I am reading Buckeye by Patrick Ryan and love it. He is a very good writer. I have a ticket to see him in December in the Twin Cities at Pen Pals through Hennepin County Library, and am looking forward to it.
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I finished 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen. It’s a WWII novel that takes place in 1939 just before the Nazi occupation of Belgium. It follows the residents of the apartment building at that address. It’s well-written and interesting, especially to see how differently the occupants reacted to what was coming.
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The setup of 33 Place Brugmann reminds me of The Finest Hotel in Kabul (which is nonfic) because it is also centered around a single location—the Intercontinental Hotel. I wonder if we have a trend of books being so focused?
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It certainly could be. I know there are books in other genres that do this. It’s a great way for individuals in one place to be a microcosm of society. In this particular book, the author actually lived in that building during a time when she was working in Belgium. It inspired her to write this book.
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Another one I just read is The Kindness of Strangers which is a golden age mystery set in a British rooming house. It was a fun take on the genre.
I’m going to hit up my library for 33 Place Brugmann. It sounds really interesting.
OMG I just discovered I have this book on my shelf already. Dang! Too many books but this is one I want to get to.
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That sounds like a book I’d enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation. My TBR pile is out of control. It looks like the Collyer brothers live in my house!
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I am finally reading THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE by Erik Larson.
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I read BUCKEYE, too, and attended an event with Patrick Ryan a few months ago. What I like best about the book is that, although it’s character driven, it’s also plot driven. Books that are only character driven bore me.
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This past week, I began reading The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America’s Eastern Wilderness by Andrew Moore, but I can’t seem to get into it. I’m not sure if it’s me (too much nonfiction lately?) or the writing style or both.
While procrastinating on that one, I started the seventh title in the John J. Malone mystery series by Craig Rice, Having Wonderful Crime (I have to stop myself from adding the article “a” after “Having”). It is zipping along, the reading experience such a contrast to the former!
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When I first read Buckeye, I honestly was not seeing what all the hype was about. Being a character driven rather than a plot driven novel, I was finding it a bit boring. Then I watched a YouTube video with Carol from BookReporter.com narrating, and began to change my mind. I was so surprised at the amount of time, the author spent while researching this book. After listening to him, I began to appreciate the time and effort behind his storyline. It also gave the input I needed to enjoy the book and its message as he had intended.
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I normally avoiid character driven books (like you do it sounds like); but this one blew me away. I am recommending it to everyone!! Joyce
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I finished two books:
The Catcher in the Rye left me so sad for Holden whose life was interrupted not just by his depression and self-loathing, but also by institutionalization. Perhaps I have an exceptionally low opinion of the possibilities of inpatient psychiatry but I couldn’t work up much hope for the 17 year old.
Heart the Lover (Lily King) was one of those books that grabbed me by the emotions and wouldn’t let me go. Kim Kovacs you were right, it is a better book than Writers and Lovers. I found the discussions of dying and questions of what happens after death especially intriguing as well as adding depth to the novel.
I’m working on There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America (Brian Goldstone). I’m about one-third of the way in, and it’s already hard to hold out hope for any of these families. The toll on children is weighing on me as one who sometimes worked with unhoused children. No matter the brave face youths presented they seemed to be slowly sliding over one or another dangerous precipices.
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I’m concentrating on ‘happy, not sappy’ books for the rest of the year (at least, I need a break from ‘heavy’ stuff) so right now I’m reading ‘The Other Miss Bennett’ and I love it! My book group meets tomorrow and I hope we don’t pick anything too heavy. I may suggest ‘My Life in France’ or ‘Virgil Wander.’ Any other suggestions more than welcome!