Sweet as an Apple Short Stories

Recently I have been trying out some new and different literature, and in the process I happened upon a book called The Taste of Apples by Taiwanese author Huang Chunming. This is a compilation of short stories which vary in topic but all deal with issues that arise not only in public social spheres, but also in private family life. A lot of these give us a sneak peak at life in Taiwan in the 1940s – which is an added bonus as this was a very interesting time in history. Even though some of these stories are a bit sad, they are definitely worth the read. For those of us who can’t read Chinese there is an excellent English translation available (done by Howard Goldblatt). Enjoy!

The Twilight Saga Continues

I have some reading to catch up on. I abandoned the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer some time ago when I was about halfway through the third book Eclipse, but recently I happened upon the trailer for the most recent film of this same saga which comes out in November. I have to admit, Breaking Dawn Part 1 looks a bit more serious and intense than the previous films – and if this is so, I wouldn’t mind reading the book first just to see how closely the film will mirror it. It seems to have moved beyond the initial cheesy high school love story from the first two novels to something a bit more heart wrenching. Hopefully my prediction will prove true and it will be a good read as well as a good watch!

Weekly Twitter digest for 2011-09-29

• @duhlaymos We currently don't offer custom designed posters at the moment. However, you should submit a book request http://t.co/RrNIFcIh #
• We're now using @Assistly to help our customers in a more organized and, dare I say, web 2.0 way! Expect faster, hassle-free support from us #
• We're using @Assistly for our Customer Support! Try it free http://t.co/FKCP3z1g #
• @KMWeiland I hope your book launch is doing well! #

Kazuo Ishiguro – Author of the Week!

I first became acquainted with author Kazuo Ishiguro after I watched the film Never Let Me Go. To my horror, I discovered that I had watched a film based on a novel prior to reading the novel! This does not happen to me very often, and even though I felt that it was too late for me to try to properly read Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go , I opted for his other brilliant novel The Remains of the Day. If you have not had a chance to read any of the works by this author I highly recommend that you do! Check out this short story featured in the The New Yorker – it will give a tiny taste of the works of art by this amazing writer. Enjoy!

Kindle = Increase in Reading Rates?

According to a study done by the National Endowment for the Arts Americans are actually reading more! Yay! As of 2002 there has been a spike in literary reading and this article details age groups, among others, that have seen the sharpest growth in literary reading. Although the Kindle didn’t come out until 2007, I have to wonder if this form of easily available electronic books has contributed at all to the increase in people who read literature . What do you think? Perhaps most people still prefer hard copy books and the Kindle has not notably increased reading rates at all? Let us know what you think!