Category: Literature

My Thoughts on the Man Booker

Posted September 7, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize will be announced soon (September 10) and I thought I might talk about my feelings towards this prize. While I have a love/hate relationship with literary awards in general I seem to really like the longlist this year, but this hasn’t been always the case. My problem with literary prizes is that they feel more like popularity contests rather than judging books on their literary merit. Don’t get me started with the Stella prize because that is an argument that might give you the wrong idea about me (I do have similar problems with all awards that are exclusive). I digress and need to get back to the Man Booker Prize.

This prize is weird and I can’t get my head around it, some years there are a few books in the longlist that are so popular they you can’t help but know they would win; example Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies and then other years (like this one) the longlist is so unusual and surprising that you have no idea what to expect. I don’t want to care about the Man Booker but really can’t help but get wrapped up with the hype. There have been some winners that were surprising and I ended up loving; Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending is a great example of this. But I tend to be less interested in the winner and more interested with the longlist, I have a goal to one day read the entire longlist in that year. I don’t know if this will ever happen but I think it could be fun to try.

I’ve found some really interesting books in the long or shortlist; I personally think Deborah Levy’s Swimming Home was more deserving of the award last year than giving it to Hilary Mantel again. Last year’s longlist had some surprising books as well. The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman was completely unexpected and I knew it was one I had to read, completely bizarre and full of unlikeable characters but brilliant. This year is no different, a mixed bag of books; I suspected TransAtlantic by Colum McCann and The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton might be favourites but I’m more interested in the unusual books like The Kills by Richard House, We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

I have no idea what will make the shortlist or what the favourite is for winning. I also don’t know how many of the books from the long list I will read as; of the announcement I had only read one. and now two. I would love to know what people have read and what they are predicting for appear in the shortlist or even to win. I still have no idea how I feel about the Man Booker Prize, I will continue having mixed feelings of it being a popularity contest, joining in on the hype and getting excited about the unusual books that make the list but never win. I know I didn’t really answer the question of how I feel about the Man Booker because I really don’t know but I will love to hear some arguments for and against this award.

This year’s Man Booker prize longlist

Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Harvest by Jim Crace
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
The Kills by Richard House
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Unexploded by Alison MacLeod
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

Building a Better Book Blogging Community

Posted September 6, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about the book blogging community lately. There are so many book bloggers out there but how do you find them all. A lot of book bloggers are great at commenting and this is a great way to build community but it can be a battle to find new bloggers and help people get started. So I’ve been trying to think about better ways to unite the bloggers and build a community.

The best thought I have had so far is to try and create a book bloggers online journal. I thought I would share my idea and see if people have some better ideas to share and maybe we can work out a way to build a community. My idea for a book bloggers online journal is like a group book blog that focuses on book blogging and books in general. I know these can be hit and miss and that is the problem and I worry that a few people will end up doing all the work and it ends up going nowhere.

But anyway here is what I think; we could get bloggers to write some non-review posts and contribute onto the one site. Think futurebook.net for the book bloggers. The idea is that each post is about book blogging or books and also serves as a way to introduce the readers to new bloggers. If we get each person to try and recruit another blogger (like a pyramid scheme) we could get a workable journal that will showcase the community.

I know this isn’t a perfect idea, but I think it could work if there are people willing to commit. People should be free to post their posts to their own blogs as well and I think they can contribute as much or as little as they like. It might be a place to talk all things bookish (trying to stay away from reviews), from buzz books, blogging, reading, recent bookish news, blog hops, book tubes, translated fiction and so many other topics. I know there are places like Guardian books, AV club books, Huffington Post books and Bookriot but they don’t really feel inviting towards contributors and I would love to see a place were people can come together, discover new book bloggers and even make friends.

There you have it, my idea; feel free to pick it apart, offer ideas to improve it or even offer better ideas. A collaborative blog with bookish people around the world seems like my best idea. I know The Classics Club does a decent job in building a community and I love their work. They do seem too focused (which works well) but what about all the other genres and topics. Think about ‘How to improve the book blogger community?’ and let me know your thoughts. I’m sure we can find a way to make things easier to discover new blogs and meet like-minded bookish people.

The Site for Library Recommendations

Posted August 28, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

I’m not normally one to write a post promoting another bookish site but I can’t help but want to tell people. Library Reads is a site where regularly employed U.S. public librarians share their recommendations for soon to be released books. I know there are many sites out there dedicated to book recommendations but what I like about this one is that it’s the librarians offering some suggestions. Libraries are such an essential service for a book lover and I know that most public libraries out there are trying to get back into offering the service of book recommending. Library Reads may just be a good starting point for both book lovers and other libraries out there.

How it works is basically it takes the ARCs being submitted on Edelweiss (with the Organization Type “Library – Public”) and works out the 10 most recommended books that will be released in that month and use them to create their list. As these are all ARCs, it will tell readers what to look out for and helps libraries get a sense of what might be good to stock. I’m sure there could be other uses for this site but I like the idea that as you watch this site you might start recognising librarians whose opinions you might trust.

I’m not sure how long this site has been around but currently their September list is up with Library Reads favourite going to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (an author I want to try sometime). Other interesting books on the list include Night Film by Marisha Pessl, The Returned by Jason Mott and Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. With each book there is an excerpt from one of the librarians’ reviews so you get an idea of what the book would be like. I know the books I’ve listed here are probably books you’ve already heard of and possibly even read but there are some books there that I’ve never heard of; I think they want to cover all genres. I love the idea of getting an email every month with librarian recommendations so I’ve subscribed to this site. I’ll be interested to see how well it goes and hope maybe one day Australia has a similar service.

Why I Book Blog

Posted August 8, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 21 Comments

I thought I would answer a question that has been spinning around in my head for a few days; why do I book blog? I thought this would be an easy question to answer but the more I think about it the more I realize there is more to it. This is why I thought I’d turn this into a post. The short answer is that I’m obsessed with books and like to talk about them but that is only scratching the surface.

I started blogging about in 2009; this was when I started becoming a reader. I was reading a book called Hey! Nietzsche! Leave Them Kids Alone! by Craig Schuftan which took half a year to read. Not because it was a hard, big or boring book but because it just sparked a passion in me and I spent so much time doing my own research and reading the books and poetry mentioned within this one book. With one book my passion for learning, reading and blogging was born. Knowledgelost was a blog that I still maintain (even though I’m slack with writing new posts) where I would take what I was learning and tried to explain it to myself in a post. I found this a really effective way to learn and enjoyed doing it, I was surprised that I was getting readers; I wasn’t catering to them.

As my passion grew, I decided I was going to start a book blog just so I had a place to talk about my interest more and it is sort of like a diary of my reading journey. While I did transfer some of my literary posts from Knowledgelost over my intention with the blog was just to document the books I’d been reading as well as any bookish thoughts I’d been having. I know that I did lose focus and ended up with (at one point) over 15 book reviews waiting to be posted. So I did have to play the catch up game, but now that I’m relatively up to date, I want to refocus.

My goal for this future will remain to be the reading journey model and while I would love to have other contributors to share their thoughts or books they enjoy; I don’t hold my breath. I consider myself a literary explorer and I feel like I’m still playing catch up with the people that have been serious readers most of their lives, but I like the path I’m taking with the blog and just have to remind myself what I’m doing so I don’t lose focus. There are posts like First Steps and Top 5 that might not seem to fit into the reading journey model but I like lists and if I’m thinking about a certain genre or theme it’s a way to talk about it. I write the First Steps post as if I was recommending books to someone asking about those topics. There are also literary news posts, that are not consistent but I do like to keep a record of them. Most news items are long/short list or prize winner announcements.

This is probably a boring post and there is no need to post this but I’ve been thinking about this and want to keep a record of my goals as a reminder of why I book blog. I know it might make this blog seem very selfish and me-focused but that is how I approach blogging. I write for me and what interests me and if people want to read that or add their comments, that is just a bonus. I hope this blog is still going in five, ten years from now and I hope the focus doesn’t change. I would love to be involved in a big book blog with multiple contributors and multiple bookish posts going up a day but I don’t know how that would work and personally I think that would be a completely different blog. But maybe that’s a post for another time.

An Open Letter to my TBR

Posted July 29, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 14 Comments

Dear TBR Shelves,

Why do you insist on growing faster than I can read? You seem to have a way of collecting more and more books and I am never sure what to read next, is there a system? Or do I need to cull some of you? I’ve noticed that you get me reading new releases and classic but what happens to all the books in the middle? Sooner or later those new releases will just be lost in the void forever, I don’t know what kind of black magic this is but I need answers.

While I’m still talking to you can you tell me how I manage to be excited about books that I want to read but never get around to reading? You know those books, they get put onto your shelves with excitement and desire but you work some kind of voodoo and I never read them. It’s not like the desire to read them is just gone, you have me distracted with a shiny new book. You don’t believe me? Here is a quick list;

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
Ask the Dust by John Fante
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross
The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

You can’t claim you have nothing to do with me not reading these books; I do try really hard to fight your evil ways but you are just too powerful. Always adding more books and distracting me with the shiny new ones. You are just too powerful and I’m losing the battle but rest assured that I will keep looking for ways to defeat you, there must be a way and if there is I will find it.

With all my love

Michael @ Literary Exploration

The Significance of Naked Lunch

Posted June 14, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 2 Comments

Before I review William S. Burroughs seminal Naked Lunch I thought I would write about the historical significance of this extremely controversial novel. I know Adam from Roof Beam Reader did an interesting post (sadly it no longer exists) on Burroughs but I just want to talk about why this one book is so important to literature. Naked Lunch was originally published by European publishers Olympia Press as The Naked Lunch in 1959 and it wasn’t until 1962 that the book ever published in America. The US obscenity laws prevented this book from publication in Burroughs’ homeland until then.

The book was then banned because of obscenity in Boston, which was eventually repealed. The trial of Naked Lunch was the last significant obscenity trial in American literature. The ban was repealed in 1966 as a result of the trial which found that while there are mentions of child murder and acts of paedophilia in this book, it not considered obscenity but has some social value. Among the people instrumental in fighting the obscenity charges include Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer.

This was huge win for both free speech and the arts. While book banning and censorship is still a hot topic (especially in America); Naked Lunch was the last major obscenity trial involving literature. As another interesting fact, the title of this book was suggested by Jack Kerouac but apparently Allen Ginsberg misread the title on the manuscript which was originally Naked Lust. While not hugely significant to the history of this Beat novel, it helps with the overall understanding of where the name came from. Check out my post on the book Naked Lunch here.

Why I’m Quitting Ratings

Posted June 8, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

Rating books is too hard, how can I give five stars to a book like Frankenstein, which is my all-time favourite novel and give five star ratings to other books like The Sense of an Ending, Super Sad True Love Story and The Marriage Plot. Sure I love those books and will reread them when I get a chance but really they are not on the same level as Frankenstein. Five Star ratings are the easiest ratings too, imagine comparing books with a 3, 3 and a half or 4 star rating. There are books there that really are not worthy to be sharing the same rating as others. Ratings are personal, often changing and are never really a true reflection of what I think about the book.

When I starting book blogging I thought a star rating is a good TL:DR way for people to see what I thought of a book but I’ve come to the realisation that maybe they do too much harm than good. So after weeks of wondering what to do about ratings I’ve decided to quit them for my blog. I probably will still rate books on Goodreads, but that is because that community is based more around ratings than reviews. It’s not an accurate representation and who knows I might quit rating there as well but I think it’s time to say goodbye to ratings on this blog.

In all honesty I would love to quit genres as well but as a literary explorer I think they need to stay, just so I knew which genres need to be focused on. My problem with genres is most books don’t fit neatly into a single genre and sometimes categorising books become too damaging. For now the genres have a place, unfortunately, but I don’t think ratings anymore. I’ve looked around the book blogger community and see a lot of blogs that don’t rate books and I think they have the right idea; trying to pick a rating for a book is hard and often it changes from day to day. I feel like I’m passionate about books and like to try and pick at books and write what I like and don’t like about a book then you see the stars and think the review doesn’t match that rating.

So let’s see how the blog goes without rating the books, if you want to know what I think of the book read my reviews or if you are lazy, check my Goodreads page. I feel like this is the right decision and I even think it is a liberating step as well. I don’t want to be constricted to telling people what star value a book is worth, read the book and find out for yourself. I rather talk about what I liked or didn’t like about each and every book.

Supporting Your Favourite Authors

Posted May 13, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

How do you support your favourite authors? I just listened to a great podcast of The Readers (my favourite bookish podcast, so check it out) about supporting authors and I thought I would add my thoughts as well. Sure, a lot of authors only want reviews and being a book blogger I get a lot of requests to read books and review them when really my blog is just a way to document my reading journey and talk about my favourite topic, books. I have a review policy which basically says, I’m happy to accept books but there is no guarantee that I’ll read them. If I do read a book, I will write something about it as it is part of documenting my journey but I do try to be constructive and say why the book didn’t work for me but I never go out of my way to be mean. Book reviews are a great way to share thoughts of a book and help support the author but there are so many other ways to do so now.

In a world of social media you can like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter or if you are a fan of tumbleweeds you can try Google+ (most of my favourite authors are no longer living, so if I follow them that would be a little weird). I’ve had mixed experiences with authors on Twitter; some will just retweet every nice thing said about their book (I know one that will retweet everything, even the bad stuff) and sure that might be good in a way but these authors are not worth following. I follow some great authors that interact with their follows and it can be a great experience (sometimes if you end up not liking the book, they suddenly unfollow you). I had an interesting experience with an author who contacted me to thank me for reading and reviewing his book even though I didn’t like it and while I felt a little bad for not liking it after the thank you I now have more respect for this author for going out of his way to interact with his readers.

There are also book signings and bookish events, you can show your support for an author by going and hear them read or talk about their book. This is a good way to meet the author and get a book signed. I think you learn so much about an author by actually meeting them and see how they interact with the readers and they are also a lot of fun. I remember going to see an author and realised I was wearing a shirt that said “I’d rather be reading Dostoevsky” and this particular author ended up signing my copy of the book with an apology for being neither Russian or dead, which was really amusing and makes that book that much more special (even though I wasn’t a huge fan of it).

But when it comes down to it, the best way to support an author is just reading their books. Not necessarily buying their book, even going to the library (your local library needs support too) is a way to support the author (I believe they still getting royalties from library books). It’s not always about the royalties, sharing their creativity is important as well and in some cases what the authors value the most. If you love the book maybe go buy the book too, just to give them that extra support but remember to support your local indie bookstore whenever possible; they don’t always have the book you are looking for but if you don’t support them they may not be there for long.

So when it comes down to it, I personally feel the best way to support an author is to just read their books and maybe buy them (but never pirate them). A review helps to promote their book as well, but that really comes down to personal preference. Goodreads may not be perfect but I do trust my friends opinions of a book, rather than reading a stranger’s review. I would love to know any other ways we can help support the authors we love or any stories you would like to share that helped change your opinion of an author.

Gatsby and My Hate for Movie Tie-In Covers

Posted May 9, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

I had a little complaint about book covers changing a few days ago but now I feel the need to comment on something else cover related. Movie tie-in book covers are the worst thing out there, I know they help people recognise the book but they are just so ugly and should never be printed. The New York Times wrote an interesting article called Judging ‘Gatsby’ by Its Cover(s) in which they looked at the iconic Great Gatsby cover with the new movie cover.

Normally books go through different cover changes but when it comes to The Great Gatsby, the original cover is still the most recognised of all its covers. So when you see the movie tie-in cover it is a huge shock; do we really need a cover with Leonardo DiCaprio on it? The article is really interesting because it looks at how the original cover is out selling the movie tie-in and even an independent bookseller who refuses to sell the new cinematic edition. Saying “It’s just God-awful, ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a pillar of American literature, and people don’t want it messed with. We’re selling the classic cover and have no intention of selling the new one.”

There is even a little quote by Ernest Hemingway who called the original cover “garish” and wrote in his memoir A Moveable Feast that he was “embarrassed by the violence, bad taste and slippery look of it.” But that is probably a whole new blog post, maybe two (one to look at the complex relationship of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway).

I know I hate movie tie-in covers and go out of my way to avoid them at all cost. I know most people hate them, you can read The Week complain about them, even Books on the Nightstand had a conversation about them recently. But I want to know if there are any good movie-tie in covers out there and what you think about them?

Why Change the Book Cover Design?

Posted May 7, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 8 Comments

This week, something that really annoyed me was the new paperback book cover for How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid. The originally cover was gorgeous, nothing too elaborate but it really stood out now the new cover looks too much like it’s trying to be a self-help book. Which I get, it looks almost exactly the same as the famous book on economics Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. This got me thinking, why do they change the style of book designs, if they have something that works so well?

I’m sure there is a lot to do with marketing strategies and who owns the publishing rights for a book yet I still find myself annoyed. What is more annoying is when you see a book change cover designs halfway through a series. Are they just trying to make sure everyone has to go out and buy all the books again so they all match on the bookshelf? Good marketing strategy but that is just mean to the readers and book collectors out there. I have a series of books which I bought from a book website (which I will leave nameless) and when all the books came they were the same style but they are different heights, so it still looks weird on the book shelf. Sometimes book cover designers do things that really annoy me.

I’m sure there are many people out there that just don’t care that much about different covers or if the book is in hardback or paperback. For me, it is almost like they went out of their way to annoy me; I don’t think I’m OCD but little things like cover design and the different sizes of the books really set me off; especially when it’s on a bookshelf staring and teasing me all day long. How about you? Are there things that annoy you about book designs? Let me know in the comments below.