Archive for the 'books' Category

Blog a Penguin Classic

Published on 5 May 2008 in books. 3 Comments

I signed up on impulse after reading Phil Bradley’s blog about Penguin’s Blog a Penguin Classic exercise, and to my surprise I’ m set to receive a copy of The Painter of Signs by R.K. Narayan in the post.

The only thing I now have to do is  read the book and write a review of it for the Penguin site within six weeks of receiving it.

It looks like people have been busy over the weekend - there are no books left to give away!

Perception

Published on 1 May 2008 in ruminatin', renungan, reading and books. 0 Comments

Currently reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It’s been a while since I’ve read something where the language has been so exquisite I find myself re-reading paragraphs and making notes of particular sentences and passages. Like this one:

I feel sometimes as if I were a child who opens its eyes on the world once and sees amazing things it will never know any names for and then has to close its eyes again. I know this is all mere apparition compared to what awaits us, but it is only lovelier for that. There is a human beauty in it.

p.57.

This is a book I’d heard a bit about but always resisted reading because, from its blurb, it seemed to be something I would be unlikely to enjoy. Misperceptions, hmph.

Advice please

Published on 29 April 2008 in travel and books. 10 Comments

I’m just realising that our trip is not long away (YAY!) and suddenly wanting to start reading about all the cities we’ll be visiting, so if you know of any good books (novels, histories) on the following places please leave me your suggestion(s):

London
Oxford
Paris
Amsterdam (and the Netherlands generally)
Berlin

Anything general on England, France, and Germany would also be good. Thanks :)