What are you reading this week? Please share! We’d love to know.
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I just finished the most amazing set of short stories: Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild and Other Stories. But it reminded me why I don’t often read short stories - I always want more. I become super interested in the characters and the goings on (especially these, because they’re mostly scifi so - unusual) and then the story ends before I’m ready.
Reading Lolita now. The language is so rich - it’s amazing, really - but I kinda feel like I need a shower after reading some of the chapters, LOL. Humbert Humbert is certainly slimy.
Next is The Tapestry of Time.
In audiobook, I’m finishing up The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler, and then I’ll move on to Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield.
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Two of my book clubs chose big books for July: Lonesome Dove and The Splendid and the Vile! Waiting for me when I finish is The Emperor of Gladness!!
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The Turkish Embassy Letters by Mary Wortley Montagu. (Eland Publication - version)
A delightful compilation of Mary Wortley Montagu’s letters as she journeyed from London to Istanbul (then Constantinople). The book was first published in 1763 (the letters written 1716 to 1718). From the letters you can glean, Mary’s intelligence, wit, and forward-thinking. Her letters encompass the best of the art of letter writing.
Given the time period, the writing can be a challenge to decipher on occasion but it is well- worth the extra minutes to re-read sections. I am so glad I stumbled onto this treasure when it was mentioned in another book. It is a classic.
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I enjoyed The Cafe With No Name. It was a “quiet” read - not plot driven, more character.
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Yesterday I finished Remarkably Bright Creatures, a reread for one of my bookclubs. It was even more delightful the second time around. UPS delivered my next BookBrowse read yesterday! So will begin reading A Land So Wide today!
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Last night I finished the most beautiful book (with tears running down my face) - The Offing by Ben Myers. Someone somewhere recommended and I am so happy to find a copy at the library. Other pluses this past week - The Names by Florence Knapp and Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven.
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Lonesome Dove in my top 10 of all time! And the TV series still stands up after 30 years.
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I just finished The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen - it was good.
Another very good one I finished is Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell.
Currently I am reading The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas.
I just recently finished The Emperor of Gladness and ended up really engaging with it in ways I didn’t anticipate. It was great.
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All three are great books, @Barbette_T!
I love me some Remarkably Bright Creatures.
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I am reading “Babel” by R.F. Kuang, which is a must for any language teacher like me. It has a lot of great observations along with the dark academia. Next up is “Feeding Ghosts” by Tessa Hulls, the graphic novel that won the Pulitzer for Best Memoir.
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I’m just beginning Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster by Gerri Willis. Every summer a friend and I read a silly summer series just for fun. We live on opposite ends of the country and have riotous FaceTime sessions discussing the titles. This summer we are reading the Mattie Winston Mystery series by Annalise Ryan and I finished Book 4 this evening.
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I’ve been thinking about picking up The Names by Florence Knapp next and now I’m also intrigued by your recommendation of The Offing. Thank you!
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I just finished Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford, which was his next publication after his well known work - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I love his writing and he handles difficult subjects and situations in this book so well. Like Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, it is set in Seattle but during an earlier timeframe - post WWI/Depression era. This includes a bit of time in the world of Anna May Wong and early Hollywood/film history.
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I read An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin and loved it. All of my friends have grown up in the 50’s and 60;s so we lived through the events discussed in this book. I was familiar with Doris through books she has written, but knew nothing about her husband who was a speech writer and friend to several presidents.
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2 posts were split to a new topic: 2025 Orwell Prize
I just finished I See You Called in Dead by John Kenny. An obituary writer publishes his own obituary while drunk. This sets off a series of events that leave him suspended from his newspaper job and floundering to find himself after many losses and full blown mid-life crisis. This novel is so much more than its premise. That’s the hook and the author delivers with well written prose. But Kenny has created some remarkable characters that surround the protagonist with love and wisdom and a healthy dose of humor.
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I just finished Within Arm’s Reach, by Ann Napolitano. Just finished listening to What Now? A short piece by Ann Patchett. Switching gears completely, I am listening to Taste, by Stanley Tucci, and reading James, by Percival Everett. I have enjoyed all of these, in different ways. (James, by the way, is amazing. I had read The Trees by Everett, and it is likewise riveting)
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