Three good books...

I have been very busy reading of late... Iv'e been very lucky as three of my favourite Authors have released new books in the last few months;

Augusten Burroughs You better not cry

I came across Running with scissors purely by the book cover (yes you can judge... sometimes!) I bought it as a gift for my brother (but of course I read it first!!!) I love him! particuly his two collections of short essays Magical thinking and Possible side effects. (Stand out bit for me; when he's a kid and he wants to pray for something so he uses Jesus's full name which he has heard his parents use 'Jesus Fucking Christ'). My other favourite is Sellevision, his only novel (that I know about) which I think is the funniest book I have ever read, EVER!

Anyways, the latest is more short essays, this time about Christmas, which has always been a contentious time in my family... and with my brother being particuly scrooge-like, I got him this one for Christmas (and of course, again, read it first!). It's OK, I enjoyed it but I think only because I have read the others and know his background, I don't think you would get so much out of it if you came to this one cold. So read his others first, and enjoy!

I am kicking myself that I missed seeing Augusten at the Melbourne writers festival, last year? year before? due to my inability to get it together at the time!

P.S. Here's his website!

Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years

My Sister in law got me this for Christmas after I hinted to the boy... well told him I wanted it after he told her he didn't have any ideas of what she could get me! When she asked about it in the bookshop for 'the new Adrian Mole book', the young sales assistant said, hmmm Adrian Mole, Ive never heard of that author! Who the hell hasn't heard of the Adrian Mole books! (too many people unfortunately!!!)

Anyways, I have written here before of my love of these books, and my great disappointment of the last release The Lost Diaries which I believe was just cobbled together for the sake of it and which didn't even fit in with some of the details of the other books (man I sound like one of those science fiction geeks now!) So I was a little apprehensive about this one, but it was great! Certainly darker than the previous books, with many loose ends still hanging which makes me think/hope there is more to come! considering I heard that she said the after AM and the WMD's there would be no more Mole books, one can only hope!

PPS. Here's the Mole website...

Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked

I only started this one today, but it's shaping up to be Nick H at his High Fidelity/Fever Pitch best. I haven't really enjoyed his last couple of books, well, they've been OK but only OK if they were were written by a lesser author.

I came across Nick Hornby, I am embarrassed to say, because of the High Fidelity movie, I went to see it with a new male friend who I had a bit of a crush on and made an embarrassment of myself because of! (who knew that going to see a movie and having Pizza afterwards could be misconstrued as a DATE!) Anyways... something good came out of it, I read the book of HF and Fever Pitch and was hooked!

PPPS. While I'm at it...