recently read

I've been struggling a while to read - social media and google reader have been distracting and they damage my concentration. And on the bus, I usually listen to podcasts. Often about books I will never find time to read. So I've taken myself in hand. 

The last five books I've read are A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula Le Guin, Your Voice in my Head by Emma Forest, On Drawing by John Berger, Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym and A Lie about my Father by John Burnside. 

I liked the Le Guin the most. A collection of short stories. The last three are great - about faster than light travel: it's not the technology that's interesting but the impact on people. 

Of the memoirs, Your Voice in my Head was disappointing. I had expected more. A Lie about my Father was better. I think Burnside is the better writer, and is older. I think one of the things that bothers me about Forest is that she is very on the surface, despite the painful things she tells us. She seems not to want to know why she has a mental illness. Burnside knows why - and he's trying to understand his father in this book. Forest is all about her. 

Currently reading on my iPod: Penny Plain by O. Douglas and Night and Day by Virginia Woolf. The Woolf is taking ages. The Douglas is an undemanding, cosy read which suits me right now. 

Currently reading in physical book format: The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction (table of contents - scroll down a bit); Bliss and other stories by Katherine Mansfield.