Essential Reading: May 2013

Posted by bennardfajardo on May 4, 2013 · 12 Comments 

May is here and, okay, I know I haven’t been active in blogging lately but I wouldn’t miss this monthly feature for the world so I will set aside a few minutes of my time to present my reading list for the month of May.

But before we proceed, let us not forget the rundown for the books I’ve read this April. Full disclosure: April may be the best reading month of my year so far. From the novels of Eugenides, Kundera, Mitchell, Hamsun to the short stories of the Paris Review, Salter, Carver, Johnson, and, of course, our very own TFG collection of stories (we made a sort-of folio filled with autobiographical stories about hope). April is also our book club’s 3rd Anniversary so, yeah, April is a pretty great month for books.

Here is the rundown of my April reads:

• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (5/5)
• Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents The Art of The Short Story edited by The Paris Review (5/5)
• Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (5/5)
• Hunger by Knut Hamsun (5/5)
• Elmer by Gerry Alanguilan (4/5)
• Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (4/5)
• Last Night by James Salter (4/5)
• There is a Balm in Gilead: Our Memories of Hope by Goodreads – The Filipino Group (5/5)
• Shortcuts by Raymond Carver (5/5)
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (5/5)

So, as you can see, a lot of perfect ratings this April. I hope my reading streak continues over to may since these are the titles that I will be reading:

• Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme – This combines two of my favorite things about reading: postmodernism and short stories. I don’t know what to expect when it comes to Barthelme but, if his Several Garlic Tales from Object Lessons is any indication, it will be a confusing but enjoyable read.
  
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov – Nabokov’s masterpiece about the relationship between an aging professor and a young girl is also his most controversial. This is probably one of the most contested books in modern literature. Of course, it made me curious.
• When I Was Mortal by Javier Marias – I have always felt a strong affinity for writers who write in Spanish and Marias is considered to be one of Spain’s best writers. This would be the first book that I will read that is written by him. I hope this is a start of a beautiful friendship.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – The movie is coming out soon plus a lot of my friends are reading this so I decided to do so as well. This is considered to be one of the best portrayals of the Jazz Age so this should be at least interesting.
• Atonement by Ian McEwan – I don’t know why I have been putting off reading this book for almost a year now. I know that a lot of my bookish friends like this so I decided that I should not make an excuse and read this as soon as possible.

There you have it, folks, my May essential reading. Let’s hope that it’s a good one eh?

Filed under Books, Reading List · Tagged with Atonement, Books, David Mitchell, Denis Johnson, Donald Barthelme, Elmer, Essential Reading, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gerry Alanguilan, Ghostwritten, Goodreads - The Filipino Group, Hunger, Ian McEwan, James Salter, Javier Marias, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jesus' Son, Knut Hamsun, Last Night, Lolita, Milan Kundera, Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents The Art of The Short Story, Raymond Carver, Shortcuts, Sixty Stories, The Great Gatsby, The Paris Review, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Virgin Suicides, There is a Balm in Gilead: Our Memories of Hope, Vladimir Nabokov, When I Was Mortal