The Year in Books: May

April was a busy old month, book-wise.

Firstly I read the Alexander McCall Smith book I mentioned here (and thoroughly enjoyed it). I know some people find them too simplistic and even formulaic but the Precious Ramotswe books are, to me, comfort reading at its best. Funny, occasionally didactic, uplifting. Yes, they're an easy read but there's much to be said for that. Especially at then end of a long day.

I then started on The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The reason was I'd seen it appear so many times in Laura's link-up (and people were giving it high praise), so I joined the waiting list at the library and was pretty shocked to see the sheer size of it. Needless to say, I didn't finish it. I didn't even get halfway through before it had to be returned and passed on the next person on the list.

I'd actually been enjoying it but was fully aware from the beginning I was reading on borrowed time. Still, I gave it a good go. The writing was great; the character observation spot-on and the story unusual and compelling. I'm now back on the waiting list (which has, inevitably, grown since the book won the Pullitzer Prize for fiction).

So, back to the library. I picked up The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart. Not quite a random choice as another of her novels, Thornyhold, is an all-time favourite of mine. My mum brought it home from work once when I was in my teens; a dog-eared, yellowing paperback I idly picked up and absolutely loved.

Not so much The Ivy Tree. I just couldn't get into it. I tried. I gave up.

Next (and this is the end, I promise): The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen. It was on a display shelf labelled 'Book of the Month' so I read the back cover, liked the sound of it and gave it a go.

I couldn't put it down. Told by Judith, a young girl who lives with her widowed father, it describes the religious group they are involved with, her strange views and ideas, and the resulting bullying she endures at school. Judith is convinced the end is nigh, and that she can perform miracles by acting them out in a make-believe world she has constructed in her bedroom from little bits of rubbish.

There are echoes of Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit in the book, particularly in the way the religious meetings and group members are portrayed. Unlike The Goldfinch, I zipped through The Land of Decoration and found it at times sad, at others funny, and a real page-turner. I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

So: May. Someone gave me a copy of The Crow Road by Ian Banks. I've made a start and have been surprised - it's shaping up to be a good read so far. I didn't expect that; I usually read books written by women. There's no reason behind this - it just seems to happen. I admit I never really fancied reading Banks - something to do with the masculine-looking covers, the subliminally disturbing-sounding titles.

It's good to try something new.