Reading, lately

I actually read a lot, even though I don't post about it often. I have a pretty haphazard method of picking out books at the library, which is nice because I can find things I've never heard of before, but it also means I read a lot of books that are just so-so and not worth mentioning. Happily, I've gotten quite a few stand outs over the last few weeks, based on nothing other than dumb luck.


Three Junes by Julia Glass definitely sucked me in. It's a family story, with a couple of different viewpoints. I pretty much always love books with some good family tension. Plus, it's fun to read something with a nice shiny medal on the front, isn't it? If you like Scotland, family secrets and frustrations with a nice healthy dose of sibling love/squabbling, I'd recommend it to you.




The World to Come by Dara Horn was one of those books I picked out just because I liked the cover design and font choice. Uh huh, I am weird like that and I actually do this a lot, with mixed results. But guess what? It turned out to be really good, so I'm vindicated. There's a bit of mystery, some spiritualism, some art and some love. If you like Chabon, I think this is a good bet for you.




The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton was pretty amazing, but it also turns out to be incredibly depressing. I can't decide whether I would recommend it to you, even though the writing is gorgeous. Apparently, Oprah recommends it. I have to admit, I tend to be a little snobby and try not to carry around books with her seal on them. Does anyone else have this issue? It's nothing against Oprah or her book club, really. The edition I checked out from the library had not yet been stamped with her little O so I was safe.

Are you guys on the lookout for stuff to read? I could always do more frequent posts about books. I read a crazy mix of stuff, mostly novels, short stories and murder mysteries, for when I'm feeling too tired to sink my teeth into something meaningful. I end up going through 4 -5 books a week, on average, which sounds a bit insane, but I take public transit everywhere, which gives me lots of time to read. I'm deep in The Zookeeper's Wife right now, which I embarrassingly and mistakenly believed to be a novel until I got an entire chapter through and realized it was non-fiction/history. The title fooled me, but I'm loving it so it's okay.

Are you reading anything right now that I should know about?