One of the many things about the internet that I enjoy, is the way I can gather snippets of interesting information that wouldn’t normally have caught my eye. The daily on-line headlines from The Bookseller are a useful source of book-related news. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of reading about one of my favourite authors, David Mitchell –
I say that Mitchell is one of my favourites, but so far I’ve only read two of his novels, Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green. Some people might question my use of the word ‘read’ since I listened to the unabridged versions on CDs during my frequent long car journeys and numerous short ones. Cloud Atlas was amazing, and one of these days (once I’ve got round to reading his others ) I’ll read it again.
I can’t pretend that there’s the remotest similarity between my novels and those of this hugely talented and successful Booker-nominated novelist, but as a writer, I found it refreshing to see that he still takes delight in hearing how people have reacted to his books. Interviewed at the Edinburgh Book festival, he refers to a man who told him that his wife reads Cloud Atlas (2004) every year and “she finds something new each time“. When asked about the possibility of winning the Man Booker Prize he says, “I felt honoured and pleased (by the nomination), but it’s the guy who approached me to tell me his wife reads Cloud Atlas once a year that I think is just so great.”
It’s worth reading the whole article to find out more about his books and his own approaches to writing, many of which I can also identify with.As I’ve said on several occasions, the positive comments on my own novels is what helps to keep me going, especially now that I am in charge of all the marketing of Paper Lanterns.
Here’s another enthusiastic email that arrived via the ‘Contact Me’ page above. It’s from a reader who knows and loves Lamma Island, confirming that I’ve ‘got it right’!
“Since I was introduced to your book via the Lamma Website, I have been dying to read it as I have been a frequent visitor to the Island since my son moved there 14 years ago. Like you it holds a special place in my heart being a place like no other. I have not been disappointed by your book as for me it evokes the spirit of Lamma brilliantly and is a great read. I loved your references to places on the Island, I think it was really clever of you to weave such an intriguing story onto a mere spec in the South China Sea and evoke such a sense of place.”
And here’s one from one of the Bookcrossers I’ve mentioned in my previous post. It clearly demonstrates how this wonderful organisation encourages its members to read more widely:
“This was a book which is out of my usual genres, though through Bookcrossing I have once again embraced many types of book and new authors, which I had got out of the habit of reading… I liked the gentle flow of the storyline peeling away the revelations ~ whether from the letters of Ann’s grandmother, her mother and her own self discovery ~ until the three time lines all dissolved into one as the story ended…the descriptions of the scenery and the people in the community were very vivid and evocative and reinforced my imaginings from my relatives’ tales…A wonderfully engaging tale which I enjoyed and as I do know someone else who would enjoy this book I intend to get a copy as a present…”
