I’m not exactly an erudite reader at the best times. When I get overwhelmed with work, I get even more pedestrian with my choices. So, don’t expect to be wowed by this list. However, I have found them all to be fun escapes over these past few months:
1. Night Film by Marisha Pessl (who is from Asheville)
This one is a suspense which reminds me of House of Leaves, even though I’ve never read House of Leaves. It’s a bit mindless (if I were to focus too much I think I may not enjoy the book), but I’ve enjoyed it. Plus, when I pick it up before bedtime I enjoy singing, “Reading my Night Film” just like Tina Fey sings, “Working on my Night Cheese”:
2. Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
A couple of Sundays ago, I saw Jayward post this picture on ye olde’ Facebook with the caption, “Stuff White People Like”
And I thought, “That’s what I forgot to blog about!”
Then, I read the comments where a bunch of ladies my age raved about loving it after being disappointed by Tartt’s previous effort “The Little Friend.” So, at least I fit my demographic well because this is the best book I have read in a while. I found myself reading slower than normal (and slower than I really wanted to) just to stretch the experience out. The book is over 750 pages so wishing it was even lengthier is quite the statement, especially since I also found the book to be an emotional workout. The characters frustrated me to such extremes that I found myself so tired after some chapters that I just had to put the book down to recalibrate. I just wanted to shake the main character (SHAKE HIM LIKE A BRITISH NANNY.)
3. After Goldfinch, it took me a few days to pick up another book. I moved on to Helen Oyeyemi’s “Mr. Fox.” (She has a new one that’s just out, “Boy, Snow, Bird” but I figured I would start with this one first.) It is good, but kind of insane. The storyline is so crazy I’m worried about the fragility of my mental state once I have endured the entire book. But the cover is pretty awesome:
4. Next up on my list is Gabrielle Zevin’s, “Storied Life of AJ Fikry” which I am super excited about.
5. I’m open to suggestions for more! Anything you have read recently that you just adored?
I’ve been listening to nothing but audiobooks lately, too busy playing candy crush to read a real book! My favorite recent is Where’d You Go, Bernadette, which you’ve probably already read. I also really enjoyed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce, #1). And Crazy Rich Asians was a book I actually read last summer, it was good easy reading.