BOOK LIST No. 2: LIFE, LIFESTYLE, FAMILY & OTHER ISSUES – FICTION & NON-FICTION

[booktalker]

Brilliant! Saffron, will you pm me your contact email? Thanks to everyone who's responded so far...

[Bobby Smith]

Booktalker, if I may be so bold as to offer a word of advice: keep reading other books whilst writing your own! Like you I dropped reading other books when writing mine, and my writing suffered accordingly. My publisher told me that this is a common error. It is good to read how other writers structure their sentences, etc, whilst you develop your own thoughts and ideas.
Good luck with it anyhow. 

[Bobby Smith]

If anyone is interested, Margaret and I are appearing at the North London Reading Group event - Bookstock - on 31/07/10. It takes place at the Blue Post pub (Oxford Circus) from 7.30pm. 5 other authors will also be strutting their stuff. The North London Reading Group have their own website with more details. If anyone from Mix Together turns up please introduce yourself to us, as we'll be glad to meet you.   

[saffron]

Waooh....Thats great stuff Bobby....Wuld love to have done this...but its London...there are others on here who may come and greet you..

Thankyou fro your support for MT...

Youll be pleased to know Im strutting my stuff...

[booktalker]

Hi Bobby - I hope your advice isn't too late! Mind you, I spent 12 years reading in preparation for this one... I'm sure I use a different part of my brain when writing, and the reading bit switches off. Would love to have been able to come to the reading group. (All advice very welcome!) Bx

[Bobby Smith]

The best advice I can give is to have discipline when writing. Make sure you get into a routine of writing for 3-4 hours per day, at the same time. Your brain will then be sub-consciously 'tuned in' to write with little or no stimulation. Although a glass of cider also helps!!
 

[booktalker]

Has anyone read The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka? (Has come highly recommended but will have to wait for a while before I get round to it...!).

[Bobby Smith]

I just finished 'Nomad' by Ayaan Hirsi Ali; an impassioned plea for enlightenment to the Muslim mind. A really inspiring woman and a very thought provoking read. 

[booktalker]

OMG - The Da Vinci Code. Has anyone read it? What did you think? I refused to read it before, because I was being 'sniffy' about it, but one of the agents I met said it was worth reading just to understand how Dan Brown's structured it and achieved the success he has, so I started it last night.....and couldn't put it down! Grrrr.

[chweetgurl]

I got this copy from Amazon.. it was an wonderfull read thanks BT...
There are so many aspects of being an asian which left me agreeing to it..
Also it highlighted the 1st generation immigrant's stuggle in this country...We know english still struggle somestimes with the public services here..I couldnt even get to imagine how it would have been in those days!
I also give an insight on how an asian man has so many expectations layed on him due to which he ends making his parents ' happy' rather then his life.


Sathnam Sanghera - 'If You Don’t Know Me By Now' (True Story - A very funny witty book with a serious side. Well written...I like the style of writing. This is this young mans relationship with his family, his parents, and the struggle of identity. Touches on mixed relationships throughout...hiding of them too! Its about a sikh Jat punjabi family. Again  written by a journalist. Touches on mental health issues in the family and his understanding of this. Its based in Wolverhampton in the west Midlands. Satnam writes for the Times.)

[booktalker]

Has anyone read 'The Way Things Look to Me' by Roopa Farooki (longlisted for this year's Orange Prize)? BT x

[chweetgurl]

Yes i have BT its quite an interesting read

[booktalker]

Hi Saffron

Welcome back! I hope you had a great holiday and are feeling better - sometimes getting so far away from everything helps to put it in perspective (I must take my own advice sometimes!!).

I just realised that the book's on the book list although I haven't read it, so I've ordered it from the library.

BT
xxx

[saffron]

Hiya Booktalker! I would love to call you by your real name of these days!Not on here though!

Ive had a really great time in Greece..in my usual style..learning everything I can about Hippocrates etc...

Will come back later today..got to go shoe shopping with my Daughter!

[saffron]

 'The obscure Logic of the heart' By Priya Basil.

Ive just finsihed this book which I started on my holiday.

Its a book about 2 people from muslim/sikh backgrounds...the deatail of muslim family life and religion is shown with respect ..which \i liked.

their is kenyan asain history .which shows the diverse backgrounds of people from the asian subcontinent.

I liked the detail of feelings expressed on both sides of the couple..its as much a Love story as much as the different beliefs and practices...

A bit of a cliff hanger at the end..but you may differ..depends how you read it..\thats the bit I was disapointed with really..Id like to have seen a complete committment of a couple who clearly Loved each other.

The feeling of the father and mother of the girl were portrayed well...and the so called intellect of religious belief...

Im a lover of auto biographies..so this was an unusual read for me...but I had a strange feeling throughout that it was someones experience..was it the author?