While published novelists will often blog about their new book covers, I get to announce the earthshattering news that I’ve changed the masthead on my website. What do you mean, you didn’t notice? I’ll assume that’s
because you’ve been too dazzled by my words. To be fair, all I’ve done is swap one row of novels for another. Side-by-side you might mistake it for a children’s spot-the-difference puzzle:
because you’ve been too dazzled by my words. To be fair, all I’ve done is swap one row of novels for another. Side-by-side you might mistake it for a children’s spot-the-difference puzzle:
 |  |
On the left, the random sample of my favourite novels culled from my bookshelves that made up the old header; on the right, the bones of the new one: a selection of books that have had at least a walk-on part on the blog, or will do soon. Apart from a couple of novels I hadn’t even read when I made my first choice back in April (Harmattan; The House of Sleep; The Orphan Master’s Son – and I certainly wasn’t consciously planning to position them together slap in the middle), I’m surprised there’s so little overlap (only Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto springs up in both, although Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin also meets the criteria). Clearly, my mind works differently when I’m picking works to illustrate a point or a theme. But I wouldn't want to make too much of that: in all honesty what constitutes my all time favourite novels varies from one day to the next.
In fact, less than a fortnight after I launched it, the new masthead is already out of date, with significant omissions such as Claire King's The Night Rainbow, the latest addition to my interviews with debut novelists. But if I tried to update it every time I read a new book I'd
never get any writing done.
That said, I thought it would be fun to have some dialogue around my selections, and got carried away with the idea of quiz before I noticed it’s enough of a challenge to identify some of the novels from the photos, never mind answer questions about them. So if anyone’s still reading, here are the titles:
never get any writing done.
That said, I thought it would be fun to have some dialogue around my selections, and got carried away with the idea of quiz before I noticed it’s enough of a challenge to identify some of the novels from the photos, never mind answer questions about them. So if anyone’s still reading, here are the titles:
| Notes on a Scandal The Book of Daniel Room Bel Canto Small Island The Corrections After the Fire a Still Small Voice Unless Middlemarch Hope: a Tragedy The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter We Need to Talk about Kevin Gulliver’s Travels The Other Hand The Other Side of Silence Those Who Save Us | Hide and Seek Brick Lane The Spire The Lighthouse Pure The Other Side of You The Lifeboat Harmattan The House of Sleep The Orphan Master’s Son The Rapture Jubilee Disgrace Bel Canto The Crimson Petal and the White Regeneration Quarantine |
Now, here at last, three questions, one each on the themes of author, character and setting:
1. How many debut novels are represented in each picture? (Clue: not all of them have featured in my author interviews.)
2. How many novels feature a psychological therapist as a main character?
3. How many novels have predominantly British settings and how many don’t?
I’ll come back with my answers in a couple of weeks – and then we can argue who’s got it right. In the meantime, do share your opinions on my selections.
1. How many debut novels are represented in each picture? (Clue: not all of them have featured in my author interviews.)
2. How many novels feature a psychological therapist as a main character?
3. How many novels have predominantly British settings and how many don’t?
I’ll come back with my answers in a couple of weeks – and then we can argue who’s got it right. In the meantime, do share your opinions on my selections.
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