Booky Christmas to me, booky Christmas to me

The mail order catalogue got me.

all i want for christmas is some time off to read them

Top to bottom:
Roberto Bolano~ 2666. I seem to have a new obsession with Chilean authors, especially Chilean authors who die before finishing the last part of a five-book opus and whose benefactors insist on publishing the 900 pages as one doorstop. I’m sure it’s bad luck to mess with the wishes of the deceased but I hope the potentially messy karma doesn’t extend to those who read the book. Violence, murder, dark humour, a world gone wrong — what more could a reader want?

Edited by Robyn Davidson ~ The Best Australian Essays 2009. Robyn Davidson is one of my favourite writers and the annual compilation is one of my yearly must-buys. But you know what? From the stories I’ve dipped into so far between appointments and the dreaded day job, I think she’s played her editorial hand a little conservatively. Then again, in the editor’s note Robyn has justified her selections and why experience was mainly chosen over exuberance; I have the luxury of being critical because I didn’t have to read and decide which of the hundreds of small treasures to keep or cull.

Kim Echlin ~ The Disappeared. I knew nothing of Kim Echlin until reading a sparkling review in the evil, influential mail order catalogue. Young love, separation, an arduous search and the impact of Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia in achingly beautiful prose (apparently). I’m looking forward to sitting for a few hours with a dog or two on my lap and a box of tissues by my side.

Patrick Gale ~ The Whole Day Through. The truth about Patrick Gale is that I adore his writing so much that I don’t know what the book is about. I just saw and ordered it.

Aravind Adiga ~ Between the Assassinations. The follow-up to The White Tiger is a collection of intertwined short stories set in the fictional town of Kittur. No doubt Adiga will continue his take-no-prisoners approach to mid-1980s India between the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and her son, Rajiv.

Kate Grenville ~ The Lieutenant and The Secret River. The two-volume set at a crazily-low price is the reason for the order. Both books explore the lives of Englishmen sent to Australia in its early decades of white settlement, with The Lieutenant based on the real-life notebooks of William Dawes. I know that Kate has written many shoddy sentences, because she has said so in her book on writing, but I don’t think she’s ever allowed anything less than stellar writing to hit the the printing press.

Booky Christmas! I have a few ‘B’ book reviews to write but the next entry will be the The Tart Awards 2009.

I bought more books ~ I don’t need any more

How did they end up in my hand?

It was utilitarian errand list: buy shampoo, find a Kris Kringle present, stock up on Christmas cards, return some library books and have a prescription filled at the pharmacy.

I came home with more books. I swear it wasn’t my fault: no place I needed to go was near any other, the day was hot, my legs were swollen, and the quiet, air-conditioned sanctuary of the book shop beckoned me to enter and relax a while before returning to the consumer-driven mayhem outside.

They got me again.

(The books looked straight before I took a photo – this book photography caper is more technical that it appears. Sticky tape and a spirit level will compensate for my poor eyesight next time.)

I don't need any more

Bottom:
Jeff Lindsay ~ Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark omnibus. I’ve been told the books that inspired the television series are a cracker in their own right, and could not leave without putting this on my summer ‘to read’ list.

Left to right:
Michelle de Kretser ~ The Lost Dog. Acclaimed and award-winning book from 2007 that I keep picking up but keep putting back because there is indeed a lost dog in the story. I find it hard to read books where I think something bad might happen to an animal, but curiosity is overcoming my ‘I don’t want to know about it’ blinkers.

Carmel Bird ~ Writing the Story of Your Life: The Ultimate Guide. A newish non-fiction book by Carmel Bird about recollecting and creating memoirs. I’ve read this book a couple of times already and recommend it for helping kick-start or provide motivation for writing about things close to the heart. I’ll do a proper review when I’m up to ‘B’ in the blog.

Helen Garner ~ Monkey Grip. Easy, the only book by Helen Garner I don’t own. Will be interesting to go back 30 years to her early days as a published writer.

Anthony O’Hear ~ The Great Books. Impulse buy but its premise of introducing and examining the classics of the past 2,500 years seems interesting.

Jean Bedford ~ If With a Beating Heart. This gets complex, but I’ve been hunting a collection of short stories called Country Girl Again after reading one of Jean Bedford’s character descriptions in a Kate Grenville book about writing. Still there? Until I find it, I shall dip my toe into Bedford’s long-form works.