I read 3 books in Feb, 2 fiction, 1 non-fiction.
For last months update, please go here
Have read a lot more fiction than I usually do this year.
I think I’m playing catch up for the past 3 years of over-reading non-fiction books.
These were the 3 books I read in Feb :
The Tartar Steppe - Dino Buzzati
I read a translation of the book.
The prose is elegant and the story reads like Remains of the Day but, in present tense.
Remains of the Day is about the character reminiscing about his past and wondering where the time has gone.
In The Tartar Steppe, Giovanni does this as the years go by.
This is a book about time passing you by without you noticing.
Right until the moment you’ve been waiting for finally arrives.
At which point it’s somehow too late.
Definitely recommend this to anyone looking for something to read on a quiet night.
Several Short Sentences About Writing - Verlyn Klinkenborg
This is a good book.
It has some simple advice.
Laid out in several short sentences.
The tone can be condescending. Ignore it.
The message is clear and refreshing.
It has made me rethink my writing style.
Do read if you would like to rethink how you write.
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
I picked this up last month after someone sent me a link to this interview with Toni Morrison
While I’d heard of her in passing, I was blown away by the clarity of her thought and terribly intimidated by it as well.
Slightly jarring read, because of the story itself.
The writing is beautiful even if the book jumps here and there, in a sense it is a story told around a warm fire at night rather than written for someone to read.
It’s not too long a read but, it left me wanting more from the author.
I can’t say I loved reading it, but, I’m glad I did.
Currently Reading
Cancer Ward - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas R. Hofstadter
Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
If you have any recommendations or comments leave them below.
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Thank you for reading
Sainath