Book club choice for September

If you are in the Big Comfy Book Club (or even if not) then take a look at what you might fancy reading in September. Pick 1 from the list below and I'll add it to the vote. Whichever wins will be announced next Friday (30th) on here, Twitter and Facebook.
Apologies for not announcing that Sexing The Cherry by Jeanette Winterson had won August's choice on this blog, I promise I'll get better! If you have read Sexing the Cherry then we'll have a chat about it on Facebook on Sunday 1st Sept at 4pm.

Leave a comment below with your choice. Click on each title to read a synopsis on GoodReads.com

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling
The Life And Time Of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Michael

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

I picked this up as I had a gift card for A**zon that had about £3 left. I'm really glad I gave it a go as it was a joy.

Harold one day receives a letter from a lost friend telling him she's dying. Harold is 65 and stuck in a rut. More than a rut, a twenty year crater. Whilst walking to the post office to post his reply letter he starts to question himself. Is a letter to this friend enough? He skips the first post box and decides to walk to the next, just so he can think a while. This thinking travels over 600 miles.

Harold is a quintessential 65 year old Englishman. Too polite, forever rolling along on the tide of his life taking in whatever other people say and do. During his walk he encounters dozens of people from young evangelists to closet homosexuals, foreigners and journalists. But it's the relationship between Maureen his wife and himself that I found to be touching. She is fussy, picky, nagging constantly and a catalyst to his journey. Along the way, he reminisces about how they met, the good times and bad. The walk untangles some lost memories. They also make Harold face his fears he's held back for 20 years. With nowhere to hide, the memories keep flooding through. I've never cried at a book, but I had a lump in my throat twice with this.

I could write a lot more but I don't want to leave too many clues as to the ending. Seek it out.

A nice 7.5 cushions on the comfometer.

It also name checks Nuneaton which was nice.

Michael

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

This book review comes a while after reading this tome due to a family wedding, a break in and some shop stuff. Anyway, I read this as part of our bookclub, The Big Comfy Bookclub (join online! right HERE). Its over 600 pages so I gave myself (and the group) 5 weeks to read it, It's the second Neil Gaiman book I've read, the first being Stardust.

Gaiman is held in sci-fi and fantasy circles as a talisman, a hero of all. Comics, kids, YA and adult fiction all being conquered. I must admit, I was slightly disappointed with Stardust but delved into American Gods with no preconceptions. I thoroughly enjoyed it all, it was a blast.

The anti-hero of the book is Shadow, a prisoner just released finding his way in the world. The way he was due to navigate was quickly swiped from his grasp in the first chapter or so and thus begins his journey across America.
It's really a road trip. Several stories, characters and locations, both in this world and others, are visited and have an effect on Shadow. A few book club members questioned the reason for Shadow going along with situations just on a whim, or as easily as someone asking. I found this great as I never really knew where it was all heading. He had nothing to lose by going along.
A few minor points for me was every few chapters there would be an in depth story of a culture, a certain male or female, that ran for quite a few pages. It gave the book a larger canvass and understanding of the age of some of the characters, but it took me out of the Shadow story too much.

I've been given some more Gaiman book recommendations and will be tackling them in due course.

On the comfometer I've given it a very strong 7.5 cushions.

If you're in the book club (or want to be) then we should be reading Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson right now, and we have til Aug 30th to finish. It's only 140 pages or so.

I'm actually reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at the moment and thoroughly enjoying it.

Michael

August Big Comfy Book Club

It's book club time! Below are the 7 choices for our next book. Our first two books were 500 and 600 pages long so I've gone easy this time round as each book (more or less) is less than 200 pages. I've also decided to stretch the reading time til the end of August for whatever is chosen, as this way we can then read a book a month starting on the 1st and going through to 30th/31st. It will make it easier to keep track!

I've added a wee bit about each book too so you'll have more info on what you might like to read. Go on over to the Facebook group to vote. As always, if you're not on Facebook then please Tweet me or leave a comment on the end of this blog post with which book is your choice. You'll have until 4pm Sunday to make your choice and also, FINISH AMERICAN GODS! (I'm only on page 332! Half way, yikes!) I'll then post the winning book on this blog.

The Sense Of An Ending by Julian Barnes

You may have noticed over the past 2 book choices I like to include a Man Booker book in the 7 choices. I like to read what others seem to say is the best. Half the time it isn't. Here's a bit of blurb on it

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

I gave away Jeanette Wintersons biography for World Book Night. She's a wonderful person. Here's some blurb

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

An absolute classic. I've read it already but would gladly again. Blurby bit

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I know little of this book but have always wanted to read Marquez. Plus Mariella 'Book-show vixen' Frostrups favourite. Can I get a blurb?

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

Dark, gritty, distasteful, downright uncomfortable. Monday, Tuesday, Blurbday 

The Stranger by Albut Camus

Something a little different for the club? Blurbnation

Eric by Terry Pratchett

I LOVE Pratchett. One of my favourite authors. Love fantasy and comedy? Final Blurb

So there you go. All (mostly) are under 200 pages. Make your mind up then head on over to the Group, comment below or tweet me. 

Michael

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

Fun and happiness! Sorry, wrong book.

I seem to have acquired a few Murakami books over the years, yet I've only read one of them. I've read Norwegian Wood and thought it was excellent, although even that I had to restart as the first time I hated it and stopped after 20 pages. I picked this up when my band Barricades Rise did a photoshoot in local bookshop Astley Book Farm. This book can be seen in some of the promo pics we did with Redwood Photography. It's a slim book at only 187 pages.

Murakami seems to love heading straight for melancholy and staying in the middle lane throughout. He did with Norwegian Wood and he has with this. The story revolves around Hajime, a single child (rare in Japan in the 70's). Cast as an outsider due to his lack of siblings, he finds solace in Shimamoto the only other single child in his school. The pair connect on so many levels, winding up spending their entire childhood together. When Hajime goes off to college he realises swiftly he cannot adjust to life without Shimamoto, casting aside woman without thought. He marries and has kids but ultimately has a hole left in him. Until Shimamoto turns up once more.

I enjoyed the book, but can't really say it struck a chord like Norwegian Wood did. Like the jazz music that runs through the book, it seems to meander back and forth between complete hopelessness to overriding joy. Hajime and Shimamoto are a tragedy and it's clear from the start (and from the fact it's Murakami) what you are in for.

For those that like to shed a tear. A middle of the road 6.5 of the Comfometer.

Michael

A manic few weeks for The Big Comfy Bookshop

Trying to open a shop is hard, but when it comes together it feels fantastic. I'm not jumping the gun just yet but the premises I have lined up is fantastic, flexible and in the ideal location. But let me say this. It is not in Nuneaton.

Nuneaton

I've spent the best part of 9 months trying to start in Nuneaton to no avail. I've covered why in this blog here so I won't bore you with other reasons. I'm not announcing just yet where the shop will be until the lease is signed.

Last week though all the good vibes evaporated as I was burgled. I currently run The Big Comfy Bookshop from my house and so my day-to-day job involves cataloging books, writing blogs, doing social media stuff and generally spending 6-8 hours a day on my laptop. Last Monday though whilst I was out some ####ers smashed my kitchen window and stole my laptop and camera. A lot of the bookshop is backed up but some isn't, so this week will be damage limitations. The kick in the teeth though is that every photo of my 18 month old from the day he was born was on the laptop, and we have no back up. Couple this with the fact my wife Heidi who works at North Warwickshire and Hinckley college, had a week of rehearsals and performances of Miss Saigon at the local arts centre so she's been out for 12 hours a day, and then 3 gigs in my band Barricades Rise in 24 hours, it has been exhausting for both of us.
The college show was superb, see some great pics by Jonathan Coates at www.jscoates.com. The band gigs went well too with a great review by Rob at Redwood photos here.

Miss Saigon performed by NW&H College. Fantastic

This week though is a new start and back on track. I'll be updating the blog more often and letting you all know my thoughts on the shop, books and more.

I've just finished Haruki Murakami's South of the Border, West of the Sun so I'll be doing a review soon. I'm currently reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods for our book club. Feel free to join either by Facebook or just let me know on this blog (comment below). I'm also dipping in and out of Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Michael

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Book Club review

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was the Big Comfy Book Club's first book club choice. The Big Comfy Book Club got off to a storming start with nearly 50 people joining the online club. Out of the 7 choices available we voted for Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn as our first book. I received a lot of messages over the next 4 weeks telling me what they thought, where they bought it and what other books aill be in the future. It's been great already! But lets talk about the book itself. Beware, there are spoilers a-plenty.

The book has become a huge success both over in the USA and on our own Isles so the expectation by me and several other book-clubbers was high. A quick read of praise from the national newspapers on the cover gave it more gravitas too. So lets delve into it, did it excite and move me? Did it make a lasting impression on the club? In short. Not in the slightest.

The story revolves around Nick and Amy, a 'normal' couple living in New York. They have the great big posh flat, they are both authors and journalists, they met in a very meet-cute way. They are a Sophie Kinsella couple. But the story really starts after all this and how their relationship has dwindled due to the death of Nicks mum and his dads dementia. Amy has a huge trust fund from her parents, (Authors! Wow!) as their books are based around Amazing Amy, a fictionalised version of their real daughter. One day Nick gets a call from a neighbour saying his front door is wide open, so he returns home and sees that his wife has been involved in a struggle, and she's disappeared. She is Gone Girl. The resulting 250 pages are seen through the eyes of both Nick, at the time, dealing with what has gone on, the subsequent police investigation and the reveal of an affair, and Amy in the form of her diary written over the past 7 years. The format works to a degree but neither Nick or Diary Amy have many qualities to make you like them, Nick is weak and obtuse whilst Diary Amy is a pushover. I'm calling Amy Diary Amy as half way through there is a big reveal which I loved (the best part of the book). The format shifts slightly to the real Amy.

This shift kept the book alive for me as it was really starting to have that bad-movie kind of feel with very clichéd characters. The mum being posh and snooty, the dad being all 'hey sport' with the son-in-law, the good cop, bad cop couple. But really what I disliked was Nick. He's an idiot. He does the stupidest things for no reason. Only his twin sister Go (short for Margot) seems reasonable and normal. With the change in narration it gave a real insight into Nick from a different angle. But it didn't last long. The whole book was dragged to the finale. Gillian Flynn had written herself into a corner and had no way out and didn't have an ending. It was a frustrating, annoying read.

Once we'd all read it we had a long discussion on Facebook about it and nearly everyone agreed with me. We are still baffled as to why it has become such a best seller.

I've given it 3.5 on the comfometer. The lowest yet.

If you fancy joining the online book club then hop on over to the Facebook group and add yourself or alternatively if you're not on Facebook, just send me an email, tweet or comment on this blog telling me you're reading along. We've just started our next book, Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

Michael