I’m reading The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. It’s very intriguing (and better written than Tartt’s, I’d argue).
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Thank you for sharing that! I have had that book on Audible since 2018, when I looked for it yesterday it was "no longer available "! There was a newer publication available for a “credit”, I emailed Audible about the situation, and they sent a free link within hours! I hope to get through it this time, or at least eventually!
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Oh man, it was hard enough to get through in print. I’d probably be in tears hearing parts of it read out loud. Report back!
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This sounds promising.
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The Jungle Book by Kipling, 1894 printing. Was passed down through the relatives. I never got to it as a kid and even then it would have been hard reading. Hard events and way too violent for my liking and that was just the story of Mowgli. Most def not the much later Disney interpretation for which a movie or two were produced. Other stories in here not so bad…
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I decided to read it before I watched it.
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I just tarted ‘Brain Droppings’ by George Carlin. I’ve had this on my list for at least 20 years. I’m looking forward to his wit. We need as many laughs as we can get these days.
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Hey, want to read a dense postmodern screed about the semiotics of cooking with lots of words like “textualize” and “intersectional”, and references to Barthes and Baudrillard? Small Fires, by Rebecca May Johnson, is for you!
https://www.amazon.com/Small-Fires-REBECCA-MAY-JOHNSON/dp/1911590480/
Read the posted sample at Amazon for a taste.
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I’ve been horribly neglecting contributing to this thread, though I have been voraciously reading since starting it.
Rather than listing everything I’ve read, I think I’ll group titles into topics/themes.
I enjoyed Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice, which was insightful, delightful, and provides new lenses through which to read Gertrude Stein. That then led to me toward rereading The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (bonus: there’s a new illustrated edition which enhances the experience).
My takeaway is a new appreciation for Stein’s abilities - and her complex navigation of life. This is a significant change from my previous assessment of the Autobiography being annoyingly name-droppy and presumptive and grumble-inducing. (I tend to read literally; subtext, satire, and wit are often completely beyond my awareness unless someone points out what’s going on.)
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For great escapism - offensive, twisty plots, hilarious dialogue, repellent (yet plausible) characters, and an author who seems to have foreseen a lot of the recent events in the UK - I fell into the Slough House/Slow Horses series.
Just. Plain. Enjoyable.
(We don’t have Apple TV+ but reviews for the televised series have been pretty good.)
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