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Oh, this discussion is all too timely for me as my book shelves are burgeoning and spreading across the floors of my workroom, dining room, bedroom, living room… I'm going to try to cull and carry at least some to my local library. They still do a sale. Goodwill no longer accepts books at all… No shelf control is…
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❤️ the crotchety old crank reviews, @LadyCalico2 ! I'm always skeptical of book reviews and wouldn't have chosen Atmosphere in any case… I've got several books going at once, including Out of Place, Wide Sargasso Sea, and Aflame, but none is really fitting the bill so I'll keep looking. Best to all!
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Almost done with A View of the Empire at Sunset: A Novel by Caryl Phillips. It's a treatment of the biography of Jean Rhys, author of The Wide Sargasso Sea. I'm not sure I understand the point behind his reimagination of her apparently sad and difficult life, but I guess this will push me to finally read her work.
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LOVE the candid review @LadyCalico2 ! Sorry to learn that the book doesn't live up to the hype, but I very much appreciate the honest opinion!
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Sounds like great fun, @Catfish_Fan ! You're on a roll!
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Started to read Out of Place by Edward Said. It's already fascinating…
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Finished The Return. I'm going to scour my TBR list for something FUN!
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@Catfish_Fan, I love the fact that you've read all of King's work! For some reason I just can't get interested in anything in the horror genre, but he must be a great writer since so many people like his books. My son took a class in horror lit in college (!), and they read at least one thing by him. I think it was It.…
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Well done, @Btrflydog !
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Finished My Friends (a novel) and started The Return (memoir). It's so interesting to read them in tandem! Hate to say it, but I liked him better before I started the family history….
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Woo hoo, @CatfishFan! 45 books ahead is IMPRESSIVE!! I'm enjoying My Friends by Hisham Matar and will definitely read his memoir about going back to Libya next. It's a fascinating story and his prose is thoughtful and "effortless" so it's a good read.
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Thanks for the review, @Btrflydog ! I've moved that book ahead in my TBR pile. And for what it's worth, I liked The Parable of the Sower too. It's a worthy introduction to Octavia Butler. Welcome @bookscoffeejesus5575 !
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Started reading My Friends by Hisham Matar. This was not the Matar book I thought I was getting, but I've decided to stick with it. How often do I get a chance to read about Libya and emigrants from there? If it goes well, I'll swing back and read his memoir, The Return.
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The Mighty Red is going approximately 1000% faster than Hotel Lux! It's not her best writing, but still engaging. Looking forward to hearing your review of Capture the Castle too!
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I love books of all kinds and formats, but there's no arguing against the portability of Kindle! I never expected to love it, but I do! I Capture the Castle has been on my TBR for years so you just might spur me to get going on it, @Btrflydog ! Happy to see that James won the Pulitzer Prize!
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Ooooo, Colorsoft looks cool, @Catfish_Fan! I'm still thrilled that my "new" Kindle has a backlight so I won't be upgrading soon, but that looks great. Thanks for sharing! I finally finished Hotel Lux and I've started The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich and I'm enjoying it so far. Hoping I can spend more quality time reading…
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More "complaints" about Hotel Lux. It's overwritten in places and spends too much time on mostly inconsequential events and people. I like the recovered history approach, but I'm 60% through the book and far, far, far from the hotel that's supposed to ground the story. Starting to look longingly at other destinations on…
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So glad you are here, @Btrflydog and @Catfish_Fan ! You always bring me laughs and new information! ❤️❤️❤️
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Glad to get the review, @Catfish_Fan, and I love that the "dime western" is still a thing!!
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I agree with @Btrflydog. Sometimes ya just need to change the script completely! Love the idea of going into a book without any preconceptions, @Catfish_Fan! I can't remember the last time I did that so I'm gonna give it a try "soon." I'm still working my way through Hotel Lux. It's interesting history, but he occasionally…
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@Catfish_Fan I started his Ministry for the Future but got distracted. I need to revisit Peak Not-yet-finished on Mount TBR…
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Reading Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan Slaught. Interesting scientific "adventure" story about the author's work in Russia's Far East.
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Finished Greek Lessons. Oh, my goodness. What inspires someone to start—let alone finish!—a story like that? I'm going to have to head off in a completely different direction after that one!
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Greek Lessons is interesting, but a little goes a long way… I also started a very interesting nonfiction book by Salmaan Keshavjee called Blind Spot: How Neoliberalism Infiltrated Global Health. It's based on some fascinating work he did in post-Soviet Tajikistan.
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Started Greek Lessons by Han Kang last night as a break from Solenoid…
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Started Outlander too and it is fun!
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I started Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu. It's strange, supposedly written in one long draft without revisions. Weird, extravagant, historical, self-indulgent, sad, inventive, even funny by turns… Not the palate cleanser I was looking for, but I'm sticking with it for now.
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FINALLY dragged myself to the end of Compartment No. 6. I need a palate cleanser… I have many choices, including the first volume of Outlanders!
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Taking money away from libraries is so shortsighted!! I agree that we need to try to do what we can with letters, small donations, and vocal gratitude. I have to keep hoping that this will pass. The alternative is just too dreadful.
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Yeah, @Btrflydog, I just didn't "get" The Station…. It's amazing what others can show us though! I'm just about to finish Compartment No. 6 by a Finnish author. Same story. I never would have picked it up (or finished it) if I hadn't read that it inspired someone else. I still don't get it (or like it), but I'm going to…
