FleurFisher seeks nudges for Orange January

I have rounded up as many Orange Prize related books as I can for Orange January, but I won't be able to fit them all in. What should I read ???



The Dancers Dancing by Eilis Ni Dhuibhne
Baby Love by Louisa Young
White Ghost Girls by Alice Greenway
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
Monster Love by Carol Topolski
Fault Lines by Nancy Huston (not pictured but on order from the library)

Fleur, I've only read one from your list: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. I liked it, but I've read better books. The protagonist bothered me after a while. I thought she was weak and overly dependent on men.

So I will nudge Fault Lines. Since you've gone to the trouble of requesting it from the library, you MUST read it!

I haven't read any of these, but based on the descriptions I will nudge White Ghost Girls. I have one question for general discussion, though: Do books nominated for major prizes ALL need to be about depressing or disturbing subjects? Is it that a book can't be considered serious reading unless it deals with "serious" issues? Is it a sign of the state of contemporary literature, or am I just not aware of prize-winning alternatives to torment and tragedy?

OK. Rant over. You may all continue to nudge.

I have only read Meg Rosoff's book. I don't have strong enough feelings to give it a nudge. I think I wil opt for A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers based on a few comments I've heard.

I haven't read any you have listed, but based on what I've heard about the title, I'll give How I Live Now a nudge.

I thought How I Live Now was beautiful, if not completely earth-shattering. I'd give it a gentle nudge.

I'll give half a nudge to How I Live Now and half to a concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. I thought they were both flawed but wonderful in their own ways.

I agree with Lindsacl that the protaganist in A Concise-English Dictionary was over-dependent but I found her believable. She reminded me of myself when very young and naive, living in a strange country and misguidedly looking to a man to anchor my life!

I found How I Live Now to be a very immediate, emotionally charged story. I was in tears at the end.

Sorry, FleurFisher, I haven't read any of these. I will give a nudgoid to Fault Lines because I quite enjoyed Nancy Huston 's The Mark of the Angel.

>7 Soupdragon:: well said, Soup: young and naive, living in a strange country and misguidedly looking to a man to anchor my life. Still, I wanted to smack her :-)

I haven't read any of these so based on descriptions I will give a mini nudge to The Electric Michelangelo. Although I must say I really like the cover of Monster Love.

I'll give a full nudge to The Electric Michelangelo it's the life story of a tattoo artist from his humble beginnings in the English seaside town of Morecambe to humble endings on the East Coast of the United States in Coney Island. It's a great story and well written.

Have only read White Ghost Girls and Concise Chinese...; of the two I'd nudge White Ghost Girls.

Thank you to all for the nudges.

I am starting How I Live Now tonight.

Then White Ghost Girls and Fault Lines as they are library books and have both been positively nudged.

I am drawn to Monster Love despite the lack of nudges.

And I will try to fit in The Electric Michelangelo as well before the end of the month, since dylanwolf's nudge is so positive.