June – September Reading Update – Islands are Life

I have left it too long to talk about my recent reading, so this may take a while. I have eight books to talk about, most of which are linked by the word ‘Island’, or ‘Life’. Reminder – for my reading challenge, each book has to have a common word from the book before. Here is a link to my To Read List if you’re interested in what I’ve been reading. The list is not getting much shorter, but in my defence, many of the books have been pretty long.

Watch below if you are too lazy to read on!

Previous to this, I read As Meat Loves Salt (back in June). I bent the rules a bit, as my next book Island was previously published as The Lost Salt Gift of Blood. That was enough to get me going though, and this is what I’ve read in summary:

Island – Alistair MacLeod (Short Stories)
Selkirk’s Island – Diana Souhami (History)
Atlas of Remote Islands – Judith Schalansky (Geography)
The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss (Fantasy)
The Life and Opinions of Kartik Popat – Brannavan Gnanalingam (Satire)
Lifelode – Jo Walton (Fantasy)
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara (Contemporary Fiction)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – VE Schwab (Fantasy)

Click on the links below if you want to read my Goodreads review.

First, Island by Alistair MacLeod (5 stars). Normally I don’t like short stories much, but I loved this set of stories set in wild Nova Scotia, a place clinging to life by its fingernails. The setting was the most important part in these stories, but some lovely, simple plots involving workers, farmers and animals and just a touch of mystery helped too.

Selkirk’s Island by Diana Souhami (4 stars) is a history book about the island now known as Robinson Crusoe Island and about the man who was stranded there and came to inspire the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. There is actually relatively little about Alexander Selkirk’s time on the island, but it’s a fascinating read.

Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky (4 stars). As it says, the book features maps of fifty remote islands around the world. I loved the fact that each map is to the same scale, so you can compare against other islands. There are some bare facts, but instead each spread tells a little story about each island to give you a taster.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (4 stars). A very enjoyable fantasy novel, first in a trilogy. Told from the perspective of Kvothe, an innkeeper. Unfortunately Patrick Rothfuss seems to have lost interest in finishing the trilogy, so I may never know what happens!

The Life and Opinions of Kartik Popat by Brannavan Gnanalingam (4 stars). Political satire set in New Zealand. Really fun for someone who follows politics, and also pretty daring as many characters are recognisable! See if you can spot Jacinda, Winston and John Key. I enjoyed it. Continually impressed by Brannavan Gnanalingam.

Lifelode by Jo Walton (3 stars). A very unusual fantasy novel set in a farming community. It’s not quite sure what it’s doing, and Jo Walton herself admits it was hard to write. But I love that it is experimental and Jo Walton consistently writes great stuff.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (4 stars). A doorstop novel about a traumatised man. Get your hankies ready. It’s emotional, and a slow burn. Great if you like to get involved with your characters. Shortlisted for the Booker and I can see why.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab (2 stars). Was quite disappointed by this one. It is about a Faustian bargain, and a young woman who finds the price of immortality is that no-one remembers her. So she can’t get a job, or a house. That concept is pretty cool. But other than that I found it repetitive and overlong.