The current books on my bedside table
I wonder if the books included in this pile say something about me, so I thought I’d share them with you to see what you think.
The pile includes:
Absolute Power by David Baldacci
I’m in a book club and this is our current ‘read’. I’ve had the book for a week and have so far made it to page 12. I know that I shouldn’t be making a judgement at this early stage (as good as judging a book by its cover) but I am thus far…unconvinced.
I suppose that as a crime/thriller, it’s fair to say that this wouldn’t be my usual choice of book and I must remain open-minded, so we’ll see. There just seems to be something lacking with the language.
One particular phrase that I’m struggling to get past is the crowbarred-in reference to the protagonist’s daughter. (Fear not, this contains no ‘spoilers’: I’m only on page 12, after all.) For context, the narrator is recalling the equipment our protagonist, and apparent thief, has with him as he prepares to break into a house:
‘The next piece of equipment he carefully pulled from his backpack weighed exactly six ounces, was slightly bigger than a pocket calculator and other than his daughter was the best investment he’d ever made in his life.’ (p.6, Baldacci, D (2011) Absolute Power: Pan Macmillan.)
I cringed when I read this. It’s so irrelevant, so forced and feels…amateurish. It’s the writer’s way of giving background. It informs the reader that the protagonist has a daughter and she was, apparently, a good ‘investment’, whatever that means. But it’s just so forced. I hardly believe the protagonist was thinking about his daughter at this time. She’s not around. As a device, it’s just a little weak.
But, like I said, I must keep an open mind. Perhaps it will be a gripping read and become my new favourite book. I doubt it, but, either way, we’ll have an interesting conversation at my next book club.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This was last month’s book club book and I loved it. The character development is gentle and gradual. I fell for the protagonist and the other characters so much that I was weeping for the last 50 pages. And I’m talking ugly sobs and tears pouring down my face.
The language is accessible and very readable with surprising, delightful use of metaphors and similes. The narrative stance is unusual and interesting (although I do have a few issues with the level of omniscience the narrator apparently enjoys. I could write a whole essay on that alone).
The thing that let this book down for me was the very ending. The writer leaves little to the imagination which is a little dissatisfying and underestimates the reader. I would have preferred to ponder what happened next and be allowed to draw my own conclusions.
The Wordsworth Book of Intriguing Words by Paul Hellweg
This delightful little oddity is a recent addition to the bedside table. It’s a dictionary, of sorts, listing a huge variety of interesting, quirky words. There are chapters which organise the content logically with nice introductions to the words that follow.
It’s a slim book and perfect for just leaping into if you fancy something other than a quick ‘Facebook’ or whatever you do with your idle time.
BBC Good Food Magazine
I am so far the happy recipient of one Good Food Magazine and eagerly anticipate next month’s edition.
I enjoy discovering new recipes and this is easy browsing-reading of a Sunday morning. It’s stuffed full of recipes, only one of which has gone terribly wrong when put into practise in my kitchen!
My Kindle
My Kindle is actually at the bottom of my pile of books. I’ve neglected it for a little while but it’s a useful little gizmo. I was initially very resistant to the Kindle concept: ‘books should be made of paper’ and so on, but it’s actually great!
The Kindle is useful to take away on holidays as it’s so light and you can squeeze umpteen books into that little thing. Doubtless I’ll be resurrecting my Kindle with a good charging at some point soon.
So, there you have it: the current collection of books on my bedside table. I feel three books, one magazine and a Kindle is actually very restrained! Sometimes the pile grows until, as I grope for the alarm first thing, it tumbles dramatically to the floor and wakes me more successfully than any alarm clock I’ve used to date.
I’d love to hear about your own collection of bedtime reading. Have you got any recommendations?
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