Liam Livings
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My 2016 in Reading

4/2/2017

2 Comments

 
I read 38 books in 2016. 4 were about writing. 9 were fiction I read and enjoyed for research on something I wrote. 14 were non fiction biographies / autobiographies.
Here’s the best in various slightly random categories I’ve created especially:
Best literary fiction – The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. My MA dissertation tutor commented on my current reading taste (Diana Her True Story by Andrew Morton) and suggested I might like to read something he recommended. As a swapsies, I told him how much I adored Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susanne and he read it, in one sitting, that week.

Best non-fiction – Crusader in Pink, Henry Cloud’s biography of Barbara Cartland – such an interesting life, reading about her writing process and society background was wonderful; Behind the Candelabra – very sad, much better than the film, showed me how far we’ve come with gay marriage etc; My Family and other Animals, G Durrell, a brilliant way to present someone’s life in a slightly fictionalised way; Lost and Found, Lynda Bellingham, I laughed, I cried, I cried some more. So sad she is no longer alive; Joan Collins by Graham Lord – she appeared in so many terrible films yet kept coming back for more. She’s referred to as the British Open because of her sexual appetite.

Best non-fiction that isn’t an autobiographies – Mindfulness Plain and Simple by Oli Doyle – such a simple philosophy but so hard to actually do in practice. I’m trying every day to implement the learning from this which can be summed up: don’t worry about the fearful future, or dwell on the painful past, focus on living and enjoying the beautiful now moments of life.

Best popular fiction – The Beach by Alex Garland – I didn’t read it at the time because hype and I like to swim against the tide of hype. It was so simply written yet so clever how gradual the creeping realisation of how not perfect the island community is; A Spanish Lover by Joanna Trollope – I’ve recently got into this author. I love how she portrays family, women, men, relationships. Plus, she writes a very good sex scene without any stuffing of the turkey. She provided a great source of material for my talk on when to tell and not show I gave last year.

What did you read and enjoy in the last year? I'd love to hear from you.

Love and light,
Liam Livings xx


2 Comments
Lisa M.
9/2/2017 10:16:38 am

I love A Spanish Lover; I'm on my second copy since I loved the first one to death. What is your favorite J. Trollope book?

Reply
Liam Livings
9/2/2017 11:21:54 am

So far my favourite Trollope is The Rector's Wife. It was the first I read and it absolutely blew me away. Didn't like Marrying the Mistress as much - it was ok, but not a patch on TRW or ASL in my view.
Sadly, I've had a run of country Aga sagas by other authors and they've been very dull in comparison. I've abandoned one 60 pages in and another I was skimming great sections in search of something actually happening!
I may have to return to another Trollope for my next read!

Reply



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    Liam Livings

    Gay romance & gay fiction author

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