II until now). Books number (from the top) 2, 8, 9 & 17 I was given by my friends. Not pictured are the books that I bought, read and exchanged for other books: No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully, and The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple. Both were interesting reads and very informative about various aspects of Indian society...