Looking Out To Sea

At the weekend I was suckered in to buying more books. Cos I like ‘em.

• The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks

  Iain Banks’ most recent general fiction book, though sometimes the lines are quite thin between his mainstream and science fiction. I don’t know much about it, though apparently its working title was “Matter”, which is coincidentally the title of the book he released after that…

• Matter by Iain M Banks

  Yeah, this one, in fact. It came out at the beginning of the year but I’ve held off because I don’t like buying hardback books. They look all out of place beside my second-hand paperbacks. I guess that’s what happens when you “catch up” with an author’s output. It also means I’ve got several different book cover styles for the same author, which I find ever-so-slightly infuriating.

• The Princess Bride by S Morgenstern (abridged by William Goldman)

  I had a conversation in the pub with Bex a few weeks ago about this. She recommended the book as being much like the film but also better. And also explained the conceit behind the authorship — that S Morgenstern is a fiction invented by Goldman. And I’m glad she did explain this vital fact, or I’d be wandering around holding the “abridged” version and looking for the original.

I’m currently about 150 pages into Matter and enjoying it, though finding time to read is harder when you don’t commute on public transport. Sitting on the sofa with a book is nice, but nicer still when the room is cosy to match.