An Unfortunate Woman by Richard Brautigan. A friend of mine urged me to read some of this writer's work a couple of years ago, and despite the fact that I've worked in a library for the past year and can order anything that I want, for free (I love saying that) I have only just got round to him. This was puzzling. I think I read it too quickly, and I need to read it again. Which I will.





Hope and other Urban Tales by Laura Hird. I liked this one too. I don't often read collections of short stories, but I try and write them a lot, so I should.  I liked 'Reanimation' best - it was the kind of unjudgemental writing I aspire to. A story that lays out the situation, is even-handed with the characters and left me with mixed feelings at the ending. I read it on a windy bumpy bus journey between Skelmersdale and Wigan, and even though I felt travel sick I didn't want to stop. A couple of the others weren't as good. 'The Happening' had a ham-fisted ending and 'There is a Light that Never Goes Out' hinged on a premise that wasn't plausible for me. 


 

Like by Ali Smith. I heard her read one of her stort stories in Kendal. It was great. Afterwards there was a big queue of people wanting her to sign their copies of her book. Most of them had bought brand new copies of the one she read from. I bought one too, but I also had Hotel World and The Accidental with me. I felt a bit like a stalker, but she was very nice. More importantly, I liked this book so much I almost threw a sicky to finish it.  

Negotiating With The Dead by Margaret Atwood. This was one of those books you wish you hadn't got out of the library, but bought, just so you could write in it. The picture on the front is Mortality Cubes by Marianna Gartner. I liked it a lot. I have no anecdote about Margaret Atwood, except to say she gave the lectures this book is based on at my university just before I arrived there. This makes me a bit angry when I think about it.