Sunday, January 18, 2009

1001 novels everyone must read

In the Guardian/Observer a panel compile a list of the 1000 novel must-reads, with names such as Thomas Harding, Far from the Madding crowd (1874); DH Lawrence, Women in Love (1920) and Enayat el-Zayyat Al Hubb w'al-Samt (1967).

What these all have in common? They're all love stories. Er, I might have once flicked through Mills and Boon, and Jackie Collins and Barbara Cartland did get me pondering a world of dashing doers having their cake and eating, but 1000 novels, where d'you find the time?

Then again, I spend half my waking days behind a Mac, watching a film or making my way to University- 3 hour ride back and forth - or some meeting.

Now that might be ample dead-zone time for a novel, but then I'm more this genre I have got my head buried in at the moment. If you're like me, you're a grazer: pick up one book, consume a couple of pages, then graze through the three others in your bag. I can't help it.

So currently in my sack.
  • Truth - a guide to the perplexed, Simon Blackburn
  • The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki
  • Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
Latterly, this book seems to have pushed all the others aside, Obama - Audacity of Hope.

Great scene in there when he meets up with Bush in the WH after forsaking a group photo for food. As they both walk together, he unconsciously finds he's put his arm around Bush.

A reporter, was it, said she liked the first book and wondered if he could pull this one off.

Whoa, New York Best seller list!

President elect Obama is a kitchen story teller. You know the sort of person in a party everyone gathers around in the kitchen as they tell their tales.

They'll be no shortage of listeners now.

Meanwhile a nice turn to the story of Joe Biden.

Having accepted he lifted passages of his presidential running speech from a former UK running prime minister, Neil Kinnock, Kinnock now finds himself off to Washington courtesy of Biden.

Now who says being nice after you've been plagiarised doesn't work.

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