I was going to give you a little bookish teaser since it's Tuesday, but there's too much of (reading) interest going on in the blogosphere at the moment that it seemed more like a linky sort of day.
In case you have not already heard Shiny New Books: What to Read Next and Why went live yesterday. I'm quite excited about it as it is chock full of good reading suggestions. It looks like the perfect place to settle in and browse--paper and pen in one hand and a cup of something warm and comforting in another. SNB is an online journal created and organized by fellow bloggers (read more about them here). Do go and click on over and check SNB out!
The shortlist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction has been announced. I'm in the middle of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites right now and am very impressed by it. I've also got Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch and Audrey Magee's The Undertaking all at the ready. I'm excited that several of the books I was most excited about made the shortlist (gentle nudge nudge for me to pick up another one soon).
Have you heard of the Desmond Elliott Prize? I don't recall this prize, which is an award for first-time novelists. They've announced their longlist. I've already got Katharine Grant's Sedition on hand (compliments of the publisher) and so will be reaching for it as well. I was already excited to read it, and now here's another gentle nudge nudge.
Not tired of award lists yet? The shortlist for the Walter Scott Prize (for historical fiction) has been announced as well. Let's see, I've got Kate Atkinson's Life After Life on my reading pile and am waiting for the paperback of Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries to arrive (the UK paper edition was just released--it's such a chunky book I would rather have my own copy).
Oh, and one more--the Independet Foreign Fiction Prize has announced their shortlist as well. Do you know I don't think I have read a single work in translation (though have read some short stories) so far this year? In past years I've done so much better than this. Another weird reading year I guess.
I'm assembling (if only mentally at the moment . . .) quite a new reading pile. (I don't really need those gentle nudges--that's just an excuse to pick up a new book to read). I know there is always a little controversy surrounding prize lists, but I like them if for nothing else than to be exposed to new and potentially good books. And they often stir up discussion, and bookish discussion can only be good, right?
Did you see the winning designs for the Book Depository's bookmark competition? Some really cool new bookmarks. I very much hope to begin finding some of them in my orders (ahem . . . not that I have many books on order with them, but you know, on the odd order here and there).
As for my own personal reading notes--I am now two days overdue in returning Valerie Martin's The Ghost of the Mary Celeste to the library. Oops. I just don't want to put it down and don't want to get back in line for it. It's such a good read. And I am sorry for the person who is next in line--I'm almost finished! I didn't have much reading time over the weekend and Sunday was spent with my short stories (almost shocking to think I didn't even crack open a book).
I've started Pat Barker's Toby's Room for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong. I'm quite intrigued by what I've read so far . . . Always a good sign when you don't want to put the book down (also a reason why I am not yet finished with the Valerie Martin novel).
And five pages a day. Yes, just five but more is certainly acceptable. That is my new goal with reading/finishing Honoré de Balzac's Pere Goriot. I'm reading along with Stefanie, and while I am enjoying it when I pick it up, it's just got a lot of really good competition and I don't have as many hours in the day that I need. You know how that goes!
There are other books on my night table that I am reaching for, too, but these are the highlights at the moment. I am listening to Alex Marwood's The Wicked Girls on audio. The reader for this one is excellent. It's suspenseful a la Tana French. I am only worried that by listening and the odd distraction and the fact that it is a mystery of sorts that I am perhaps missing some of the finer details. As I have a few Audible credits to spend I have been browsing audio books for my next good listen.
Do you ever want to play hooky from work so you can stay in bed all day and read? (Shh, I didn't just say that!). Alas, I am not going to do it, but with so many good reads beckoning, I only wish I could!