The Hourglass Factory (Lucy Ribchester)
Still Alice (Lisa Genova)
Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel)
Proof that you shouldn't choose a book based on its cover, I wanted to like The Hourglass Factory but when it came down to it I was bored throughout. Yes, I read to the end, but I did keep asking myself why I was bothering. Disappointing.
I read Still Alice in what was essentially one sitting, interrupted by sleep only because I knew that not sleeping would trash the weekend. Picking it up on Friday night I read enough to get me sucked into the story and first thing in the morning I grabbed it to finish off before starting my day. As someone who hugely values my own thoughts and cognitive abilities, I found the story troubling and thought-provoking. Unusually for me these days, I couldn't quite bear to part with it and so this book has been placed back on the shelves for another occasion. Since I can rarely resist the film of a book that I've read, a night with Julianne Moore might not be too far away...
Station Eleven is a real slow burner. It took some time and well over a third of the book for me to get into this, but over time it grew on me and I did make it to the end. Yet another post-apocalyptic novel, but different to the last. An interesting set of interwoven characters. If you have a bit of time, perhaps consider this one, but I wasn't too disappointed to reach the end.
