Here’s an interesting conundrum.
I’m a voracious reader. Truly voracious. I gobble books up and just can’t stop until there’s nothing left. I also love to talk about what I’m reading, or have recently read, but I hate book clubs and I won’t join one.
But wait, it actually makes sense. You see, I would join a book club, and love it, but it’d have to be a club of one (me) or else a club populated entirely by clones of me.
Because the thing is, I have a tricky taste in books. It’s kind of – ahh, well – eclectic would be the best word for it, I guess. I’ve read (and loved) every word written by the incredible Ms. Atwood (I actually still lie awake at night sometimes teasing out details from The Handmaid’s Tale, and the last time I read it was probably back in fourth-year Canadian Lit circa 1992). Actually, I have a soft spot for contemporary Canadian writers that still lingers all these years later. And OMG if you haven’t yet read Emma Donoghue’s Room, crawl out from under that rock you’ve been living under and read it. Now. RIGHT NOW.
But then again, I’m not exactly married to the Literary Fiction genre. Oh no, not by a long shot. I spent a good half of the last year reading (and enjoying – well, until all my favourite characters were killed and then miraculously reincarnated in more and more ridiculous ways) all five books in the now-made-famous-by-virtue-of-an-HBO-series epic A Game of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.
Oh, but it’s not just Literary Fiction and Fantasy that catch my fancy. I have a really soft spot for a mushy Historical Fiction and Period Romance, as well. Think Philippa Gregory (well, not the Wideacre series), Edward Rutherfurd (especially Sarum and London) and really, if you haven’t read Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth and World Without End – what planet are you living on anyway? And then there are the Historical Mysteries. Just hole me up on a soft, warm armchair with a Brother Cadfael mystery (Ellis Peters) or let me solve a titillating crime in ancient Rome with Marcus Didius Falco (Lindsey Davis) and I’ll happily read away my days.
I also love a good character-driven, feel-good story. Especially the Irish kind. Most especially the Irish kind written by Maeve Binchy (who sadly passed away recently). And although not exactly Maeve, I’ve really enjoyed some of Sheila O’Flanagan’s books. Have I mentioned the books I will go back to and read over and over (and over) again? The ones that have to be held together by a rubber band because the spines are so hopelessly cracked that the pages are falling out? Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frank Herbert’s Dune series, all seven Harry Potter books.
Ahh…Harry Potter. The gateway drug of Young Adult fiction. Yup, it’s true: I read YA and I love it. It all started with Harry Potter, and grew from there. In fact, since I picked up The Hunger Games the summer before last, and with the exception of the half-year of my life I devoted to that all-consuming Game of Thrones, I have read not much else for the last few years. I’ve read the Percy Jackson series, His Dark Materials series, The Maze Runner and Divergent and just finished Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras.
So really, it seems like I’ll read just about anything, right? And that therefore I would be a boon at any book club, no? Um yeah. NO. Because the one book I won’t ever read is the one someone else tells me to read. Just ask my sisters: I still haven’t – and won’t – read the Twilight series or the Shades of Grey trilogy. And if Oprah or Heather recommends it, that usually means it’ll be at least ten years before I pick it up, if ever.
I don’t really know why, but hey…some of the mysteries of the universe are not meant to be understood. So I’ll leave the book clubs to the other ladies, and I’ll just stay home and read the next YA book on my list: Insurgent.
I LOVE Pillars! And I think every Canadian woman should read Handmaid’s Tale. It is amazing how much of it is even more relevant now.
It drives me crazy that you won’t read 50 Shades. If for no other reason than we can talk about how bad but oh so good it is 😉
No judgement Julie, Ms. A is not everybody’s cup of tea. In my opinion, her earlier novels are much more readable – you might like something like Lady Oracle or The Edible Woman.
I’m going to try your reco for no other reason than the author’s last name is spelled “Fforde”. 😉
Sonya…my house is pretty messy. That’s where I find the time 😉 Before you splash out on Insurgent, read the first book in the series, Divergent. I loved it!
Actually, I have read a few notable Oprah and Heather picks. Midwives, for one (Oprah) and I’ve enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver as well thanks to the inimitable Ms. Winfrey. Plus, one of my favourite heart-wrenching novels, The Lovely Bones, was a Heather’s Pick. So yeah, there is some leeway, and I’ll give kudos to Jen for tipping me off to Room and forcing me (literally) to buy The Hunger Games. But generally, I prefer to browse the library or bookshop or Kobo website and pick out things that appeal to me – for whatever random reason – at the time. And usually, I’m happy with what I get.
Don’t forget Robertson Davies…gosh I love his novels.
I haven’t hit the biography-loving stage yet, but that said, I did devour a narrative biography of Alexander the Great a few years ago. Mind you, it took a lot of criticism for taking too much licence with the story – probably part of the reason I liked it so much!
pillars is a great one for sure. if i make a confession, will ye all not judge me? i still haven’t read one word of margaret atwood. i keep finding other things that i love and i just never think of hers!
i read the rudolph nureyev bio and that was excellent, talk about a true to life spy thriller in some spots! frank langella’s in on my to-do list as well.
i read one pick oprah had and was so turned off that i’ve never read anything she recommended again 🙂 but if you like a little “different” i’d suggest you read the eyre affair by jasper fforde. i can’t call it sci-fi because it’s written in such a way that the weirdness makes sense (if _that_ makes sense!) basically there are book police that guard the original manuscripts to prevent the other books from changing for the worse. very enjoyable to read what goes on between the lines…literally!
Wow! When do you find time to read??!!! I think I’m an intentional reader – the stack beside my bed is growing and I know I have to find the time to get to them. I’ve been asked to join book clubs several times over but I can’t figure out why. I can’t read under pressure and prefer to read at my pace. It may take me 2 months or more to finish off a book and for that reason…I’m out. Going online to get Insurgent now to add to the pile. 😉
I hear you, lady – I’m not much of a joiner. I prefer reading my stuff solo as well.
That said, I LOVED Room. And Pillars. The P. Gregory books and the M. Binchy *sob* books are easy to devour, and they’re totally fun. I never did love the fantasy fiction much – I read The Hobbit in school, and that was enough for me (certainly then, anyway) so I never did read the Lord of The Rings, nor Harry Potter. Maybe one day.
As for those “other” trilogies… I did read them, but I picked them up when they were relatively new, and I knew nothing about them. That made them “better” reads than trying to pick one up now, with a far more critical eye glancing sideways wondering, “Let’s see what all the fuss is about…” They will always fall flat after that, unless they’re classics. I never would have read The Hunger Games series if I’d known more about the story’s basis before I’d started.
The Oprah and Heather picks aren’t always bad (Oprah selected a lot of titles for Americans who don’t read…) but they recommend a lot of classics, and because of Oprah, I probably read far more contemporary American lit than I might have otherwise, like “Songs in Ordinary Time” and “The Poisonwood Bible” which were both terrific reads. Have you read “Blindness” by Jose Saramago? Holy crap. GO GET IT.
Margaret Atwood makes me swoon. Still. Lots of Can Lit on my shelves here… the late Carols Shields… lovely. I should re-read them and Timothy Findlay, and all the others…
And I LOVE biographies. BIG love. I want Pete Townshend’s next, I think.
Le sigh. Books are good. 🙂