I have many things lined up I wish to post about, but it is the weekend and I have noticed from the stats on my blog home page, that there are less visitors at weekends (better things to do I am sure) and so I tend to leave a book review until Monday when everyone tunes in again (or uses their computer at work.....).
So I am going to point you in the direction of the lovely blog of lovely Simon over at Stuck in a Book. I have known Simon for many years now and though I am old enough to be his grandmother, we have so much in common when it comes to reading tastes and I always drop in to see what he is reviewing and writing about. Inspired by a BBC programme Simon is currently publishing posts on My Life in Books. He has contacted bloggers and visitors to blogs and asked a series of questions relating to the effect books and reading have had on our lives. I was simply delighted, and very honoured, to be asked to take part in this and my responses to his questions are now up. I have been reading the responses of other bloggers all week with great interest and simply delighted to see that so many of us agree and enjoy the same books.
The comments below each dual post are also fascinating and Dark Puss (click on the name and be sent across to his eclectic blog) has posted a comment about my lack of love for modern literature which I hope I have answered to his satisfaction. To sum up, I have tried to make it clear that much though I have tried, I find modern novels and literature just not to my taste. I have tried, especially since starting Random Jottings, as I am aware of my failings in this respect and feel that I have managed to appreciate some current writing. It is just that I so much prefer 19th Century literature and that of the early 20th Century. The fault lies not with the authors writing today, but with me though perhaps calling it a fault is not the correct word - I just have a preference for a particular kind of writing and that is that, just as I prefer Beethoven to Berg and Schubert to Schoenberg.
However, receiving comments like this is good for the soul and good for the little grey cells as it makes one think. Chamber music was never for me, found it boring and dull (yes I know...) but now I could sit down and listen to Beethoven's later string quartets with no problem, able to appreciate them now that I am older, and I think this is the key word, and also a little wiser. So I have come to a decision and am going to repeat Elaine's Personal Challenge which I initially carried out in 2006 in the very early days of Random where I set myself the target of reading a novel a month written by a contemporary author. This must not be a detective story, of which I read plenty, as that would be cheating but a writer alive and kicking who is publishing now.
When I checked up on this Challenge I found I had read books by Margaret Atwood, Barry Unsworth, Anita Brookner amongst others and had also tried titles from the Booker List so I am not totally a lost soul. I must make it clear that I don't feel guilty because I don't read modern literature and am not doing this for this reason, after all I am now 64 years old and know what I like and what I don't, but it is good occasionally to be taken out of (and oh my goodness I hate this phrase, but it is the only one that fits at the moment) my 'comfort zone' and tested a bit.
Right over to you out there. I would like recommendations please of modern novels and authors, your favourites, why you like them and why you think I should read them. I know you are an interesting bunch so I now await your pleasure and will endeavour to draw up a list based on your thoughts. The only proviso I make is please, no Rushdie (he makes me lose the will to live and I have tried reading a couple of his) or Martin Amis who is such a miserable and grumpy sod that any desire to read anything by him dies as soon as I see his face and hear his whingeing.
I shall keep a Trollope and a Christie handy to keep me happy while carrying out this Challenge and also have a wonderful collection of Mills & Boon to hand, all charity shop buys, which will be my comfort reads when it all gets too much to bear......
