Reading Wrap Up / April 2023
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- I did a lot more book prize reading in April for the International Booker and Women's Prize as well as a couple of other interesting fiction titles. Click ‘Show More’ for info.
--------------------
Want more LonesomeReader? If you want to help me continue to make content please consider becoming a member by joining my channel and you'll also get access to extra perks: / @erickarlanderson
Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 longlist: • Women's Prize for Fict...
International Booker Prize 2023 longlist: • The International Book...
Books discussed & purchase links:
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978152...
The Consequences by Manuel Munoz
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978191...
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978191...
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978000...
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978000...
Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978152...
Boulder by Eva Baltasar
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978191...
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978183...
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978147...
Standing Heavy - GauZ'
uk.bookshop.org/a/9054/978152...
My full reviews of some of these books:
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
lonesomereader.com/blog/2023/...
A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson
lonesomereader.com/blog/2023/...
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
lonesomereader.com/blog/2023/...
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
lonesomereader.com/blog/2023/...
Boulder by Eva Baltasar
• Boulder by Eva Baltasa...
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth
• Is Mother Dead by Vigd...
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
• Time Shelter by Georgi...
Standing Heavy - GauZ'
• Standing Heavy - GauZ'...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Nevada
7:08 The Consequences
10:22 A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding
15:54 The Dog of the North
19:15 Wandering Souls
22:25 Memphis
25:12 Boulder
29:28 Is Mother Dead
32:44 Time Shelter
37:16Standing Heavy
40:30 Conclusion
--------------------
Get in touch
Book Blog: lonesomereader.com/
Twitter: / lonesomereader
Instagram: / lonesomereader
Facebook: tinyurl.com/hfkkhus
Goodreads: tinyurl.com/h8uus5t
LetterBoxd: letterboxd.com/lonesomereader/
Tiktok: / lonesomereader
Email: lonesomereader@gmail.com
I could read only 3 books this month:
1. Pyre, Perumal Murugan
2. Pure Color, Sheila Heti
3. Hollywood Park, Mikel Jollett
Awwww a positive review for Dog Of The North. I was initially intrigued, but put off by all the negative feedback…. Now I’m intrigued again. 📖 🪱 💚
Personally I found it a lot of fun!
I read while I walk my dog but now it’s winter down under my reading slows down. In the middle of The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers, quickly becoming a favourite author
I’ve still not read that one by Powers but want to. He’s excellent
The Dog of the North was such a lovely book. I enjoyed it so much!
Such fun to read! :^)
I too really liked The Dog of the North and felt that it was a much-welcome break from the darkness and heaviness of so many other books on prize lists right now. I read a lot in April too and my best read was definitely Alice Winn’s In Memoriam. I also quite enjoyed Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.
The Book of Goose by Yiyin Li was the most outstanding book i have read this year so far. She is now a new favorite writer of mine.
Great! I need to finally get to that novel.
The Book of Goose was among my top 5 favorites in 2022. [Top 5 of 365: not a challenge I plan to try again! :^0]
I read Nevada in March and loved it. It is also so funny and clever in certain sections (such as when Maria gets hit on in the bar). Standing Heavy is an absolute favourite of the year so far for me!
Yes, glad you also connected so strongly with those two.
I read 4 books in April!
1. Klara and the Sun (loved it, observant, just a little bit sci-fi)
2. The Book of Form and Emptiness (liked it, too long for the first half, but the 2nd half is great, I will definitely read more Ruth Ozeki. I loved her A Tale for the Time Being.)
3. Beach Read (hated it, I don't get the hype, it's too shallow for me, will never read this author again)
4. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (probably already one of my all-time top 10s. It has everything and all of those are done and interwoven very well into one book of passion)
#3 I completely agree!!!!
That’s so great to hear! Klara and Maali are such top reads!
I really liked Memphis too 📖🪱💚
Wandering Souls! I really loved this one. I am still thinking about it. Sigh.
❤️
I'm about to pick up Dog of the North at the library, I'm glad to know ahead of time it's not really a road trip novel (there's a van on both covers, it's definitely what I expected!) because now I will probably enjoy it more. My favorite April read was The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty--I cannot stop thinking about it!
Yeah, I’m not sure why they’ve sold it as such but it is quite a ride!
started reading Nevada after this video and loved the book 💋
That’s great to hear! 💕
I've been on another JCO kick, so I read Mudwoman, The Falls, and Hazards of Time Travel. Would have read a few more in April, but I finally got COVID and could not read while I was sick and for about a week after due to lack of concentration! Is Mother Dead sounds really intriguing.
Great you’ve been exploring more JCO and hope you’ve recovered!
In April I read:
1.Sold on a Monday by Kristina Mc Morris (loved it)
2.Samskara by U.R Ananthamurthy
3.Convenience Store woman by Sayaka Murata
4.A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry (loved it)
5.Night crawling by Leila Mottley
6.Salvage the bones by Jesmyn Ward
I hear so little about a fine balance! It really deserves a lot more praise!!
Those are some great reads!
@@anjalinishtala true 💯
@@EricKarlAnderson I did have a good reading month 😊
Best book I read in April was
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
I’ve been on an Australian book binge in April.
☘️👋🍀📖📚☕️📕
Ah, glad you connected with it
I read "Picasso's War" which is non-fiction and quite fascinating, especially the last quarter of the book.
I have been having a struggle month at work and school. So only managed to finish 1) Boulder, which really resonated with me. I am an aunt and love it so much, but I felt a lot of empathy for the main character.
2) Animal Truth & other stories by Sharona Muir: an eco fabulist collection of short stories. So good, weird and inspiring!
And 3) Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. This hit a little too close to home, and I will have to sit with it. It was beautiful and terrible
I’ve not heard of Muir’s collection before. Thank you! And glad you connected with Boulder and Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. x
So: Time Shelter. I think it worked as a thought experiment but not as a novel for the reasons you discuss. I do wonder if some if the vagueness of the characterization had something to do with the narrators possibly disintegrating mind. It’s hard for me to think of anyone I’d strongly recommend it to… but I’m glad I read it. Id like to read Boulder, Nevada and the Consequences.
That’s an interesting theory about Time Shelter. I know some more academic and politically minded people who will probably love it.
Im making my way through the Womens prize and Dog of the North is one I have purposefully avoided due to the perceived 'quirkiness' which I assume I will hate. However your review makes me feel a bit more excited to read it - you are the booktuber who i trust the most lol as we seem to have similar tastes (im awaiting your Pod review with bated breath 😂) I have read The Marriage Portrait, Trespasses, Black butterflies and now wondering souls so maybe a need a bit of the absurd
Thank you! It’s worth giving it a try. You’ll probably know fairly quickly if it’s not a novel for you.
The Nix by Nathan Hill was long but very enjoyable. A promising debut.
I’ve always meant to read that.
What I read this month was “Cuddy” Benjamin Meyers “The Feather Thief “ Kirk Wallace Johnson, “The Tattoo Murder Case “Akimitsu Takagi TR Deborah Boliver Bohemia and”Gilead” Marilynne Robinson. Cuddy was a little difficult for me to follow at times almost seemed experimental in nature but I was still glad to read it. I enjoyed all the others
I’m reading The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring set in a small town in rural Maine interlocking stories debut collection characters come alive.Published by Europa.
I’m so glad you’ve tipped me off about this book! It sounds like the perfect novel for me since I’m originally from Maine and love interconnected books of short stories.
@@EricKarlAnderson Hope you enjoy it ❤️
I absolutely loved Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov.
My favorites this month were The Night Ship, Elena Knows, Persuasion (reread) and a BookTube prize book I shan't name. From your list I really want to read Wandering Souls!
I’m so glad you read Elena Knows.
I read The Good Doctor and Weyward in April, they were both brilliant! 😁
Great! I read The Good Doctor a long time ago but remember really enjoying it.
Is mother dead
“…but I have never shown him the paintings, in order not to burden him with my problems. Or is that to make my life easy? What if I haven’t shown them to him because I fear that he might recognise me as the mother turning away, completely wrapped up in herself ? But I was never anything like Mum!”
I think the art was not so innocent because she fears the mother in the picture may even be a commentary on her own “poor” mothering skills.
I took the protagonist’s point of view as just that, assuming that like always there’s an another side to the story. What I kept wondering was why she wanted this meeting now? Was it because her husband died and her son moved away? Do you get to decide when you mend fences and reconnect? Do you get to reconnect on your own terms?
Yes, big questions!
My favourite book so far is Cuddy, by Benjamin Myers. Loved the different styles he uses through the book and it is so moving in places, I found myself transported to the time he was descibing and it has really stayed with me.
That’s great to hear! I’ve been very eager to read it.
I have enjoyed Myers' previous books and look forward to Cuddy's publication on the west side of the Atlantic!
@@johnnamurraycamp5100 This is my first, and liked it so much I must go back and read his previous books
I’m sad Wandering Souls didn’t continue on to the short list, thankfully though Memphis didn’t either, as it would have really made me sad as my high point and low point of the 9 I’ve read so far.
Okay, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS for *Boulder*
I feel like everyone skips over the fact that this 'loner' who 'needed to roam' had been happily living in freaking cold, dark claustrophobic Iceland in a committed relationship that she was happy in for TEN YEARS at the point her partner gets baby fever? And then still didn't leave? In spite of her deep aversion to the thought of having a baby, still supports her partner (okay misses one thing she'd been asked to go to), and then actually loves the baby? It's her partner who shuts her out, sending her to the spare bedroom and not allowing her any bonding time with the baby, until Boulder demands Wednesdays? Like they're already broken up? And then after they do break up still sticks around Iceland rather than roaming again, just so she can get visitation with the kid?
Seems to me that sure, Boulder liked her private space and dreamed of having more freedom to roam - don't many people? It's actions that count. She did not want a kid, but once the kid was there, she pretty much wants to have the kind of role in the kid's life that most dads do - see the kid when they got home, hold them, play with them, leaving most of the day to day work to the mother - but honestly *Samsa* allowed her much less access and bonding than most dads are given, locking herself up in her room, kicking Boulder out of their shared bedroom, not letting her hold or feed or interact with the baby. I don't think it was Boulder's lack of 'growing up and settling down' that was the problem. She did those things. Samsa, especially after the birth, somehow fetishized motherhood (and holy heck, that one scene that brought things to a head) and wouldn't allow Boulder in, emotionally, physically, nothing. That's what drove them apart in the end.
I read Truly darkly deeply by Victoria Selman...I found it very upsetting and I wondered why I bought it in the first place its a twisty psycological thriller...
Something about a person first real job that makes them crazy to tell you about it at every negligible opportunity, which is especially annoying when they talk about it as if it were Wharton or Air Force Officer Training School. I mean no one cares that before you got your Ph.D. at Backwater U. you were an assistant manager at Border's. You know, a lot of us don't even remember what Border's was. On the other hand, there's another channel I watch and the host is always cooking something at home, with some of the skills she learned working her first real job.
Hello
I'm reading a particular book. It's translated into spanish..
"Hacia la hora ajena" by a korean author Yi In-seong .
Really it's difficult to follow the way the author expresses his feelings.
Interesting!
oh eric please give a little warning before you give a spoiler like you did for boulder which was one of my most anticipated reads.