This Week I'm Reading...

2 Novella's and a Classic...

Hello Book Lovers! This week's reading list includes Light Boxes by Shane Jones, A Matter of Death and Life by Andrey Kurkov and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. 

This Week...

As previously mentioned, I love books and have a beautiful collection! 'This Week I'm Reading' is my Wednesday Blog Feature where I bring you books old and new. I may be re-reading them or reading them for the first time but here you'll find a few thoughts and short summaries on the books I've read in the last week. Yes, I read a lot! 

Light Boxes, Shane Jones 2009

Light Boxes / a novel by Shane Jones is a gorgeous book to look at. Small and beautifully designed you feel as though you're holding a tiny treasure as soon as you pick it up. The cover illustration is by Ken Garduno and is somewhat eerie but fit's the story amazingly well. 

To summarise, Light Boxes is composed of a series of Lists, Notes, Diary-Like entries and small glimpses into the world through the eyes of several characters. It moves seamlessly between First and Third person text and speech giving you as disjointed jigsaw puzzle to piece together. And yet, with all these conflicting elements, the story flows beautifully and I found it impossible to put it down! Originally published in 2009 in the USA with a print run of 500 this charming book developed something of a cult success and has since been bought by major publishers around the world. My copy is published by Hamish Hamilton. 

So, the story, it has been Winter for more than 300 days. 'February' is persecuting the townspeople. The children are disappearing, vanishing in the middle of the night. All flight is banned: Birds, Balloons, Kites. February lives on the outskirts of this town. There is a girl who smells of smoke and Honey. Thaddeus and his family feature somewhat as the central characters and this Novella tells their story. Or is it February's story? or is the Smoke and Honey girl behind the whole sinister plot? You'll have to read it find out... and then you'll probably have to read it again and discuss it with others to make sense of some it. The smaller details really do make this book so you need to pay attention when reading it! 

A Matter of Death and Life, Andrey Kurkov 2006

I know that when most people say they've read Andrey Kurkov they've read Death and the Penguin and left it at that. Death and the Penguin is an excellent book, you should read it, but you should not limit your reading of Kurkov to that one book. Why? Because reading his other works helps you to contextualise his writing and to appreciate the subtleties in his humour. This Novella is described as a 'black' comedy and I suppose that is true. You might need to have a certain sense of humour to see the funny side of a situation where a man contracts a hit man for his own death - and then changes his mind. Trust me though, it really is funny! The chapters are short so it's easy to follow and at just over 100 pages I'm sure you can squeeze it in to your busy reading schedules! A Matter of Death and Life really is must read if you want to try something a little different.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte 1847 (This edition 2009)

Now, I have a super fancy edition of this timeless Classic and I'm very lucky to have it! It's part of the Penguin Classic's Deluxe editions and the cover artwork is by World renowned fashion illustrator, Ruben Toledo. I know, I know, don't judge a book by it's cover - but I didn't! I promise! I've read Wuthering Heights before as part of my English Literature A-Level and have decided to read it again - for fun. I think your whole view of a book can be clouded by having to study it for academic purposes! As a collector of Books, of course I picked the pretty one (I'd seen this cover in a very early issue of Oh Comley magazine and had been lusting after it since!)

Anyway, none of this is actually about Wuthering Heights! As 'Classics' go, I have few Favourites because I'm a picky reader. However, this is truly a Classic worth reading. 

Told though a series of flashbacks and diary entries - often out of chronological order - you have to follow the clues and piece the events together. It is an exceptionally well thought out composition by Emily Bronte. You'll find Love, Mystery, Intrigue, Betrayal and Powerful Imagery, created by Bronte in this stunning work, as you learn of Heathcliffe's slow descent into madness. Equally tragic and Beautiful, the timeless story of Heathcliffe and Catherine is one not to be missed, Please give it a read.

So Book Lovers, that is all, until next Wednesday! 

xxxx