December 31, 2014

Getting to know David Mitchell

January's reading challenge is only one day away and one important question needs to be answered: Who is David Mitchell?

First of all, he is an English novelist born in 1969 and he has lived in Italy, Japan and Ireland. So far he has written six novels (those we will be reading in January), two of which were shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize (number9dream and Cloud Atlas). The other three were longlisted for The Man Booker Prize (Black Swan Green, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and The Bone Clocks), while Ghostwritten has won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for the best book by a writer under 35. In 2003 David Mitchell was selected as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.

Official Website: http://www.davidmitchellbooks.com/
David Mitchell's Profile in The Man Booker Prizes' Website: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/people/david-mitchell


An interesting video in which the author discusses the Writing Process


Last but not least, here is an interview of the novelist discussing his debut novel Ghostwritten: http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/1100/mitchell/interview.html 

These are just the basic information on who David Mitchell is. I hope that during this month we will be able to learn more about his work and what he has to offer in contemporary literature. 

December 23, 2014

Challenge's details



The rules are simple: Read and enjoy the books. In case a book is already been read then reread and reconsider it. At the end of each book gather the impressions it left on you and write about them. 

Reading Challenge


The first challenge for this blog will be to read all of David Mitchell's novels in chronological order. New Year's, then, will find me reading Ghostwritten, which was first published in 1999. Six novels by the same author is a challenge in itself, but I'm rather intrigued by this one, although I have to confess that I have already read Cloud Atlas. There is only to check if the magic is still there.
So, to make a complete list of the books included in this challenge, I will read:
  • Ghostwritten (1999)
  • number9dream (2001)
  • Cloud Atlas (2004)
  • Black Swan Green (2006)
  • The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010)
  • The Bone Clocks (2014)


I hope you'll join me in this Reading Armchair.