The Reading Book Post, May 16th

Hello, everyone! Another week has come, and so it's time for another Reading Book Post. Let's take a look at what happened in the literary world the previous week.

• The 2015 Nebula Award winners were announced some days ago. It's interesting that this year's awards were dominated by female writers. Moreover, the British Book Industry Awards became public. The big winner was Andrew Michael Hurley, for his novel The Loney, that was named Book of the Year and Debut Fiction Book of the Year. Finally, the Dylan Thomas Prize was awarded to Max Porter, for his debut book Grief is the Thing with Feathers.   

• There were some sad news for the literary world the previous week. The author of Geek Love, Katherine Dunne, passed away at the age of 70. Also, the creator Darwyn Cooke passed away a couple of days ago. 

• It's Roald Dahl's 100th birthday. In order to celebrate this anniversary Puffin will be releasing brand new covers of all of our favourite books he wrote. 

• Are you among the ones that can't wait for the release of The Winds of Winter? Well, until we finally learn the publication date, you can read a chapter from the next instalment of A Song of Ice and Fire that George R. R. Martin gave to the public. 

• World of Warcraft is a very popular game. Cooking in it is really big and so a new World of Warcraft cookbook, will be published this October. All the hardcore fans of the game can now try all the recipes that they are creating in the game!

• William Faulkner is one the great classic writers. But he had another talent. drawing. You can see some of his impressive drawings, which were published between 1919 and 1921.

• Who's Your Book Boy BFF? Take the quiz to find out! I got Tiberias "Cal" Calore VII from Red Queen. Which one did you get?

Infographic - 20 Phrases You Might Not Know that Were Found in Books

Hello, everyone! Today's infogram features 20 quite common phrases, as well as the piece of literature (or generally book) that were first found. I have to admit that some of their origins came as a surprise to me. I also tried not to include more than one phrase that originated from William Shakespeare's plays, which turned out to be a challenging decision. Enjoy!

Which is your favourite phrase?

Create your own infographics

The Reading Book Post, May 9th

Hello, everyone! I'm still back in my hometown, enjoying some more days of rest. Meanwhile, the spring weather is so great that I only want to spend my time outdoors. Anyway, let's see what happened in the literary world the previous week.

• The shortlist for the Desmond Elliot Prize 2016 has been announced. The three books that claim the prize are The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney, The House at the Edge of the World by Julia Rochester, and Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea. The winner will be announced on June 22, 2016. Also, the shortlist for the RSL Ondaatje Prize has been revealed. The winner will become known on May 23, 2016. The winners for The Best Translated Book Awards are Yuri Herrara's Signs Preceding the End of the World, translated by Lisa Dillman, for fiction, and Angélica Freitas' Rilke Shake, translated by Hilary Kaplan, or poetry. The V&A Illustration Awards 2016 shortlist has been revealed. We might not judge a book by its cover, but these illustrations are just beautiful! The winners will become public on May 23, 2016.

• Hercules Poirot is ready to return in our libraries! You can now read an excerpt from Sophie Hannah's Closed Casket, which will be published on September 6, 2016. I can't wait! 

• Romance novels are a great way to teach AI technologies better conversational skills. Well, at least, Google is using them and the results are evident. 

• Are you as excited as I am about Amy Schumer's book? Well, now you can see its cover, until we can all read it on August 16, 2016. The book is called The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo.

• The Bodleian  Libraries have recently acquired a map of Middle Earth, anotated by the author himself. The map was created by the artist Pauline Baynes.

• Season 6 of Game of Thrones has finally arrived, and already there are so many things going on! Since a certain character has recently come back to life, here is a list of characters that still live on the book series, A Song of Fire and Ice, but not in the TV series.

• Which American Women's Writer Character Are You? Take the quiz to find out! I got Edna Pontellier from the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, what did you get?

Review: Golem, by Lorenzo Ceccotti

Title: Golem

Author: Lorenzo Ceccotti

Publisher: Magnetic Press

Expected Date of Publication: July 12th, 2016

Number of Pages: 280

Find it at : Book Depository

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary

Set in a future, post-Eurozone Italy, entrenched in a culture of hypercapitalism, Golem follows young Steno Critone as he is kidnapped during a political protest gone sour. Taken in by the band of labeled “terrorists”, he learns that things are not as they seem in society, and that he has the power to not only change the city but reality itself.

Review

So, this is another graphic novel with a gorgeously illustrated cover that I couldn't resist on reading. Plus, I don't usually get the chance to read comics from Italy and I was really curious to see what Golem was all about. I mean, stories about post-apocalyptic societies work perfectly in this format! But, in this case, I'm at a loss for words, as my feelings towards this graphic novel are mixed.

The plot of Golem was typical of a post-apocalyptic scenario. It had every important element of such story: an all-knowing government, a rebellious team living on the outskirts of the city and a young boy that possesses the key to a powerful technology. Steno, our young protagonist, had trouble sleeping and that was why he had dark circles under his eyes. This was his most distinctive feature. He was witness to an attack by the rebels and they took him in their hideout. And then everything got complicated. Steno's father was a scientist on the verge of a scientific breakthrough and because he refused to let it be used for military purposes he was murdered by the government. But before dying he had planted this technology on his son. It was a story with great potential, but ultimately it left many things unanswered. Towards the end, things kept happening without a clear reason. How the technology was awakened from Steno is still a mystery to me.

An interesting aspect of Golem that I really want to underline is the fact that the rebels terrorized the society by writing things about the government on the walls. They had created some sort of family and they seemed happier than all of the people that lived in the futuristic society.

As I've already stated, the cover was a significant reason for me to pick up this graphic novel. And from the first pages that I read, I was genuinely impressed. But as I was progressing the story, I found out that the illustrations were suffering. So, on the one hand, there were pages so beautiful that I would want them as posters on my walls, and on the other hand, there were pages that the art was somewhat generic and poorly made. It was a shame, though, because the main plot was under the shadow of Steno's nightmares because I only wanted to look at the latter.

Golem was a graphic novel with great potential. The story had ideas that would guarantee an intriguing plot with plenty room for thought. Also, the talent of the creator was evident, as the nightmares were more than gorgeously illustrated. I only wish that the execution would be better, both storywise and in the illustration. I would recommend it with caution because it was interesting enough, but with a lot of problems.  

Review: As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

Title: As I Lay Dying

Author: William Faulkner

Publisher: Vintage Books

Date of Publication: 1991 (first published in 1930)

Number of Pages: 267

Find it at : Book Depository

Summary

As I Lay Dying is Faulkner's harrowing account of the Bundren family's odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Told in turns by each of the family members— including Addie herself — the novel ranges in mood from dark comedy to the deepest pathos.

Review

As I Lay Dying was the novel that I had to read for the Classics Club Spin #12. I was happy that I would finally read it, as it's one of the books that had been lying on my bookshelf for quite some time. Chance had it that today, that I'm writing this review, is the Easter day in Greece and considering the tone and theme of the novel, I can't imagine a more suitable day for doing so.

Addie Bundren had wished to be buried in her hometown, Jefferson. So, after her passing away, the Bundren family set on a journey in order to grant her final wish. But this journey seemed impossible, as all kinds of problem appear for the family members. The graver ones, in particular, were caused by themselves. And this was the plot, more or less.

What was more prominent in As I Lay Dying was its writing style. Stream of consciousness and the multiple points of view were what characterized this novel. But these two elements were the ones that made it almost unbearable to me. More than once I was confused by the constant babbling of the thoughts of the characters and in some cases, I was never able to figure out if what I was reading was a real or an imaginary event. Nevertheless, having fifteen different points of view made it easier to get a glimpse of the whole picture and not just the perception of one narrator. It was interesting to read the thoughts of so many and be able to distinguish their different ways of interpreting the same events. On the other hand, some narrators, such as Vardaman, were so difficult to follow that confused me even more. For me, it was easier to follow the train of thought of Darl.

None of the characters was even the least likable, but it was evident that they were never meant to be. Anse, the father of the family, was lazy and selfish. He disrespected his late wife in more than one ways, from placing her in her coffin the wrong way and letting her rot before being buried, to finding a new wife literally two minutes after she was put in the ground. What was really bothering was the fact that there wasn't the bonding that ought to be in a family in a hard time such as this one. Darl hated Jewel, and Dewey Dell hated Darl. Anse took advantage of all of his children and especially Cash, who was traveling with his leg broken. Even Addie had a very questionable character. In her chapter, she let us know that she hated her children and only Jewel was her salvation, the only child that wasn't fathered by Anse. Lastly, although there were indications that Darl was indeed crazy, I never understood whether it was necessary for him to be taken to a mental institute.

The 1920's wasn't the best time for a woman to live. But women in As I Lay Dying were more miserable than I could ever imagine. Their sole purpose was to bear children. They were treated like tools, rather than people. Dewey Dell had an unwanted pregnancy, but she wasn't able to get any abortion medication. On the contrary, she was taken advantage of.

All in all, I can understand why As I Lay Dying is considered a great novel, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I had a hard time finishing it as I found it tiring and confusing. I liked that it was filled with irony, but most of the time it was distressing. I don't know if this was the best novel to introduce me to Faulkner's work and I don't know if I'll be easily inclined to read something else written by this author.


This counts as a novel written by a Nobel Prize recipient for the 2016 Reading Challenge.