Books etc

[undyingking]

We had the voting session for our book group at the weekend, where we decide what will be read over the next 18 months or so. It was combined with "cook group", a one-off variant in which we all brough along some food of a literary nature, rather than reading a book as normal. (My effort was a pie with the words "Life of" in pastry on the top.)

You might remember I asked you for suggestions a little while ago -- thanks to everyone, especially to secondhand_rick whose offering won popular approval with the group.

These are the books, FYI the various of you who've asked what sort of things we read:

• Benedict Allen - Mad White Giant
• Julian Barnes - Arthur and George
• Kevin Brockmeier - The Brief History of the Dead
• Jenni Diski - On Trying to Keep Still
• Neil Gaiman - Anansi Boys
• Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner
• Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
• Tove Jansson - A Winter Book
• Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
• Marina Lewycka - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
• Edward Lloyd - The String of Pearls
• Erelend Loe - Naïve. Super
• Craig Murray - Murder in Samarkand
• Jean Rhys - Good Morning, Midnight
• Will Self - The Book of Dave
• Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without A Country
• Rex Warner - The Aerodrome

If I was a good person I'd link each of them to the appropriate Amazon page, but I'm not, so I haven't.

On other news, we've been pub-quiz-crazy just lately, coming second at the Nelson on Sunday and winning at the Westgate Club on Monday (and also winning a box of assorted Youngs beers in the raffle). On Thursday we go to the Swan, hoping to maintain the streak.

And the carpet discussed here is finally installed -- we went with a golden-oatmeal-with-flecks-of-red-and-brown thingy in the end. Next step bookcases, and it'll be ready to be a library just in time for us not to be able to use it as one, as my sister and family are going to be staying with us between her leaving Tanzania job and starting Vietnam job.

West Ham continue to toy with my frail emotions, just like last time they were relegated. It's been obvious since before Christmas that they'll be going down -- but they're currently on a run of four wins in six, just so as to taunt us with a faint foolish flicker of hope. Tevez is starting at last to look like a player just before we lose him, etc. As whoever it was almost said, it's not the despair of being relegated I can't stand, it's the hope of it still being mathematically possible to escape until the last day of the season (when we play Man Utd, of course). Gah! Well, it's cricket season started now, and Essex have a title to defend and a promotion to seek, so that'll be pleasant relief.

Comments

[triskellian]

Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
Our book group read this relatively recently, and a good time was had by all... Which isn't to say everyone liked it, but that the discussion was both fun and interesting.

I loved it, and have since bought A Pale View of Hills, although I haven't read it yet.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Of his I've only read Artist of the Floating World and Remains of the Day, both of which I thought were brilliant¹, so I'm looking forward to this -- even though the plot sounds kind of silly and predictable, from what I've heard about it.

1 and will happily lend if you're interested?

[triskellian]

Ooh, yes please!

The plot of NLMG is certainly open to accusations of silliness, but I don't think it's particularly predictable, and such silliness of plot as there was didn't detract from it, for me. Others differed...

[wimble.livejournal.com]

*twitch* *twitch*

And I'm not even a member of the group...

[triskellian]

Let me guess... You thought it was SF? My theory is that those who think it's SF don't like it, and those who think it isn't SF do like it. (Everyone agrees it's not good SF, but if it's not SF, that doesn't matter ;-)

[wimble.livejournal.com]

I, err..., think it should make up its mind. The SF elements in it were sufficiently present, and sufficiently bad, to really bug me. I'd prefer it if it had just dropped those entirely, and come up with some other reason for having the kids ... in the position they were put in. Children of "very nasty people" would have done the trick, without needing the SF connotations.

[wimble.livejournal.com]

And then I'd have probably enjoyed it :)

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Arthur Miller - All My Sons

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's a great suggestion -- we've never done any Miller, and I only know that one by repute.

[thecesspit.livejournal.com]

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafin

Paper Lion - George Plimpton (non-fiction, possibly not as interesting to non-NFL fans, but I loved it)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I started Shadow but I found it kind of silly and hard to get into... maybe I should persevere, I know lots of people who did like it.

Sadly I'm not sure a sport-related suggestion would go down all that well, but I'll look into it.