Like every other year, 2009 has had its fair share of literary highs and lows. We’d like YOU shrewd book buffs to share the sublime and ridiculous from your reading lists this year.
In the spirit of Christmas giving, if your favourite author let you down then this is the perfect opportunity to put the boot in. Alternatively, if you’ve made a fab new discovery, please get enthused and rave away. Devoted or disaffected it’s time to dish the dirt, and we’ve got four $50 book vouchers for lucky customers. So don’t pull any punches tell us what you really think. The competition closes on 16 December.
To get the ball rolling, my most memorable read of 2009 is This is how by M.J. Hyland. Published this year it tells the story of Patrick, a lonely and confused young man whose short-lived engagement has abruptly ended casting him adrift. He lands up in a seaside B&B where, inexplicably he commits a life changing act of violence. Known for the claustrophobic quality of her work, Hyland creates a disconnected and damaged character, who longs for acceptance and love but has no talent for achieving it.
Published last year Life’s too f***ing short : a guide to getting what you want out of life without wasting time, effort or money by Janet Street-Porter is a feisty sounding title that promises much but delivers very little. Street-Porter, journalist and broadcaster, is a legend but this is a very shallow take on the values that drove her to succeed in the media, survive four marriages and be the thinking man’s crumpet despite her frankly unusual looks. Outspoken and ballsy she may be but this book is hypocritical and gimmicky trash. But guess what? A follow-up is soon to be with us Don’t let the b*****ds get you down, eek!
So what’s your best or worst this year? Fire away, then enter the draw.
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