It feels like I’ve been reading almost non-stop this month, although looking back it turns out I’ve only shuffled my way through an average number of books. Still, those did include the complex London Fields, and the lengthy Gormenghast (review links at the bottom). As well as having a good reading month its been great to connect with many of you via my Twitter and Facebook pages, and really interesting to see the votes roll in for the Summer Reads Poll.

Following your comments and votes I have now closed the poll and can confirm that joint winners were The Radleys by Matt Haig and A Visit from The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (full poll results). This being the case I am making The Radleys my book of the month, and look forward to sharing my thoughts with all of you that follow along. I’ll save A Visit from The Goon Squad for next month as my ‘to be read’ pile is already teetering dangerously next to my bed.

There are a couple of books from last month's plan that I'm still working on; God Collar, which I’m midway through, and Room at the Top, which I’d forgotten about altogether. I’ll try to get both polished off before they slip from my memory altogether.

Following a good bookshop browsing session I came across Constance: the tragic and scandalous life of Mrs Oscar Wilde by Franny Moyle, which looks like a fascinating biography of Oscar Wilde’s wife. I’m hoping this will provide a fresh perspective on Oscar’s life and the ripple effect that his downfall had on those around him, not to mention a good chance to study Constance, who was a nineteenth century celebrity in her own right.

After one of my fellow pseudo-literatis pointed me in the direction of an article in the Guradian discussing authors who were famous for the wrong book, I was surprised to note that one of the targets was Kazuo Ishiguro who ought to be famous, the article’s author claimed, for The Unconsoled, rather than The Remains of the Day. Although I’m not sure I agreed with the tone of the article it raised many interesting discussions and as a follow up I’d like to return to The Unconsoled with fresh eyes.

Oh and for those that are wondering, I'm giving myself a month off before rounding off the Gormenghast trilogy with Titus Alone.

Posts from July 2011
Review: The Rules of Wealth by Richard Templar
Review: The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
Review: London Fields by Martin Amis