Gayle > Recent Status Updates

Having just finished an atrocious jumbled attempt at poetic writing, this is an absolute joy.

Wonderful to be reading a book that I look forward to reading after my past few weeks with Amor Towles 😑

You are being put on hiatus stupid book. I’ll finish you some other time!

How’s the book? Not very good at all.

The only thing I can say right now is it’s a good thing I’m not being tempted to read instead of work right now 😅😓

I was given this book as a gift in 2022 and it has sat on my shelf ever since as I really didn’t think it looked like it was for me. “A book to spark joy” it says on the cover - worrying in itself. Recently however, I heard someone I respect talk about it emphatically so thought that I’d give it a go. Anyhoo… I’m seeing this character as shallow at this very early stage. I will push on.

I bought this on recommendation from a very enthusiastic bookshop retailer who understood my taste on viewing my pile to buy. She was right. It’s exactly the kind of writing I love. I checked at home to find I had ‘Master Butchers..’ I then remembered it on my shelves on Edith St - I must have had it for at least 15 years 😑 Now I’m filled with regret at not reading Erdrich sooner!

Less than a chapter in and I’m already enchanted! Why have i waited so long to read Erdrich???

Readalong with my 7yo son - we both have a copy and his rules are we can only read it together at the same time 💖💖

Well this is a relief. It’s well written, the multiple timelines work well and don’t disturb the flow of the novel. They also do their job as to make you want to keep reading. You can feel it coming together and although I have some fear that there may be predictability in the timeline, overall this is a perfect book to read after an awful one. Phew.

This had better be good! I don’t know if I can deal with a mediocre book right now. I’ve read good things about it and my local indie bookshop recommended for a fun Halloween month read!

On the home stretch. Soon it will be finally over.

So far this book is to me what I fear most. Making me not want to read - preferring to stare into space or look at my phone.
Book club book- I didn’t choose it - is that why - does it feel like work? Like school reading? The blurb says: for fans of Calvino & Murakami, which I am, but I dislike comparisons like this - advertising for cheap perfume dupes come to mind. Anyway it reminds me of Cloud Atlas more.

I don’t love this the way I loved ‘The Broken Shore’. The writing is amazing, but the story and the characters aren’t grabbing me in the same way. I’ll be putting this on temporary hiatus tomorrow so I can read my book club book in time to discuss!

The 3rd story ‘Lifestyle Creep’ by Chloe Wilson was such a perfect little read for a Sunday afternoon - I so wanted it to keep going!
This is exactly why I love fiction anthologies . Little snippets of beauty to be taken in one reading bite of time!

When exactly does this become a 4+ star book? Maybe as a teenager I’d have liked this, who knows? Maybe I’m too old for it, or maybe I’ve just got too many other books I’ve read to compare it to. Far out, I was so looking forward to reading it, thinking it would be fun, but it just drones on and on and on and on and on and on.

So many words, and so little said. I like words, I like descriptive and atmospheric books, but this just seems to have a lot of words without really telling me anything that couldn’t have been said in half the pages. As I read, I keep thinking about the Hillary Mantel quote on the front of ‘Small Things Like These’ - “not a word wasted” and wonder if I’m wasting my time with this.

This is not grabbing me like I thought it would so far. I was hoping for a fun read and hope it starts speeding up to become that. The similes and metaphors are grinding on me. Sunlight spilling like a broken egg yolk had me rolling my eyes so hard that they were like balls in a pinball machine 😑 sorry, couldn’t help myself 😆

The Smaller of Two Tomatoes by Elizabeth Tan
How beautiful this is. A tribute to loss like I have never read. Absolutely stunning. Will absolutely be reading more of her work.

I’m currently addicted to randomly trawling op shops to see if I can acquire older books on my “to buy” list.

I will always buy new books in indie bookshops - esp those of favourite authors, but the hunt is a lot of fun. For every book I buy second hand from my list, I seem to buy 3 that are not on it, so “to read” just keeps growing.

I’ve had some great luck lately. I need another bookcase!

The Shoosha’s Crossin’ section is killing me. I am determined to finish this book, but I keep abandoning it in this section and how it’s written. I can’t skip it, I enjoyed the rest, and this must have been even more difficult to write than it is to read. I see its point and I even see its cleverness. I can cope for a while and get used to it, but then I end up back wanting to throw it across the room.

I didn’t expect this to be another book with difficult and original sentence structure, but here we are 😆 I was tired of wading through the “slooshin” section of Cloud Atlas and here we are in this wordy claustrophobic world (of Ireland during the troubles of say, it feels dystopian, (it’s not) and this could be part of my issue ). Anyway I’ll keep with the slog as there is a lot of beauty also.

After finishing Edenglassie & half way through Cloud Atlas, I’ve decided I need a bit of a fun read. I picked this up secondhand on a whim, as I’ve seen it’s highly rated. Hopefully it’s what I’m looking for!

I’m having a break now to read something else for my little book club. It’s slow going as I’m not addicted to it. I promise to come back to it within the next two weeks!

A.S Byatt says of this book that it’s a rollercoaster, at first you wonder whether you want to get off, but then you don’t want it to end. I’m currently wanting to skip onto another book, and although my interest IS increasing, I am not feeling the pull. I am, however, determined to keep going.