20 Books of 2020 (Pt.32)

Well, we're underway into the 600s now and I can honestly say that it has been a great ride, but we're not stopping here! In this article introduction, I want to talk shortly about reading books and reading kindle books/ebooks etc. and the way in which we see differences between them.

I have seen many (normally middle class) people say on social media that 'reading an ebook/kindle book isn't a great experience' or that the 'feel of a real book matters as well'. Yes, I can agree it does. But you should not shun people for reading ebooks and kindle books for you don't know the reason they do.

A lot of classics on kindle and ebook are cheaper and so, the other person may not have enough money to constantly buy great copies of books, or enough room to store them - that is one reason. Another reason is that the person may be travelling. Travelling with a copy of "Anna Karenina" is way easier with your kindle than it is with a paperback. Thirdly, it is the reason I read a lot on kindles - eyesight. There are some books that I physically cannot actually see and so, when reading on a kindle, I can control the font and the text size. It is far easier on my eyes (if you didn't know I was partially blind, well now is your lucky day).

So when you say to someone that a paperback is better than a kindle and they're reading on a kindle or ebook, think about what you're saying because you could really be isolating them from the reading community and making them feel like they don't belong. They belong there just as much as you do. As I have always said, I don't care what you're reading, where you're reading it or what device you read it on - as long as you're reading and enjoying yourself, that is the only thing that matters. It is to share the joy of reading, not the snobbery in some members of the community.

So, with that said and done, I would like to continue with my list. Here are numbers 621 through to 640!

621. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

Claire Fuller's novel felt very much like something by Daphne Du Maurier because of its often dark and romantic nature. It's about a woman who is on her deathbed and look back into the past times of the 60s in which she met a very strange couple with a hauntingly dark secret. She tells the story of her obsession with finding out who they really are and it is often filled with tensions so great you will find it very difficult to put this book down.

622. Travels in Alaska by John Muir

This book honestly, I was expecting to be a lot better than it was. Often I love reading travel books about people taking journeys to exciting places but in this book, I found it a bit brief. By the time I was really getting into the atmosphere and love for Alaska, our narrator had gone to California and by the time I was getting into that, the book had ended. I would've liked a lot more detail than what I was given. But as a shorter text, it is very well written.

623. The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch

About changing political viewpoints, the breakdown of relationships and a party in which all these friends discover that they aren't the same people they once were. When Gerard's past comes back to haunt him, Rose's relationship breaks down, Tamar is dealing with her own self-esteem issues, Jenkin is no longer really in the game and Lily is trying her best to save face - everyone is a completely different human being and it will take a while before they all realise it.

624. Miss Ravenel’s Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John W. De Forest

In the midst of the American Civil War, the Southern States are losing and yet there are still some remaining in hope. When a doctor calls out inhumanity upon slavery, his daughter remains conflicted about what she is to do. When she falls in love with her soldier, her father states that she cannot marry him and yet, she is helpless. As the book moves on, we see images of war that will haunt us and a woman who must choose between what she wants and what is right.

625. Speaking of Siva

I'm not going to lie, I've read a lot of the stuff in this book before. This book is about the poets and devotees of Siva who wrote and recited prayers to him, dedicated their lives to worship and passed down some of the most beautiful and intricate biographies of their lord and saviour from times of old. It is an amazing book and as a Hindu, I grew up reciting some of these prayers myself.

626. Proud Beggars by Albert Cossery

Throughout this book there is a question of murder and an investigation that leads the police all over the place. However, when it comes to a suspect there are both many and none. Another thing that happens in this book is a drug-fuelled man seeks to meet a woman, but does not have the means to get her out of her current situation. The biggest question though is that there is a clear link between the two sub-plots, but what is it?

627. The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis

When a murder has been committed, nobody seems to know where to look. But our story starts strangely with a family in which the grandmother takes care of her daughter and granddaughter who are sick. When she discovers that all her life she has done nothing but serve others, her mind spirals into insomnia. From crimes to justice, the punishment is severe - but finding out the motive will not prove so difficult when you know who is who.

628. Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth

Through four generations of one family, Maria Edgeworth tells the story of Sir Patrick, Sir Murtagh, Sir Kit and Sir Condy - each a patriarch of Castle Rackrent and each with their own flaws of character that ends up destroying their perfect historical legacy. Narrated by the strange, humorous but often contradictory Thady, this book is one of the best I've read in a long time with both wit and darkness working together to bring this Irish-Catholic story of the rich and powerful to life.

629. The Temptation of St. Anthony by Gustave Flaubert

I'm not going to lie, after attending a Catholic School for the great majority of my life, I have heard quite a bit about the night of temptations of Saint Anthony. But, in the way that Gustav Flaubert writes it, I can honestly say I was surprised. I enjoyed Flaubert's style, because obviously I've read "Madame Bovary" and his irony and wit is very thorough. But what I didn't enjoy was the fact that it is a piece of play writing - I don't think it suited Flaubert's brutal honesty at all.

630. The Mark on the Wall and Other Short Fiction by Virginia Woolf

A series of Woolf's short stories make for excellent reading material, especially when you've read her other works. Similar themes of madness, liberation and the common rife existentialism you get lost in are present in the stories as they are in Woolf's novels and novellas. The best part about it is that I share a birthday with Virginia Woolf as well. So, I enjoyed this a lot - not as much as "Jacob's Room" - but a lot.

631. A Gentle Creature and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Not Dostoevsky's best work (because we all know that his best work is and will always be "The Brothers Karamazov") but if you're just starting your Dostoevsky journey this may be a good book to read to learn about his themes of morality and human indifference, suffering and loneliness. Dostoevsky's romantic fantasist dramas are just the kind of thing you'll experience in his longer novels, but getting a small taste of it in this book will be a great idea. My personal favourite story in this collection was "White Nights".

632. Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriðason

This is the second book in the "Jar City" collection of these Icelandic Murder Mysteries and a human bone has been found at a child's birthday party. When the investigators link it to a redcurrant bush and three other separate stories of tragedy in love, the head of the investigation must confront the fact that his own daughter is lost and his own former marriage long broken will never be repaired. There's a number of great things in this book that just consume you. It is a brilliant series.

633. The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire

I had read poems from this book before but this was my first time reading the entire thing in all its detail with introduction, afterword and other translation notes inside. I was stunned because when you read the whole thing together, you really understand why it is called 'carcass writing' and why it is so revered as something deathly and dark. There are so many grand themes related to death and evil that when writing my article, I almost had too much information.

634. Nothing by Henry Green

Two people fall into a love affair during the war era and this affair is turbulent, filled with passion and yet, filled with numerous problems and pitfalls. When they have kids of their own and their kids are on their own way to getting into the traditional cycle of marriage and their own kids, there's only one thing to do that they can think of - teach the new generation in a way that they've never been taught before. In this almost total-dialogue battle-of-the-generations, Henry Green took me on a journey of satire, love and comedy and it was so worthwhile.

635. Voices by Arnaldur Indriðason

This is the third book in a new series I'm reading and honestly, this is really starting to pick up. When a man dressed as Santa Claus is found dead in his hotel room, it is only a matter of time before investigators find out he'd been living in that room for the past twenty years. Desolate and disgusting, the room gives away so many clues, apart from why this man was lying dead so close the Christmas. Told over a matter of days, this book reveals both murdered and murderer whilst also telling the reader the story of the turbulent familial lives of the investigators. God I love this series.

636. Barkskins by Annie Proulx

This book tells the story of a genealogy. It's about the destruction of the forest areas, a tale of love and death, a story of fire and passion, but then again there's stories of violence, disappearances, people dying in horrifying ways such as being set on fire and some people just getting what they deserve. With all the eco-brilliance of a naturist images like those of Thoreau and all the social awareness of Proulx's other novels like "Brokeback Mountain", this has to be one of her best ever.

637. Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry, she's one of my favourite sonnet writers ever and often, I need to read her poetry in order to feel calm and serenity. Recently, I woke up with a horrible headache and so, reading some Elizabeth Barrett Browning managed to calm me. With her tranquil atmospheric spaces and her language of love as calm as death - she is someone to read and experience any time you feel out of touch. She grounds you.

638. The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott

This book was so full of atmosphere and the eastern vibe was strong, powerful and positive. I've never really seen a book from that time that depicts Islam in a positive way before, even Lord Byron's "The Giaour" doesn't do a good job of that no matter how good the poem is. This book is about the crusades and often shows the true power and greatness of Saladin in comparison to the troubadour ways of Richard I. It is an interesting comparison and makes for great reading.

639. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I have read this book many times before and so, I have read it again in preparation for a book club online. I'm not going to lie, it's been super exciting to have others introduced to this superpower of literature and thus, introduce them to all the readings you can do as well as this book such as: Kafka's Judgement, Camus' The Rebel and Freud's papers on Dostoevsky and Parricide. I've never been so socially active - it is quite an experience to meet new people!

640. The Book of Blam by Aleksander Tisma

This book started really slowly but honestly, I was very surprised by the middle of the narrative. We had a fully fledged Job character, like from the Bible. I found that there was the brink of war and the main character lost everything, people were blown up and people were shot at. There was a moment of extreme terror and when the ending comes around it's almost like a relief but it's also profound in the most depressing way. It's honestly one of the most deep and intense endings I've read this year.