Books I've been reading

I've read a few books over the last 3-4 weeks. That's the nice thing about having to take it easy!

I read On Beauty, by Zadie Smith. I had read her first book, White Teeth, a few years ago and enjoyed it immensely. I have mixed feelings about On Beauty. There are some scenes in it that are priceless, and some of the female characters are full of life. But I found it hard to feel for the male characters - I just didn't find them interesting enough. Some of them were not supposed to be nice characters, so, I didn't expect to like them, but I felt I didn't care what happened to them. So, a bit disappointed, as I had read plenty of good reviews about it.

Then I read The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan: The Magicians' Guild, The Novice, and The High Lord. These were easy reads, but thoroughly enjoyable. I couldn't put them down. They are probably geared at teenage readers, but that didn't stop me. The 3 books are just a very good story, and I wanted to keep on reading to find out what was going to happen next.

And I've discovered that Trudi Canavan is also a painter and graphic artist. Have a look at her website for her designs and paintings. Some of her designs even include maps for schoolbooks!