All The Books I've Been Reading

One of my "resolutions" for 2015 (if I must call it that way) has been to read more than 5 books. Don't laugh at me. Getting out of a long term reading slump is tough. I am here to happily report that I succeeded! For the last year, I have read a whole lot of SEVEN books. Fireworks, please!

Seriously though, 2 of those 7 were more than 800 pages long. That's a lot of letters when you put it together. Maybe it could have been more. I certainly thought so when I got a new job and started commuting nearly 2 hours a day. Turns out that my body prefers to sleep... But I still try my best to read on the tram for as long as my eyes are open.

Well then, without further ado, here is a little run-down of what I read and some thoughts... 

Cecilia Ahern: Thanks for the Memories (2010)

I picked this up in the library just before Christmas, simply because I saw it on display and the cover looked Christmasy to me. These are pretty much my colours :) It looked like a rom-com type of thing, perfect for the snuggled up evenings by the Christmas tree. It delivered :) The "rom" and the "com" are definitely present, but so is a great personal tragedy, described in such a way that it stabs you in the gut and makes you weep crocodile tears. There's also a bit of mystery concerning an anonymous blood donation and what seems like an accidental transfer of memories and knowledge. Fun.

Jane Austen: Persuasion (1818)

Yay what a cute little edition. Perfect for travelling and reading on public transport, coz it fits into any handbag :) I had started Persuasion a couple of years ago and for *insert relevant life event* reasons never finished. It's time to tick off the remaining Austen titles on my TBR list (she said as she ordered a Jane Austen box set of this cute and charming small editions).

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L. N. Tolstoy: War and Peace (1869)

Yay what a giant book that doesn't fit into any handbag! lol

I'm so glad I read it, because I read it in Czech. You see, I have this rule: If the book has been written in english than I should most definitely read the original. Because I can. If it was written in another language, then I should read the translation. Because of my interst in anglophone culture, I have some to realize that I need to actively look for books I can read in Czech, so that I don't lose touch with the intricacies and literary richness of my native tounge. So yes, I am very glad that I read all 1666 pages in Czech.

I'm so glad I read it, because it makes me feel proud and blessed and educated that I have. Also, I can

now be smug and overly critical of the new BBC adaptation of it (happening right now on a British TV set near you).

There's no point in me trying to draw up the plot for you. Life of Russian nobility during the turbulent period of Napoleonic Wars. There's romance. And about a million characters with long names that the english cannot for the love of god learn how to pronounce.

I must say I've grown to really like and respect Tolstoy and the way he says things. I like that he's able to talk about the large scale of events, the historical, socio-cultural context. At times he's almost philosophical, when he wonders or rather studies the way we tend to depict and interpret historical events. And then, often through the eyes of a minor, incidental character, he gives you a very specific, tangible human experience of... war, loss, love... you name it.

A toast to Mr Tolstoy for being a good writer.

And a very wise person.

Colm Tóibín: Nora Webster (2014)

Felt incredibly light and small after War and Peace :D I bought it because I was on a bookshopping spree. That's what you do when you start earning money, isn't it?

It's set in the 1960's in a small town in Ireland. Our heroine, Nora Webster, has lost her beloved husband. She lives with 2 of her children and now she must try to move on and find a new way to live. To be alive again.

It's not a very fast, thrilling read, but there's something oddly precious about it. The intimacy of one's family ties and personal history, the difficulties of human relationships and communication, the sweet little snippets of Irish small town culture in that period... Some of the minor characters are quite peculiar in that endearing Irish sort of way :) Comfortingly, it lacks romance, and yet it is very much about love. I cannot pinpoint why exactly, but I liked it. You will too, if you are into strong female characters (and who isn't?).

Thomas Hardy: Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)

Dare I say it, I read it in Czech. I don't like doing that. Reading a translation when I am perfectly able to read the original. But it was sitting in my bookcase, probably a remnant of my grandparents' library that I salvaged when we were clearing it out.

I went in with zero expectations. I wasn't too keen on the whole romance, love polygon side of it. However to my own surprise, I very much enjoyed everything else. Descriptions of nature and countryside, the odd little characters that live in the village, all worded in such an english sort of way, with sincerity, humour and sarcasm.

Giovanna Fletcher: Dream a Little Dream (2015)

Bought it because Carrie (Hope Fletcher) talked about it too much. And then I saw it in the bookshop whilst being in a holiday spirit. I am innocent.

The blurb sounded intriguing. Especially the bit where the main character Sarah is having recurring dreams about a handsome stranger and then she meets him in real life! Woah. Is he dreamy or is he not?

It was my guilty pleasure holiday read. A cute rom-com type of thing that is enjoyable, funny and sad at the right times, but it doesn't change the world. It was all right. Perhaps I would have liked a bit more substance to the conclusion...

P.S. I was very pleased with myself for understanding all the cultural references :) #anglophile #BritGeek

Suzanne Clark: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)

Yeaaah, coz it's so much fun carrying around an 800-paged monster :D

Premise: Two magicians bringing magic back into 19th century England.

Very enjoyable, if perhaps a little hard to get into at first. But, come on, there's magic! And Englishness. What's not to love? I really liked all the different characters and how they developed in course of the novel; also the socio-political comments seeping through the main narrative. If you like fantasy adventure type of books, but also enjoy a bit of old englishness, go for it!

P.S.  I understand it's not easy to throw the reader into the alternative reality with its own history and mythology, hence the extensive footnotes. I understand why they are there and necessary.. But reading got much easier when I made the resolution to skip them or just briefly skim through ;)

That's been 2015 in book form for me. Have you read any of these? What did you think about them?

Here's to more happy reading in 2016 when I try to read more than 7 books. I am confident I can do it! If I stop picking those really long and heavy ones :D

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