Top Ten Tuesday is an original
feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
This week's topic is...top 10 books I read in 2013. This is a tough one, since I read a lot of great books, and this list will probably change right after I compile it!
Reviews:
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Siege, Three Days of Terror Inside the Taj by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Fortunately, the Milk... by Neil Gaiman
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I'd love to do a honourable mentions list, but it would get ridiculously long, so I'll leave it with my top 10. What were your favourite reads of 2013?
Memory, myth, fairytales and a child's imagination come together in Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
A sweeping novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is both a children's book and an adult's tale.
A middle-aged man returns to the place he grew up for a family funeral. In between the service and the wake, he finds himself back at a pond on a neighbour's farm, and while there he remembers the war that raged when he was seven, and how he was saved by the Hempstocks - Old Mrs Hempstock, Ginnie Hempstock, and 11-year-old Lettie Hempstock.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a novel of myths and mysteries, and I found myself puzzled and confused at times. I'm still not sure I understood quite what happened, and whether what happened was real or not, but in this way I'm like the narrator, a man who remembers and then forgets, who doubts his memory, and whose recollections of that incident when he was seven differs from those of other people involved.
The confusion didn't mean I didn't enjoy the novel though. I found it poetic and scary, at the same time, and got caught up in the fable and fairytale elements of the book. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is simultaneously a novel about the things we as children were afraid would happen if we misbehaved (letting go of someone's hand when they were keeping us safe), and a novel that is firmly rooted in a fantasy world.
Gaiman has a real way with words, using them to create images that burn themselves in your mind. At times, I was reminded of his earlier novel, Coraline. That book terrified me, and I found The Ocean at the End of the Lane employed a similar method when trying to scare the reader. Rather than the fantastical bad guys being the ones who scared me most, it was the narrator's father who won the dubious honour of being the most terrifying character in the book.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a book you shouldn't think too hard about, or try to dissect or understand, or find a moral in. It's purely a story, one that confuses and scares and delights, and that's where its beauty lies.
How I got this book: From the library
Top Ten Tuesday is an original
feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.
This week's topic is...top 10 books I wish could have had sequels (they were
complete stories but you just could have read more and more about these
characters or set in that world).
This is a tough one, because lately I've been speaking out about how every book nowadays seems to be part of a trilogy or series. I think a lot of great books stand on their own, and don't need sequels. Therefore, none of the below are books I really, really want to read a full sequel to, but ones where I sometimes wish I'd been able to get a definitive answer on what happened next.
1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
We'll start with I Capture the Castle. When I first read it (as a young teenager) I was saddened to find there was no sequel. I felt like I'd been shown a slice of Cassandra Mortmain's life, and I really wanted to know exactly what happened next. Now, I see why Smith worked that way, but I still want to know more.
2. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
This is one of my favourite books, and ends on such a perfect melancholy note. Still, I'd love to ask Shriver what she thought happened next, and how Kevin and his mum dealt with each other.
3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
I'd love to find out what a grown-up Matilda was like. I imagine she set up a school for clever girls, and spent her life making sure all women got an education.
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Okay, I don't want a full sequel but five minutes with John Green to find out his headcanon for Hazel would be great.
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lord of the Rings series has a huge number of appendices which expand on the history of Middle Earth and events outside the books. I'd like something similar (on a much, much, much smaller scale) for The Hunger Games, where Collins tells us more about the world and how it copes after the Games finish. We get a small glimpse, but since it's through Katniss's point of view and she's out of it, we don't get much.
6. After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross
I read this recently (review here), and I'm quite happy that there's not a sequel, because I think the characters I met are just fine. I would like to know from Cross, though, how (if) the world recovers and what's ahead for Britain in her universe.
7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A beautiful, haunting novel, Never Let Me Go (review here) is pretty much perfect. Sometimes a small part of me wants to know exactly what happened to Kathy though, rather than me being the one to figure it out. I think it would be easier to come to terms with if Ishiguro spelt it out.
8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I'm a huge fan of Gaiman, and could read more of his worlds anytime. It was a toss up between Neverwhere and Stardust as to what went on this list, and I went for Neverwhere.
9. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
There is actually a sequel to this, called Scarlett, and written by someone who's not Mitchell. I don't need a full book, I just need to know whether Rhett ever forgives Scarlet and the two get together.
10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Another book I recently read (review here), Gone Girl's ending is jawdropping. I won't spoil anything, but I'd love to know how the lives of the characters panned out. If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
What books would you like to see sequels to?
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your
blog, showcase books and things we received and share news about what is
coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
I've been a bit busy lately, so this is two weeks' worth of Sunday Post.
Book stuff this week on Girl!Reporter
Fortunately...the Milk by Neil Gaiman (review)
Book of the month - June 2013
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (review)
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter (review)
Non-book stuff this week on Girl!Reporter
Theatre review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Music review: Michael Buble at The O2
Coming up next week on Girl!Reporter
I'm sort of going to be taking a mini-hiatus over the next month (Ramadan beckons) so my posting will be sporadic, but there should be some reviews coming through.
What have you been up to?
The first time I read a children's book by Neil Gaiman (Coraline) I was left terrified, the second time (The Graveyard Book) slightly sad. While I loved Coraline and The Graveyard Book, the third time really has proved lucky - Fortunately, the Milk... is a charming book which had me giggling at every sentence.
Mum is away, and when there's no milk for the cereal, Dad goes down to the corner shop to get some. Only he's gone for ages and ages and ages. When he comes back, his curious children want to know what happened.
So Dad tells his son and daughter a crazy story about being abducted by aliens, escaping pirates, going on adventures with a stegosaurus who's a professor, and hanging out with the intergalactic police.
From the moment Fortunately, the Milk... begins to the moment it ends, it's full of all the stuff that children make up when they're playing, and that's its charm. Globby aliens, scary pirates, and a big rescue - these are the types of stories plenty of kids make up when hanging out with their friends. Only when an adult tells the story, however good it is, children are not likely to believe it, just like the two youngsters in the book.
While Fortunately, the Milk... is a children's novel, it's full of little asides that are great for older readers - a few references to Twilight, some really strong, modern female characters (I'll leave you to work out who), and two children who are pretty savvy.
Accompanying Gaiman's flowing storytelling are gorgeous black and white illustrations by Chris Riddell, who renders a protagonist who looks surprisingly like Gaiman (!) as well as countless creatures and plenty of pirates and wumpires (they're like vampires but with a 'wu').
Fortunately, the Milk... takes plenty of cues from the reboot of Doctor Who on BBC One, and could almost be turned into an episode of the show. In fact, I can imagine Matt Smith's Doctor telling this tale to a group of children, complete with funny voices and lots of shouting.
If you like your stories fast paced, full of adventure, and with a good dollop of laughter, you'll love Fortunately, the Milk...
•Fortunately, the Milk... is out on September 17.
How I got this book: From the publisher, Bloomsbury.
