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.
Continue reading “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? 09-06-21 #IMWAYR”