Now I own all five of the authors book. Music/the arts are somewhere-themed in all of her novels-that’s why Station Eleven struck a cord…a new look at survival.
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Did you make it through Case Histories?
I enjoy Stegner’s non-fiction; his fiction, though, which so many people revere, does nothing for me. Keep thinking I’ll mature into it … but 50 is on the near-horizon and it’s not happened so far.
Regarding accumulation of books:
When my partner and I merged our households we had 27 overburdened bookcases between us. Several months later we “rehomed” about 2000 books (donations to libraries, schools, prison book programs).
We’ve repeated the processes several times in the ensuing 11 years - down to 14 overburdened bookcases! - and yet still accumulate more books.
As we finish books they go onto “keep for possible rereading or lending out” shelves or into “pass along to family” or “donate” boxes.
Would love to do a Little Free Library but landlord is not in favor of that.
We realize we have significantly more books than we will ever have time to read before we kick off, so in theory we should be enjoying those we have in our possession.
In practice, though … .
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I’d given a copy of the book to my mother a few years ago (she enjoyed it); as I don’t watch much TV and don’t have HBO, the first time I realized it was made into a series was stumbling onto this interview:
I have not read anything by her: any thoughts on where I might start?
For the moment, I’m sort of stuck on Chapter 9. I’ve enjoyed it. Not sure why I’m stuck.
Currently screaming through:
Enjoying the Rashomon-like shifts as the events are recounted from different POVs.
This was preceded by:
Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River - Part history, part travelogue. Very readable and filled in some gaps in my understanding of how the Colorado River water agreements were developed.
Other recent reads I enjoyed (there were several I did not):
Night Boat to Tangier - Absolutely loved this (the author’s skill with dialogue is enviable).
The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive - Readable and interesting, but was more intrigued by the son of Baron Otto von Wächter, as he attempted to reconcile his family legacy, than the Baron’s story.
The Vanishing Half - Engrossing, readable, and thought-provoking.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Fascinating.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Bleak, haunting, and lingering.
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I would start with Station Eleven. I finished the HBO series, which I did enjoy. The book is even better and the character plot-sequences different than the series. Then, I would move onto Last Night in Montreal, The Lola Quartet, etc.
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Bookmarking!
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Maybe not the right story for you right now?
I’m getting better about setting aside (and even getting rid of) books that don’t work for me. It’s a struggle, but life’s too short to slog through something that’s not working for me. (That’s what I keep telling myself, at least!)
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I shall ask my mother to send her copy south; many thanks!
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I read classics, non-fiction (a lot of history), science fiction, and fiction and mysteries (mostly older). I do a column for Mark’s and my weekly zine, so I can’t slack off. (The latest column was on translations of Jorge Luis Borges; next is THE TIME MACHINE.)
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Sadly PJ O’Rourke died this past week. I read and enjoyed his Parliament of Whores and Give War a Chance. One would have to be humorless not to enjoy them. I no longer have them so will get them ordered and add them to my pile.
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Valerie Boyd passed last week, too. Her “Wrapped in Rainbows,” a biography of Zora Neal’s Hurston, is (I think), a masterpiece.
I’ve not read PJ O’Rourke in years; must remedy that soon.
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I finished it! I enjoyed it, but had to reread parts to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
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I am 100 pages into the 9th Outlander book–Go Tell The Bees That I Have Gone. I just can’t get into it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Outlander but this book just isn’t lighting up my world. I’m going to have to just start over at the beginning again and plow through.
On deck I have:
–Stiff (re-read)
–The Secret Life of Lobsters (re-read)
–The Glass Castle (re-read)
–Half-Broke Horses (re-read)
–In The Land of Invisible Women
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LOVED Stiff, and enjoyed the Glass Castle!
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I like the title.
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