2 months of reading

I've been reading! Yay for me!

I enjoyed the 2 fiction books I read. I usually enjoy fiction so enjoying The Alchemist and The Kite Runner was no surprize. It was a complete co-incidence that they were both set in Muslim country.

Jonny Steinberg is my favourite South African non-fiction writer so far. He explains things really well and he is great at giving you the sense of a place. I learnt a lot from Midlands about the possible relationship dynamics between farmers and their workers.

Fooled by Randomness was a pleasant read. Its one of those books that I've always been curious about. It's the sort of non-fiction book whose purpose, it seems, is to try to convince you to think about a particular subject in a certain way. It seems to be the sort of book columnists write. I'm still trying to make this genre out, but I think I like it.

On writing by Stephen King is the first Stephen King book I've read. Its worth reading if you'd like to write fiction. I enjoyed reading the parts about writing more than I enjoyed reading about his life. He has inspired me to read a few books specifically (he wrote about why he enjoyed certain ones) and more books in general (he says he's a slow reader but he reads 70 - 80 books a year).

Just read, okay

All my excuses for not reading my books are lame.

Books read this month

I haven't been reading books this year, so I'm glad I managed to read 4 books this month. It isn't as easy as it used to be, this reading thing, but I've found that watching less tv makes it easier.

The first book I read was The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Hightower which I really enjoyed. I remember watching and enjoying the film adaptation some years back and so I thought I'd give the book a try. I found I like her style and her imagery is so vivid, I'd really like to read more books in the Ripley series. I was also excited that it appears as one of the 1001 books to read before you die. Its always fun for me when I find I've read a book on that list.

Where's the chicken is a short book that asks the reader and society at large to think about what the unseen problem in a crime situation is. It also asks (and gives suggestions) about what we can do to promote peace and reduce or avoid crime in order to create a safer society. It gives examples of the sorts of solutions people come up with when they ask these kinds of questions and suggests that even a perfect police force is not enough to create safety and security.

Ja No Man by Richard Poplak is an autobiography by the subject on growing up as a white boy under Apartheid.

How to be an Intellectual is a funny read by Nick Kolakowski on maxims to employ to become an intellectual. I love list books and this one is a lovely one.
I'm curious about what else he has written, he comes across as a fun conversationalist. I just might read a classic after reading this book, he recommends a few that he made sound quite tempting.