Tips, links and suggestions: what are you reading this week?

Your space to discuss the books you are reading and what you think of them

Welcome to this weeks blog: hope youve all had a glorious week of happy reading? Lets take a look at what we were all sharing and talking about last week.

We had a couple of wonderful, meaty reviews, including Vogelmonades review of The Factory Girls by Leslie T Chang and AggieHs review of Kærlighed and The Blue Room by Hanne Ørstavik.

Sara Richards: [...] After much thought, The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. But there are so many books I truly love its like asking me to say which of my children is my favourite one.

tyorkshiretealass: The Child in Time [by Ian McEwan] is mine it was given to me by an English teacher when I was 14 and was one of the first adult books I read (we were given an extract of it in a practice exam paper and I wanted to keep going).

[...] Just yesterday there was an article in the Guardian about a violent act caused by Indias caste system. This brought to mind Mulk Raj Anands Untouchable which I have read twice and recommended to many people over the years. Today there is a Guardian article about solar farms which reminds me that I have McEwans Solar on my charity shops finds pile waiting to be read. I would be interested to hear of any other links between Guardian articles and literature this week.

Funny you should say that, the much talked-about essay written by Kathleen Hale about her experience stalking a reviewer reminded me a bit of McEwans Enduring Love, although the setting is quite different and hopefully Hale doesnt suffer from the same syndrome as the stalker in the novel. In another world, perhaps there would be a McEwan for every Guardian article.

Finally reading Small World, which I've owned for years, after finishing the first novel - Changing Places - last week.

Sent via GuardianWitness

By Vesca

20 October 2014, 19:29

Im currently reading Small World by David Lodge, which has been sitting on my shelves for ages unread Ive got no memory of buying it, but I must have done because its second hand and no-one else buys me second hand books.

Realistically if I hadnt read Changing Places last week and had some interest in seeing what happens next it would probably have sat unread forever. Its funny, but theres a sort of underlying grimness to the humour that Im not enjoying at all.

I finished Nick Daviess Hack Attack which leaves you open-mouthed with astonishment at the antics of the tabloid press, politicians (thats you Jeremy Hunt!) and (especially) the police. Its an excellent book and should be required reading for anyone ever tempted to use the phrase tin-foil hat in a CIF post.

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