I've been on a book-acquisition rampage again (When am I not?). So I thought it might be handy for me to start picking out some of the books that I'm reading and that I'm really excited about. The logic is that I'll be reminded of all my part-read books and be more inclined to finish them. We'll see how that one goes. Let me know if you'd be interesting in seeing these posts a little more often, as they may help to introduce you to some authors that you might not have heard of.
Starting off with a lovely short-story collection, we have the weird and wonderful world of Karen Russell. All of Karen Russell's narratives are just a little strange, making them truly entertaining to read. I started reading this collection after having to read the name-sake story for my creative writing class - a pleasant tale about a group of young wolf girls being 'trained' to be humans by a school of nuns. Interesting.
Octavia E. Butler is truly the hidden gem. I read her short story Bloodchild a couple weeks ago and now I am determined to get through her entire bibliography. Her writing is most definitely science fiction, but it always has a twist and beautiful hidden meaning. This book follows Dana, a young black woman in the present day, who finds herself transported back to nineteenth-century Maryland. As the book proclaims: "It's the most terrifying experience of her life... until it happens again." I've just started reading this and I cannot wait to see what happens.
This was very much an impulse purchase during a recent foray in to Waterstones. I was captivated by the beautiful publication of this book and the equally as stunning illustrations. Marketed as a modern Korean fable-- it's the story of a Hen named Sprout, who no longer wishes to lay eggs on command and pines for freedom from her barn. She hatches (ho ho) a plan to escape so she can finally lay an egg of her own. This book draws some serious parallels with the current situation in Korea and promises to be an intriguing read. I haven't actually started this one yet, but it's next on the reading list.
If you haven't noticed already, you can actually see what I'm currently reading in the little box to the right of this post. It also links to my Goodreads, if you wanted to find out more about the titles or even add me as a friend (hint hint).