Almost there

To think that we will do a lot by the end of an year, is a general and often a common method of fooling ourselves.
Most of us do not really care enough to do it.
I wanted to finish 8 books, no less!
I managed two though - which is a good thing.

1. The Reading Group
2. The Devotion of Suspect X

So much is pending, just as my other resolutions for the year 2015. 

December is here

And so is my deadline. But what can I say? I have not even finished fifty percent of the planned books.

This December I ought to finish at least 8 books! Whew, just writing down that number makes me feel dizzy. I want to touch the not-so-magical number 30, but it is better than my impossible goal of 50.

I am planning to start the 3 books in series (not sure they are connected, so cannot really say if it is a trilogy) from Keigo Higashino

1. The Devotion of Suspect X
2. The Salvation of a Saint
3. Malice: A Mystery

The reason for me to pick this up is that I have not read any book from a Japanese author and more importantly, I was told these are quick reads. The biggest reason - mystery genre.

I also plan to finish the pending ones from November:

4. The Elephant's Journey - Jose Saramago
5. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka
6. Deaf Sentence - David Lodge
7. Harvest - Jim Crace
8. Yet to decide (one of the library books that will soon arrive) - Decided - The Reading Group

It is November

And I am yet to update.

I finished four books or may be five, I cannot remember the fifth one, although I have been feeling that I have read something and I cannot remember.
This has nothing to do with the quality of the book - more with my memory, or the lack of it. It doesn't feel good, this not remembering.

Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith. The third of the series, I was eagerly looking forward to this book. It disappointed me a bit. The other two were slightly distinct in their characterization. I was confused by the villains in here. They all seemed very similar to each other - and I had to keep going back to figure out who the writer was talking about.
But overall, I like the main characters - Cormoron Strike and Robin. I enjoyed their changing emotions towards each other. They are worth rooting for, from the first book.

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood. A very very good book. I was haunted by the theme of the book - of human relationships, love, and betrayals - long after the book was over. Although it is lauded for the story within the story within the story, I did feel some parts were really just an extension that could have stayed short. The science fiction felt out of place. The characterizations were brilliant. It is essentially Iris (Chase) Griffen's life story and an extremely well told story.

The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood. There is a strong feminist angle in the way the story is narrated. It may not sound ground-breaking for today's reader, but considering the time period when it was written, I feel it did depict a lot of societal changes that the West was facing during 60's. I enjoyed it in parts.

Incidents in the Rue Laugier - Anita Brookner. This is a sad sad story of a man and a woman who are compelled to marry each other without the equation of love to hold them. The story is told by a third character, the daughter of the duo. It is a slow moving story, but extremely well written in many parts. The insights to the human thinking, and the emotions exhibited under stress, is simply wonderful. However, as a reader, I want to be uplifted by a story - an end where there has to be some hope somewhere. It is not always the case and should not be, but yet, parts of the story hit home hard.

It's been a while

Though I did not complete all the books for July, I did end up reading other books that I had not planned. For example, I liked Cuckoo's calling so I ended up reading the second book in this series 'Silkworm'. I also read 'Moral Disorder' by Atwood. Initially it was slow, but boy does it enchant you? I was so impressed, I ended up requesting two more books from the library of the same author.
I also read Chuck Palahniuk's novel, 'Haunted, a novel of stories'. Extremely weird and in parts brilliant.
I read a non-fiction after a long long time! Called 'Always Eat Left Handed: 15 Surprisingly Simple Secrets Of Success' by Rohit Bhargava, it was a decent one-time read that one may end up dipping into, once a while.

So September now, I have to finish some books that have been long pending:
1. The Elephant's Journey - Jose Saramago
2. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
3. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka

I am going to keep the list short so that I can pack in any unplanned book in-between and feel good about it later.

Reading List - July

It is wrong to start a new list when the previous month's list is still pending. But how else will one motivate self to go ahead? It is a bit like preparing for the exams. If you are stuck in chapter 1 of subject X, leave it and move to chapter 6 of subject Y. At least that is what I would do. And go back later to tackle X.

So same goes for the list for July:
1. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
2. Moral Disorder - Margaret Atwood
3. Deaf Sentence - David Lodge (So that I can return this book to Sash ASAP)
4. Hearts in Atlantis - Stephen King
5. The Elephant's Journey - Jose Saramago
6. Harvest - Jim Crace

I am already done with Hearts in Atlantis and The Cuckoo's calling. Although this wasnt planned for June, I completed them in June, so adding them on to July. Yay.. I am done with two already. I have started Harvest. I will also start the Deaf Sentence soon. 

Reading List - June

Lists are done to feel good and later, to feel bad.

But never mind these 'isms'
I managed to cross off 3 titles from my May List, which was a huge surprise for me too.
Here comes the June list:

1. Deaf Sentence - David Lodge
2. Wasp Factory - Ian Banks (have to have to finish it)
3. Where the mountain meets the moon - Grace Lin

Revival - Stephen King

More and more I am convinced that no one can write like King - not even Shakespeare. Yes, taking it to extreme, but I stick by it.
I love my Oldies, but King is simply, the Best.
I cannot think of a better name when it comes to building a canvass that is rich, complex, believable and yet so smooth that you cannot stop once you start reading. His characters, always flawed, yet there is so much about them that we root for. I love his background settings, it makes me feel as if I was there in all those small towns bang in the middle of America.
Many people think that his narration is sometimes too long, too winded. I vehemently disagree. What else will give us the feel of a place, a period, of people and their lives, if not the descriptive passages? Not once was I bored.
Coming back to Revival - classic Stephen King (if you can call it that), especially when it comes to creating the eerie, almost surreal situations. It is not horror, it is literature.
Loved the story, the characters, the family members (how distinct) and especially the pastor, Charles Jacobs and the hero Jamie Morton. The end was unexpected; the horror factor was not really strong though. But who really cares?

A must read for all fans of King. And an absolutely, totally must read for people who are not.