I read Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser (and translated by Hildegarde Serle) last week and enjoyed it very much. I just wish I had read it a bit slower/savored it more but since I started it on a weekend when we were visiting an art museum, I was feeling some pressure for a crash course on art appreciation.
I then started (and am about 75% through) The Bones Beneath My Skin by T.J. Klune for a book club discussion. Not my usual genre (what I love most about book clubs) and the book is entertaining. (I initially felt as though it is a good Sci-Fi selection for scaredy cats - ha ha.)
@Diane_JonesMona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser is getting a lot of really good buzz. Some “best of” articles I’ve seen recently compared its success to that of The Correspondent - a book that wasn’t promoted much but that’s really caught on with the reading public. I hope to get to that one (some day!).
Lonesome Dove is my all time favorite novel!!! For some reason, it always makes me happy to hear someone say they enjoyed a book I liked. I must like (need) the validation.
“Beach Thriller” by Jamie Day: very exciting; good family dynamics aspects as well
“National Road” by Brady J. Crytzer: Non-fiction; history of the National Road in the United States. Very meaty. Lots of new-to-me American history factoids.
I’m working my way through Mona’s Eyes, but I’m taking it slowly. Because the reproductions of the paintings on and inside the dust jacket are so small, I’ve been going to my art history books or the computer to get a look at the paintings in a larger format. It’s a wonderful book! I’ve also just started I, Medusa which I’m loving. I find those books that are retelling of myths so engaging, especially because many of them are written from the female perspective.
Our book club loved it, too! I was lucky enough to receive a copy to read with BookBrowse’s First Impressions Book Club. After reading and discussing it with First Impressions I recommended it to my local book club. For anyone that hasn’t tried it, BookBrowse’s First Impressions Book Club is a great experience.
I’m so pleased you are enjoying Mona’s Eyes. It is one of my top favorites of the year. While I read the description of the paintings and sculptures her grandfather introduced to her and asked for her opinion.
I tried to research the art work to experience my own feelings.
I finished This Is Happiness by Niall Williams in audiobook format yesterday and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Williams’ gentle humor and keen depiction of this small, rural, Irish town was sooo wonderful. It was a little bittersweet at times, but still very satisfying. Listening to it felt like slipping on a cozy sweater and left me feeling warm & fuzzy. I’m still smiling when I think about it. It’ll definitely be one I return to in the future.
I haven’t read his Time of the Child yet but will definitely do so (but probably not right away; I need a little trash right now). He’s got one more Faha book that he wrote earlier, called History of Rain (which was longlisted for the Booker), and his first book, Four Letters of Love (not Faha, written in 1997) was a New York Times Notable Book. I’ll probably pick those up, too. Has anyone read either of these?
I’m rereading ‘The Frozen River’ since my library book club is doing it this month. I’d read it last year in April. Still a great story, well written, with excellent character development. Next on my list is ‘Harlem Rhapsody’!
