I was going to read The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. (Honest.) I read an article in the Guardian on Tuesday that really sparked my interest. It mentioned slap stick, typographical jokes, postmodernist narration devices…Sounded like my kind of book. I even got through the first few chapters, but I think I’ve decided that it’s just too weird. The narration is too jerky–the man can’t even complete a sentence, which is saying something for an age known for it’s elegant (if long) sentence structure. No matter how much fun the Guardian said it would be, I think this book goes back on the Books to Read Before I Die List, with War and Peace.
Right now I’m reading through The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon. For fans of her series, this is great reading.
The next book I plan to read is A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Barry. This book was shortlisted for this year’s Booker, though it didn’t win. We’ll see if my theory that whatever books the critics like I hate holds true. 🙂 One person who read it told me that it was a beautiful book–which usually means nothing much happens–but we’ll see how it is.
This usually happens when I read a really good book. I have a hard time finding something just as good to follow it up. I sometimes have to go back to old favorites like Good Omens or Coyote Blue and work my way back up.