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the big reader: September 2012
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012_09_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Sunday, September 9, 2012. Ancient Light - illuminating a troubled past. Buy from Book Depository. Billy Gray was my best friend and I fell in love with his mother.". So begins Irish writer John Banville's latest brilliant, troubling story. Told from the perspective of the protagonist 50 years later, in strange and tragic circumstances, this is the story of Alex Cleave – actor, husband, bereaved father – and his first love. But the book is reall...
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the big reader: February 2014
http://www.thebigreader.com/2014_02_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Saturday, February 1, 2014. The original Fabritius painting that sits at. The heart of the novel The Goldfinch. Okay, I admit it. This post has proved slightly more onerous than I anticipated. Whose dumb idea was it anyway? Seventeen books is just too many. I should find another hobby. So I'll be leaving out the two I started in December but finished in January as well as. The Man in the Wooden Hat. The Birth of Venus. Century Italy dies, and as...
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the big reader: July 2012
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012_07_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Monday, July 30, 2012. Gone Girl - crack for book addicts. AS addictive as crack and more disturbing than it should be (you'll look at your spouse sideways afterwards), this new thriller from American author Gillian Flynn promises more twists and surprises than an ad for Revenge. If you decide to read it, clear your schedule. Much that is good about this book resists review, falling as it does into the category of spoiler. What I can say is ...
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the big reader: September 2014
http://www.thebigreader.com/2014_09_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Tuesday, September 16, 2014. So many books, so little writing time. We are Called to Rise, Only the Animals and Your Fathers, Where are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Seems I've let this blog slip a bit. I've two words for you: summer holidays. That is all. We Are Called to Rise. Moving and troubling, We Are Called to Rise attempts to reconcile the problem of suffering in the world with evidence of love and goodness. In the (t...
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the big reader: Memoirs of a Suburban Girl: writing in the second person
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012/03/memoirs-of-suburban-girl-writing-in.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Thursday, March 22, 2012. Memoirs of a Suburban Girl: writing in the second person. This blog is still in its infancy, and we are still getting to know each other a little, so every day brings new surprises (to me as much as my wee sprinkling of readers). Today's surprise is. it's your turn to write something! Yes, I'm sick of slaving over a hot keyboard every day. It's time to pitch in. So here's the deal. I'll write a book review. Then...I rea...
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the big reader: The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Pure (Julianna Baggott) and some thoughts on young adult dystopias
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012/04/book-review-hunger-games-suzanne.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Wednesday, April 4, 2012. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Pure (Julianna Baggott) and some thoughts on young adult dystopias. Buy from Book Depository. The Hunger Games (and its sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay) has been a rock-solid teenage sensation since the book came out in 2008, but since the film has only just been released, I think we are not too late with a little analysis. When can I see The Hunger Games? Can we go tonight?
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the big reader: The Lost Books of Childhood
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012/05/lost-books-of-childhood.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Thursday, May 3, 2012. The Lost Books of Childhood. Do you have a book you read as a child that had a big impact on you, but you can’t remember a) what it was called and b) who wrote it? Annoying, isn’t it? Well, that used to be a problem. Then some smart people invented Google and I have just used it to track down some of those lost books of my childhood. (How did we ever find out anything before the invention of Google? They tell the story of ...
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the big reader: Review Round-up: The Orchardist, Summer Lies, Archipelago and Triburbia
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012/11/review-round-up-orchardist-summer-lies.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Wednesday, November 7, 2012. Review Round-up: The Orchardist, Summer Lies, Archipelago and Triburbia. I have developed a terrible habit of stockpiling book reviews. I write all these reviews and then I never put them up on the blog. I don't know why I do it. Is it like the hoarding habit that afflicts old ladies with piles of newspapers? Until two teenage girls, frightened and pregnant, seek refuge on his land. They have suffered at the hand...
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the big reader: April 2014
http://www.thebigreader.com/2014_04_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Saturday, April 12, 2014. MARCH Apple Tree Yard, Burial Rites, The Lord of the Flies, What is the What, The House of Rumour, Orfeo, Embassytown. Book of the Month. Go and buy this book. I could leave it at that, but you probably want a good reason to do so. Here’s five:. 3 Like life, the turning point in this novel comes around a corner and smacks you in the face with no warning at all. 5 The fifth reason to buy this book is because if you don&#...
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the big reader: August 2012
http://www.thebigreader.com/2012_08_01_archive.html
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. Jessamyn West. Sunday, August 26, 2012. Guest Blog - JW Ironmonger on The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder. A while ago I reviewed The Notable Brain ofMaximilian Ponder. A complex, quirky and moving tale about a very unusual man. Now, author JW Ironmonger has agreed to answer some questions for The Big Reader. First an introduction from the publisher:. Now, a visual aid:. And finally, the guest blog:. What are you working on now? Sunday, August 19, 2012.