Yiyun Li review
Another review I forgot to link to - obviously my brain took a break in late 2011. My review of Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li.
Thomas E. Kennedy review
This went up a while ago, but I forgot to link to it - my review of Thomas E. Kennedy's Falling Sideways.
reading & competition!
Hello, fine people! Happy New Year and the likes. Here in Casa Valerie, we're gearing up for another house-move (gah - our fourth since 2008 and this time avec baby) sometime in February, so my minimal posting might get even more minimal for a while around then. I'm also sure we'll be without broadband for a while because the broadband-switching-bastards never want to make it easy for us. But then I'll back and I might even be living in a house! I've forgotten what it's like to have more than two rooms. Anyway.
On Sunday 15th January, Peter Wild, my good mate and the man behind Bookmunch, is launching his first novel, The Passenger! If you're Manchester-based, or even further afield, come along - as well as readings from Pete himself and the likes of Socrates Adams, Nicola Mostyn, Simon Crump and me (me!), there'll be live music from (hooker) and The Slow Readers Club. It's in Soundcontrol on New Wakefield St, right near Oxford Road train station. Also: buy Pete's book, The Passenger - it's excellent!
Also. There's a micro-fiction competition running at the moment as part of National Flash Fiction Day, and I'm one of the judges. Send your stories of up to 100 words (including title) by January 31st and you could win a whole bunch of books as well as getting your story published on the site (and maybe on postcards and posters too). Do it.
Reading List 2012
Here's what I've been reading in 2012. As usual, an asterix means the book was a reread. I got a Kindle for Christmas in 2011, so this year I'm going to note which books were ebooks - I'll mark them with an (e). The plan, at first, is to use the Kindle to catch up on my classics, since I'm generally more of a modern lit person, and there are so many free out-of-copyright titles for download from Amazon. First up is Middlemarch, but I suspect it'll take me ages - who knew it was so long?? In the meantime:
January 2012
14. Everything's Fine, Socrates Adams. Reminded me of Gordon Lish's work. Brilliant.
13. (e) Jeff In Venice, Death in Varanasi, Geoff Dyer. My first Dyer - liked it a lot.
12. Dark Eden, Chris Beckett. SF novel. Not bad.
11. Vox, Nicholson Baker. Literary phone sex. Baker is an odd chap!
10. U & I, Nicholson Baker. Baker's paean to Updike. Funny.
9. (e) Present At A Hanging, Ambrose Bierce. Short stories. Not bad.
8. (e) Middlemarch, George Eliot. A monster, but liked once I got stuck in.
7. A Gate at the Stairs, Lorrie Moore. A brutally sad novel - really excellent.
6. The Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker. Very funny meandering thoughts of an office worker.
5. Haggadah, ed. Jonathan Safran Foer. Jewish text for the Passover Seder. Poetic. Interesting.
4. This Isn't The Sort of Thing That Happens To Someone Like You, Jon McGregor. Interesting story collection.
3. Room Temperature, Nicholson Baker. A man's thoughts wander while he's feeding his baby. Lovely.
2. Cadenza 16, ed. Zoe King. Ditto (though I preferred number19.)
1. Cadenza 19, ed. Zoe King. Cadenza doesn't exist any more, but I got a couple of copies from Zoe back in 2009. Nice short set of poems and stories.
January 2012
14. Everything's Fine, Socrates Adams. Reminded me of Gordon Lish's work. Brilliant.
13. (e) Jeff In Venice, Death in Varanasi, Geoff Dyer. My first Dyer - liked it a lot.
12. Dark Eden, Chris Beckett. SF novel. Not bad.
11. Vox, Nicholson Baker. Literary phone sex. Baker is an odd chap!
10. U & I, Nicholson Baker. Baker's paean to Updike. Funny.
9. (e) Present At A Hanging, Ambrose Bierce. Short stories. Not bad.
8. (e) Middlemarch, George Eliot. A monster, but liked once I got stuck in.
7. A Gate at the Stairs, Lorrie Moore. A brutally sad novel - really excellent.
6. The Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker. Very funny meandering thoughts of an office worker.
5. Haggadah, ed. Jonathan Safran Foer. Jewish text for the Passover Seder. Poetic. Interesting.
4. This Isn't The Sort of Thing That Happens To Someone Like You, Jon McGregor. Interesting story collection.
3. Room Temperature, Nicholson Baker. A man's thoughts wander while he's feeding his baby. Lovely.
2. Cadenza 16, ed. Zoe King. Ditto (though I preferred number19.)
1. Cadenza 19, ed. Zoe King. Cadenza doesn't exist any more, but I got a couple of copies from Zoe back in 2009. Nice short set of poems and stories.
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