Book Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

I have just read “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – by Stephen Chbosky

I have meant to read it for ages and only just got around to it because i happened to see the trailer for the film adaptation and thought it sounded interesting.

The blurb reads:

“Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.”

The style of writing takes a little while to get used to, and especially as it is composed of many letters written in a diary entry format, but it is engrossing and full of detail. It keeps you hooked all the way through.

Charlie is the youngest in his family and maybe feels more pressure with an older brother and sister, but he doesn’t seem to realise just how intelligent he is, even when his English teacher keeps getting him to read extra books and setting him essays to write about what he’s read. Not many people would happily and unquestioningly do extra essays! However, the weird thing is that he asks about a million questions about everything else!

Charlie has spent a lot of his life watching others and trying to work out how best to do things, but he never really does anything. He sees things, he listens, he thinks a lot about things, and somehow he manages to get things wrong and make mistakes. He is a very emotional boy, crying quite often about all sorts of things. This seems odd when it is a 15/16 year old teenager. He talks a lot about his family, especially his deceased aunt Helen, who seems to be at the centre of his problems. He gets very sad on his birthday which is the same day his aunt died and seems to blame himself for her death even though it wasn’t his fault. His sudden mood dips show that he suffers from depression, which is often common in shy people and especially more so in those who think too much about things.

When he meets Sam and Patrick, he find two great people who understand him a bit more than most people and help him to figure out himself and others more easily. They become his best friends, even though they are a bit older than him, and they are a mixture of being a good influence and a bad influence on him. He starts smoking, kisses boys and girls, has sexual experiences, fights and defends people, but also he learns to relax a bit more and live his life, even while keeping his grades at a high level. Sam and Patrick introduce him to a whole different world, which has it’s ups and downs, but even his family starts to change as they all get older and he starts to understand how they feel as well.

I loved this book and so i’m giving it 10/10 because it felt familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and i remembered feeling and thinking the same things as Charlie at points in my life. The depression and confusion underneath everything is just part of being shy and trying to work out who you are and why you are different, and really shows the reader how difficult it is growing up and having so many issues to work through. I felt quite emotional reading it as well! Worth a read if you haven’t tried it, i wish i had read it sooner!

Book Review: The Reader

I have just finished reading “The Reader” by Bernhard Schlink.

The Reader – by Bernhard Schlink (via Amazon)

I have known about this book for a while because it is fairly prominent book, and has been turned into a film, which i’ve never seen either. However, i have never read it, until now. This is because i’m starting to attend a translated fiction-themed book club, and the first book is  ”The Reader”.

The blurb reads:

“For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems.

Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does – Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.”

I was intrigued by the relationship between Michael and Hanna, because it seems to just suddenly happen out of blue. Michael is maybe a bit naïve but being with Hanna teaches him many things. Hanna is a bit of mystery and we don’t learn much about her until later on in the novel, but she seems secure in herself. Her behaviour and her reactions to some things Michael says seem a little odd and lead to them fighting. The sad thing is that Michael always seems to be the one apologizing, even if he isn’t in the wrong, and this surely does some damage to him. Michael reads books to Hanna and it seems very intimate but it’s strange that a grown woman needs a child to read to her. In a way it feels like a mother-son relationship has been flipped on it’s head, with him looking after her at various points through the novel.

When Hanna disappears, Michael slowly gets on with his life and goes to study law. He attends a trial where Hanna is a defendant and turns out to be responsible for several deaths during the war, and this throws out so many questions for Michael and he is determined to find out what happened. He wonders how a normal person can commit such a terrible crime, and how a normal person can love someone who committed such crimes. All the things he has done makes it hard for him to live a normal life: his marriage fails, other relationships fail, he feels numb with the things he knows, he doesn’t want to be a lawyer or judge, but becomes a researcher/writer/lecturer type person who doesn’t socialise much. When he sees Hanna again, he is given the chance to find out her secret, and it turns out that she is illiterate and many things fall into place and suddenly make sense after all these years. He feels guilty at not sharing this knowledge and knowing it could have made her life easier, but he understands her shame of not being able to read and keeps it to himself.

I give “The Reader” a big 9/10 because i loved this novel, it was easy to read and i was fascinated by their relationship and the effect it had on Michael’s life, feelings and beliefs. The themes of sex, guilt, and shame make it a great read, even though the war crimes are horrible to think about, and it’s amazing how one little secret can ruin so many lives. I also love the variety of books which Michael reads to Hanna and love that books are part of their special connection. I wish i’d read it sooner because it is truly a great novel and even better because it is translated from the original German!

Translated Fiction News

Translated fiction has made the news today, well, in the publishing world at least!

Pushkin Press has introduced their new imprint for translated children’s books, which aims to bring “classic and bestselling children’s books from all around the world to British children”, to help change the current situation of around 3% of UK books being translated from another language, and the huge lack of translated fiction in the children’s book market.

I personally will be keeping an eye on these developments because it is about time that more translated books entered the UK children’s markets!

To see the whole article on the Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/07/pushkin-imprint-childrens-books-translation

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One thing that bugs me is that during the whole time i was writing my Masters dissertation on Translated Fiction, i couldn’t find a single source for the magical “3% of the UK book market is translated fiction” figure, and then suddenly i find this has decreased to 2.5% according to an article on Publishing Perspectives website! - Books in Translation: It’s time for others to join the fight

The problem is that there aren’t enough books coming into the UK from non-Anglophone markets, and there is a lack of airtime dedicated to translated fiction, unless you know where to find it. I do my best to review translated fiction here on my blog and i have a page dedicated to the reviews of books which i have read: A World Of Randomness – Translated Fiction

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Why is Translated Fiction not getting far in the UK market? Well, according to the Publishing Perspectives article Books in translation it’s time for others to join the fight:

1. “The permeating stereotype about books in translation is that they are “too literary” and “too serious” for a general readership in comparison to, say, light and entertaining cook books, celebrity memoirs or the recent publication of “mummy’s porn” Fifty Shades of Grey which was given almost every available space in every paper.”
   
2. “All publishers rely heavily on reviews to capture a market for their titles. And although the days of the British Empire are long gone, it still seems that the mainstream media, even those left leaning outlets which pride themselves on cultural diversity and liberal values, are far too conservative to devote column inches to literature and non-fiction in translation.”
3. “How are we going to convince a reviewer to give it a go if most of them get an instant headache when they can’t pronounce the author’s name?”
4. “Publishing a book in translation is expensive. You are lucky as a publisher if you get a translation grant which rarely covers 100% of the amount it is costing you to get the work done; sometimes you get nothing and you face the possibility of dropping the title from your list altogether because it’s simply too expensive for a small press to cover the translation costs.”
5. “If a publisher decides to take on a book written in a non-English language, the foreign author will be very well established with a few prizes under his/her belt to give the publisher a fighting change of getting the title reviewed at all. And so those books translated into English are often literary, high-brow, and serious.”
6. “It’s common knowledge that there’s no money in publishing books in translation, meaning it’s done by people who are seriously passionate about literature often subsidise the business with their savings or second jobs.”

They are all true and all need to be sorted out if translated fiction wants to have a bigger stake in the UK book market.

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Other recent interesting articles on the subject of Translated fiction:

Books in Translation: It’s Time for Others to Join the Fight - http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/02/books-in-translation-its-time-for-others-to-join-the-fight/

British children miss out on foreign bestsellers - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10039917/British-children-miss-out-on-foreign-bestsellers.html

Best Translated Fiction Award 2013 - http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?s=btb

Newest Addictions To My Bookshelf

While i was in London at the London Book Fair this month, i also did a load of sightseeing in the city as we went for a few extra days.

We did all the usual hotspots, such as Big Ben, the Shard, and Trafalgar Square, but we also had a list of bookshops to visit as well!

Our main choices were Foyles and Waterstones Piccadilly! I think we spent about 5 hours in these shops in total, all in one night! I really love that these shops are open so late, especially with Waterstones Piccadilly being open until about 9pm and having 5 floors of books! We were in book Heaven!

I came out of Foyles with:

The Horologicon – Mark Forsyth

And i came out of Waterstones Piccadilly with:

“Moranthology” by Caitlin Moran, “Is It Just Me?” by Miranda Hart, “Warm Bodies” by Isaac Marion, and “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

Got most of them on special offer so only spent about £30 on all 5, which is good considering 3 of them are hardbacks!

So, i have got lots to reading through in May!

The London Book Fair 2013

Last week i made my 3rd (and now my annual) trip to the London Book Fair 2013!

The London Book fair 2013 at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre

This year i didn’t really have an agenda: on my first visit in 2011, i went with uni during my MA in Publishing and so it was spent at seminars, networking and researching for my dissertation; and last year on my second visit, i spent it attending seminars and researching translated literature.

This year i just did what i wanted to do and attended seminars i was really interested in with my friend and fellow graduate from the MA course. We must have been the only ones of our course there as we didn’t see anyone else there, and it felt a little bit sad as we are the only two people without a job in publishing yet!

The Books Are My Bag campaign stand

We only attended the Fair on the Monday and Tuesday as there wasn’t anything on the Wednesday which we wanted to see and we had to get trains home at lunchtime anyway.

Monday Seminars:

• “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover… but we all do, especially Children!” - Very interesting, saw some examples of bestsellers and their covers, and a few dodgy covers that we’re surprised are so popular!
• “Reading and Health: A new Library Books on Prescription Scheme” - Great concept, library books on prescription will help people deal with anxiety and depression through helping themselves through the form of specially chosen books. Also gets more people into their local libraries.
• “How To Get Into Publishing” – Useful information for applicants, from gaining useful skills to researching the company’s market and products.
• “How To Get Ahead In Publishing” - More useful information for people in publishing, they gave us a 10 point plan on how to advance your career!
• “New Adults, Steamies, Crossed Genres – Reinventing Teen Fiction” - Interesting talk on the new genre called New Adult, which is like Young Adult but with readers from teens to sixties, thanks to Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey.

During the Gamification of Publishing seminar

Tuesday Seminars

• “What People do Publishers need?” – Information for applicants and existing employees in publishing, how publishers need people from different sectors with different and transferable skills, and newly created jobs because of digital’s impact on the industry.
• “Gamification of Publishing” - Discussion on how games affect publishing. Everything in life is like a game now, from earning “likes” and followers on social networking sites to coffee shop loyalty cards. If reading was like a game then more people would do it because games set goals and give you rewards.
• Social Networking: Authors Have Their Say” - Social networking helps authors to reach and engage with their widespread audience, build up a rapport with them, and is good for the more introverted author.
• “Brazil – Country of the Moment?” – Discussion about Brazilian books being translated and brought over here.
• “How To Set Up A Publishing House” - Guide to all the things you need to know, from knowing where you want to be in the future, to using Google Analytics for market data, to finding outside help for other jobs when you want to focus on your own particular skill advantage.

The Fair was really interesting and i learned a lot from the range of seminars i attended! I found myself not too bothered about attending the Turkish seminars, although i did get some leaflets about the Turkish theme.

LBF13′s Turkey Theme sign over the Turkey Zone.

Hopefully, the notes i made will help me learn more useful skills and make my job applications much more successful!

I really enjoyed attending the seminars and the atmosphere at the Book Fair is always amazing! I really want to go back again next year!

World Book Night 2013

Happy World Book Night!

For more information, go to the WBN website at http://www.worldbooknight.org/

Book Quote of the Day (my World Book Night special!)

“Beech, buche or bok, as it was called in Old High German, was the standard material for writing on. Even when wood was finally overtaken by the new-fangled invention of parchment, the Germans kept the name, and so did the English. Bok became boc became book.”

- The Etymologicon, by Mark Forsyth

What would happen if Amazon gave every Ebook away for free?

I recently read this article on the Publishing Perspectives website called “What would happen if Amazon gave every Ebook away for free?”, and it was a thought-provoking read!

Last week, China’s answers to Amazon, Jingding and Dangdang, both gave away around 50,000 ebooks away in celebration of the upcoming World Book Day.

“The giveaway, which the ebooksellers said was being done to help promote commercial ebooks and raise reader awareness, has been criticized by publishers and authors alike. Zhao Chen, from People’s Literature Publishing House, told Beijing News that giving so many books away would “bring harm” to publishers, while Zhang Hongbo, secretary-general of the China Written Works Copyright Society, called the promotion “sloppy,” particularly if the companies had not sought permission of the publishers beforehand (a spokesperson from Dangdang would neither confirm nor deny whether the company had contacted publishers, though said the site would honor requests to stop offering a title if specific complaints were made).”

If Amazon was to do the same thing, it is suggested that people would simply download as many free ebooks to their reading devices as possible and then would be less eager to buy books either in print or ebook form.

The article closes with: “It is, if anything, likely to reinforce the idea that books should be free.“

[For the whole article, see What Would Happen If Amazon Gave Every Ebook Away For Free? - Publishing Perspectives]

I think it is probably correct that people would take advantage of the offer and download as many ebooks as they could while they can. This raises a few concerns for me:

1. I personally like free ebooks when they are on offer, and i will download the classics for free anyway as their authors are long deceased. But if i download too many, the odds are that even i won’t get through them all very quickly. It won’t stop me buying more books in the future, but in all fairness, it never feels like i actually own the ebooks, after all, Amazon could pull the plug and steal back the digital copies quite easily i’m sure.
2. It isn’t fair to the authors who put so much hard work and time into their books, and ultimately get paid through royalties, which are non-existent for every free book that is “sold”. This makes a poor return for all that work.
3. Similarly, it isn’t fair to the publishers who have spent a long time editing and producing the book, not to mention all the time spent working out costings and seeing if it would make money if published and the long marketing campaigns used for it.
4. If these books were free, then people might demand that everyone else should make their books free as well. Print books would go into decline and bookshops would disappear completely from our streets.
5. Online companies would be more popular, however they would lose out on profits if the books they “sold” were free.
6. Sellers of reading devices and smartphones with reading apps would make a lot of money very quickly through increased sales due to demand so customers can download and read the free ebooks. We’d all be slaves to machines. Where’s the fun in that?
7. It will be a sad day for me when all my books are only available as ebooks and end up as a list of files on my Kindle. I like having a mixture of print and ebooks, mainly for when i’m unable to charge up my Kindle or if it’s raining, or if the print book comes out first and i’m desperate to read it without waiting for the ebook! See, even though i have a Kindle and it saves physical space on my shelves, i still prefer print books!

So, there you go, my opinions and speculations on this topic. It seems horribly dystopian if you think about it!

What do you think?