Tag: andrea levy

Wrap up for 2010

I have been going over what I read for 2010.

I was under the impression,

 that I had read much less than 2009.

Not really.

2009: 58 books

2010: 54 books

Not much of a difference.

If you consider that 2010 had the following factors going against it,

1-Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics,

two weeks spent in front of the television.

2-My mom’s heart attack,

non stop worrying and no concentration.

3-The summer of hell,

‘nough said.

4-The Habs making it to the Stanley Cup semi-finals,

first time in 15 years.

That makes for several weeks of no reading,

well not much reading,

 I always read.

I started my reading year with,

 Last Night In Twisted River,

 John Irving, my man.

I will be ending it with,

 Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

Rich and full.

I am shocked to see,

 I have read 1 French Language book,

only one.

It was a decent one but,

by no means a masterpiece,

L’Élégance Du Hérrison by Muriel Barbery.

I must do better in 2011!

I read 12 mysteries in 2010,

I used to read 30-40 a year,

now,

quality more than quantity.

As far as Male/Female author ratio is concerned,

22 were by male authors,

that leaves 32 for the women.

The author I read most this year,

Somerset Maugham, 4 books.

The author I discovered this year and will be reading more of,

Andrea Levy.

Non-fiction reading not much,

7 books,

mostly literary memoirs and collections of letters.

I like fiction.

I didn’t count rereads but,

there must be 4-5.

I also didn’t count the 4 novels I read in manuscript form,

they are by a good friend of mine,

I’ll tell you about them when they come out,

if she wants me to.

So for 2011,

 I will be participating in The GLBT Q Reading Challenge,

 ( I also added the Q, following the example of Amy, it is as it should be)

here is the list of books I will be reading:

The Price Of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Maurice by E.M Forster

Normal by Amy Bloom

The Gilda Stories by Jewel Gomez

The sixth is to be determined.

Any suggestions?

Also I would like to read Thomas Wolfe’s,

 Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time And The River,

Big, thick, Southern fiction.

Since I was a child,

 I have been attracted to the  tragic destiny of Wolfe.

This year I try,

 hard.

I’m hoping Cass doesn’t make us read our Bunker List,

I may never be heard from again:-)

I will let her reveal the said Bunker list when she sees fit but,

let me tell you it’s a doozy.

More French language books, GLBTQ, and some dense Southern Literature,

so goes the objective for 2011.

Let’s see how well I do.

I wish you all a Healthy and Happy New Year celebration.

Grab your girl/guy or whoever and tell them you love them.

Because the world needs more love and more readers:-)

Later girls

BB

Small Island

I just finished Small Island by Andrea Levy.

 This book was a delight to read.

 From the start I had trouble putting it down.

 This is the kind of book you finish and you say, “Already?”

The characters are so well drawn I could see them.

The dialogue so clear I could hear the beautiful, lilting Jamaican accent.

I learned a thing or two about the Jamaicans who served  in the RAF during World War II,

 and  subsequently became British immigrants and ultimately, British citizens.

The Brits treated their Black airman better than the Americans,

 still it was,

 difficult.

Two of the main characters are very strong women.

Queenie, a butcher’s daughter who marries,

 Bernard, a weak, little man who is not nearly enough man for her.

The other main female character is, Hortense,

 a recent teacher’s college graduate from Jamaica.

Both are wonderfully brave and strong.

Hortense and Gilbert, her husband, have been raised in colonial Jamaica

 to know everything about England. When they arrive,

they, the English, don’t even know where Jamaica is ,

most think it in,

 Africa.

This resonates with me as a Canadian.

We long were a colony of Great Britain, who knew not much about us either.

Even today, we live in the shadow of the most dominant culture on the planet, the U.S.

How much do you think the average American knows about Canada?

I know it is less than the average Canadian knows about the U.S.

This book is smart, funny and also very touching.

There are no saints and no devils, only scared people who have been though Hell.

Some rise to the occasion better than others.

It also leaves you wondering,

which is the Small Island?

Really good read

well, later girls

BB