Instead of lamenting about the books I have not read (at least 95%) in various 'books of the year' lists, I thought I would lament over the books that made an appearance on my bookshelves last year but are still waiting to be opened. Here's the top six:
* The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple. I picked it up in June and as I walked through the tombs in Delhi in December I wished I'd read it and was not so ignorant.
* M had promised to lend me his copy but after An Unexpected Light, I definitely wanted a Mirrors of the Unseen by Jason Elliot of my own. S is captivated by the mountains he's seen from a flight but I want to fill in the colours in the images that cropped up in my mind every time an aunt said, "When we were in Iran..."
* 'If you don't think you want to read a book about Uzbekistan, think again' it says on the blurb of Chasing the Sea. I didn't think again before picking it up but when I will get around to Tom Bissell's first book is another think altogether.
* M said -- and I quote "Probably teh best foreign correspondent ever' while handing me Kapuscinski's Another Day of Life. He keeps asking me if I've read it (as you can see the answer is a shamefaced no. But please don't send me to Bangladesh).
* No one at work wanted Ken Follett's World Without End. Unbelievable. But then as Follett himself says Pillars of the Earth was a word-of-mouth book and certainly not the thriller that most associate him with. Will it live up to the 12th century world that I inhabited for almost a month years ago? I'll let you know. Soon.
* When I wanted info on Istanbul, C said read Orhan Pamuk. That was very helpful, C. But nevertheless, will I read it before or after Turkey? Only time will tell.
There's others that remain unread but one of the books that I 'did' read and count among the best buys of the year is Frances Mayes' A Year in the World. It was a companion as I went around the south of Italy, and even now, just the word Pescara conjures up fish with lemon juice, long walks and longer drives in a beautiful country. And every time you reach the end of a chapter, you turn the page with anticipation: Where next?
* The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple. I picked it up in June and as I walked through the tombs in Delhi in December I wished I'd read it and was not so ignorant.
* M had promised to lend me his copy but after An Unexpected Light, I definitely wanted a Mirrors of the Unseen by Jason Elliot of my own. S is captivated by the mountains he's seen from a flight but I want to fill in the colours in the images that cropped up in my mind every time an aunt said, "When we were in Iran..."
* 'If you don't think you want to read a book about Uzbekistan, think again' it says on the blurb of Chasing the Sea. I didn't think again before picking it up but when I will get around to Tom Bissell's first book is another think altogether.
* M said -- and I quote "Probably teh best foreign correspondent ever' while handing me Kapuscinski's Another Day of Life. He keeps asking me if I've read it (as you can see the answer is a shamefaced no. But please don't send me to Bangladesh).
* No one at work wanted Ken Follett's World Without End. Unbelievable. But then as Follett himself says Pillars of the Earth was a word-of-mouth book and certainly not the thriller that most associate him with. Will it live up to the 12th century world that I inhabited for almost a month years ago? I'll let you know. Soon.
* When I wanted info on Istanbul, C said read Orhan Pamuk. That was very helpful, C. But nevertheless, will I read it before or after Turkey? Only time will tell.
There's others that remain unread but one of the books that I 'did' read and count among the best buys of the year is Frances Mayes' A Year in the World. It was a companion as I went around the south of Italy, and even now, just the word Pescara conjures up fish with lemon juice, long walks and longer drives in a beautiful country. And every time you reach the end of a chapter, you turn the page with anticipation: Where next?
posted by Monica at 12:58 AM
4 Comments:
All of these unread books are fine, but if there is one book you should read promptly, it is The Road to Oxiana, probably the greatest travel book ever written
And don't go forgetting Mr Pip, by Lloyd Jones - the cadences of South Pacific vernacular are like music to me. Has that made it to your neck of the woods yet? C
I also fall in the 95 per cent club. only that i haven't read 95% of the few books I have bought, let alone those from the Best sellers' list. And had it not been for the Strand sale, I wudn't have bought even those books. Ban the sale, I say!
While on books about Turkey, Uzbekistan, Bangaldesh, et al, I would like to add 'Under the Cloud' to the list. A sweet little book on Cherrapunji, by Binoo K John. I wouldn't say it is racy, but where it scores is in the vivid description of the place and the locals' way of dealing with the heavy downpours all through the year, almost. And to think how we keep cribbing during monsoon!
I also fall in the 95 per cent club. Only that I haven't read 95% of the few books i have bought. Had it not been for the Strand sale, I wouldn't have bought even those. Ban the sale, I say!
While on books about Turkey, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, et al, I would like to add to the list a book with maybe a nondescript title. 'Under a cloud' is a sweet little book on Cherrapunji. I wouldn't say it is racy, but where it scores is in the vivid description of a place awash with heavy rains almost all through the year. It's a travelogue interweaved with the biography of the place and its people. Good read on a lazy sunday when life is made impossible by monsoon!
Post a Comment
<< Home