Monday, May 29, 2006

wonderful wonderful...

...This weekend, while The Doctor has mostly been laying flooring chez Casa Oiseau I have mostly been reading 'A History of Tractors in Ukrainian' by Marina Lewycka. And consequently, having my socks knocked off.

I really want to write something moving and poignant to explain why its such a good book, but I suspect I may fail. I loved it as it was different without being overly complex or inaccessible, and because the language was very tight, ie every word was necessary, and it was funny without trivialising any of the issues.

I felt the same way about 'The Time Travellers Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger. I loved this for the reasons given above, because it was alternative without being too different. Not that different is bad, I just loved the way she blended the sci fi aspect into a well written romance novel without anyone really noticing.

So for the rest of the year I want to only read books which will knock my socks off. Your suggestions please!

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Also - I'll pay in chocolate/beer/comfort food of your choosing anyone who can tell me how to get the links in my posts to appear underlined, or to stand out in some way (without me going through and setting each one as underlined, or similar) without the links in the sidebar standing out too?
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