Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sunday Salon- Settling in for the Winter

This past week was pretty quiet, so I don't have too much to talk about as far as goings-on with me. I spent some time sorting out my TBR pile and ended up losing the book Leaving the Atocha Station for most of the week; I decided I wanted to read it after digging it out of the piles and then couldn't find it for days. I did find it eventually and started reading it; it's a moody, style-driven novel told in the first person by a young American man living in Spain, writing poetry with a fellowship. Mostly he seems to be drinking, doing drugs and spending time with his girlfriend. I think the plot is about to pick up though! I'm also reading Obabakoak, another book set in Spain, although this one is set in a Basque village and was originally written in the Basque language- one of only about 100 books to come to us from that language. It's a collection of interlinked short stories, and very fun to read.

I've been trying to decide if I want to do any challenges in addition to the Europa Challenge and the Complete Booker Challenge, and I think I probably won't, but it's still early in the year. This past week I completed one book for each of those challenges: the wonderful The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, for the Booker Challenge, and the staggering blistering Moffie for the Europa Challenge. Moffie should be required reading for anyone doing LGBT books- or just for anyone. It knocked my socks off!

This week? Well, after I finish Atocha Station I'm thinking about dipping into American Dervish, a 2012 release out now about Pakistani family in the United States. It looks really, really good to me and I'm looking forward to it. I'd also like to try out Tyrant Memory, a newish book by Horacio Castellanos Moya and published by the wonderful New Directions press.

What are you reading this week? Any 2012 releases you're starting now, or waiting on your nightstand or bookshelf?

More Sunday Salon here.

6 comments:

Aarti said...

I'm reading a 2012 release called Londoners which is a Studs Terkel-esque oral history survey of the city. It's very interesting, though apparently many people don't like London!

Anonymous said...

Nope. No 2012 releases on my nightstand. I mostly read "stuff" from at least a year or two ago, if not further out...although I do have at least one book from last year, 1Q84, on my TBR pile for this year.

I hope to be reading Cover Her Face by P.D. James here soon and by the end of the week, I need to finish Goldfinger by Ian Fleming as narrated by Simon Vance as part of an audiobook challenge I'm participating in.

Sandy Nawrot said...

I've got American Dervish near the top of my pile but I keep getting distracted. Although I've seen both good and bad reviews, I'm still really interested in what this book has to say.

Zibilee said...

I also have and want to read American Dervish, and have heard a lot about it over the past few weeks. It seems like a pretty complex book, and I will be interested in your take on it.

I had to laugh that you lost your book, as I lost one this week too, and was stomping all over the house looking for it. I eventually found it, but it took me awhile!

Harvee said...

Atocha Station is one I'd love to read. I loved Spain!

bermudaonion said...

I hate it when I can't find a book I know I have. I hope to read American Dervish soon.