So, there will be a lot of Walk Off The Earth appearing in Cover Lover… But there may well be even more Post Modern Jukebox. And here they are, Post Modern Jukebox with Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass.
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205 Books: Algeria
Algeria is next in line for 205 Books. I’ve had a quick look around on the interwebs and have decided to go with What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra. The main problem with this decision stems from the fact that my local library does not have e-copies and the only paper copy is currently on loan. It’s due back on October 12, so this will give you all the chance to find your own copies. And until then, or until I get the little postcard telling me the book’s waiting for me, I’ll be reading the second book of The Chronicles of the Black Gate. Again. You should as well. Or maybe start with book 1, if you really want.
Cover Lover… Shape of You
So, I figured Around the World in 205 Books and The Great Mozart Marathon (yes I’m still doing that) weren’t enough. So now I am also doing Cover Lover… which is basically just me putting up videos of cover songs that I love. The good thing about this is that it really doesn’t take much time or energy. And if I get stuck I can probably just put up something from Walk off the Earth. Which is what I am doing today, just to get things moving.
That is all. I’ll be back next week with another.
205 Books: The Fall of the Stone City
Apparently, The Fall of the Stone City, by Ismail Kadare, is a deep and meaningful book that offers truth and blah blah blah. Seriously?
Maybe all that stuff is in there somewhere. Maybe I’m just someone who has spent my life reading “genre” books more than anything else so I expect… more in the way of actual plot. Or something.
I’ve gone and read some reviews and they all talk about the wit and the twists and… One of them even talks about the lovely translation and here I was thinking maybe the translation was terrible and that was why the language was so boring and simple. I was thinking maybe that was why some bits were barely readable– like the bit where a character was sitting in a car thinking about a conversation he was going to be having in a few minutes; the guy sitting with him in the car was getting confused. Then he had the actual conversation and he was getting confused himself and… I was confused.
It started out strange, looked like it was building towards something interesting in the middle, then nothing. There are probably metaphors and allusions and whatever that I didn’t get, but surely a story must stand on its own.
In conclusion, A Thousand Splendid Suns didn’t live up to the hype, but I still enjoyed it to a degree. The Fall of the Stone City was just terrible. Thankfully it was also short.
Now I will be taking a break from Around the World in 205 books. When I come back, I will be reading something from Algeria. If anyone has any suggestions or comments…
205 Books: Albania
It is time for book number two and after about five minutes of research (which is a lot for me), I came to the conclusion that if I was going to read an Albanian book it should probably be something by Ismail Kadare. It seems to be universally considered that Kadare is the best of the best when it comes to writers from that neck of the woods.
So, that part of the problem out of the way, I signed up to get ebooks from my local library and looked for Kadare. At first, nothing at all came up, but I think I was doing something wrong. I continued to do the same wrong thing for a few more minutes and eventually…
Four choices. Two of them… Not so much. Of the two that remained, one was something like 2500kB and the other was about 500kB. Huh! A winner.
I am pleased to announce that, a couple of nights ago, I started reading The Fall of the Stone City, though I admit, the cover put me off a bit– it looks like someone let my mother loose with photoshop. (Sorry Mum). And without knowing anything about Albanian or its history or politics, I’m not sure how much the story will mean to me, but I guess I will find out. Wish me luck.
And from there, it will be on to Algeria (which, I must say, does seem to be a more interesting list than Albania offered).
The Age Old Request…
Something I should have added to my last post…
The hardest thing about independent publishing is getting the word out, so if you don’t do reviews, sharing and tweeting stuff about the book would be greatly appreciated. The one little thing you do, a thing that takes a minute, might be the thing that really starts the ball rolling. Not just for me but for any other writer or artist you are vaguely interested in supporting.
And if there is anyone who has a blog or does do reviews on Amazon, I might be able to organise a review copy for you.
One way or the other, please, go at it, send word out into the world. If nothing else, it sounds better coming from someone that isn’t me. :).
A History of Magic
It’s done. A History of Magic is finally available on Amazon. It’s been a long time coming. A long time.
You can buy it for just $1 for a couple of days. And book 1, The Age of Heroes, is free at the moment. So go and check them out. Two great books for just a dollar. And the final book in the series should be out very soon. (I have said similar things before, but the first couple of draft are done.)
