Monday, July 7, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Well in four days on Nantucket I finished three of the five books I was reading, read another one and started a fifth. So that's not too bad!

Late last week I finished Diary of the Fall by Michel Laub, about the grandson of a Holocaust survivor who is involved in a violent incident at his school, and the repurcussions of trauma through generations. It's a meditative and thoughtful book that ends on a pretty hopeful note.

Over the weekend I finished Laidlaw, a very good crime novel by William McIlvanney, considered a classic of "Tartan Noir" or Scottish crime, and a book that paved the way for the likes of Ian Rankin. I also finished Arimathea, by Frank McGuinness, an Irish novel about an Italian painter who comes to remote Donegal to paint the Stations of the Cross for a local church. I'd love to see one of our great small presses bring this little gem to the U.S. Next up was Double Negative, by Ivan Vladislavic, about a photographer and post-Apartheid South Africa. And I finished Carsick, John Waters' memoir/fiction about hitchhiking across the country. That was on audio and I finished it last Tuesday.

After finishing all these books I read a galley I had on hand, Avi Steinberg's The Lost Book of Mormon. It comes out in October. I am a fan of Steinberg's from his 2010 book Running the Books, a memoir of his time as a prison librarian. This is a book that really deserves a second life after Orange is the New Black has been such a success. But anyway his new one is great too, as much about writing and the act of creation as about traveling through the lands of the Mormon holy book. Great.

Now on to some new books!
I picked up a galley of Ben H. Winters' World of Trouble, final book in the Last Policeman series, and will be reading that and only that until I'm finished. Somewhere around here is my copy of The Line of Beauty and I'll get back to that eventually but first I must finish World of Trouble and find out if the world really comes to an end after all!

Finally, in audioland I started Lawrence in Arabia, by Scott Anderson. I listened to about half of the first CD last week but I probably should start again since it's pretty in-depth history and I've had a five-day gap now. But I liked what I heard so far!

What are you reading? See more at BookJourney.wordpress.com.

3 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Lawrence in Arabia sounds terrific but I'd probably do better with it in print.

Mystica said...

All I can think is how good the film was!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I always read a lot more on a beach vacation. You did great. Nantucket is a favorite place.