Bibliography, May 2008

Most blogs reveal the idiosyncracies of their writers, not so much in what they write, but what they write about. So it's strange that I haven't really written much about books. However, given that facebook's Books application has died and the Proustathon has also ended, I now have nowhere else to record my reading. So, I thought I would do it monthly, copying a format I've seen elsewhere, I thought I would also record what I've bought with some thoughts. If I am really organised I will do this monthly. I've deliberately left out most reference and practical books (oddly, I got / bought 4 cookbooks last month - no need for them to go in). So here goes:

Books Bought / recieved
D. Acheson, Present at the Creation
J. Ash, A Byzantine journey
M. Barrowcliffe, The Elfish Gene
D. Cruickshanks, Adventures in Architecture
A. Delaloude, The Dante Trap
M. Gladwell, The Tipping Point
J. Goodwin, Snake Stone
E. Mendelson, Later Auden
J. Morris, Wales
V. Nabokov, Speak , Memory
P. O'Brian, Master and Commander
M. Proust, Pleasures and Days
M. Satrapi, Persepolis
T. Shah, In Arabian nights
C. Thubron, Behind the wall
... and a bible, in Hebrew, that I cannot read. But it was cheap


Books Read (14)
H.E. Bates, The Darling buds of May
M. Barrowcliffe, The Elfish Gene
M. Bragg, 12 books that changed the world
C. Brown, This is Craig Brown
N. Davidoff, In the country of Country
R. Feynman. What do you care what other people think?
B. Frindall, Bearders: My life in Cricket
B. Johnston, Round Kenneth Horne
I. Kadare, Chronicle in stone
R. Kapuscinski, Travels with Herodotus
G. Keillor, Lake Wobegon Summer 1956
J. Mortimer, Where there's a will
V. Nabokov, Lolita
M. Satrapi, Persepolis


In all, it has been a rather good month, driven by two major things: my birthday has meant that I've taken receipt of lots of books (and I might have missed a few out here) without having to pay for them; and leaving my job has meant I have had time to read a lot more, though looking through my list, it appears I have frittered much of this away on rather frivolous books. There are a few exceptions and my standout from the list is Lolita, which is a (slightly uncomfortable) tour de force, especially the first third. Persepolis and Davidoff's search for country roots were both also excellent and I read An Elfish Gene with deep affection, though we're back into the frivolity again there. I am currently ploughing through a rather weightier tome about first century Judaism, so June's comments should be shorter and possibly more profound.