Welcome to this week’s blog, and our roundup of your comments and photos from last week.
As far as I can tell, everyone loves George Saunders’s new – and first – novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. Here’s ajo1, for instance:
This is a remarkable book ... It’s observant in its details of the foibles and follies of the dead and their observations on their predicament. It’s also concerned with a myriad of historical issues connected with the Lincoln presidency and the US Civil War. Above all it’s a sheer pleasure to read.
Here’s Rivermama:
I read Lincoln in the Bardo in one uninterrupted read. That’s rare for me to read a book in one sitting. It really made me think about getting on with my life and doing things that are important to me... Lincoln in the Bardo made me realize that I tend to wait for something to happen. I need to snap out of it.
And here’s fingerlakeswanderer
I spent an entire day reading Lincoln In The Bardo by George Saunders. I know it’s not for everyone - the multiple narrators might drive those who like standard set-ups mad - but I thought it was gorgeous.
Rudyard Kipling is more controversial – although, also often marvellous - as BerlinBirdie discovered:
Kim - I started it once years ago and gave up almost at once. Now I can’t think why. It was fascinating, lively, inventive - of its time, of course, but you sense that Kipling really knew India and respected the incredible variety of characters. Such vivid descriptions of the evening camps on Kim’s journeys: sounds, smells, conversations - I loved it.
It’s tempting to wonder what Kipling might have made of Rex Bowan’s recommendation, Imaginary Communities by Benedict Anderson:
A book which attempts to understand where national feeling came from and why it is so strong. Anderson sees nationalism as the product of modernity and dependent on the development of print capitalism, but no less potent as a result. The first 100 pages or so are terrific, and the book as a whole made me think about the way I think, the best thing one can say for a work of social science or philosophy, I think. But however absurd and conditional I may consider national feeling to be, it didn’t diminish the pain of the rugby result on Saturday.
Finally, paulburns offers reasons to take heart:
In practically one sitting I’ve just read Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. What a stunning piece of literature. Subtle, shocking, suspenseful, chilling, compassionate and elegant. I suppose we should take heart that to create this oppressive misogynist theocratic dystopia it took the assassination of the American President and the entire US Congress, the suspension of the US Constitution, environmental catastrophe and a nuclear civil war.
Some dystopias are actually worse than the one we’re living in!
Interesting links about books and reading
- Proust fans! Here’s a little comic about how to read him in the original.
- When you want criticism of book covers, and you want it caustic, this is the site you need: causticcovercritic.blogspot.co.uk
- An excellent old review from the London Review Of Books of a biography of Ayn Rand (and one that Paul Ryan won’t enjoy reading).
- Meet The Cubies: a modern art spoof from 1913.
If you would like to share a photo of the book you are reading, or film your own book review, please do. Click the blue button on this page to share your video or image. I’ll include some of your posts in next week’s blog.
If you’re on Instagram and a book lover, chances are you’re already sharing beautiful pictures of books you are reading, “shelfies” or all kinds of still lifes with books as protagonists. Now, you can share your reads with us on the mobile photography platform – simply tag your pictures there with #GuardianBooks, and we’ll include a selection here. Happy reading!
