Fun With Books

The welcoming scent of freshly brewing coffee greeted me as I stepped into my friendly neighborhood bookstore, Bookophilia, two evenings ago.

A small but lively group of us clustered round a table in a cozy corner of the shop, and got to know each other. We were there to talk about our favorite books of 2014. What did we enjoy reading, and why? And why do we all love books, anyway?

A booklover and his Dad ready to go home after a good browse…

Well, we never stopped talking for two solid hours. Why did we love to read? “Escape” was a word that came up more than once; and the need to “immerse” oneself in a different world – a “new world,” said Tashane – with people we do not know and will never meet. Roshane, the bookstore manager, talked of his teenage years reading a combination of thrillers like the “Goosebumps” series and classics such as the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Margaret, who is a Kindle reader nowadays, went through a phase of reading all the black women writers she could find – Alice Walker and the like.

Roshane (center) is an Anne Rice fanatic.

Roshane then professed his undying love for the works of Anne Rice. He is just starting on her latest vampire excursion, “Prince Lestat.” Ms. Rice is, of course, a huge bestseller and what Roshane loves about her is that “you can see her growth as an author.”  He also enjoys this about her work: “It makes you feel uncomfortable sometimes.” Well, nothing wrong with that. Who wants to be too comfortable? You might fall asleep. Roshane also recommends “Memnoch the Devil.” You can find Ms. Rice at annerice.com. And at Bookophilia.

Rupert (left) mentioned re-reading “1984” by the way. And Shaquani loves her romance and a touch of the inspirational.

This led us into a discussion on the incredibly popular genre of fantasy in all its shapes and forms – adult, young adult and – well, children have always loved fantasy, haven’t they. Personally, I grew up in the world of fifties, sixties and seventies science fiction – the worlds of Asimov and Heinlein, Simak and Phillip K. Dick (a number of which were turned into movies, inevitably). I sort of skipped the eventual development of fantasy fiction.

“The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

 

 

And as a college student, I was obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, long before the somewhat overblown film versions came along. I found a Tolkien addict in our group, one of whose favorite books of the year was “The Silmarillion.” This was published posthumously by Tolkien’s son Christopher in 1977 (and may never become a film, by the way as no one has rights to it).

But back to the current world of fantasy. Many of these books seem to come in rather long series. Many appeal to a young adult audience, and then again to an adult audience at another level. One of the series the bookophiles recommended is “The Mortal Instruments,”  a series of six novels written by Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published this year. The first in the series, “City of Bones,” was made into a film last year. Then there is the “Divergent” trilogy by Veronica Roth. So, if you are trying to get your teen to read more (and of course it’s Christmas time) there are quite a few titles to explore in this genre.

Getting to know each other, and our books…

Ah, one more which one member of our group highly recommended was “Fevre Dream” – yes, that is the right spelling – written by George R.R. Martin (whose “R.R.” must be a nod to Professor Tolkien, the founder of modern fantasy). It’s not a new book – but it’s another vampire story. Yes folks – vampires and werewolves are still “in.” And of course, Mr. Martin is the author of the amazing “Song of Ice and Fire,” which has been turned into the stunningly addictive “Game of Thrones” television series. You can read much more about him and his work at http://www.georgerrmartin.com.

Dorian Gray, the beautiful and corrupt. Here is a picture from one of the horrendous film versions (this one was in 2009).

Roshane – who has a taste for nineteenth century classics, I sense – introduced “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. Absolutely beautiful novel, we observed, with at least two perfectly dreadful film versions. Its recent popularity may be connected with the current taste for the wildly gothic. It has been re-published in a series called “Penny Dreadful,” the name of a television series that combines a number of such fictional characters, including Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

And let’s not forget the Harry Potter series, for which there was universal acclaim. We all agreed that these books got young people reading (avidly) and that adults love them, too. The movies also were generally approved of as being faithful to the books – which is important.

We dabbled a little in romance, too. Shaquani recommended a book the title of which I did not note properly – but it involved seduction and chocolate. Yummy.

Textile artist Margaret Stanley with her recommended book, “The Rose of Martinique.”

Margaret shared her current favorite, a biography of the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, a Creole who grew up on a sugar plantation in Martinique. The book, “The Rose of Martinique” by Andrea Stuart, brings Josephine to life, Margaret noted. She is thoroughly enjoying it.

And me? Well, books I enjoyed reading in 2014 are:

“And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini – a more multi-layered novel than its two predecessors. A host of wonderful characters, a battered old house in Kabul and a destroyed village.

“At Night We Walk in Circles” by Daniel Alarcón, a U.S.-based writer from Peru. I love books about lonely people. The main character, Nelson is a lonely, lost aspiring actor. I loved Mr. Alarcón’s previous novel, “Lost City Radio.”

I love Latin American novels in general, and enjoyed “Maya’s Notebook” by Isabel Allende – a much more commercially successful writer than most. I still prefer her earlier novels but out of loyalty have to keep reading her latest.

“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt is her first new book in eleven years, but well worth waiting for.

I am currently reading Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” and am completely overwhelmed by it. This is her third novel but the first two – “The Secret History” and “The Little Friend” – were equally mesmerizing, rich and with the entrancing element of danger that draws you in. Oh, how I love Ms. Tartt!

I also delved into much poetry, mostly by Caribbean women – my current favorite being “The Way Home” by Millicent Graham.

Well, we could have continued talking books all night. The time flew, and we felt we had hardly got started. Is a formal Book Club in the offing? Yes, we think it is. Interested, perhaps?

If you would like to join us next month, contact Bookophilia and talk to Roshane. Bookophilia is on Facebook, Twitter @Bookophilia and call them at: (876) 978-5248. They are at 92 Hope Road, Kingston 6 (next to The Paint Shop).