Libby's Library

If you are looking for a good book to sink into but don't know where to start... here you will find some thoughts about the books which have passed-by my bedside table. I hope you are inspired!
Click here to ask me for book recommendations. Just tell me what kind of books you like and I will suggest some new books which you'll probably LOVE.

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May 18th, 2013
120 pages of determined struggling. This is the most tedious book I have read in a long time and it should have only taken me a few hours to read.. instead it took weeks. Ugh. Written in 1902, this story resembles Conrad’s own adventures in Africa and follows a sailor as he captains a steamboat up a river into the Congo. He is in search of the infamous Kurtz, an ivory dealer who turns out to have become as wild as the wilderness he lives in. Sounds interesting right? Could anyone have made such an intriguing story so boring? I confess, that by the end of it I had little comprehension of what the point of the thing even was? Even though ‘Heart of Darkness’ was heralded as an anti-racist book, there has been plenty of literature that condemn this book and its representation of African people. I have to agree… Don’t recommend unless you are a reader of classic texts.

120 pages of determined struggling. This is the most tedious book I have read in a long time and it should have only taken me a few hours to read.. instead it took weeks. Ugh.

Written in 1902, this story resembles Conrad’s own adventures in Africa and follows a sailor as he captains a steamboat up a river into the Congo. He is in search of the infamous Kurtz, an ivory dealer who turns out to have become as wild as the wilderness he lives in.

Sounds interesting right? Could anyone have made such an intriguing story so boring? I confess, that by the end of it I had little comprehension of what the point of the thing even was?

Even though ‘Heart of Darkness’ was heralded as an anti-racist book, there has been plenty of literature that condemn this book and its representation of African people. I have to agree…

Don’t recommend unless you are a reader of classic texts.

May 17th, 2013
My friend in my writing group’s sister has just had a book of poetry printed by Auckland University Press.  I loved reading ‘Other Animals’. Whether you read the book from cover to cover or flick through and dip in, there are beautiful moments on every page. This is a book of gems to treasure, lines that make you truly feel. Let me share with you some of my favorite lines from a poem called ‘The Eternals’ The sunset blazes in a dog’s earand the casual sea throws back its whalesWe have stopped looking out the windowor holding hands when we cross the street Support home grown poetry and give this book a try! You won’t be dissapointed!

My friend in my writing group’s sister has just had a book of poetry printed by Auckland University Press. 

I loved reading ‘Other Animals’. Whether you read the book from cover to cover or flick through and dip in, there are beautiful moments on every page. This is a book of gems to treasure, lines that make you truly feel.

Let me share with you some of my favorite lines from a poem called ‘The Eternals’

The sunset blazes in a dog’s ear
and the casual sea throws back its whales
We have stopped looking out the window
or holding hands when we cross the street

Support home grown poetry and give this book a try! You won’t be dissapointed!

May 10th, 2013
Read ‘The Corrections’ by Jonathan Franzen. Felt apathetic. Read ‘Freedom’ by Jonathan Franzen about 20 months later and loved it! Put off reading it for so long because of the so dislikable characters in Corrections but really, really, the characters in Freedom really captured me! They were so real, recognisable and utterly human. Messy mixes of good, bad, beautiful and ugly. This is a story of marriage and family. It mainly follows Patty and Walter Berglund as they navigate the process of learning to love eachother. Honestly. It is a heartwrenching, funny and moving story. A great read. Very much a slice of life, kind of book. You can bypass the Corrections but you can’t miss this one. Other post modern reads you might like:‘The Slap’ by Chris Tsolkas‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ by Jonathan Safran Foer‘The Secret History’ by Donna TarttAnything written by Michael Chabon 

Read ‘The Corrections’ by Jonathan Franzen. Felt apathetic.

Read ‘Freedom’ by Jonathan Franzen about 20 months later and loved it!

Put off reading it for so long because of the so dislikable characters in Corrections but really, really, the characters in Freedom really captured me! They were so real, recognisable and utterly human. Messy mixes of good, bad, beautiful and ugly.

This is a story of marriage and family. It mainly follows Patty and Walter Berglund as they navigate the process of learning to love eachother. Honestly. It is a heartwrenching, funny and moving story. A great read. Very much a slice of life, kind of book.

You can bypass the Corrections but you can’t miss this one.

Other post modern reads you might like:
‘The Slap’ by Chris Tsolkas
‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ by Jonathan Safran Foer
‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt
Anything written by Michael Chabon 

April 20th, 2013
Lovers of fantasy novels will inevitably find themselves in Duncton Wood, at some time or other. William Horwood’s tales about Moledom are what my friend calls, Wind in the Willows for adults. Think Lord of the Rings with talking moles. Seems rediculous but actually these books are really captivating. A real tour de force of adventure, adversary, history, destiny and the human or ‘mole’ condition. Duncton Wood was my first foray into Horwood’s novels, I read this as a young teenager and I think I liked it better than this novel, more gritty action and I liked the main character Braken better. Duncton Tales follows a haunted scribe-mole Privet as she seeks to discover the truth about the Book of Silence. That is the main plot line… but this is a many layered, tappestry like book and the first in a Trilogy.  I’ll get to the others in time but I think I need a bit of a break for now… these books are tomes! If you like animal literature, here are some others that I loved (mainly young adult fiction):‘Firebringer’ by David Clement-Davies (deer)‘The Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Grahame (you know…)‘Duncton Wood’ by William Horwood (moles)‘Redwall Series’ by Brian Jacques (medieval mice etc) ’Winnie the Pooh’ books by A. A. Milne

Lovers of fantasy novels will inevitably find themselves in Duncton Wood, at some time or other. William Horwood’s tales about Moledom are what my friend calls, Wind in the Willows for adults. Think Lord of the Rings with talking moles. Seems rediculous but actually these books are really captivating. A real tour de force of adventure, adversary, history, destiny and the human or ‘mole’ condition.

Duncton Wood was my first foray into Horwood’s novels, I read this as a young teenager and I think I liked it better than this novel, more gritty action and I liked the main character Braken better. Duncton Tales follows a haunted scribe-mole Privet as she seeks to discover the truth about the Book of Silence. That is the main plot line… but this is a many layered, tappestry like book and the first in a Trilogy. 

I’ll get to the others in time but I think I need a bit of a break for now… these books are tomes!

If you like animal literature, here are some others that I loved (mainly young adult fiction):
‘Firebringer’ by David Clement-Davies (deer)
‘The Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Grahame (you know…)
‘Duncton Wood’ by William Horwood (moles)
‘Redwall Series’ by Brian Jacques (medieval mice etc)
 ’Winnie the Pooh’ books by A. A. Milne

March 30th, 2013
In colourful, tangy prose Junot Diaz latest collection of short stories tell stories of a young Dominican named Yunior living in the United States.  Very sassy.  That pretty much sums it up I think :). I liked his stories and there were some truly touching moments between Yunior and his mother in stories like Invierno. But, as most of the short stories involved cheating, I can’t say that I LOVED this book. This vibrant set of stories almost seemed to glorify the subject… definitely a way to loose me. I guess that is the point… maybe?

In colourful, tangy prose Junot Diaz latest collection of short stories tell stories of a young Dominican named Yunior living in the United States. 

Very sassy. 

That pretty much sums it up I think :).

I liked his stories and there were some truly touching moments between Yunior and his mother in stories like Invierno. But, as most of the short stories involved cheating, I can’t say that I LOVED this book. This vibrant set of stories almost seemed to glorify the subject… definitely a way to loose me.

I guess that is the point… maybe?

March 23rd, 2013
You will have probably guessed by now that I will read every new book that Tracy Chevalier puts out. I love her! Why? Let me count the ways. Tracy Chevalier’s novels look at historic events from the eyes of unexpected main characters. She brings these large topics to life with intimate details and often, with reference to a specific artistic practice. For someone who hates the dry, dull tones of a history tome… then reading a Chevalier novel is the way to go. The Last Runaway is a novel about the underground railroad in America during the early 20th century. Seen through the eyes of a young British Quaker, we learn about the cost of following your convictions in a country where slavery is totally ingrained. Throughout the book, Chevalier charms us with details about different kinds of quilting, Quaker lifestyle and farmlife in Ohio, America. Not my favorite Chevalier novel (still Girl with a Pearl Earring and the Lady and The Unicorn) but a page turner nonetheless. If you liked this, read:‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper LeeAnything else by Tracy Chevalier 

You will have probably guessed by now that I will read every new book that Tracy Chevalier puts out. I love her!

Why? Let me count the ways.

Tracy Chevalier’s novels look at historic events from the eyes of unexpected main characters. She brings these large topics to life with intimate details and often, with reference to a specific artistic practice.

For someone who hates the dry, dull tones of a history tome… then reading a Chevalier novel is the way to go.

The Last Runaway is a novel about the underground railroad in America during the early 20th century. Seen through the eyes of a young British Quaker, we learn about the cost of following your convictions in a country where slavery is totally ingrained. Throughout the book, Chevalier charms us with details about different kinds of quilting, Quaker lifestyle and farmlife in Ohio, America.

Not my favorite Chevalier novel (still Girl with a Pearl Earring and the Lady and The Unicorn) but a page turner nonetheless.

If you liked this, read:
‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee
Anything else by Tracy Chevalier 

March 11th, 2013
Time to read a classic. It is easy to see why people often compare ‘Rebecca’ to Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’. Sinister tone. Young girl marries/ falls in love with older, mysterious man. They live in a beautiful mansion full of mysteries. The ex-wife is forever lurking in the background, haunting them. Some critics say that ‘Rebecca’ is a poor cousin to ‘Eyre’ but I have to say that I much preferred it. Although the nameless main character was self-conscious and insecure, I truely felt she was real. Du Maurier has a way of writing which makes you imagine a person or a situation exactly. She writes like a keen observer of people and their habbits. In its time this book was called a Gothic romance. It definitely has gothic elements (the overgrown garden, the dark rooms of the house, haunted dreams) but it is also much more a story about marriage and the fraught tension of what it means to be a woman and a wife. If you liked Jane Eyre definitely read this. If you liked this, definitely read Jane Eyre.

Time to read a classic.

It is easy to see why people often compare ‘Rebecca’ to Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’. Sinister tone. Young girl marries/ falls in love with older, mysterious man. They live in a beautiful mansion full of mysteries. The ex-wife is forever lurking in the background, haunting them.

Some critics say that ‘Rebecca’ is a poor cousin to ‘Eyre’ but I have to say that I much preferred it. Although the nameless main character was self-conscious and insecure, I truely felt she was real. Du Maurier has a way of writing which makes you imagine a person or a situation exactly. She writes like a keen observer of people and their habbits.

In its time this book was called a Gothic romance. It definitely has gothic elements (the overgrown garden, the dark rooms of the house, haunted dreams) but it is also much more a story about marriage and the fraught tension of what it means to be a woman and a wife.

If you liked Jane Eyre definitely read this. If you liked this, definitely read Jane Eyre.

February 20th, 2013
For those of you who struggle with reading autobiographical novels (like I do) this is the book to change your mind. The book follows Bear Grylls as he climbs Everest. AMAZING! I would read a page and then have to exclaim and discuss the harrowing and mind bending conditions of climbing the Earth’s highest peak with my husband. He is very patient. If you thought that climbing was just climbing, this book will blow you away. Think… air tanks, suffocation, freak storms, oncoming monsoon season, dehydration, climbing up and down the mountain time and time again to acclimatise… there is more. If any of this interests you I recommend you read this book! Definitely an “all action adventure” as the tag line says :) Suprisingly, this book reminded me of a short story by Dave Eggers in ‘How we are Hungry’. The story called ‘Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly’ follows a girl as she climbs Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa. Magnifique. I recommend the entire collection of short stories actually.

For those of you who struggle with reading autobiographical novels (like I do) this is the book to change your mind.

The book follows Bear Grylls as he climbs Everest. AMAZING! I would read a page and then have to exclaim and discuss the harrowing and mind bending conditions of climbing the Earth’s highest peak with my husband. He is very patient.

If you thought that climbing was just climbing, this book will blow you away. Think… air tanks, suffocation, freak storms, oncoming monsoon season, dehydration, climbing up and down the mountain time and time again to acclimatise… there is more. If any of this interests you I recommend you read this book!

Definitely an “all action adventure” as the tag line says :)

Suprisingly, this book reminded me of a short story by Dave Eggers in ‘How we are Hungry’. The story called ‘Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly’ follows a girl as she climbs Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa. Magnifique. I recommend the entire collection of short stories actually.

February 2nd, 2013
Sorry that it has taken me so long to get onto reading this…. you see, it is rather a long story… I didn’t have the cash to buy any new books and asked my mum if she wanted to read ‘The Casual Vacancy’ and if so, would she please buy it so that I could read it too?Polite, I think.Anyway, she buys it… AND GIVES IT TO MY SISTER. Who has since devoured it, lost the dust cover and given it to her boyfriend. So I bought my own copy. And it was worth it. This story could not be much more different than the Harry Potter Series, (although you get glimpses of modern British life in scenes with Dudley Dursley). This story is about small town England, about the comings and goings of the members of the town, the town council and a block of ‘project housing’ nearby.  It is about poverty and addiction and pointing the finger… who is to blame for all the tragedies that happen daily?  It took me awhile to come to grips with the abundance of characters but by half way through I was almost addicted to this book as I was to Harry and Pals. A great read. 

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get onto reading this…. you see, it is rather a long story…

I didn’t have the cash to buy any new books and asked my mum if she wanted to read ‘The Casual Vacancy’ and if so, would she please buy it so that I could read it too?
Polite, I think.
Anyway, she buys it…

AND GIVES IT TO MY SISTER. Who has since devoured it, lost the dust cover and given it to her boyfriend.

So I bought my own copy.

And it was worth it. This story could not be much more different than the Harry Potter Series, (although you get glimpses of modern British life in scenes with Dudley Dursley). This story is about small town England, about the comings and goings of the members of the town, the town council and a block of ‘project housing’ nearby.  

It is about poverty and addiction and pointing the finger… who is to blame for all the tragedies that happen daily? 

It took me awhile to come to grips with the abundance of characters but by half way through I was almost addicted to this book as I was to Harry and Pals. A great read. 

January 24th, 2013
Sometimes I do this naughty thing where I read the last few pages of the book when I am only half way through. I definitely shouldn’t have done that here… definitely not. A captivatingly written novel (as you can see… see how long it took me to read it!) of a brother and sister who share an unusually intimate relationship. Toby is the brother, Elenor the sister. Toby is sent off to fight in WW1 and dies and Elenor cannot be at peace until she finds out how he died. This book portrayed the visceral, horrible reality of fighting at the front lines of a World War more than any other book I have read. And I have read a lot which concern WW1 and 2. I felt the damp, the heat, I smelt the smells and imagined myself cramped in cattle trucks or crouched in a trench. This is a book to help you never forget. I want to read more of Pat Barkers work, I am intrigued. Other books set during/ after the world wars which you may like reading:Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - by Louis de Bernieres (get past the first third and you’re away flying)A Pale View of the Hills - by Kazuo IshiguroCatch 22 - by Joseph HellerShip of Brides - by Jojo MoyesComing Home - by Rosamund PilcherThe Book Thief - by Markus Zusak 

Sometimes I do this naughty thing where I read the last few pages of the book when I am only half way through. I definitely shouldn’t have done that here… definitely not.

A captivatingly written novel (as you can see… see how long it took me to read it!) of a brother and sister who share an unusually intimate relationship. Toby is the brother, Elenor the sister. Toby is sent off to fight in WW1 and dies and Elenor cannot be at peace until she finds out how he died.

This book portrayed the visceral, horrible reality of fighting at the front lines of a World War more than any other book I have read. And I have read a lot which concern WW1 and 2. I felt the damp, the heat, I smelt the smells and imagined myself cramped in cattle trucks or crouched in a trench. This is a book to help you never forget.

I want to read more of Pat Barkers work, I am intrigued.

Other books set during/ after the world wars which you may like reading:
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - by Louis de Bernieres (get past the first third and you’re away flying)
A Pale View of the Hills - by Kazuo Ishiguro
Catch 22 - by Joseph Heller
Ship of Brides - by Jojo Moyes
Coming Home - by Rosamund Pilcher
The Book Thief - by Markus Zusak