Just a quick one to show you book lovers some of the more intimidating books on my TBR shelf. We all have books which daunt us in some way but we just have to have them anyway, right?
These are my book nemesis’s….nemisi, whatever the plural of nemisis is.
First up we have a double helping of Daphne Du Maurier. Now, my first foray into Du Maurier was with Rebecca not that long ago which I loved and reviewed. I’ve since heard a podcast where some hardcore Daphers fans have suggested that if you start with Rebecca you’ve started with the best and it’s potentially downhill from there. Eeeek. I found these two Virago Modern Classic editions for a steal in the charity shop so of course they had my name on (not Rachel, god i’m hilarious). So I’m now a little apprehensive about picking them up in case I’m disappointed…….have you read Jamaica Inn or My Cousin Rachel? If so, let me know what you think.
Then we have a short story collection called The Apple by Michel Faber. I read and absolutely loved The Crimson Petal And The White, which you may have heard me bang on about here . This book was possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read. It ticked a lot of boxes for me and I’ve no doubt I’ll read it again some day and that’s not something I’d usually do. So when I found out that Michel had written a spin off short story collection telling the tales of some of the characters from Crimson Petal I just had to have it. I think the reason this intimidates me is because I want it to be as amazing as TCPATW and what if it’s not?……I’ll get round to this soon, I know I will. Especially as we’ve recently watched the BBC adaptation which was amazing. It’s whetted my appetite for more of Sugar and the characters of Silver Street. Please don’t let me down Faber!
Next we have the most intimidating book for me. Not because it’s a big old chunky beast (it is though), I have no fear of chunksters, two of my very favourite books have been over 800 pages long with teeny tiny font (which I love), The Crimson Petal And The White by Michel Faber (she’s at it again!) and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagahara. So no, it’s not size that bothers me (ooh err) it’s just the fact that this book is an absolute classic. I’ve read rave 5 star reviews on Amazon and I’m concerned I’ll be one of the muppets that just doesn’t get it. I want so much to love this book that I think I might have built it up too much. Anyone else tackled it?…..ps I don’t usually like film or TV adaption book covers but how gorgeous is Vivienne Leigh on the front of this?!
Finally we have The Slap by Christian Tsiolkas. Before buying this I picked it up and put it down so many times in the charity shop it was ridiculous. In the end I just thought oh for Christ sake Mand it’s £2 just buy it. This is a scary one because I’ve read reviews and watched reviews of it on booktube and I think it’s one of those books that divides people. You either love it or hate it. I want to love it of course but I’ve heard people say it’s crass and unnecessarily graphic……hmmmmm we shall see.
As always, if you’ve read any of these let me know your thoughts.
Mand xxx
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