Tuesdays are “On My Shelves” day and today I thought I’d give a quick run through of latest additions to my bookshelves. Most are older 2nd-hand titles, but all are important additions to my collection.
- A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth – Weighing in at a colossal 1349 pages, this novel is about as epic as it gets. I picked this up because it’s one of the recommendations in Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Of the novel Boxall says “the novel is a remarkably accomplished example of restraint and temperance in narrative. It avoids excess despite its enormous scope, and there is a respect for character and detail that is now rare among modern writers.” High praise indeed and a recommendation that’s difficult to ignore. I look forward to reading it in the future, when I can find the time investment needed.
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – This is the new book of the batch and one I’m currently reading. I won’t say too much because I’ve already posted my ‘forethoughts’. I will say it’s receiving a lot of acclaim around the blogosphere, and currently on Chapter 5 I can see why; not a serious book by any stretch of the imagination, but one that definitely engages all sense of escapism.
- Selected Works by F. Scott Fitzgerald – I was absolutely delighted to find this (especially for a princely sum of only £2 ($4)). Selected Works contains all five of Fitzgerald’s key novel – The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned and The Last Tycoon, making this an important an exciting addition to my library shelves.
- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai – I’m a real sucker for adding Man Booker winners to my collection and this latest batch of additions contains no less than three. The Inheritance of Loss was the 2006 Booker Prize winner, and this is a nice clean copy. The synopsis for this novel looks pretty exciting, and I’m looking forward to getting into in the near(ish) future.
- The Famished Road by Ben Okri – Winner of the Man Booker in 1991 this is actually quite a tatty copy. I couldn’t resist picking it up though and it’ll serve as my library copy until I get a hold of a better one. The synopsis for this one looks incredible.
- The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst – Winner of the Booker Prize in 2004, I’ve got to admit, judging solely on plot, this is probably not a novel I’d normally go for (maybe I don’t see it as exotic as I’d like it to be
)), but the draw of ‘Booker Winner’ will always make me pick it up ).
- Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide to World Fiction by Nik Kalinowski – Next are a couple of nice Bookmooch snags. The first is a guide to some of the finest fiction titles around the world, and after a brief flick through I can confirm I’m really happy with both the layout and content of this book. It’s giving me an idea for a ’round the world’ reading challenge, but for now I’m resisting )
- The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers – This is one of the titles in my 50 Novels in One Year reading list, and one I don’t have a personal copy of. Imagine my delight then when a copy came up on BookMooch and my request was gracefully accepted. Happy Days!
So that concludes a quick tour of my latest additions. There’s a lot of good reading here, reading that as ever I’m excited to be undertaking. Inevitably though it always comes down to time but the main thing is they’re all on my shelves, ready and waiting!
About Rob