I’ve decided to try to do the post everyday for a month deal known as National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo.) Today I’m under the weather but you can’t kick things off by shirking, can you? Plus, I’ve spent some time recently in Boston medical facilities with my mom. I’m happy to say that she is doing as well as can be now, but it’s made for a long stretch. It’s made me grumpy, cranky, and non communicative. So, allow me to discuss one of my favorite “happy place” subjects—books.
I’ve been on a fiction kick, which is unusual for me. I finally caved in to pressure and read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was fast reading, but I don’t feel compelled to read the next two. I’m sorry, I just don’t.
I also finally read Day after Night by Anita Diamant. I had seen her do a reading from this book and she had signed my copy. It had sat untouched on my shelf ever since. It was also quick reading. No, I’ve never read The Red Tent. Yes, I understand that someday I must—a zillion people have told me so.
Listening! I’ve spent lots of time in the car lately, so I’ve been listening to the audio version of The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. I like historical fiction, but I haven’t had good luck with her stuff in the past. Her style seemed too dramatic and over the top, and the fact that the girls in the intrigues were so young (though, historically I know they really were) sicked me out. But the reader’s voice has had me enthralled from the first word, and everything seems to fit perfectly.
Now I’ve gone back to my non-fiction ways, though. Currently reading: Up Tunket Road: the education of a modern homesteader by Philip Ackerman-Leist.
Anybody read anything great lately?
7 comments:
I've been reading like crazy but nothing's been tripping my trigger lately. I am a fiction girl, so I liked Ken Follet's latest and I also REALLY liked Still Alice (about early onset Alzheimer's). Maybe not your style though :)
I'm currently working my way through World War Z which is fascinating - both in the subject matter and in the treatment of it. However, I made the mistake of reading it one evening before bed and had some really weird dreams about zombies, so, you know, schedule carefully.
I also just plowed through the Hunger Games trilogy which I thought was fantastic. It was an interesting universe with a compelling story line and I thought it was just really well done overall. The ending to the third book is totally lame and stereotypical, but the rest of it all is so good that you should read it anyway and just sort of forget about the last 5 pages of that last book. Plus, they're super-quick reads.
Also, I felt the EXACT same way about Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - it was fine, it went quickly, but I have absolutely no need to keep reading (which is unusual for me - I read all 4 of those damn Twilight books, even though I hated damn near every second of it).
I wish I had more time to read! I did enjoy Anita Diamant's writing in The Red Tent, but I'll spare recommending it to you b/c it'll probably be overhyped anyway.
I've been thinking about checking out Hunger Games. EW was comparing it to Harry Potter series?!?
I enjoyed the Hunger Games too - VERY fast reads.
I've been reading a lot of YA lately (including the Hunger Games trilogy). I also just read "Never Let Me Go" by... OK, the author escapes me, but he also wrote "Remains of the Day."
I have no desire or interest in "The GIrl with the Whatever" series, because after hearing some of the subject matter, I just had to back away. Not for me.
(Yay fo Sphincter blogging! )
Funny, reviews said something very similar about the film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Compelling, fast, but, afterwords, meh. Haven't seen it yet myself.
Hang in there. :)
I just finished reading a short story collection Laughable Loves by MIlan Kundera, then I read Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozhi Adichi, which was absolutely brilliant and now I am on Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore.
I wish you great writing bugs for the month of November. I wanted to try too but I can't trust electricity here. So I am going alternate days.
Good to read you!!
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