I came upon this great idea in the blog, Mixed Book Bag, and decided to share my own list. The idea is to write a list of the books you read in May but did not yet write a review on. My list isn't too long, as I didn't read a whole lot of books, and about half of the ones I did read have reviews up. Here it is:
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - I figured I'd get this out of the way because I have mentioned it in a few other blog posts. I'll say this again and again, it is an excellent read, and I look forward to checking out more of Gaiman's stuff.
Cat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie - I will most likely finish this today, as I only have a little bit left to read. As my first encounter with Christie, I am impressed. She writes with an entertaining style and great characters.
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - I revisited this novel earlier in the month. It's a moving read and wonderfully written. It'll be difficult to write a review on it that has something new to say about it, but I'll try.
The White Castle, by Orhan Pamuk - I technically started this one in December, but I had such a busy school semester I didn't get around to finishing it until May. It's a little slow, but a fascinating story with a crazy twist that I still don't completely comprehend. Pamuk is a Turkish author, and if you want to read something really good by him I would suggest Snow. He is on the erudite side, but definitely readable.
The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman - I only read this because it shares the Prince and the Pauper theme of Pamuk's The White Castle. This book is aimed at 4th or 5th graders, and it is an entertaining read, though predictable.
Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi - This is the first graphic novel of Satrapi's I have read. You may know her for Persepolis, which was made into an animated movie. Embroideries is definitely geared towards adults. It is about a group of women who talk about marriage and sex. It is very funny and insightful, and I would recommend it if you don't mind sexual language.
I've decided to add the books I did review, with links to the reviews:
Shiloh, by Phyllis Naylor Reynolds
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Double Dutch, by Sharon Draper
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo
You are quite right about Pamuk being erudite. I read My Name is Red and I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved the combined elements of mystery, history and culture and I thought it was well written but it was way too slow for me.
ReplyDelete...and I loved Persepolis! I will definitely look into Embroideries.
Good stuff.
I'm glad to hear that somebody else has read Pamuk, and I felt the same way about The White Castle that you did about My Name is Red, so I don't know if I'd recommend it.
DeleteI haven't read Persepolis, but plan on it. Thanks for the visit!
I love Satrapi; all her stuff is great but of course Persepolis is the must-read. Sid Fleishman was a favorite when I was a synagogue librarian. He did one in the last few years called The Dybbuk which was strange but I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThe Dybbuk is a pretty strange title, so I can imagine it was strange. I will probably read more of his if I come across them. The Whipping Boy took me less than an hour to read. But I definitely plan on reading more Satrapi. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteChris, Thanks for sharing your link on my post of what I read this month. I enjoyed seeing your list.
ReplyDeleteJo@Mixed Book Bag
I like your idea of sharing what we read for the month. Thanks for visiting!
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