Currently Reading
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany
A razor‑sharp debut novel of three best friends navigating love, sex, faith, and the one night that changes it all. — From the Publisher
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany was buzzed about at a virtual library conference and I was able to nab an advance reading copy from NetGalley. I can’t resist a book about a group of best friends, as you may know from my Top Ten Tuesday post last week.
This one is coming out tomorrow, June 7th! It’s also the Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club selection this month, which I didn’t realize until just now, as I’ve been on vacation. I hope we have enough copies at the library (probably not).
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
Vesper Flights is a collection of essays about the natural world by Helen Macdonald, who wrote H Is for Hawk, which I loved on audio. I’m reading this one in print for my book club this week. To finish in time, I may need to listen to it in part on audio!
Happy Holidays by Craig O’Connor
Happy Holidays is a collection of short horror by local author Craig O’Connor, which I’ve been reading along with the 2022 holidays. I missed May altogether, so I have Mother’s Day and Memorial Day stories to catch up on this week. Then it will be Father’s Day!
Recently Read
Cape May (Celadon, 2019) by Chip Cheek
Set in the fall of 1957, Cape May is the story of Henry and Effie, two young newlyweds from Georgia who arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon only to find the beach town deserted. They’re ready to cut the trip short when a chance encounter with Clara, a beautiful socialite, and Max, her lover, opens the door to an intoxicating world of drama and desire. – From the Publisher
I didn’t know anything about author Chip Cheek before reading his first published novel Cape May last week because we were vacationing in the area. If literary fiction about the dark underside of the seaside honeymoon of a couple who barely know each other when they married sounds like great vacation reading to you, then you have got to get this! It turns out the author has a Massachusetts connection, as he taught writing at Boston’s famous Grub Street and was part of a highly productive writers’ group there:
Publishers Weekly: Two Boston Writing Groups Produce 12 Books
If you’re interested in learning more about the author (who now apparently lives in California) and how Cape May came to be written, check out this interview with the author on the publisher’s Web site:
Chip Cheek, Author of Cape May, on How He Found the Story That Obsessed Him
Recently Listened To
We had a really long drive yesterday to get back home from vacation in time for work today, so in addition to The Splendid Table podcast, we listened to a bunch of novellas. I may have missed bits and pieces here and there, dozing off. (While I was the passenger!) If I had been smart, I would have listened to some of the essays in Vesper Flights early in the drive, as my husband probably would have enjoyed them too.
Currently Listening To
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
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 lists!
Your books look good! I am now curious about These Impossible Things.
Sorry about making you hungry with my post! LOL
I’ll have to let my brother know about the Iron Druid books. He’s a big fan of that series. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I wish my husband would listen to audiobooks with me while we drive but they bore him to tears. So we stream Pandora and I occupy myself with taking mostly blurry pictures out my side window. I take just enough good ones to give me motivation to keep trying. He’s not good at occupying himself as a passenger so he does almost all the driving on long trips. Works for me!
I like the concept of Happy Holidays. I’ll have to look for it.
Enjoy your week!
You have a nice mix of books. Cape May sounds good.
I’m intrigued by Cape May. Sounds like a good summer read. Enjoy your upcoming week!
After reading the synopsis, These Impossible Things sounds like a realistic, interesting read! I enjoy Backman’s books and your’s is on my TBR. This year I’m hoping to finish backreading this author. Thank you for sharing.
Three Impossible Things does sound good and a debut novel as well.
The Way Home was sad but hopeful. Otherwise, I’ve only read (listened to) A Man Called Ove and Anxious People by Backman, and I enjoyed them both. Thanks for visiting!
Every author’s dream! A bestseller straight out of the gate!
It was! It was unusual for me to be reading only one book at a time, with no audio even. Kind of refreshing! Maybe I should do it more often.
He might do better with nonfiction audiobooks! We listened to a couple of A.J. Jacobs’ books on other trips, which were broken up into short chapters so they were easy to pick up and listen to here and there. David Sedaris is another road-trip favorite! The novellas worked really well, as my husband doesn’t listen to audiobooks otherwise, so wouldn’t want to be left hanging if it lasted longer than our ride. As an experiment, try downloading Crime 101 by Don Winslow for your next road trip. I’ll bet your husband will like it!
These Impossible Things is good!
It was set just after the end of the tourist season, but yes, it would definitely be a good summer read! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! (Sorry it went into spam at first, for some reason.)