Love These

Reality Check

Other than dance class tonight, it would be fair to say I didn't really enjoy today. My day job is not fun at the moment, and I want out.

But just now I've read some accounts of the unbelievably terrible stuff that is happening in Syria at the moment. Jaw-droppingly, sickeningly, unfathomably awful.

I would do well to have a better understanding of the Syrian conflict than lament my own career-life-poo.

Wolf Hall

This post will affirm my online persona has little shame. I'm about to write a little book review of a title I took approximately 15 months to read.

The glacial reading speed has nothing to do with the enjoyment nor quality of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It was pretty bloody good. I just have an atrocious reading habit. As much as I love reading, I'm just not doing it. This is going to change. One of the ways it's going to change is through me keeping track of my reading in this blog. The first review will be in list form.

Things that made the book less enjoyable:

• pre-knowledge of the major bones of the plot (it's set mostly in Henry VIII's court, around the time he starts bonking Boleyn). Knowing this history already meant the story was not really a 'page turner'.
• so many characters! If I had read this book at a normal human pace I doubt the volume of characters would have been a problem. In any case the 'cast of characters' index was very helpful at various stages through book.  

Things that made the book very memorable:

• the language and characterisation. No 'old-worldy' affection. First time I palpably felt that humans have almost always been the same. 500 years doesn't really affect how people think, talk or relate to each other.
• the humour. Many laugh out loud bits. 
• sharpness of characterisation. 

Other thoughts:

• although not a gripping page-turner, when I did have extended periods of reading the book (namely on a holiday late last year), I found myself drawn back to 'the world', and wondering what the characters were up to. It was an enjoyable world to escape to.
• some of the writing is almost in noteform, which I found really interesting. Parts of it read like a first draft, or the writer quickly 'getting down the story', but I'm beyond certain that wasn't the case. But regardless this point form style adds momentum, brings the story into the present and again out of 'olde-world' land. 

So, in a quest to devour more books in 2012, I think my next book will be The Secret River. I reserve the right to change this choice but in any case expect another little reading report from me around the 14th April.