#JuneTopicAThon TBR

You might be like 'Ely, haven't you already posted like six TBRs for the month of June?' and you'd be right, but the thing is, dear readers. I really, really like TBRs. I also have a eight hour flight, followed by about six hours stopover plus another twelve hours flight ahead of me tomorrow so I feel like I deserve this.

This particular TBR is for the June TopicAThon which is hosted by the lovely Miriam of Between Lines and Life. The read-a-thon will be running for the 8th of June until the 14th. The hashtag #JuneTopicAThon will be on Twitter etc. I'm not entirely sure how active I'll be on social media, due to that long haul flight but also because jet lag and the fact that I'll be staying with family that week. I'll try my best to do an update at least once a day.

As the name suggests, this read-a-thon involves picking a topic of books and then reading books from that topic in the week. For example, you could pick all fantasy books, or all books by Jane Austen or whatever. I decided to pick literary fiction as my topic. You might know that I read mostly YA, with some classics thrown in, so I thought I'd branch into a genre I don't usually read from this week.

I've picked ten books out, which I know is a lot for one week. Yes, I am a speed reader but ten books is even too much for me. I just wasn't really sure which ones I would end up reading so I wanted to give myself some options. Naturally, these will all be on my e-reader so I can read whatever takes my fancy at the time.

That was a really long introduction, wasn't it? Should we actually talk about the books?

1 - 4. Purple Hibiscus/Half of a Yellow Sun/The Thing Around Your Neck/Americanah all by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

I think these are all of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's published novels at the moment. I really like Chimamanda as a person, and I've previously read the first 150 pages of Americanah which I loved (but sadly it had be returned to the library) so I think it's time I read at least one of her novels.

5. How To Be Both by Ali Smith

I haven't read any of Ali Smith's work either, but I've heard some great things about her. How To Be Both is the one I've heard most about so I figured it'd be a good place to start.

6. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

I've seen this one everywhere the last couple of months and I've almost picked it up so many times. I know absolutely nothing about it except that it has a pretty cover!

7. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

I've never read any Jeffrey Eugenides either, but I've been meaning too for ages. I've heard some pretty good things about this one, so I thought I'd give it a go.

8. Re Jane by Patricia Park

This is a modern day retelling of Jane Eyre set in Queens. What's not to love?

9. The House Girl by Tara Conklin

I believe this is 1850's America and it has something to do with a girl trying to leave slavery...maybe? Honestly, it's the cover that reeled me in.

10. The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan is one of my favourite authors, and Atonement is one of my favourite books of all time so this needed to happen. The only reason I haven't read this already is because it was ridiculously expensive at Dymocks.

So those are my ten options for the #JuneTopicAThon. I don't know which I'm going to start with, or how many I will get through but check back after the 14th to see my wrap-up! If you're participating, let me know what you're reading.

REVIEW: Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Title: Sweet Tooth

Author: Ian McEwan

Publication Date: August 21^st 2012

Publisher: Jonathon Cape Ltd

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5
Blurb: Serena Frome, the beautiful daughter of an Anglican bishop, has a brief affair with an older man during her final year at Cambridge, and finds herself being groomed for the intelligence services. The year is 1972. Britain, confronting economic disaster, is being torn apart by industrial unrest and terrorism and faces its fifth state of emergency. The Cold War has entered a moribund phase, but the fight goes on, especially in the cultural sphere. Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, is sent on a 'secret mission' which brings her into the literary world of Tom Haley, a promising young writer. First she loves his stories, then she begins to love the man. Can she maintain the fiction of her undercover life? And who is inventing whom? To answer these questions, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage - trust no one. McEwan's mastery dazzles us in this superbly deft and witty story of betrayal and intrigue, love, and the invented self.

Review: OH. MY. GOD. That was my first reaction when I finished reading Sweet Tooth- now I’ve read six of Ian McEwan’s other novels, I’ve studied ‘Atonement’ in extreme detail, but every single time he still manages to absolutely blow my mind into smithereens. Every. Single. Time.

From the first page, I was drawn into the world of Serena, and having been told a little about the book by a friend, I was absolutely ready for anything that McEwan could throw at me. I’d read six of his books already- I knew how his slightly twisted mind worked, didn’t I? Short answer- No.

As usual, McEwan has done so much research into every aspect of his book that everything seemed to just fit in perfectly despite how strange some of the aspects actually were. Serena was an amazing character- I really enjoyed being able to see the world through her eyes. I definitely liked her character more than I liked that of Briony Tallis from ‘Atonement’, but then again that is exactly how McEwan wanted it to be. (He’s a crafty one, you see). The story itself is amazing- what kind of person doesn’t want to read about spies, especially spies mixed in with Literature- how could you possibly get better than that.

One little thing I really liked were the subtle references to his other books- I managed to pick up on some words and situations he used in his other books and I even happened to notice the word ‘atone’ once or twice (cue fangirling). Knowing McEwan, this was probably done on purpose, but it made me feel incredibly intelligent for having noticed these things, like I was in a secret ‘McEwan inner circle’ or something.

If you haven’t read anything of McEwan’s- which I’ve noticed seems to be some sort of trend or something, you really should. I assure you that the books will eat away at your mind and you’ll probably hate him and all of his cleverness all the way through the book until you reach the last page at which point he will probably smash you heart into such little pieces that you’ll vow to never touch another one of his books, but then you’ll end going back for more. Do yourself a favour, read McEwan.