Currently Reading
Her Last Affair (Mariner, 3/22/22) by John Searles
“John Searles brings the misfits among us to life with the clarity of Carson McCullers — and then scares us with the brilliance of Stephen King. Her Last Affair is a perfect, page-turning example of the heart and horror that makes me love his work so very, very much.”
– Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch
I’m reading John Searles’ latest, Her Last Affair, from a NetGalley ARC – sad characters leading sad lives. Something a little bit off about all of them. So far, so good!
The Odds (Penguin, 2021) by Stewart O’Nan
The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O’Nan caught my eye because my husband and I had just visited Niagara Falls from both the U.S. and Canadian sides in December, and I’ve read another book by him that I liked a lot ( Wish You Were Here).
I saved this 2012 novel by from being weeded from the fiction collection by checking it out!
Recently Read
No Words by Meg Cabot
No Words by Meg Cabot is Book #3 in her Island Bridge sequence of novels with linked characters. No Words tells the enemies-to-lovers romance of two writers who come together at the first annual Island Bridge book conference. It doesn’t have the wittiest dialog ever, but it’s a fun rom-com with some laugh-out-loud moments.
The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi
translated by Elena Pala
Finished The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi last week, which I’d been reading in the morning when my brain is fresh (artificially so, from lots of coffee.) It’s a multigenerational family novel, but not exactly what I think of as a family saga, which I believe should have multiple perspectives and cover the time periods of multiple generations. The Hummingbird takes place over the lifetime of the main character.
There is a lot of life and death in the pages of The Hummingbird, as well as philosophical and psychological musings. The characters have stuck with me, but they are kept at an emotional remove. I don’t think, as a reader, I was intended by the author to love these characters, but to attempt to understand them. Recommended!
Dance Me to the End: Ten Months and Ten Days with ALS by Alison Acheson
There is no emotional remove in Dance Me to the End by Alison Acheson, which I also finished reading this past week. Highly recommended for its careful, writer’s observations and deep introspection during her formerly healthy, vibrant musican husband’s steep decline and death over the period of ten months after being diagnosed with ALS.
Currently Listening To
Wayward (Random House, 2021) by Dana Spiotta
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • A “furious and addictive new novel” (The New York Times) about mothers and daughters, and one woman’s midlife reckoning as she flees her suburban life.
Enjoying Wayward by Dana Spiotta! Listening as much as possible so it doesn’t expire on me!
Recently Listened To
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Ack! My library e-audiobook of Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty expired before I had quite reached the end. Now it’s months to wait before it comes in for me again, and the print copies are never available either. I may have to surreptitiously read the ending before checking in a print copy that gets returned while I’m covering the desk!
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Ditto on this one! In fact, A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine has expired on me twice, but I don’t have to wait as long for it to come around to me again as for the newest Liane Moriarty book.
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 liked Wish You Were Here by Stewart O’Nan quite a bit, too, but don’t think I enjoyed The Odds quite as much. Loved Last Night at the Lobster and Emily, Alone.
Will be curious to hear what you think of Wayward. It’s on my list!
I would constantly rescue weeded books if I worked in a library.
It’s the worst when you’re almost finished with a book and then it automatically gets returned! I hope you get to finish Apples Never Fall soon. Librarians need whatever perks they can get.
Enjoy your week!