2014 Chunkster Challenge

I have (somewhat belatedly) stumbled across the Chunkster Reading Challenge this week and am gleefully going to sign up. Because, quite frankly: I like big books and I cannot lie. (Except when I fall asleep reading them in bed and they fall on my face. Ouch.) I love getting lost in a long sprawling tale, love the depth big books can go into, the meandering paths they can take.

Last year, my total was 12+ books that fit into the challenge's definition of "chunkster" (450 pages or more), from those just squeaking into the category (e.g Scarlett Thomas' excellent Pop-Co, 450 pages exactly) to the 1,000 page +ers (e.g. Haruki Murakami's 1Q84). This year, I am going to aim for a slightly lower goal of reading 8+ chunksters. Why less? Because this year I have also set myself a goal of reading 50 books, and realistically that's not going to be achieved if I aim to read a load of chunksters as well. Plus, there's many a shorter books I am eagerly waiting to read :)

I do of course also have keep my book-buying ban in mind, but having a look at my bookshelves, my husband's bookshelves, and books available at my library, it's clear I still have a wonderful selection of chunksters to choose from. Here are just a few possibilities to start with:

• Liveship Traders trilogy, by Robin Hobb
• The Court Of The Air, by Stephen Hunt
• Burning Your Boats, by Angela Carter
• The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, by Gordon Dahlquist
• Villette, by Charlotte Brontë
• Under The Dome, by Stephen King
• Hyddenworld, by William Horwood
• Consider Phlebas, by Iain M. Banks
• ... And finishing off my current read, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? Any other suggestions for chunksters to pursue very warmly welcome :)

My book-buying ban adventure begins

I have recently embarked on a fantastic and terrifying adventure: a six month, self-imposed book-buying ban. This is something I have been thinking about doing for a while now and the start of a new year seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally take the plunge into these dark and scary waters...

Now, I know the very idea of a book-buying ban might fill some readers with dread. I confess I'm a little apprehensive about what I'm getting myself into. But at the same time, I am also quite excited. I think this could be really good opportunity for me (not only to save money!) and nearly two weeks in I am feeling very positive about the whole thing (whether or not I will feel the same come June, only time will tell...) So far, these are the main thoughts going round my brain as to why this might be a Good Thing:

• I want to support my local library service more. Public libraries are a special kind of magic I have just recently rediscovered and they are currently making me very happy. Sure, it's more convenient to order book online and get it delivered to my door than walk a mile or so into town to pick up a book from the library. But during those moments of weakness, I'm going to repeat to myself the following mantra: "I'd much rather my patronage went to the libraries in my community than money-grabbing, tax-dodging scum like Amazon, anyway." And then feel all self-rigorous and smug... just kidding ;)
• I have a lot of unread books on my shelves awaiting the love and attention they deserve. I made a list yesterday of all those TBR titles I have lurking on my shelves (getting rather dusty). I have over 40. No, there I no way I'll be reading them all in the next few months. I'm just not that speedy a reader and some of them are rather long. But I am going to aim to read my way through at least a quarter of this list.
• Diversifying my reading. By reading only those books I already have on my shelves and those I can find though my local library service, I hope I will be forced to read a little outside my comfort zone and discover some wonderful new books/authors I might otherwise have overlooked.

So far, I have read one library book (the wonderfully original First Book of Calamity Leek by Paula Lichtarowicz - review coming soon), have started reading a second (The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick) and am also reading Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy as part of Iris and Ana's Long-Awaited Reads Month. This book has sat on my shelve for a very long time. Ten years at least, possibly up to fifteen. I've always meant to get round to reading into, but somehow never have... Now's my chance! So far I am finding it as slow, strange and dark as I expected. Great book for curling up with for a long period, though hasn't been the easiest commute read as it demands quite a lot of attention. Very glad I'm finally reading it, though.

What the next few months will bring I am eager to find out. It really is an adventure into the unknown for me, as I probably haven't gone even two weeks without buying a book for quite sometime. I will write about my progress, thoughts and experiences on this blog. And please do share your own experiences if you have ever done (or are doing) something similar. Any tips or wisdom to impart? What were your greatest temptations? Did you find it worth it and how has it impacted long-term on your book-buying and reading habits? I'd love to hear from you :)

Review: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Quirk Books, 2011. 368 pages.
Rating: ★★★ (3 stars)
Source: Uckfield Library

Summary:
After witnessing the horrific death of his grandfather, 16-year-old Jacob sets of to a remote Welsh island to unravel an old family mystery and discover the truth about the crumbling ruin of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

My thoughts:
As I am sure was the case for a lot of other readers, I was initially drawn to this book by the spooky cover and intriguing title. However, having stumbled across a few not-so-stunning reviews, I'll confess I went into it with low expectations... And was pleasantly surprised! True, it was not without its flaws, but overall I found Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children to a very enjoyable, strange little book.

I've seen a few reviewers criticise the story for solving the main mystery too quickly, saying they found they lost interest in the plot after that. For me, however, the opposite was the case. I found this to be simply the start of a weird and wonderful tale I grew more and more engrossed in as the book progressed.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is wonderful mix of mystery, fantasy, sci-fi and horror, all crafted around a series of creepy vintage photographs. It has a fantastic, unique mythology, which for me is one of the best things about the book. It's magical and creative and really drew me in. I also really enjoyed the use of time-travel in this story. Time travel! (I could just write "Nuff said" here, but then I would have to poke myself in the eye with sharp stick, so I won't.) Time-travel is central to the plot and I felt it was used in a very inventive way. Added this, the story also contains some seriously creepy bad guys (the kind that could very well turn up in your nightmares), who had their own history, inextricably linked to that of the "peculiar children". 
All this put together made for a very engaging read. I also really warmed to Jacob and found the peculiar children to be fascinating characters (and fascinating creepy). The local people from the island were very entertaining, if somewhat caricatured. One reviewer on Goodreads described them as "League of Gentleman- esque" :)

As I said above, this book does have its flaws, and there were two in particular that bothered me. Firstly, the photographs, while interesting, felt gimmicky. They could easily have been removed (or used less) without taking anything away from the story. Some seemed like they were there just for the sake of including yet another creepy picture, while others got in the way of the imagination and creating my own mental image of the characters. Secondly, I saw a twist at the end coming a mile off - the foreshadowing felt very clumsy. While this didn't spoil the ending for me (it was still exciting, nail-biting stuff!), it did lack a certain element of surprise.

I wouldn't let the book's bad points put me off recommending it, however. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is great if you're looking for quick, unusual book to read. It's utterly absorbing and charms you despite its faults. It's fantastic, creepy fun and I am very much looking forward to reading the next book and finding out what's in store for Jacob and the peculiar children.