I should reread Audition at some point, because I did like what she was trying to do (as far as I understood it), but I got so bogged down in her writing style. I wrote a whole post about how much her comma splices annoy me.
New releases have been average for me, so I’ll be interested to see if I can even come up with a top ten this year. But I did love the book of records, stag dance, flesh and audition, and I have a soft spot for Perfection by vincenzo latronico which was on the IB shortlist. I think the Calculation books are worth reading - I’ve loved discussing them with people and I’m keen to see where she takes the series. Translated fic is doing a lot for me at the moment! And backlist has been excellent, as always.
I really liked Hunchback. I’ve read it two months ago and am still thinking about it, always a good sign. Her vision on reading and being disabled made me think.
I’m glad I read Audition, but it isn’t my favorite. The discussions about was is going on and hearing everyone’s interpretation are actually better than the book.
Hmm interesting point! I think of discussions that a book provokes to be an extension of the book itself so I'm not sure I would make that kind of binary distinction.
I will try to join the book club discussion on Audition. I felt disappointed by it… mostly because I am obsessed with Kitamura and could not put it down as I was reading, but then I stepped away from it and felt kind of empty about it. It got me thinking about growing old with my partner, about changing physical appearances as we get older, middle class comforts, and being a parent, of course… but I can’t figure out if the book made me do that OR I was already thinking about that and just filled in gaps in the narrative with whatever I had swirling around… and that it even matter?!
P.S. I went through the Vulture list and I now wonder who are the most exciting debuts of this year?… what are the standouts for you?
I think the question you posed at the end there is exactly the point of the book, which is part of why I loved it!
And I'm not sure I have read very many debuts this year, but I'm not often as aware as I should be of whether a book is a debut! I did really enjoy Rob Franklin's GREAT BLACK HOPE though. Do you have any standout debuts??
I have heard so much buzz about hunchback, to the point where i wasn’t sure if it was going to be good— but now that you’ve endorsed it i’m so excited to get my hands on it! I also loved Audition and i am so interested to hear your take— looking forward to the novel pairings episode. Last but not least I had no idea Lockwood had a new book coming out, so thank you for putting that on my radar. Great post!
I should reread Audition at some point, because I did like what she was trying to do (as far as I understood it), but I got so bogged down in her writing style. I wrote a whole post about how much her comma splices annoy me.
Yes, the comma usage was a point of discussion for my Literary Society!
Ahhh I should've been in that discussion. I need to know how other people felt about the commas!!
New releases have been average for me, so I’ll be interested to see if I can even come up with a top ten this year. But I did love the book of records, stag dance, flesh and audition, and I have a soft spot for Perfection by vincenzo latronico which was on the IB shortlist. I think the Calculation books are worth reading - I’ve loved discussing them with people and I’m keen to see where she takes the series. Translated fic is doing a lot for me at the moment! And backlist has been excellent, as always.
I still need to read Book of Records and Flesh. I also really enjoyed Universality, Flashlight, and Days of Light.
I really liked Hunchback. I’ve read it two months ago and am still thinking about it, always a good sign. Her vision on reading and being disabled made me think.
I’m glad I read Audition, but it isn’t my favorite. The discussions about was is going on and hearing everyone’s interpretation are actually better than the book.
Hmm interesting point! I think of discussions that a book provokes to be an extension of the book itself so I'm not sure I would make that kind of binary distinction.
I’m so happy for you but I’m SO jealous you got the new Lockwood 😫😂🤓I keep hinting on their instagrams for it lol
I wish you luck!! Riverhead is very fickle lol
I will try to join the book club discussion on Audition. I felt disappointed by it… mostly because I am obsessed with Kitamura and could not put it down as I was reading, but then I stepped away from it and felt kind of empty about it. It got me thinking about growing old with my partner, about changing physical appearances as we get older, middle class comforts, and being a parent, of course… but I can’t figure out if the book made me do that OR I was already thinking about that and just filled in gaps in the narrative with whatever I had swirling around… and that it even matter?!
P.S. I went through the Vulture list and I now wonder who are the most exciting debuts of this year?… what are the standouts for you?
I think the question you posed at the end there is exactly the point of the book, which is part of why I loved it!
And I'm not sure I have read very many debuts this year, but I'm not often as aware as I should be of whether a book is a debut! I did really enjoy Rob Franklin's GREAT BLACK HOPE though. Do you have any standout debuts??
Thanks for the reminder to pick up Hunchback! I’m even more excited now.
It's quite a ride!
I have heard so much buzz about hunchback, to the point where i wasn’t sure if it was going to be good— but now that you’ve endorsed it i’m so excited to get my hands on it! I also loved Audition and i am so interested to hear your take— looking forward to the novel pairings episode. Last but not least I had no idea Lockwood had a new book coming out, so thank you for putting that on my radar. Great post!
I'll be excited to hear what you think of HUNCHBACK!
Andor is SO GOOD! And extra eerily timely right now. It jumpstarted us into rewatching all of Star Wars again lol