A stack of books to read!

Here's my mahoosive reading list. Or my "as yet unread and might not ever be read stack", I should call it, as I don't think I'm going to finish some of these books. Most of them I'm really excited about getting into though!


Top to bottom:

The Elements of Style by Strunk & White -- part of the leaving gift from my old work (they got me a bunch of books from my Amazon wish list!). This book is widely considered a classic 'how to', gathering together writing best practice in a succinct way. I will probably flick through this and then have it on hand as a reference. One of those books you just need to have on your shelf! (nb 'White' is E.B.White -- Charlotte's Web)

Little Constructions by Anna Burns -- picked up on the cheap from a Books Etc store during the Borders closing down sale (wish I had planned this instead of stumbling across the sale in its final dying throes and thinking, 'of course! they have stock to get rid of!' and at that point, all that remained were bad biographies and travel books). I already started this book and I haven't finished it and I doubt I will try starting it again. In the first 15 pages, it introduces 8 characters who are all named J---- Doe. The writing wasn't good enough to sustain the gimmick and I lost my patience. I didn't know who was who and it was too hard to battle on with.

Exurbia by Molly McGrann -- from the same Books Etc sale. Not sure about this one, was quite a random choice. A "I have my doubts but we'll see" pick.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith -- Xmas gift from my sister-in-law. To be honest, I've tried this book before and I couldn't finish it. I know some of my friends who were in the same situation (in fact, with the same copy of the book - we had a competition to see whose bookmark would go the furthest). I know it's supposed to be amazing though, and now my SIL has gifted it to me, I am beholden to try it again. And so I will! Perhaps now I live in London, I'll like it more?

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz -- Xmas gift from my sister-in-law. She wrote "I found this book to be both so funny and touching... you may need to keep a Spanish dictionary handy! It's awesome!"

Essence and Alchemy by Mandy Aftel -- leaving gift from my old work. I read this as a library book years'n'years ago, and have wanted it for myself ever since. And now I finally do! This is a luscious book that looks first at the history and magic of perfume, and then also delves into creating your own. In another life, I would like to be a perfumer. I have a character sitting in my brain who is a perfumer. One day we'll find her story and put her down on paper.

Finding Serenity: anti-heroes, lost shepherds and space hookers in Firefly (multiple authors) -- leaving gift from my old work. I loved Joss Whedon's Firefly - best ever sci-fi TV show. It was so well written, such amazing characters. This is a set of essays about it and I'm looking forward to reading them, seeing a critical review of various aspects of the show and what made it so great.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse (multiple authors) -- leaving gift from my old work. I've had my eye on this collection of short stories for a while. One of my favourite themes - apocalypse! - written by some fantastic writers: Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, Elizabeth Bear, Cory Doctorow, Octavia E. Butler!

The Art & Craft of Storytelling: a comprehensive guide to classic writing techniques by Nancy Lamb -- leaving gift from my old work. A highly rated book on Amazon. This is part of my plan to read a good book on writing every now and then, to bolster my inspiration.

Character & Viewpoint (the elements of fiction writing) by Orson Scott Card -- leaving gift from my old work. This book is rated well on Amazon and I loved his other one on writing sci-fi. Another book on writing for my inspiration.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger -- Xmas gift from my sister-in-law. She remembered how much I LOVED The Time Traveller's Wife, by the same author, what a sweetheart! Ooh I hope this is as good at The Time Traveller's Wife. That book made me weep!

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood -- soo excited about reading this one! I just love Margaret Atwood: she is one of my all time favourite writers of all time ever and ever. And Oryx & Crake is my favourite of all her books and THIS book is apparently like a sequel, set in the same post-apocalyptic world (!) so ohboy, I can't wait to delve into it. I got this hardback on sale. I usually don't buy hardbacks but I found out the paperback won't be out until, like, October. So I snapped this one up.

Nanotechnology for Dummies -- leaving gift from my old work. This was on my wish list because I have a story I want to write someday which has a lot of nanotechnology in it. It's a complex story for a few reasons - quite a few characters I'd like to be in the center stage, and there's the science too. I don't think I have the skills or knowledge to write it yet (I tried, and didn't get far!) so this book will help me get there.