It’s the 4th of July and it’s a beautiful, sunny day – warm, not humid, a bit of a breeze. Perfect for cookouts and fireworks, and also perfect for not doing those things!
On to the books…
Currently Reading
The God of Lost Words by A. J. Hackwith
“The plot of this final volume has its exciting twists, but the real payoff is Hackwith’s complex characters…The character development throughout the series, the polyamory and queer representation, and convincing fears and desires all combine to make characters that feel real, and that will earn readers’ full investment.”–Booklist
“Hackwith suffuses this story with love in many forms, deep thoughts on reading, and variations on reality…It’s the perfect finish to this inventive saga.”–Publishers Weekly
The God of Lost Words (Ace, 2021) is third in the Hell’s Library books by A.J. Hackwith. I own this book, so I’ve been reading it on my lunch breaks at work. Expect to finish it this week!
Firefly Summer by Nan Rossiter
Our July book club selection is Firefly Summer by Nan Rossiter – a book set on the island of Nantucket that is NOT by Elin Hilderbrand or Nancy Thayer!
Recently Read
Search by Michele Huneven
“Readers will find Dana’s takes on committee microdramas, factions, and vagaries of church and friendship relatable. Food lovers will enjoy Dana’s restaurant visits and detailed food descriptions. The book’s finale is a collection of AUUC members’ signature recipes, a pleasing finish to this fresh work by award-winning novelist and food journalist Huneven.” —Booklist
Just finished Search, a fictional memoir about a Unitarian Universalist church’s year-long search for a new minister this morning. I wrote a little about it last week. Loved, loved, loved it! It’s on my 2022 favorites list, for sure.
Currently Listening To
I’m almost at the end of the audiobook edition of Devil House, which is read by the author. John Darnielle’s second novel (after Wolf in the White Van,) Devil House is hard to describe. It’s narrated by a writer of true crime whose self-described “schtick” is to inhabit the crime he is writing about; at the beginning of the book, he moves into a house known as Devil House, not far from where he grew up in the Bay Area of California, where two gruesome murders took place, .
The fictional author-narrator’s ambivalence about his own successful career forces one to think about the popularity of the true crime genre – in books, movies, newspapers, and magazines – and although I can’t bear to read true crime or watch crime reenactment shows, the author makes me question my attitude. Should I bear witness to real-life murders for the sake of the victims’ families, instead of squeamishly or self-righteously turning away, to give them “privacy?”
This unsettling novel gives voice to victims, perpetrators, victims’ families and friends, law enforcement officials, casting doubt on everything we think we can know about anything we read or hear about and have not directly experienced, and even with direct experience, memories are notoriously unreliable.
Recently Listened To
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
“Brimming from start to finish with sly humour and gothic mischief” – Sarah Waters
“Beguilingly clever, very sexy and seriously frightening” – Guardian
I think Xe Sands was the perfect choice to narrate the audiobook edition of Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth. She has what I think would be called a throaty voice that ranges from “sly humor and gothic mischief” to “beguilingly clever, very sexy, and seriously frightening” without resorting to gasps, portentousness, or breathlessness.
Listen to the beginning of the audiobook on SoundCloud:
If the downloadable audiobook from the library had displayed this cover, I might not have been inclined to borrow it, no matter how much sly humor and gothic mischief was contained therein. I’m scared enough of yellow jackets and other insects – singly or in swarms – even when they’re not acting as agents (perhaps?) of a demonic presence.
This post is linked to “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?” hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. Check out the link-up party there for more book lists!
