December | 2015 | Guy Portman's Blog

The Books I Read This Year

Dec 25 2015

Happy Christmas everyone. This week’s blog post is dedicated to the books I read in 2015. This year I have read 20 books, which is 12 less than last year. This is because I devoted a great deal of time to my 3rd novel, Symbiosis. Symbiosis is a psychological thriller about twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. I will be revealing more information about Symbiosis next week.

The following 20 books are presented in the order in which I read them. Click on the links to read my reviews.

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My Childhood by Maxim Gorky (1915) – This is a harrowing account of a turbulent and cruel childhood.

Savage Night by Jim Thompson (1953) – A suspenseful crime novel that explores the ugly side of the human condition.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950) – A thought-provoking and at times humorous work about the evolution of technology

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (1942) – This psychological novella examines the delicate divide that separates genius from madness.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1800) – A self-indulgent, turgid, grandiloquent language-laden ordeal.

Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard (1996) – A combination of crime thriller and dystopian fiction.

Heart of Darkness & Other Stories by Joseph Conrad (1899) – Three complex, atmospheric and insightful nautical themed tales.

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (2007) – This challenging book employs an innovative interview format.

Alva & Irva by Edward Carey (2003) – A quaint and quirky novel whose themes include twinship and loneliness.

Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1968) – The cancer ward serves as a microcosm of Soviet society.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (1940) –This suspenseful but turgid text is set during the Spanish Civil War.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961) – A satire whose central theme is the futility of war.

2015

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (1932) – A compact, atmospheric and melancholic book that offers insights into the region’s history.

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925) – An innovative, intellectual, non-plot orientated work replete with pathos.

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934) – The parasitic protagonist is an American writer living in Paris.

The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West (1939) – This poignant novel is prescient in its prediction of a celebrity-obsessed society.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962) – A ground-breaking and controversial book boasting an intriguing narrator.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884) – A satire of American southern antebellum society that parodies slavery.

A Gangster’s Grip by Heather Burnside (2015) – A fast-moving, plot-driven crime novel set in 90s Manchester.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1962) – (2nd reading) – The author puts a human face to the plight of the untold millions who suffered in the Soviet Union’s Gulags.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1877) – Currently reading.

I look forward to hearing about the books you read this year.

7 Books about Twins

Dec 18 2015

My 3rd novel, Symbiosis, is a Psychological Thriller about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. I will be revealing more soon, but for now we continue with the book theme.

As part of my research for Symbiosis I read a number of books about twins. This week’s blog post is devoted to books about/that feature twins (fiction & non fiction) – 4 of which I have read.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1927)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Set in 18th century Peru, this novella is about a bridge that collapses, killing 5 people. The main characters include identical twins called Esteban and Manuel. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a philosophical tale with religious undertones. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Average

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (1979)

This, the first book in the Dollanganger Series, features twins called Carrie and Cory. Flowers in the Attic is a gothic horror/family saga that has been adapted for the silver screen on 2 occasions. Over 40 million copies have been sold worldwide.

The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace (1986)

This is the true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins born in the UK in 1963. Their lives caught the public’s attention, and were the inspiration behind the lyrics of Tsunami by the Manic Street Preachers. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quite good

Evil Twins by John Glatt (1999)

Evil Twins

Utilising a tabloid journalistic approach, Evil Twins is a true crime book, which is divided into 12 sections, each dedicated to a different set of ‘evil’ twins. It spawned a television series of the same name. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Eminently readable sensationalist tripe.

Alva & Irva by Edward Carey (2003)

This unusual novel is about inseparable, identical twins called Alva and Irva. The twins, who come from a family of post office employees, reside in Entralla, a picturesque city with only 1 guidebook. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quaint

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006)

One of the book’s main characters, Margaret Lea, was born a conjoined twin. Her sibling died shortly after separation. This gothic suspense novel also features another set of twins called Emmeline and Adeline March.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (2009)

Her Fearful Symmetry

Her Fearful Symmetry is a novel about American twins called Julia and Valentina, who are living in an apartment their aunt left them. The girls’ lives become entangled with that of their neighbours. It is set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

The Books of 2015

Dec 11 2015

This week’s blog post is devoted to ‘the books’ of 2015.

Amazon’s Best-Selling Book of 2015 – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl On The Train

As the title suggests the story is about a girl on a train. She spies on people apparently. No doubt many of you have already read The Girl On The Train. I am looking forward to reading it.

Most Anticipated Book of 2015 – Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman

55-years after the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee published her 2nd novel to much fanfare. It has had mixed reviews to date.

Best-Selling Erotic Novel of 2015 – Grey By E.L. James

Grey

Not only is the follow-up to the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy the best-selling erotic novel of 2015, it is also the 2nd highest selling ebook of the year. Note to Santa: Bring me Grey this Christmas and you’ll never grace my chimney again.

Biography of the Year (unofficial) – The Wright Brothers By David McCullough

The Wright Brothers

Written by 2-time Pulitzer Prize Winner David McCullough, The Wright Brothers tells the story of how Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the world’s first successful aeroplane (i.e. could fly).

Nonfiction Book of 2015 (unofficial – excl. biographies) – Dead Wake By Erik Larson

Dead Wake

The author examines the fate of the Lusitania, which was infamously torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland during WWI. It is a No.1 New York Bestseller.

Best-Selling Children’s Book of 2015 – Diary of a Wimpy Kid Old School By Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This, the 10th book in the popular series, sees the protagonist’s town faced with a technology ban.

Best Debut Goodreads Author – Victoria Aveyard for Red Queen

Red Queen

Red Queen is a work of YA Fiction about a world divided by blood – red and silver blood apparently.

Christmas-Themed Release of 2015 – A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

A Boy Called Christmas

Billed as the true story of Father Christmas, A Boy Called Christmas was published last month (November).

My Predicted No.1 UK Best-Seller this Christmas – Leading by Alex Ferguson with Michael Moritz

Leading

Published back in September, Leading is about leadership, management and the pursuit of success; things Alex Ferguson knew a fair bit about.

Interesting Facts (well I thought so anyway)

The top 10 best-sellers on Kobo in 2015 were all written by women.

The best-selling book in the UK last week (ending: Dec 5th) was Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams.

I am hoping that my latest novel, Symbiosis will turn out to be one of the books of 2016. It is a Psychological Thriller about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah.

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7 Mental Health Themed Novels

Dec 04 2015

Here are 7 mental health themed books from the last 90 years:

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

Set during a single day in June 1923, Mrs Dalloway’s themes include mental health. One of the main characters, Septimus Warren Smith, is a veteran of WWI, who is suffering from shell shock. Click here to read my review.

Tender Is The Night by Scott Fitzgerald (1934)

Protagonist Dick Diver is a talented psychoanalyst, whose wife Nicole is also his patient. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Tender Is the Night when his wife Zelda was hospitalised for schizophrenia. It was his fourth and final completed novel.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kasey (1962)

The book’s narrator is ‘Chief’ Bromden, a Native American psychiatric hospital patient. Other characters include Randle Patrick Murphy, who faked insanity to escape a prison sentence, and Mildred Ratched, the hospital’s draconian head nurse.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)

Protagonist Esther Greenwood’s year in the ‘bell jar’ as she describes it, culminates in her being institutionalised in a mental health facility. This erudite and humorous semi-autobiographical novel adeptly explores an emotionally disturbed mind. Click here to read my review.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987)

Norwegian Wood sees protagonist Toru Watanabu reflecting on his college days in Tokyo. During this period Toru had established a relationship with a beautiful but emotionally troubled girl called Naoko. Naoko was to spend time in a secluded mountain sanatorium.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1998)

This Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner follows 3 generations of women who have been affected by the Virginia Woolf novel, Mrs Dalloway. The women are: Virginia Woolf herself, Mrs Brown, the wife of a WWII veteran, and the bisexual Clarissa Vaughan.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (2011)

Set during the 1980s, The Marriage Plot is about 3 college friends from Brown University – Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell. Leonard has manic depression. This is affecting his work, friendships and romantic relationships.