Very much enjoyed The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer recently.  She really captured some very endearing characters, that were...interesting.

Now I'm reading The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro.  Not very far into it yet, but you know I like to think about art and imagine canvases (rather than paint on my own, sadly.)  So far it's a pretty good novel, though the characters are not as well, interesting, as in the last book I enjoyed.  Maybe it'll get more intriguing as the adventure heats up.

What to read next?  Am thinking that I really need to pick up some good science fiction.  Though would it be better for my brain to read an actual science book?  We'll see what happens, I suppose.

This is just a quick post.  Didn't want to leave anyone hanging, or thinking that I've given up on the novel adventure of reading.

Why are there so many books and so little time?

Just  finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  I wish that I had read it all in one sitting, and I almost had, because once I had time to read, I could only put it down for dinner.  It reminds me of an archaic myth that I could only shudder to understand.  In a good way!  It made me think about love, in a very good, innocent way. 

This was a fine transition from the book that I had just finished, that I was grandly deciding was about sex and death, until finished, and then realized that it was so much more.  This was Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller.  It has really amazing characterization that makes the story entirely separate from self, while at the same time it resonates with all the confusion of growing up (that makes novel reading so much fun.)

Maybe both of these books touch upon the mystery of moving from innocence to experience, that I guess is not new to literature.  I want to read more from both authors, though will certainly take my time.  I think tomorrow that I'll check the shelves for Mr. Gaiman, though first of all moving back to nonfiction for a time.

Wow, I just realized how my recent selections sound so much like fairy tales, but I guess that's what interests me.  Maybe that's about all there is.  After the nonfiction, time for imagining space travel or something. 


 

"It is a terrible thing to have loved ones, people to whom you are shackled by whatever bonds make their pain yours."

Debra Dean, The Madonnas of Leningrad, p.148.


yup.

A good book

Today I completed a very good book that I enjoyed.  This is The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean.  What I enjoyed the most about this work was thinking of art and religion or not religion, and most of all of what is lastingly beautiful.

Now I'm somewhat bookless, so hopefully tomorrow something good will come up.
I don't know why I don't always read the current popular thrillers, so maybe I'll try one.  Either that or there shall be something reliably old and popular.

In any case, I hope to make sense of this rainy weather that we have been having through the discovery of what I hope will be an excellent book.  Again this blog is probably way too frivolous, but maybe I'll tell some more people about it. It does help me to keep a record of what I've read recently.  It is so good to read, and I'm thankful both for my eyesight and  for my good friends who are readers, too.

There is a fine quote in the novel mentioned above.  Hopefully I'll find it again in the future.  Actually there were several lovely sentences that made me glad to be reading this book. 

Lazy Susan

Sometimes an animated bit of writing is what one needs to read for peace of mind.  I just finished recently Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley, and it was so good, with the best recipes!  What I really enjoyed was her thoughtful story and great appreciation for nourishment,  Her drawings are so excellent!  So, if one needs to just feel better about humanity, a little animated book might just bring peace of mind.

Am also reading another book that is not necessarily the happiest, but written quite well.  I'll keep you all posted on this one that I won't name quite yet.  Am changing my label for this blog, because I'm truly lazy even though I'm enjoying the holiday, so it's allowable.

Secretly I wish that I had the artistic chops to make an animated book.  Maybe some day, if I can overcome the laziness? 

Read another southern-type book, which was Backseat Saints, by Joshilyn Jackson.  This was pretty good, though a little bit violent, considering the fact that it chronicles domestic abuse in the main character's life.  Although it was sort of a heavy read, I was glad to have experienced this book and this memorable character, who does get saved at the end.  I might read another book by the same author.

I also read Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.  Although it was probably just a tad longer than it needed to be,  I really enjoyed the conclusion that was entertaining and well, thought provoking.  It does make you question modernity as it currently has been manifesting,  though in a somewhat heartwarming way by the end of the novel.  I would say that I liked the book.

So, back to the housecleaning.  For now.  Who actually reads this ridiculous blog anyway?

Just finished Bound South by Susan Rebecca Wright.  This was recommended to me, and I did enjoy it, especially the fine ending.

Of course, it did make me think of the experience of living in the South, the book specifically referring to residents of Atlanta, of which I'm not technically a part.  The closeness of my relatives to Atlanta, though, enabled me to find qualities of the story that were familiar.

So living in the South can be a curious thing, but I do enjoy it.  Fortunately I've never once said "Co Cola"   not in jest, which I suppose makes me less Southern than  some. The characters so tenderly depicted were not annoying, and the three person narratives were interesting, to say the least.  The recommendation to read this book was a good one, prompted by a shared appreciaton of Looking for Salvation at Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore.  These were both natural and very good, especially if the one reading is a Southern resident and happily reading about familiar turf.

Y'all should try these two books. :)