The brilliant thing about my current choice of job is that I can pretty much sit reading all day, (even though I'm not supposed to).
So, here's what read last week and what I intend on finishing this week:
Firstly I read Fight Club. This was a strange experience as I mistakenly didn't do my research years ago and watched the film first. Although my viewing of the film was several years ago, it was still relatively fresh in my memory and this can make a read so much faster.
I ate through the book and found myself so inspired by its style, (plus a flawed character is always appreciated), that I sat down and wrote for the first time in months outside of articles. It was compelling.
Chuck Palahniuk is one of the most appreciated writers of recent years and this novel shows us why. Although I've never read any of his other works, like for others I feel like he could become one of my favourites.
Delve into the mind of Tyler Durden and experience the world through his perspective as he starts his journey in the most unlikely of ways: by punching his only real friend, after a session of heavy drinking, in the face.
Down and Out In Paris and London by the one and only George Orwell was my second read this week. After falling in love with 1984, I decided that I had to read more of my main man, (although I didn't finish Animal Farm... oops).
This novella takes the reader on a strange journey through Orwell's experiences living in, you guessed it, Paris and London but not as the successful man that we come to think of him as. As the title suggests, Orwell isn't in the best spot when the story begins, essentially living in a slum in Paris.
We follow my favourite author as he shows us how existence is when living on the bread line, the term itself taking an almost literal form once we learn of the endless 'tea and two slices' that he subsists of throughout his journey in London. It's not for the reader looking for a jolly story.
Although this was his first work, it illustrates an image of Orwell himself. Its non-fictional prose simply following his journey is however rather articulate in places, his awareness of his situation as an educated man interesting to say the least. It's honestly one of the most intriguing reads I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
Definitely give this a go if you appreciate the autobiographical elements of reading whilst retaining elements of the far-fetched and possibly fabricated.
Because I managed to read two books this week I've had a lazy third week and so I decided to treat myself to a re-read of The Purple Cloud by M.P. Shiel. This novel is weird fiction at its best.
This book came to my attention when writing my dissertation, thanks to my tutor, and has been one of my favourite books since.
Although 1984 replaced its top positioning on my favourite books list, The Purple Cloud is the ultimate book for suspension of reality, especially for myself, using religion and the apocalypse as the two driving forces for the story.
I won't write about this novel quite yet, as I still haven't finished it for the second time and it has been a long time since I last read it. Sadly I read this novel in sections and it seems I'm repeating the same process, but luckily it should be a little bit more fluid as I already know its storyline and still have a week to finish it. Go me.
If you read any of the above novels based on reading this, then let me know!
Happy reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment