Currently Reading
The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi
translated by Elena Pala
In my last “It’s Monday” post, I received some family saga suggestions in the comments (Thank you!) but before that I remembered my neglected NetGalley shelf of advanced reading copies, and found The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi.
I had requested the ARC after hearing about The Hummingbird on Library LoveFest, and started reading it just before the U.S. pub date of January 25, 2022. It was probably described by the HarperCollins library marketing team as perfect for fans of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, which it is. I’m about halfway through, so may be going back to those other family saga suggestions soon, or else finishing the Neapolitan novels with the unread Book #4!
Dance Me to the End: Ten Months and Ten Days with ALS by Alison Acheson
Dance Me to the End is an evocative memoir about the emotional impact of witnessing a loved one suffer from a neurological, degenerative, and terminal disease. This is a detailed account of grief, shock and pain coexisting with the levity, laughter and love shared with her husband and sons in those final months of Marty’s life.
I’ve been reading Dance Me to the End by Alison Acheson slowly. It’s a powerful memoir, intensely personal while also crystallizing universal feelings of loss and grief in the chapters, each of which could stand alone as its own essay. Not a book to race through!
No Words by Meg Cabot
No Words by Meg Cabot was an impulse checkout at the library because I like books about writers and wanted something light and humorous to alternate with my heavier reading. When I saw this on the new books shelf, I remembered how funny Meg Cabot’s book The Princess Diaries was as an audiobook and decided to try it.
It turns out to be Book #3 in the Island Bridge sequence, but I decided to go ahead and read out of order, as I did with the Jasmine Guillory books, which also tell the stories of linked characters who are only secondary characters or cameo appearances in other books.
Recently Listened To
Billy Summers by Stephen King
Currently Listening To
Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese
Read by the author! Fun and highly recommended!
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
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!
I like a good family saga series. The ALS memoir sounds good but harrowing. I don’t know I could read it as I have a sister with slow moving ALS, although it increasingly affects her. Tough for sure.
Yes, the memoir author’s husband had an even faster than usual progression of the disease. In the book, the author is feeling her way towards how to take care of her husband without losing their mutual sense of love and respect for each other as the disparities in their strength and health and futures widen, so anyone who finds themselves trying to say the right thing or be a support to someone struggling with any serious illness, not just ALS, could find that this book might resonate with them!
I haven’t read any of Elena Ferrante’s novels but I keep hearing good things about them. I should try to get to one this year for my Books in Translation challenge.
Have you read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi? Dance Me to the End sounds a bit like that memoir. It was good but heart-breaking.
Enjoy your week!
Yes, I listened to When Breath Becomes Air on audio!