It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? 09-06-21 #IMWAYR

I started the draft of this post for last Monday, but never wrote anything. Today is Labor Day, a Monday holiday for me, so – no excuses – I have all morning to get this done!

Currently Reading

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

How to Pronounce “Jacob de Zoet” in Dutch

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Random House, 2010) by David Mitchell has been languishing in my own book collection for years, and it’s on my Big Book Summer Challenge list.

Although today is the unofficial end of summer and everyone is getting out their fall clothes and drinking pumpkin spice lattes already, I’m reading for my summer challenge until Sept. 22nd. (I’m hoping Sue at Book by Book does, too, but I’m afraid to check.)

Life After Life by Jill McCorkle

Life After Life (Algonquin, 2013) by Jill McCorkle is my book club book for this month. I don’t usually choose books I’ve already read (I know I probably should) but we substituted at the last minute for the author’s new book, Hieroglyphics, which we couldn’t get enough copies of.

Fun Fact: Life After Life came out at almost exactly the same time as Kate Atkinson’s better known novel of the same name.

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg

Nerd Do Well (Penguin, 2012) is the comedic autobiography/memoir of Simon Pegg. (If you don’t know who he is, you probably don’t want to read this one. If you do, you probably should.)

I downloaded this as light reading last month, while I was still in sick mode, once I was able to read at least a little. It’s a good one to pick up when I’m only on a short break at work or am feeling too easily distracted to focus on The Thousand Autumns.

Recently Listened To

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian is being called an historical thriller, but I wish every suspenseful novel didn’t have to be called a thriller to get attention. This story, set in colonial Boston during the time of the witch hysteria throughout New England (and not just in Salem, Mass.), is compelling as historical fiction but has a contemporary feel in the way it delves into issues of social injustice – women’s rights; women’s voices going unheard; women’s financial dependence on their fathers and then their husbands; and women’s anger.

I’ve listened to most of Chris Bohjalian’s books on audio. I think I’ve written before that I think he’s a storyteller on a par with Stephen King but his novels vary more in style and tone instead of having an immediately recognizable voice.

The author’s daughter, Grace Experience, narrates many of his more recent books, I think, including this one, often paired with a male narrator. I think she is sounding more professional now. In this one, there is a full cast. You can check out their bios and voices here:

Meet the Cast: Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

Currently Listening To

The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill

The Missing Ones (Highbridge Audio, 2019), narrated by Karen White, is second in the Hester Thursby mystery series by Edwin Hill, featuring a Harvard University librarian with a lot of emotional baggage who runs a sideline business of finding people for other people, which doesn’t always end well for everyone. (The first one is Little Comfort, and the third one came out last December – I’m always behind! – Watch Her.

This is not a cozy mystery series, despite the librarian amateur detective character. Hester Thursby has a foul mouth, a bad temper, a tendency to drink a lot of whiskey, and a habit of going on her own into dangerous situations.

Temporarily (?) Not Listening To

The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck

The Way of Integrity expired on me from the library. I have it again now, but haven’t started listening to it again. Maybe I’m not in the mood for self-help. I never do the exercises, anyway, so how much help can they really be?

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!