Sometimes young people are more interesting than old farts
I recently listened to the audio version of The Accidental by Ali Smith. I enjoyed the novel, but I found the stories of some of the characters more interesting than others. The novel tells the story of a family on vacation, (well, technically, they’re “on holiday” since they are British) when a mysterious woman shows up in their lives and has a profound effect on each member of the family: a teenage son and daughter, a mom and the stepfather. The audio employs different readers to tell the story of each of the characters. When it was either the son or the daughter’s turn in the spotlight I found myself interested in the story, but when it was either of the adult characters I found myself more likely to zone out. At least in this novel, the...
The end of the world
Like Dirk Gently I love the interconnectedness of all things, and especially love when the different things I am reading seem to connect with one another. Over the past week or so the audio version of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers kept me company on my travels. This non-fiction book tells the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a resident of New Orleans who chose to stay in the city during Hurricane Katrina to look after his home and business. Six days after the storm hits he suddenly disappears and his wife, who has evacuated the city desperately works to piece together what happened. It’s a gripping and disturbing story, which I highly recommend. At the same time that I was listening to Zeitoun I was reading a short story anthology. At first glance a non-fiction book...
It’s Monday, What are You Reading?
It’s group blog time once again, It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books. I’ve been doing more writing than reading this week, and only managed to get through one “real” book and one audio book. I finished the awesome Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde and listened to the moving Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr. Shades of Grey I’ll be honest, although I like the premise behind Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, I had a hard time getting into those books, but when I read the premise behind Shades of Grey, I knew I had to give Fforde another try, and I am so glad I did. The novel is set in a dystopian future where everyone is obsessed with color and society is...
It’s Monday, What are You Reading?
It’s group blog time once again, It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books. This week I finished up a mystery novel Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan; read a graphic novel, Squirrel Mother by Megan Kelso; finished listening to the audio of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green and read a modern allegory Carmen Dog by Carol Emshwiller. Bad Things Happen I can’t remember where I first read a review for this debut novel by Harry Dolan, but wherever it was I remember thinking that the book sounded good, and I added it to by to-read list. I’m glad I did. Main character David Loogan has a mysterious past, who in a roundabout way ends up working for the small mystery magazine...
It’s Monday, What are You Reading?
It’s group blog time once again, but starting this week It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is being hosted by Sheila at One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books. This week I read the awesome Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I also read The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. At the moment I’m reading the very hard to put down Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Beautiful Creatures This YA novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is described as Southern Gothic. Take everything you love about To Kill a Mockingbird stick the characters in a modern high school, then throw in some dark supernatural elements and you get a pretty good feel for...
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