A month of discovering new authors and catching up on modern classics.
1. Prophet Song
— Paul Lynch
Winner of the Booker Prize. It lives up to the hype. A timely novel and my book of the month.
2. Moby-Dick
— Herman Melville
The introductory chapters are hilarious, and I loved the blossoming friendship between unlikely bedfellows Ishmael and Queequeg. However, the middle of this 620-page book really drags with scores of unnecessarily dull chapters that do nothing to drive the plot. If only Melville had had a good editor, this might have been the great book so many claim it to be.
3. Dracula
— Bram Stoker
It was a nice surprise and not at all what I expected. I loved the intimacy of the narrative, the cameraderie of Dracula’s antagonists — a great story well told.
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
— Erich Maria Remarque
The horrors of war beautifully told. Once I’ve caught my breath, I’ll read the sequel, The Road Back.
5. The Gambler
— Fyodor Dostoevsky
An entertaining read. Dostoevsky at his yarn-spinning best.
6. A Very Easy Death
— Simone de Beauvoir
The author’s reflections on her mother’s final days.
7. The Fountains of Paradise
— Arthur C. Clarke
This lands at number three in my favorite Arthur C. Clarke novels, after Childhood’s End and The City And The Stars.
8. La Bête Humaine
— Émile Zola
A contemporary critic complained that Zola’s novel was little more than trains and murder. And although both feature a lot, Zola here is at his best.
9. The Lathe of Heaven
— Ursula K Le Guin
I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed the first chapters of a Le Guin book. Same with this one. But loved the story and its ending, and the character development in the latter half.
10. Hour of the Star
— Clarice Lispector
Not like anything I’ve read before. A tale of a naive and good soul eaten up by a world too cruel for her existence. Will be reading more Lispector.
11. The Warden
— Anthony Trollope
A quiet little book. No doubt Trollope’s contemporaries were more moved by the ‘scandal’. Will try one more Trollope before leaving him be.
12. The Science of Storytelling
— Will Storr
More ‘Psychology 101’ and how to leverage that knowledge for storytelling rather than a practical guide to writing.
13. Notes from Underground
— Fyodor Dostoevsky
It’s a long rant, sometimes redeemed by great lines and dry good humor. I had supposed it was all a lengthy prelude to a story. Alas no! Had it been longer than its 120 pages, I wouldn’t have finished it.
Do you have any reading recommendations for me? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
March 2024 reading stats
books
13
pages
3490
authors
12
