First a little disclaimer: this was an unusual year for me, mostly because my father was sick most of it and finally passed away only two months after I became pregnant. Apart from how those two events affected everything else, they affected my reading a great deal. We recently moved to a new (and more baby-friendly) apartment, which also disrupted my reading routine.
All this to say that my attention spam for part of the year was probably at a 4-year-old level and my tolerance for sad stories almost non-existent. I suspect most of the books in this list are a “it’s not you, it’s me” thing and mostly a question of bad timing.
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
How can a book about something as dramatic as the Masada massacre be so… bland? Only managed to read the first narrator’s chapter but her continuous winning and complaining were driving me nuts. The guilt, the pathos… the SIN! O.O
I found this great quote on an Amazon review that sums up my feelings:
It seems like Hoffman could never have her character say something simple like “I was tired”. No, it had to be, “I was tired like the grasshopper is tired after the month of eating has passed and it has morphed into a cocoon of a demon, which my Mother had foreseen in her dreams and which would define my destiny.”
And the repetition. Yes, life in the desert is hard and dull, but jeeez… I kept thinking about the amazing things Dorothy Dunnett did with the same setting in Scales of Gold.
Uma Casa na Escuridão by José Luís Peixoto
José Luís Peixoto is one of the golden children of modern Portuguese literature and this was my first book by him. I was warned about how dark, sad and depressing it was, but I still wasn’t ready for the experience.
Sometimes I think that Anglo-Saxon literature has ruined me for Portuguese books. When I go back to Lisbon I’ve the feeling that all best-sellers are either by the melancholic authors who love to dwell on the inescapable misery of the human condition or pink historical novels loosely based on true events.
I really need to do more research about what’s around – 2013 was supposed to be my Back to My Literary Roots Year, but with the baby coming who knows how much reading time I’ll have?
1812: The Navy’s War by George C. Daughan
One of book in the History category of the Armchair Audies. The book was clearly well researched by a naval historian in love with his field of expertise, and I’m sure anything of importance about America’s first great naval war was there, but my attention wandered off once too many times while listening to it the hospital’s waiting room.
There were almost none of the personal histories that I so love in historical non-fiction, Daughan focusing instead on political and military macro-strategies.
It’s not you, it’s me!
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Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers
May Sayers forgive me, but I just couldn’t finish this. I tried to labor though all the mind-boggling permutations of Scotland’s train schedules (swear I did!), but admitted defeat half-way through.
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Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch
I so wanted to love this one. Seemed right up my alley. I was already well into it when I realized that I preferred doing things like organize my DVD collection or pay bills than go back to it. Maybe some other time?
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Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Another I thought I’d love, but alas, we didn’t click. Not even sure why, after all these months.
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There were also books that don’t really belong to this list because I only allowed them about 15 pages before deciding they weren’t what I needed at the time. I’m determined to give most of them a second chance:
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente and Ana Juan
- Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre
- The Charioteer by Mary Renault
- Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
- Mayombe by Pepetela
16 comments
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December 19, 2012 at 1:34 pm
syrin
Tenho o mesmo problema com a literatura portuguesa, por acaso. Não sei se é a escrita, cheia de floreados e muito “poética”, se apenas tenho tido azar, mas quando começo a ler um livro de um autor português fico com saudades de regressar à literatura em inglês. Mas por acaso este ano houve duas excepções:
“O retorno”, de Dulce Maria Cardoso, sobre os retornados das colónias no pós 25 de Abril. Muito bom, recomendo vivamente (a minha cópia anda por aí a passear, está com a Tânia, se não me engano) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12971382-o-retorno
“A arte de morrer longe”, do Mário de Carvalho, emprestado pela Patrícia http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8304032-a-arte-de-morrer-longe
Entretanto já me inscrevi nas BLX para ver se em 2013 começo a ler mais autores portugueses.
December 19, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Ana @ things mean a lot
I tried Peixoto a few years ago and REALLY didn’t get on with him either. Also not a fan of Maisie Dobbs 😛
December 19, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Andre
I’m not going to include my list of “I quit books” as the comment box would not be enough…;)
Andre
December 19, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Melissa
The Dovekeepers, oh my gosh yes! Why was it so boring? Ugh. I thought I would love it and I had to drag myself kicking and screaming to the end of the book. I just kept thinking it would get better…. it didn’t.
December 19, 2012 at 5:35 pm
sakura
I enjoyed Maisie Dobbs although I found the character of her Ceylonese shaman (?!) a bit weird…I think I’ve only read 4 books in the series. Your mindset definitely influences how you read books. It’s been a very dramatic year for you but I do hope you find something that will enchant you (but with a baby on the way, it might be difficult!)
December 19, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Ti
I’m sorry it’s been a challenging year for you but the great thing is that reading will always be there for you when you are ready for it. So what if it was a slow reading year? You’ve certainly had your hands full. Next year will be better.
December 19, 2012 at 7:45 pm
debbierodgers
Maisie Dobbs has her won sadness – maybe that’s why you didn’t click. I’m sorry you had such a difficult year and I hope 2013 is brighter for you.
P.S. That’s about how long I gave Vernon God Little too – and it’s a multiple prize winner…just can’t judge by that, I guess. *sigh*
December 19, 2012 at 9:09 pm
sandynawrot
For various reasons I too have the attention span of a four year old. I did, however, slog through The Dovekeepers. It actually became a very rewarding experience in that last 50 or 100 pages, but I had to work my brain muscles to get there.
December 19, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Teresa (@teresasreading)
I’ve also had a not quite normal reading year. I have to agree with you, I didn’t click with Maisie Dobbs either, but I figured it was because I jumped in later in the series…
December 19, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Larissa
I was recommended “Vernon God Little” and never felt like reading it. Your abandoning it right away comforts me in my not even trying!
December 20, 2012 at 7:22 am
Leeswammes
Coincidence: I just read the first few chapters of The Dovekeepers yesterday – as a kind of test, to see whether I would like it. And I did like it. I posted about it on my Dutch blog and I got several positive comments saying how they loved the book. But yes, maybe it wasn’t for you at the time.
Organising your DVD collection rather than reading? I agree that is a sure sign the book is not for you. 🙂
December 20, 2012 at 10:34 am
Joanna @ CreateYourWorld
Vernon God Little is sooooo good, but probably not right for when you’re pregnant or have small kids, too disturbing. Try it again in a few years! I haven’t read the others but I have Maisie Dobbs and I really want to like her!
December 20, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Jenny
The train schedules were too much. I’m pretty sure I read Five Red Herrings all the way through, but I was not happy about it.
January 6, 2013 at 1:53 am
Shannon (Giraffe Days)
Ha ha, Five Red Herrings sounds like a book my mum would really like – she’s such a train buff!
I’ve been looking at Jamrach since it came out, wondering if I should read it, but mostly the premise hasn’t appealed to me so far. And now hearing how you couldn’t get into it, I think that was a good call.
Ever since I heard about how Hoffman treated reviewers several years ago, it’s completely tainted how I see her books so I haven’t had any interest in reading them. She just seemed so mean!
January 7, 2013 at 5:29 pm
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April 5, 2013 at 12:39 am
CEG
I hope you persevered at some pint with at least some of the Mary Renault books – they’re magical.
I would be interested on your recommendations for some very light and easy, accessible but entertaining, Portuguese novels. Is there a Portuguese equivalent of Gerald Durrell, James Herriot, Laurie Lee…?