May 2012 Wrap-Up

May looks to have been a quiet month on the reading front, but appearances can be a little deceptive.  You see, my latest incursion into the world of Anthony Trollope was a lengthy one, taking me more than a week.  Then, after racing through a German-language book in two days, I thought I was finally ready to tackle a G-Lit classic, one that had been on my shelf for a long time.  Foolish, foolish Tony - the results can be seen below...

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Total Books Read: 5

Year-to-Date: 48

New: 5

Rereads: 0

From the Shelves: 3
Review Copies: 0 

From the Library: 0

On the Kindle: 2 (2 Review Copies)

Novels: 5

Novellas: 0

Short Stories: 0

Non-English Language: 3 (2 German, 1 Polish)

In Original Language: 2 (German)

Books read in May were:
1) The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

2) Sieben Jahre by Peter Stamm

3) The Book of Answers by C.Y. Gopinath

4) Dukla by Andrzej Stasiuk
5) Die Blechtrommel by Günter Grass

Murakami Challenge: 0 (0/3)

Aussie Author Challenge: 0 (4/12)

Australian Women Writers Challenge: 0 (4/10)

IFFP 2012 Longlist: 0 (14/15)

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Tony's Turkey for May is: nothing

Only five books read in the thirty-one days of May, and they were all good, so no joy for meat lovers this month :(

Tony's Recommendation for May is: Günter Grass' Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)

I did consider, for the briefest of moments, opting for Andrzej Stasiuk's wonderfully unsettling collection of short stories and personal reflections on the nature of light, but in the end I couldn't really go past the book which took up half of my reading time this month.  It's long, and at times I doubted I'd ever get to the end; there are some parts which drag, and I'm always suspicious of books when I find out that they are partially based on the writer's own experiences.  However, Die Blechtrommel is a modern classic and deserving of the label.

Just don't expect an easy ride...

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Next month will be much busier around my place.  I have several review copies of translated fiction due to arrive, and June also marks the start of one of my favourite literary challenges.  Yes, it's time for Belezza's Japanese Literature Challenge 6 - and I can't wait :)