New books flooding in

A week away and the word "flood" sprung to mind early last week when my summer holidays looked like a washout but things improved towards the end, so it was a good break. Even went down to Ellerslie on Wednesday to people and horse watch at the Auckland Cup Carnival (my pick Prize Lady won but did not make me rich).

Back to the books. Some interesting titles are beckoning. I haven't got time to read them all at once so there's are chance for the rest of you. These are a couple that have caught my eye.

There have been plenty of books written about the aspiring actor in America but this is a slightly different take. 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo follows the life of Fenfang, a film extra in Beijing. As she says herself "So, I was the 6,787th person in Beijing wanting a role in the film and TV industry... but compared with 1.5 billion people in China, 6,786 wasn't such a daunting number." Xiaolu Guo was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for her previous novel.

The book sleeve of My Bass and other Animals says "Guy Pratt came of age just as playing bass became sexy... At a ludicrously young age he became a bass player to the stars". He worked with Madonna, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Pink Floyd (among many otheres). This book charts his journey through studios, bars and stadiums.

Friday Nights is the latest offering of one of my favourites Joanna Trollope, so it might be the one I take home. I love the relationships she builts between the characters. In this case they include Eleanor (a retired professional who walks with a stick), one wife, three mothers, three singletons and five working women who all value their Friday night gatherings. Of course when one of them meets a man, something has to give.

If you get to any of these books before me, let me know what you think. Or you could write your own review as a comment on our blog. We'd love to hear from you.