Just finished reading...

New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the idea of this book - something about Finland, which always interests me after travelling there, about language and the difficulty of expressing yourself. It was very poetic, and some of the scenes will live on in my head - particularly the cold hospital room, the warm alcoholic spirit, and the tales from the Kalevala which almost seem to become a kind of reality for the narrator. Like others, I need more plot line to keep me hooked, and the almost-romance wasn't a page turner for me. Really good to see a book in translation which is also essentially a novel of ideas so popular.

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2009 Reading List

Hubbie always keeps a note of what I've read. This year, the modern novels are:

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
The Archivists Story - Travis Holland
The Birthday Present - Barbara Vine
Talking to Strange Men - Ruth Rendell
Sashenko - Simon Montefiori
The Killing Doll - Ruth Rendell
Gods Own Country - Ross Raisin
Company of Liars - Karen Maitland
Blackmoor - Edward Hogan
Girl with a Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
Oracle Night - Paul Auster
The Northern Clemency - Philip Hensher
Tales from the Scriptorum - Paul Auster
Live Flesh - Ruth Rendell
A Most Wanted Man - John Le Carre
Portobello - Ruth Rendell
Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
Brazzaville Beach - William Boyd
A Wedding in December - Anita Shreeve

I've got eclectic taste, as you can probably see! I like a page turner, and I have to read everything by Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine (but not the Wexford novels) because you can't put them down and she writes so well. And a colleague at work introduced me to Paul Auster this year.

If I had to pick one to recommend, I'd be hard pushed, but would probably say 'The Northern Clemency' - it's a great read and especially if like me, you grew up in Sheffield and then moved, it will fill you with nostalgia. Blackmoor and Gods Own Country are also excellent 'Norh of England' novels.

What do you think of the list? What are your picks of 2009?