For some reason (two small children, cough cough...), I don't get enough sleep. And even when I am able to sleep, because everyone else in my house is sleeping at that moment, I sometimes experience insomnia. So I bust out a book in bed (because I sleep alone in the room next to DD while DH is in our bed with DS). I've managed to read a few more books than usual lately. (I'm omitting the authors' names because I can't be bothered to get up and look at the pile of books). Here's my list of good, finished reads:
The Help
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Prospect Park West
Superfreakonomics
The Big Short
And I am about 10 pages into "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" (and loving it). Anyone want to discuss it here with me at the end of May? Or any of these other titles now? Or anything you would recommend?
7 comments:
Woke up bleary-eyed this morning because I chose the stay up half the night to finish the latest Jodi Picoult book, House Rules. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but loved the book in general.
My book club read The Help last month. I liked it a lot, but we had some interesting discussion about the presumptuous-ness (?) of a white author trying to capture the voice of her black characters, especially given the exact subject and nature of the book. Still, I enjoyed the variety of voice and the story kept me turning pages. Haven't read the other yet, but thanks for the recommendations.
I just ordered it for my Kindle. I have no idea what the book is about but since I'm all out of vampire novels at the moment, I'm game.
I read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and LOVED IT. It broke my heart, to think of parents and children being seperated during WWII. Can you imagine making the decision to send your child away to be raised by strangers, and then losing all communication? Not even knowing if they arrrived safely at their destination? Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo...!
I never used to be a book-weeper before I had kids.
I'm on the waitlist to get the The Immortal Life.... from my library. At the moment I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which is a very fun read (I love Pride and Prejudice, and I love zombies - so perfect).
The next Sookie Stackhouse novel comes out in just a couple of weeks. Can't wait!
I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my book club, and I really enjoyed! (Missed the book club itself because of kids/sleep issues.) I was fascinated by the occupation of that little island and how they dealt with it. I was heartbroken both by the seperation from the kids and how Elizabeth's story ended. Would love to talk about it more with anyone!
We are thinking of The Help for the month of July, I believe.
I will recommend to you what I recommended to my book club: The Thirteenth Tale. They've slated it for June, but I've already read it. (Side note: I really feel like part of the book club, now that they choose one of my books!)
I also LOVED The Blessing Stone and want to reread it soon. It came out years ago.
I don't know any of the books you mentioned, but second 'The Thirteenth Tale'. By far the best read this year, and something you can get through quickly. At the moment I'm (still) reading Walf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Booker Prize Winner 2009). But it's probably way toooooo long.
@blue - This Jodi Picoult book keeps coming up - and since you endorse it I know I would like it, so it is going on my list.
My shitty book club (yeah, fuck me, I am still a member for now - like the mob you can never really get out) is going to speak (vapidly) about "The Help" in June. I agree about the problem of voice. It is one thing when Alice Walker or Toni Morrison's characters speak in dialect, but Kathryn Stockett's didn't quite feel the same somehow. Of course I'm not going to discuss that with the book club crackers!
@mom2boy - Cool, I hope you love it!
@Jac - I loved Guernsey, too. It will stay with me for a long time. Did you think Elizabeth was a Christ figure? Or am I smoking the wacky tobaccy for thinking that?
P&P + zombies is also on my list, in addition to it's prequel with the scary looking girl on the cover.
@caramama - I'm going to put up a Guernsey discussion post in a bit - amen to that! Thanks for the 13th Tale & The Blessing Stone suggestions.
@Paola - How is Wolf Hall so far? I don't mind a long book if it is consistently engaging throughout.
Oh it is. But sometimes it is hard to keep track of who the subject is. Mantel loves to use pronouns to identify her characters and I'm sometimes confused as to who 'He' refers to. Then again, I think the problem is that I haven't been dedicating enough time to it and forget what has been going on.
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