Author: Michael @ Knowledge Lost

Building a Better Book Blogging Community

Posted September 6, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 18 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about the book blogging community lately. There are so many book bloggers out there but how do you find them all. A lot of book bloggers are great at commenting and this is a great way to build community but it can be a battle to find new bloggers and help people get started. So I’ve been trying to think about better ways to unite the bloggers and build a community.

The best thought I have had so far is to try and create a book bloggers online journal. I thought I would share my idea and see if people have some better ideas to share and maybe we can work out a way to build a community. My idea for a book bloggers online journal is like a group book blog that focuses on book blogging and books in general. I know these can be hit and miss and that is the problem and I worry that a few people will end up doing all the work and it ends up going nowhere.

But anyway here is what I think; we could get bloggers to write some non-review posts and contribute onto the one site. Think futurebook.net for the book bloggers. The idea is that each post is about book blogging or books and also serves as a way to introduce the readers to new bloggers. If we get each person to try and recruit another blogger (like a pyramid scheme) we could get a workable journal that will showcase the community.

I know this isn’t a perfect idea, but I think it could work if there are people willing to commit. People should be free to post their posts to their own blogs as well and I think they can contribute as much or as little as they like. It might be a place to talk all things bookish (trying to stay away from reviews), from buzz books, blogging, reading, recent bookish news, blog hops, book tubes, translated fiction and so many other topics. I know there are places like Guardian books, AV club books, Huffington Post books and Bookriot but they don’t really feel inviting towards contributors and I would love to see a place were people can come together, discover new book bloggers and even make friends.

There you have it, my idea; feel free to pick it apart, offer ideas to improve it or even offer better ideas. A collaborative blog with bookish people around the world seems like my best idea. I know The Classics Club does a decent job in building a community and I love their work. They do seem too focused (which works well) but what about all the other genres and topics. Think about ‘How to improve the book blogger community?’ and let me know your thoughts. I’m sure we can find a way to make things easier to discover new blogs and meet like-minded bookish people.

My Spring Reading List

Posted September 5, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in What are you Reading / 0 Comments

In July, I wrote a blog post talking about my reading list for the Winter; I might not have read all those books but I did enjoy writing about the books I was looking forward to reading. So I thought I might do it again now that Spring is here (or Autumn/Fall for the people on the other side of the world). Out of the five books I mentioned the only book I didn’t get to was Constance by Patrick McGrath but I read on a whim and while I enjoy this, it means it is impossible to plan in advance. However, I like to join in on the conversation and talk about the books I’m excited to read.

dexter's final cut

Dexter’s Final Cut by Jeff Lindsey

I’m a fan of the Dexter series; I’ve read all the books so far and am a supporter of the TV adaptation as well. Dexter is back and now Hollywood has got him involved in helping them shoot a TV pilot. When the star, Robert Chase loses himself in his character his obsessions soon turn to Dexter. This will put a real damper on Dexter’s night-time hobbies.

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by P.D. Viner

A new psychological thriller in the tradition of Before I Go to Sleep and Memento, P.D. Viner’s debut is looking like it might be an interesting read. Twenty years ago, college student Dani Lancing was kidnapped and brutally murdered, the killer was never found and the case is now cold. Her parents’ marriage fell apart as a result of it, but now a new lead has been found and rekindles an obsession for revenge.

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

Nathaniel Piven is a rising star in the Brooklyn literary scene, after several years of learning he now has his pick of assignments and women. Debut novelist Adelle Waldman plunges into the psyche of the modern man and offers up a literary romance that is both intelligent and witty. I hope this book is a novel of struggles, discovery and anxiety that comes with romance and the literary scene.

Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams

Bobby Dollar is back, ready to advocate for the souls of humanity. When his demon girlfriend is taken by a great evil, this angel will go to hell to save her. The Bobby Dollar series is shaping up to be a great Noir/Urban Fantasy series; while I’ve not read this book yet I think it is very promising. Can an angel survive hell and can Tad Williams pull off another great Bobby Dollar novel; I hope to find out this season.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Sixteen-year-old Nao decides she wants to escape the loneliness and bullying of her classmates. But before she ends it all she decides to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun. Across the pacific Ruth finds some artifacts washed ashore from the 2011 tsunami that pulls her into Nao’s drama. Ozeki explores relationships, the past and present, fact and fiction in this contemporary novel.

There are many other new novels I want to get to and there are so many older ones I want to read as well but these five I hope get read sometime soon. I know planning isn’t really my strong suit but I do try. I would love to know if you have any books planned, I’m sure most people have a TBR full of books waiting for them but let me know if you are going to be organised and what you will read this Spring/Fall.

The Suite Life by Suzanne Corso

Posted September 4, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Chick Lit / 0 Comments

The Suite Life by Suzanne CorsoTitle: The Suite Life (Goodreads)
Author: Suzanne Corso
Series: Brooklyn Story #2
Published: Gallery Books, 10 September 2013
Pages: 336
Genres: Chick Lit
My Copy: ARC from Netgalley

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Growing up in Brooklyn, Samantha Bonti dreams of one day being a writer. She found the courage to break free from her an abusive mobster and eventually finds the man of her dreams. Alec is a successful Wall Street broker, but things are not as they seem and when he makes a risky business move, Sam is left scrambling to pick up the pieces of her crumbling fairy tale.

This isn’t really the type of book I would read but I liked the idea a novel about a writer, a mobster and a crumbling life. That was enough to peek my interests and I thought it was enough of a risk for me to try. Unfortunately it wasn’t a book for me and I should have abandoned it but I persevered. This novel didn’t have enough to deal with the mobster ex-boyfriend, which was one of my first disappointments. I got a sense that Sam wasn’t really as damaged by the relationship as the author wanted us to believe and I really struggled with that. I actually thought Alec was more damaging than the ex, with his emotional blackmail and need for control.

Let’s look at the relationship between Sam and Alec for a moment. The relationship felt a little too much like Edward and Belle from Twilight; I know some people think that is romantic but I really have a problem with it. Ordering for your date can be romantic but when it is a first date and they hardly know each other, it just feel weird and out of place. Also Alec felt too controlling and I got the impression he would sulk if he didn’t get his own way. There were also times I thought Alec would turn into Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey; that might have made things a little different but still not my type of book.

I must admit that Suzanne Corso has a decent writing style and with a bit of work she could become an interesting writer. The Suite Life could use with a good hard editing, removing all the repetitiveness and cutting anything that was just filler but then the book would be too short. Some parts felt rushed and some parts dragged on too much, Corso needed to work more on backstory and show the reader just what Sam has been through. The Chick Lit approach feels like any pain and suffering has been down played and this really didn’t do the novel any justice.

There was also not enough to do with Sam’s desire to make it as a writer and it felt like she quickly abandoned her passions when she got a taste of the high life. The synopsis for this book made me think that this book was set in the 1980’s but I turned out to be the 1990’s. There wasn’t much nostalgia about the 90’s; the only real reference was repetitive mentions of Alanis Morissette. Also if Alec is so rich and living the highlife, I wonder why he was driving such an old car?

Having read this book I have since found out that The Suite Life is a sequel to Brooklyn Story and all the backstory and information about her mobster ex-boyfriend would be covered in that book. I suppose this book could work as a stand-alone but I think it was missing too much information that must have been covered in the first book. Will I read book one? Maybe, but I’m not in a hurry to find out about Sam’s life before Alec and there are just too many other novels to read.

This was an interesting reading experiment. I probably should have done more research on a book before reading it but sometimes it is fun to go in blind. While this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure that some people will enjoy it. I am more interested in diving into the emotions and looking at what drives and motivates people but The Suite Life just glossed over that. I’m not a romance or Chick Lit reader so I don’t know if this is the norm; I really hope not.

Top Ten Tuesday: A Mixed Bag Week

Posted September 3, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Top Ten Tuesday / 0 Comments

toptentuesdayIt’s Tuesday again which means time for another round of Top Ten Tuesday; I like joining in of this meme because I have a set topic to work with. Top Ten Tuesday is a book blogger meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week the theme is: Top 10 Contemporary Books That Would Be Great Paired With A Required Reading Book or Top Ten Books That You Wish Were Taught In Schools. Both lists sound really interesting, so I’m going to do five of each.

5 Contemporary Books That Would Be Great Paired With A Required Reading Book

  1. The Machine by James Symthe with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – The Machine was dubbed Frankenstein for the 21st century
  2. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan with The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne – The contrast between the two novels would make for some interesting discussions
  3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak with Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – While I didn’t like The Book Thief, two books about book book burning would be interesting
  4. Maus by Art Spiegelman with The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank – Two books about the Jewish oppression in Nazi occupied countries
  5. Longbourn by Jo Baker with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I’ve not finished Longbourn yet but I think it will make an for a interesting conversation about classes

5 Books That You Wish Were Taught In Schools

  1. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – While this book was banned in some schools, this has some important themes of teenagers
  2. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding – Easy to read and a good book to discuss self esteem and body image
  3. Quiet by Susan Cain – Society tends to think introverts can be fixed but I would of loved to have learnt that it’s ok to be an introvert at a young age
  4. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder – just to get a basic understanding of philosophy in an easy to read novel
  5. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon – to give students a better understanding about social impacting disorders like autism

These two topics are really interesting and I will have to remember them for future posts, where I can go into great details. I am really looking forward in seeing what everyone else has put for their top ten. I hope I get some good ideas for books to read in the future.

Recommendations on Book Likes

Posted September 2, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Random / 0 Comments

book likesI was recently approached by Book Likes to recommend some books for the end of the Summer (Winter here in Australia). For those interested Book Likes is a blog platform designed for book lovers (think Tumblr for books), I use the site to cross post my book reviews (and sometimes some of my other posts. So if you are interested in seeing what I recommend and the other books that made this list check it out here.

The Unknowns by Gabriel Roth

Posted September 2, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Contemporary / 2 Comments

The Unknowns by Gabriel RothTitle: The Unknowns (Goodreads)
Author: Gabriel Roth
Published: Picador, 2013
Pages: 227
Genres: Contemporary
My Copy: Library Book

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository, Kindle (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Eric survived high school in the mid 80’s; the nerd that spent way too much time with computers and never really having any friends. Now he has millions from selling his dot com and lives in a beautiful apartment and living the life everyone dreams of. Except he never quite found love, that was until the glamorous Maya came into his life. It’s not easy trying to get the most alluring woman in the world to pay any attention to you at all.

When I was in high school I really wanted to be a writer, this is the type of story I tried to write. Not as well as Gabriel Roth, I don’t know how to be a writer. they always ended up too short and descriptive, I never knew how to write long form and tended to rush to the end. Don’t get me wrong, The Unknowns is not a typical nerdy love story; Roth showed me just what can be done with this type of novel.

If you think this is not the type of novel I would normally pick up and enjoy then let me tell you why I picked this book up. I consider Megan Abbott the queen of contempory noir and when she blurbs and tweets about a novel, I tend to pay attention. The Unknowns starts out as a nerd falling in love but then deals with the complexity of a relationship, in a slight noirish manner.

Maya may be the most beautiful woman Eric has ever seen but she comes with her own issues she has to deal with. Humans can be fragile creatures and sometimes it is hard to know just how deep the pain runs. When Eric learns about his lover and her emotional scars he is left wondering about the truth. Life is more complex than computer code.

I really enjoyed the way this book tackled relationships; from the start you have a geeky romance and then by the end you are reading about the complex human beings. Roth blends wit with a unique view of the world and human interactions and nails home a magnificent exploration into relationships. I like the way this book is a budding romance/coming of age novel but you look a little deeper and there is so much more to discover.

While Eric isn’t too similar to me, I remember life as an outsider (I still feel that way) and the feeling of trying to navigate the social waters. As you get older, it doesn’t get any easier and you are bound to make mistakes. I’m lucky to have found my own Maya and had to learn about relationships and trying to understand all the pain from their past can be a lot to deal with when you are socially awkward. I really identified with this novel and felt inspired to write again but then I realise I can’t write anything like this and never end up trying.

The Unknowns is a witty humorous contemporary novel full of so many human truths, when Megan Abbott tweeted me to tell me that this novel won’t disappoint she wasn’t lying. I’m not trying to name drop, Abbott is fantastic on Twitter and will happily answer any questions you might have and proves Twitter is the place to be. If you are socially awkward or are interested in the exploration of relationships then this book is for you.

Monthly Review – August 2013

Posted August 31, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Monthly Reading / 0 Comments

death in the afternoonAs we come to the end of August, it is time once again to have a look at the month’s reading. This month the book club read the non-fiction sports/travel book Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway. While I am against bullfighting, this was an interesting dip into a sport I had no idea what was happening. Next month we are reading one of my wife’s favourite books; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

I feel very proud of my reading this month; I read some great books and hope this trend continues. Fifteen books read and some of my highlights include Fadeout, Oryx and Crake, The Third Man, The Unknown, Kiss Me First and We Need New Names. There was just so many great books and I feel like I didn’t have any wasted reading time (with the exception of The Suite Life) but the biggest thrill for this month was The Machine by James Smythe a wonderfully dark and complex novel that really deserves more attention.

My Reading Month

Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway

Posted August 30, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Non-Fiction / 0 Comments

Death in the Afternoon by Ernest HemingwayTitle: Death in the Afternoon (Goodreads)
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Published: Scribner, 1932
Pages: 416
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: eBook

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

Death in the Afternoon is a non-fiction book by Ernest Hemingway that explores the ceremony and traditions of Spanish bullfighting. Looking at the history and the culture behind bullfighting, the book also explores the dangers and fears being faced. Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon explores the sport by one of its aficionados.

This is an interesting book, not something I would read normally but I did enjoy it. While I am morally opposed to bullfighting I didn’t have any really knowledge of the sport and culture behind it. So I went into this book with an open mind and a little hesitant. I had never had a good experience with Hemingway in the past; granted I’ve only read one of his novels (The Old Man and the Sea) but it was enough to never go back. I know this is not a good reason not to return but I have to admit I did enjoy the writing styles.

Ernest Hemingway has a very descriptive writing style which makes for some interesting insights; but sometimes too much. I get the impression that he is using humour in some of his writing but it’s so obscure that it either goes over my head or is just downright weird. I know Hemingway was a rather unusual man and had an interesting life but he isn’t someone that I think I will ever understand or connect with in any way. While I’m against bullfighting, Hemingway seems to be an advocate towards it and often wants it to be more violent and deadly.

You have to understand that Ernest Hemingway is an arrogant, sexist, pompous ass and it often comes through in his writing, so you have to take everything he says with a huge grain of salt. I found myself disagreeing with him all too often but still interested in what he was saying. I went into this book knowing that Hemingway and I weren’t going to get along at times, which was lucky because I was ready to throw out any of his opinions that didn’t align with mine. I did find it interesting how he kept using bullfighting as a metaphor for art and Spain; I don’t know if I agree with this but he seemed was be determined to make this point.

While I’m still opposed to bullfighting, I now have a whole lot more information about the topic; possibly too much. Hemingway’s writing style was enough to make me willing to try something else of his (if I find something good) and this was an interesting and different reading experience. I don’t read enough non-fiction, let alone travel or sports writing so this was a book way out of left field. I’m determined to read more non-fiction now and I hope that I manage to get through at least one a month. Also interesting to see how this review turned out; I’m never know how to approach a non-fiction review and I think I did alright here.

The Third Man by Graham Greene

Posted August 29, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Classic, Thriller / 0 Comments

The Third Man by Graham GreeneTitle: The Third Man (Goodreads)
Author: Graham Greene
Narrator: Martin Jarvis
Published: Penguin, 1943
Pages: 180
Genres: Classic, Thriller
My Copy: Library Book

Buy: Amazon, Book Depository (or visit your local Indie bookstore)

American western writer Rollo Martins arrives in Post-World War II Vienna at the request of his childhood friend, Harry Lime. Lime has a job for him but when Martins arrives, he soon finds out that his friend has died. Convinced that Harry Lime’s death was no accident, Martins starts his own investigation, which leads him on a hunt to find the other witness, The Third Man.

If you are a loyal listener of The Readers or follow Simon Savidge’s blog or twitter you may know he recently lost his grandmother. To pay tribute to the memory of Dorothy Savidge he has asked people to read something by Graham Greene, as he was her favourite author. Greene for Gran (or on twitter #GreeneForGran) was born and I took this as an opportunity to try my first Graham Greene book, as well as join in this beautiful memorial to a fellow book lover.

Now The Third Man is an interesting book; it is actually written in preparation to writing the screenplay to what will become a film noir classic. Graham Greene wrote this novella and then converted it into the screenplay. I’m not sure how or why the original novella ended up being published but I suspect that the huge success of the movie may have had something to do with it. So when reading The Third Man you are basically reading the novelisation of the movie; everything is exactly the same.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, the movie was fantastic but then again I’m a fan of Orson Welles (Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of all time) so I might be biased. Who am I kidding, it’s not bias; The Third Man is a classic film noir movie and if you haven’t seen it then you are missing out. It’s hard to review a novella that is exactly the same as the movie, there may not be any point to reading the book if you can watch the movie but I wanted to see how Graham Greene wrote and I think I’m a fan.

What I found fascinating about the novella was the fact that the entire story is told from the perspective of Major Calloway and not the Rollo Martins. Just a quick side note here Rollo Martins name was changed to Holly Martins in the movie just in case you thought I made a mistake there. So I look back at the movie and try to imagine The Third Man from the perspective of Calloway and it just doesn’t seem right, but it works really well for the book. Just another example of what a novel can do that film can’t and gives the novella something unique that you wouldn’t get from the movie.

This only took me about an hour to read (I read slow) and while it is pretty much the exact same thing as the movie, I’m glad I read it. It gave me a sense of Graham Greene’s style and I know what to expect when I try another book (any suggestions). I loved the movie and I think the book is a great companion for fans of The Third Man. Now I want to rewatch the movie, sounds like a good idea right?

The Site for Library Recommendations

Posted August 28, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

library_reads_logo_website

I’m not normally one to write a post promoting another bookish site but I can’t help but want to tell people. Library Reads is a site where regularly employed U.S. public librarians share their recommendations for soon to be released books. I know there are many sites out there dedicated to book recommendations but what I like about this one is that it’s the librarians offering some suggestions. Libraries are such an essential service for a book lover and I know that most public libraries out there are trying to get back into offering the service of book recommending. Library Reads may just be a good starting point for both book lovers and other libraries out there.

How it works is basically it takes the ARCs being submitted on Edelweiss (with the Organization Type “Library – Public”) and works out the 10 most recommended books that will be released in that month and use them to create their list. As these are all ARCs, it will tell readers what to look out for and helps libraries get a sense of what might be good to stock. I’m sure there could be other uses for this site but I like the idea that as you watch this site you might start recognising librarians whose opinions you might trust.

I’m not sure how long this site has been around but currently their September list is up with Library Reads favourite going to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (an author I want to try sometime). Other interesting books on the list include Night Film by Marisha Pessl, The Returned by Jason Mott and Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. With each book there is an excerpt from one of the librarians’ reviews so you get an idea of what the book would be like. I know the books I’ve listed here are probably books you’ve already heard of and possibly even read but there are some books there that I’ve never heard of; I think they want to cover all genres. I love the idea of getting an email every month with librarian recommendations so I’ve subscribed to this site. I’ll be interested to see how well it goes and hope maybe one day Australia has a similar service.