Happy St George's day

[liv]

I'm not really interested in celebrating a saint's day (not being Christian), nor in celebrating Englishness (not being that sort of patriot), nor in dragon-slaying (as I generally find myself on the side of the dragon). However, I kind of like the idea of the Catalan version where people give eachother books.

So I propose a game: comment and recommend me a book, and I'll rec you something in return. If I don't know anything about you, I'll suggest something that I really like, and which I generally find isn't well known. And I'll keep going until I find something new to you, if necessary. You can give me a hint of the sort of books you prefer if you want to, but it's not required; it might be a more fun game if I have to guess based on my judgement of your character.

I have a comprehensive list of everything I've read in the last seven years, in case you find it hard to know where to start, but you obviously don't have to read through all that.

Comments

[liv]

I read and enjoyed Hopkinson's Brown girl in the ring (though it is very creepy!), so would be happy to try something else of hers.

I read your mindful reading essay with great interest. To fit in with that theme, I think you might well like Keri Hulme's The bone people. No, not like, I would have to say appreciate, because it's a very disturbing book with some child abuse themes. But anyway, it's a really beautiful book about indigenous people in New Zealand, and it's like pretty much nothing else I've ever read. It certainly avoids most of the obvious clichés you often find in writing about the intersection between dominant European-origin cultures and indigenous cultures. The protagonist is also asexual, as I believe the author is. Hulme herself I believe is ethnically mixed, but to at least some degree is an insider to indigenous New Zealander culture, just not in a totally uncomplicated way.

[holyschist]

It is actually on my reading list already!

[liv]

Well, that makes it a reasonable guess, but ok. Zadie Smith: On beauty, which is sort of your standard litfic setting about American academics having mid-life crises, except with actual racism and sexism sensibilities?

[holyschist]

That sounds interesting!

[khalinche]

I love both The Bone People and On Beauty, in really different ways. Did you know On Beauty is an homage to Howards End? I haven't read the latter, but now I'd like to.