Kazuo Ishiguro – Kindle-ing

When I am in the middle of reading a novel I don’t really have a lot to blog about. Which makes it hard to write a book blog, without having read any books; and I am not the fastest reader in the world.

To counter this, I occasionally like to come on here and update you on what I am reading now, and whatever other booky type stuff I have been up to.

Currently reading: Lies by Michael Grant

I started reading Michael Grant‘s Gone series a couple of years ago. This year I have promised myself that I will finish reading this series of Young adult science fiction, which I have to admit is no great chore, these books keep getting better as the series progresses.

Currently I am almost half-way through the third book in the series; Lies which like the first two books is weird, filled with twists and so far a lot of fun.

Listening to: The Buried Giant

BBC Radio 4’s long-running Book at Bedtime recently featured a dramatisation of Kazuo Ishiguro‘s latest novel The Buried Giant which I have listened to when I can find time. I won’t tell you much about it (that can wait for my review), except if you haven’t listened to it and you are wanting to do so, you better hurry. The BBC tends to remove their radio archives from the servers after about 30 days, so episode 1 is due to expire soon.

Finished reading: Tom Gates; Everything’s Amazing (Sort Of)

Speaking of books at bedtime… Little Amelia and I finished reading the third book in the Tom Gate’s series of children’s books, Everything’s Amazing (Sort of). Like the first Tom Gates book (we didn’t know the running order, so we are currently reading the second), it was a fun, easy to read book that adults won’t find too painful to read with their little darlings. It is filled with Liz Pichon‘s crazy doodles, and a has a whacky, yet somehow believable plot.

Cyberspace is filled with plenty of things for book lovers. Every Sunday I will share some of the best things I have found. Just click the links to be swept away, but please remember to come back.

Last Thursday was World Book Day, the day where children all over the United Kingdom dress up as their favourite literary character. My youngest daughter dressed as Wally (known in the US as Waldo, and in France he is Charlie) from those fun Where’s Wally books. My eldest daughter dressed as Liesel Meminger, the main character from The Book Thief.

One child however, hit the headlines here in the UK when he dressed up as Christian Grey,from the 50 Shades of Grey books, complete with cable ties and bondage mask.

Almost as worrying as the boy’s choice of costume was the fact that his mother couldn’t understand why the school banned her son from pictures and ordered him to get changed.

Read the full article and watch a video interview with the boy and his mother on The Guardian website

Kazuo Ishiguro‘s latest release The Buried Giant, has divided reviewers, and his fans because it is a fantasy novel. Personally, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. His last novel was science fiction, and the one before that was a mystery novel, and I am sure it will be at least long-listed for the Booker Prize (as all his novels are).

Read a review of The Buried Giant on The Independent website

Dutch photographer Reinier Gerritsen has been photographing in the New York subway since 2008. Around 2011, he began to notice that something was changing. As each year passed, more and more people were abandoning printed books in favour of smartphones and tablets. (Or Kindles like myself, though it has been known to see me reading a traditional book).

He began to document the phenomenon by photographing people reading books on the New York subway. The BBC has documented Gerritsen’s wonderful art project with this short film.

Tag: Kazuo Ishiguro

Lies, The Buried Giant and Tom Gates again