Saturday, October 4, 2014

Required Reading: October 2014


September slipped through my fingers. Or was it just my inability to get hold of things that needed to be done? I was really expecting to have time and finish the rest of my David Mitchell list. In any case, October is here, and I should keep in mind that real life has its own bagful of plot twists too. I did not mean to focus on finishing short stories last month, but I need to resort to some immediate and stunning distraction most of the time and I figured that short stories are the best way to go.

  1. The Ink Readers of Doi Saket by Thomas Olde Heuvelt -3/5 stars - An original short story from Tor.com.
  2. Boys and Girls by Alice Munro - 3/5 stars -Published as the 9th story from Dance of the Happy Shades. 
  3. The Man by Abraham Lopez - 4/5 stars - A well-written short crime story.
  4. Ghostwritten by David Mitchell - 4/5 stars - A great example of how lives touch one another. 
  5. Jon by George Saunders - 4/5 stars - The writer's challenging views on consumerism.
  6. The Egg by Andy Weir -5/5 stars - A succinct reflection on our ethical obligations as beings.

This month leaves me with 300 more pages of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell and 100 more pages of Fludd by Hilary Mantel. Remaining to be optimistic, I am adding:
  1.  Jack: The Tale of Frost by Tony Bertauski - Book 2 of the Claus series. Because I can't wait anymore. 
  2. Flury: Journey of a Snowman by Tony Bertauski - Book 3 of the Claus series.
  3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat by Oliver Sacks - TFG's book for the month.
  4. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell - I am finally going to read this, as soon as I get to finish the whole lot above.
There! I am not biting into the apple anymore. I am swallowing it whole. LOL! 






10 comments:

  1. I'm glad to see that you individualized the short stories that you've read. And yeah, it's okay to have these slumps. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Angus. Really working hard to get around these slumps. ♥

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  2. It's nice to see 4 stars for good ol' George! :) And you have two frosty reads! Let it go..Let it go! Can't hold it back anymore! Oh, I'm sorry! The song is still stuck in my brain, somehow. XD

    Hope you have a great October, Louize!

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    1. LOL. Thank you, Tin. A great October to you too! ♥

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    1. You have to write your review on this soon!
      Something to whet my appetite, hehehe. ♥

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  4. I'm sorry for being uninformed but what is the title of the Book 1 of the Claus series? Claus? :)

    Also, I am envious. I have to read another David Mitchell book soon.

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    1. Its "Claus:Legend of the Fat Man." Give it a try Meliza. :)

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  5. Hello, Louize! Oh, you have The Bone Clocks already! I'm still waiting for bookstores to stock up on it! I can't wait to get my hands on it. Will eagerly wait for your review.

    I'm not really a big fan of short stories, unless the stories appear in a cohesive collection. But I guess it's high time I read more of them, no?

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  6. Hubby said that he can mail it last week of this month pa. So, I told him not to bother, I'll have it when I get there instead. Meanwhile, I have to content myself with the Kindle copy. Hope you get your copy soon, Peter.

    And yes, you should try short stories apart from any collective form. I find them unrestricted and quite reviving. :)

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