As August ended so did the 'summer' holidays and thoughts turned to my new job as head of English in a new school. Am pretty exhausted and have had slightly less time for reading, cinema going etc. However, have still managed to buy quite a few books. Last weekend saw me lurking in Books & Puzzles again and I picked up 4 new bargains:
- Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow
- Samuel Pepys - The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
- Well Remembered Friends collected by Angela Hutch
- Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto
- A Little History of The World by EH Gombrich
Already finished Under the Eagle which was what I believe is usually referred to as a cracking read. Unchallenging stuff about the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 42, but diverting nonetheless. My attention was first drawn to Mr Scarrow after seeing his latest book emblazoned over the supermarket shelves at half price. I'm always a little wary of books in supermarkets and have come a cropper on a couple of occasions. So seeing his back catalogue available for £2 each seemed a pretty marginal risk and so I took the plunge. In fact I may even return this weekend and pick up the rest of the series!
I remember the Pepys book coming out a few years ago and garnering a lot of positive attention so I was more than happy to shell out £3.99 which is pricey for a remainder paperback. Have so far read the introduction and have not been put off. Will dip back in at bed time. Thrilling, huh?
Have never read anything by Banana Yoshimoto but am a big fan of Japan. I realise that's a somewhat sweeping statement but true. I like both the Murakamis - although I probably prefer the less well known Ryu. I've actually read The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Mishima, like sushi and the bullet train. Comprehensive, no? I don't like that rotten bean curd stuff. What's it called? Hatto? Something like that.
Well Remembered Friends is a bog book so probably doesn't count - it's a collection of 'eulogies on celebrated lives' and looked like it might come in useful one day. It's been placed on a shelf and may never be opened.
I picked up the Gombrich history in Waterstones a few weeks back - I was actually looking for HG Wells Short History of the World (which is excellent and came across this instead. I've read the first few chapters but find it a little too full of annoying rhetorical questions. Know what I mean? Never mind.
