Monday, July 8, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Well, crime-fiction month finished strong with Stav Sherez's great A Dark Redemption, a mystery about a murder tied to African warlords and child soldiers. It's seriously one of the best books I've read all year. It's violent and gritty, with great twists and turns and stars a terrific investigating duo.

This month's theme is 2013 releases, which will be easy because I have a stack of galleys right next to my reading chair just begging to be opened. I read two already; Jenni Fagan's debut The Panopticon and Simon Van Booy's much-lauded The Illusion of Separateness. Both were good in their own ways but the winner was Illusion. I think lots of readers would really love that. Panopticon is a different kind of book, flashier I think, but Van Booy's is really excellent.

Now? Now I'm reading Summertime, All the Cats Are Bored, by Philippe Georget, another entry in Europa Editions' World Noir series and a truly gripping noir set in the Roussillon region of France. It's another winner.
Also really great so far is Philipp Meyers' The Son, a sprawling epic about the American West. I've heard it described by people who don't work for HarperCollins as "a classic," and so far I'm impressed.

I'll get back to regular blogging soon. Life has been topsy-turvy between being sick and having two deaths in the family in the last six weeks. I'm lucky if I know where I'm waking up from day to day. I miss you guys!

More What Are You Reading at BookJourney.wordpress.com.

7 comments:

Harvee said...
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Harvee said...

Don;t know how I can confuse The Illusion of Separateness with The Ocean at the End of the Lane, except that I read them back to back. Loved both. The Illusion is revealing and philosophical and The Ocean is a fabulous fable.

bermudaonion said...

Everyone is loving the new Van Booy!

caite said...

For me, every month is crime fiction month....

Meytal Radzinski said...

I want to read The Son so, so very badly. The fact that I've seen almost exclusively positive reviews (also from people who don't work for HarperCollins!) only makes the anticipation even more intense (on hold on hold on hold). I'm curious to see if you're just as impressed by the end!

Jen at Introverted Reader said...

I've been surprised by how much I've enjoyed the westerns I've read. I generally hate to watch them! Enjoy your week!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Sorry about your recent losses Marie - Take care.