BookerInternational2020

The Discomfort of Evening | Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

The Discomfort of Evening just won the #BookerInternational2020 . It may not be what I would have chosen, but it was certainly memorable and beautifully written- congratulations to Marieke Lucas Rijneveld.

In random other news, I started a blog. It‘s very much a work in progress, but my first post is about attempting to read the longlist for the prize this year.

https://bit.ly/2QtAZ0Y

TrishB I shall try and remember to look 😁 4y

squirrelbrain Loved that! You have such a great writing style - I shall keep an eye out for more.... 4y

Cathythoughts Just had a look ... lovely writing ❤️ 4y

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sprainedbrain Woohoo! Following your blog. Great post. ✨ 4y

rockpools @TrishB 😬 Thought I‘d post it quick before I chickened out! 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain Thanks Helen - it‘ll likely be highly erratic... 4y

rockpools @Cathythoughts Ah - thank you Cathy 😘 4y

rockpools @sprainedbrain Yay! Thank you 😊. I‘m diving in and bumbling through - I‘ll work out follows and things eventually! 4y

TrishB Great and entertaining writing Rachel. I need to read some of these now 👍🏻 let us know when you put anymore up. Don‘t know where you find the time or the motivation. 4y

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rockpools

Tyll | Daniel Kehlmann

bailed

Giving myself a break and bailing, at least for now. The people that love this one, absolutely love it. I just don‘t ‘get‘ it. My ignorance of the Thirty Years War/European history could be an issue. The jumping timeline didn‘t help- whenever I think I‘m getting into the story, we flip & I just don‘t care all over again. There‘s history, folklore, philosophy- lots to get your teeth into. I think it‘s well done- I‘m just not that interested 🤷🏻‍♀️

rockpools This probably falls into the category of #BookerInternational2020 confessions, and will almost definitely win the thing. Also, I was listening on audio - I had no issues with the audio, but may have got along better with print. This feels like a very non-review!! 4y

julesG I glimpsed at this (in German). I think I have sufficient background knowledge of the 30 years war, but didn't like the few bits I read. 4y

rockpools @julesG Thanks - I wondered how this was in German. Is Tyll a well-known character? I think I just need straight-up easy books right now 🙁 4y

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squirrelbrain I think you‘re right - we all need something quite ‘easy‘ at the moment. Your review / analysis of why it didn‘t work for you is very perceptive though. 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain Thank you. I think I find books I don‘t ‘get‘ the most frustrating- I feel I should at least be able to understand why it‘s fab, even if I don‘t like it myself... 4y

julesG Tyll is a reference to the iconic German jester Till Eulenspiegel. Now I'm wondering if the book even makes sense in other languages if you can't draw from your childhood knowledge of the Till Eulenspiegel stories. Tyll/Till is probably as famous in Germany as Robin Hood is in the UK. 4y

rockpools @julesG Thanks Jules - that little nugget may well be what I needed to know - it‘d certainly make a huge difference to the reading of it between Germany/me! Starting with kids books would probably help - I might track down a German folk-tales book before I try again. 4y

julesG https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Till_Eulenspiegel 4y

julesG He has an English Wikipedia entry, 'our' Till. 4y

rockpools @julesG Cheers 👍 4y

BookishTrish I read like 3 pages of this an temporarily bailed too. 4y

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rockpools

The Adventures of China Iron | Gabriela Cabez�n C�mara, Fiona J. Mackintosh

pick

Still working my way very slowly through the #bookerinternational2020 shortlist. This is a vibrant queer retelling of the Argentine epic/poem of Martin Fierro, as told by his young wife, who names herself China Josefina, as she embarks on her own epic journey across the pampas, learning about the world, seeing everything through new eyes. Beautifully descriptive, witty, sometimes explicit, usually over-the-top, and ending in some sort of utopia.

rockpools I should probably read Martin Fierro at some point, to see how recognisable this is/isn‘t!

Jo‘s journey across Argentina is my #armchairtravel for #booked2020 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft 4y

BookwormM I thought that how does it compare with the source material 4y

rockpools @BookwormM I suspect it would have been a very different reading experience if I‘d known Fierro‘s story. 4y

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batsy This sounds really good. 4y

BarbaraTheBibliophage Wow — sounds really unique! 4y

erzascarletbookgasm Sounds interesting! 4y

Cinfhen Sounds intense 💕 4y

rockpools @batsy I think you might enjoy it! 4y

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rockpools

Untitled | Unknown

A combined #bookreport #weeklyforecast this week.

I finished The Memory Police and loved it! Even though it was sad and anxiety-fuelling 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Ongoing:
🌊🐠🌊 beautiful and stress-free
🐇🥕🐇 fun but I‘m not gripped
☕️🇬🇪🍫 Big! Gearing up for this week‘s section. Glad we‘re sticking with Kitty for a while.
👞🐴🤹🏻‍♂️ I just don‘t know!! I‘m not disliking it, but I‘m not fully gripped yet. Hope to finish by next weekend.

Cinfhen

squirrelbrain Loving all the emojis! Very clever! 4y

Cinfhen Love this emoji forecast 💜😍🌈❣️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y

Ruthiella Are you following the Man International prize? I noticed there of your books are from the long list.🤔 4y

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TrishB Love the graphics 😁 4y

rockpools @Ruthiella Yes, attempting to - are you? We‘ve been reviewing them on @BookwormM ‘s blog at www.thereadersroom.org or here at #bookerinternational2020 . 4y

Ruthiella @RachelO Great! I am not that ambitious! I have The Eighth Life on order but who knows when it will arrive due to the shutdowns. I ordered it back in March! 4y

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rockpools

Memory Police | Yoko Ogawa

This is the first book in forever that I‘ve read in the space of a day. So good, so disturbing, horribly now (that whole weird-dystopia-while-attempting-to-work-and-get-groceries-thing). Didn‘t do anything to help my anxiety levels by the end of it, but I loved it. I think I‘ll be thinking about this one for a long time.

And the ending. ?!.

I‘m very happy I have all of her (more recent) backlist to explore (translated timelines are weird).

rockpools #bookerinternational2020 @BookwormM 4y

TrishB Keep putting this on my weekly forecast and not getting to it! May try again this week. 4y

rockpools @TrishB It‘s beautiful. But a tad stressful. Look forward to seeing what you think. 😘 4y

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BookwormM Tyll arrived today excited to start it 4y

rockpools @BookwormM Is that your next one? I got a free Audible credit for that, so 🤞 4y

BookwormM Yep then just waiting for the postman to bring China Iron and that is the shortlist done 👍 4y

rockpools @BookwormM Fab! I‘m afraid I‘ve bailed on Hurricane Season for now - did you find my email? Will get to Tyll next. 4y

BookwormM I did I think I scheduled that last incase you change your mind 🤣🤣 4y

rockpools @BookwormM 🤣🤣🤣OK, cheers - I missed that! Give me a couple of weeks and I may be up for it... 🧙‍♀️ 4y

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rockpools

Hurricane Season | Fernanda Melchor

Gah! I‘m admitting defeat and putting this one on hold for the time being. It‘s intense. The sentences run on for years, and leave you claustrophobic, exhausted. And the subject matter is dark and relentless, another from the #BookerInternational2020 which doesn‘t seem to have too many glimmers of light. I probably will come back to this - the writing‘s effective and I‘d like to see where the story goes. But not right now.

BookwormM

squirrelbrain Oof, that extract is rather difficult to read. I can see why you‘ve (temporarily) bailed.... 4y

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rockpools

Untitled: A Collection of Words and Pictures | Carol Loy Miller

I have read things this week - kindof. I won‘t list the books I‘ve ‘started‘ as I‘m not sure I‘ll get past chapter two on most of them. These might stick. #bookreport

Xingu: short, clever, funny

Constant Rabbit: ARC. Political satire with giant rabbits and libraries. I‘m at 5% and have lol‘d 5 times already. Not sure how this‘ll translate to non-uk readers

Cinfhen

rockpools Silent World: Cousteau and his aqualung. Who knew a book about supported breathing in occupied France would be the perfect read right now? For some reason it feels like a 1960s technicolour movie. With 🦞.

Hurricane Season: for #BookerInternational2020. It‘s exhausting.

Eighth Life: For a #buddyread. It‘s great! Also, it‘s big. I‘m behind already. But the thing just happened 😱. (edited) 4y

squirrelbrain Oh no, the thing! So you‘re not far behind at all.... 😘 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain It was not the thing I was expecting! Hearing Georgi‘s story now - I wasn‘t too sure I‘d like this section as much. But I do. 4y

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Reviewsbylola I‘ll have to try Xingu. I love Wharton. 4y

Cinfhen I‘m with you on the stop and go(s) ~ some books just won‘t hold my attention right now 4y

rockpools @Reviewsbylola It‘s the first I‘ve read - and totally not what I expected! What else would you recommend? Are any others at the lighter end of things? 4y

rockpools @Cinfhen Yup. Half an hour in, and I really don‘t care... Still, finding a few good ones in there. Hope you‘re doing well 😘 4y

Cinfhen I‘m good, thanks for asking 💕hope you‘re hanging in there too xx 4y

Reviewsbylola My favorite is The Age of Innocence. I wouldn‘t say anything she wrote is particularly light but she does social commentary very well! 4y

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rockpools

Fixer Upper | Mary Kay Andrews

My #bookreport / #weeklyforecast are all jumbled in together this week.

🇬🇪 Started The Eighth Life for a #buddyread with @squirrelbrain and anyone else who‘d like to join us
🇺🇸 started Mr Penumbra for #bookspin (Thank you Cindy 😊)
🇲🇽 started Hurricane Season for #bookerinternational2020
🇺🇸 Must have started at least 6 audiobooks and just not interested after 30 mins. Trying The Fixer Upper next 🤞

Hoping to finish 1 of these next week!

Cinfhen

squirrelbrain I don‘t think it‘ll be The Eighth Life you finish! 🤣 (edited) 4y

Cinfhen Looks like a good week ahead🤩 4y

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rockpools

Tyll | Daniel Kehlmann

The #bookerinternational2020 shortlist was announced earlier, & I‘m pleasantly surprised. It strikes me as a little less bleak than the longlist did. Having said that, I‘ve only read 2 so far.

Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree - Iranian history through magical realism.👍
Discomfort of Evening - Sad gross hugely uncomfortable, but good.
Memory Police - my 1 lockdown library book tbr.

Which should I read of Tyll, Hurricane Season & China Iron?

rockpools And yes, I‘m still tackling the Eighth Life regardless! 4y

BookwormM I am most excited for Tyll didn‘t enjoy Hurricane and I have also only read 2 so more reading ahead 🤣🤣 4y

rockpools @BookwormM For some reason, Tyll just doesn‘t appeal. I should probably read that first then - bound to win! Won‘t get a library copy til about August now, so might wait til someone pays me 😕. I was happy to see Greengage Tree in there, even if I didn‘t expect it, and Hurricane was what I was most excited for originally (before I saw your reviews😂😂). 4y

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rockpools

The Eighth Life: (for Brilka) The International Bestseller | Nino Haratischvili

in case you missed @squirrelbrain ‘s post earlier...

We‘re having an impromptu #buddyread of The Eighth Life, if anyone would like to join us. It‘s a mere 934 pages (I‘m in total denial) but it does look great (and very readable, if your brain cells are struggling a bit right now)! It‘s been longlisted for #BookerInternational2020 and would also count for #ReadingEurope2020 #Georgia. Do join us!

squirrelbrain I‘ve just made a start and so far it‘s wonderful! 4y

rockpools @squirrelbrain I might need to add Hot Chocolate to the next Morrison‘s order! 4y

squirrelbrain 🍫❤️ 🍫 ❤️ 4y

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BookishMe I need a book for Georgia and a buddy read will be interesting mix to ReadingEurope and help me overlook the chunkster bit 😁 😅😃 4y

rockpools @BookishMe Yay! That‘d be great 😁. I‘m reading on kindle, so I can‘t see how big it is... 4y

BookishMe @RachelO hehehe... I just hoisted it from the library Bravely! 😆 😆 4y

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