:: Let’s Make A List :: Tell us what to READ!

Hello! How are you? I am fine thanks… actually, I am really good. Having a lovely break and getting ready for a really great 2011. I just know it.

You might know that I just read ‘The Slap’. You might not know that, and that is okay too. Read it I did, and a few people had a bit to say about it both here and on Facebook too.

During that chattiness, another book was mentioned ‘The Book Thief’. Have you read it? I have not. But I want to read it. ‘The Book Thief’ was not mentioned in comparison, really, but rather as an alternative book to read if one found ‘The Slap’ a bit tough.

I did find ‘The Slap’ tough, but I also quite enjoyed it. I kind of endured it as well. It was a bit of a wincy marathon really, but I wanted to finish it so I could decide if I liked it or not. I kind of liked it. More so I admired the fact that it was written. It left me wondering who Christos Tsiolkas was and what he was like and who his friends were and what kind of car he drove and what he liked for dinner and how he came to write characters like that. It made me curious about the writer. I guess because I am a writer of sorts too.

I liked thinking about the way it was written, where it was written, who inspired the characters, how long it took, who edited it… that kind of thing. I did not feel angered by the characters, as some people did, but I did not much like any of them either. I thought it was pretty great that Tsiolkas incited lots of discussion about what people are really like, self indulgence, fragility, relationships, decadence and the like. (If you are going to read this for the first time, let it be known there is LOTS of sex betwixt the pages!)

All that Slappy stuff said and done (and read) I found a copy of ‘Eat Pray Love’ at the house I am staying at, and am finding it quite interesting reading after ‘The Slap’. I seem to be the last person in the universe to have a crack at Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller. It’s sort of about what people are like, self indulgence, fragility, relationships, decadence and the like, but in a totally different way (so far). There are far less penises in this book, that is for sure. I am not sure if I like it yet…. I am only 58 pages in. (If you are going to read this for the first time, let it be know there is LOTS of pasta betwixt the pages!)

I am such a doofus. I never read these books when they are first released. I get a bit put off by the hype and publicity. That’s silly, really, considering I rely on that machine to sell the books I write. I am going to try harder to read fresh books next year. I am.

Anyhoo. I was wondering. What books do you recommend? It could be chick-lit, or a literary masterpiece, or a crime novel, or a blockbuster no-brainer. Tell us what to read? Would you? Leave your suggestions and any reasons in the comments, if you would like to!

Have you read ‘Eat Pray Love’, ‘The Slap’ or ‘The Book Thief’? Should I read ‘The Book Thief’?

xx Pip