From Ashes to Glass; From a Raven to a Woodpecker

This past couple of weeks, when I haven’t been working at my new job at the Mt Lawley campus of my college or working on an assessment (holiday homework is the pits!) I have been able to relax with some reading and as a result I finished two books a couple of days ago – City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare and The Raven’s Heart by Jesse Blackadder.

Both books were very enjoyable and eventful (especially at the tail end) and I will review them soon (i.e. once I have finally posted my belated Top 10 Heroes/Villains and have written a review for The Night Circus ; Code Noir and Raisins and Almonds).

When I finished City of Ashes I immediately knew which book I was going to read next because the Books-Borrowed-Off-My-Bro pile only has three titles on it, and since one of those titles is the next in the series after City of Ashes it was safe to assume that since it shared the same author, virtually the same title and the same publisher details as its two predecessors, it was going to win the eeny meeny miny moe just like the ones before it. Knowing this I’m not entirely sure what possessed me to go through the process anyway, but being a creature of habit I did and sure enough, City of Glass, the third book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, was the victor.

 

 

The very next day I reached the end of  The Raven’s Heart, a Historical epic set during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots and the process for choosing the next read was not so simple as my Books-I-Own-But-Have-Yet-To-Read pile next to my bed is quite perilous. After a tetris-style re-shuffle on my bookshelf I was able to remove some of the books from the pile so the choosing process was a bit better, and as I mentioned a while ago I have the publication details written down in order to make my job a lot easier, so the pile was soon whittled down from 17 to one, the one being Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.

 

 

I had never heard of Still Life With Woodpecker or Tom Robbins when a friend of the family (and second mum of sorts :)) gifted it to me for my 25th birthday last year, but from what I read on the back cover I was certain it would be a very unique read.

Here’s the blurb so you can all see what I mean:

STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER is sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. it reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. it also deals with the problem of redheads.

As you can see, it isn’t any ordinary book but is just the kind of strange, creative and cheekily humourous literature that doesn’t come around too often and which I love. The other night I read the first 9 chapters (they’re of the short and punchy variety, ranging from a page or two to only half of one) and drank it up. The use of language is a feast of carefully constructed lines just begging to be quoted and the storytelling is intriguingly unique, but in my half-asleep state I don’t think I gave it justice so I think I’ll be re-reading the start in the light of day.

Sorry again that I have been so absent. I will try my hardest to get back into the swing of regular posting, especially with reviews and until then:

Happy Reading! 🙂

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