I re-read a short favorite: Letter from New York by Helene Hanff. A collection of monthly 5-minute talks she gave for the BBC’s Women’s Hour program in the 80’s. This is my second favorite Hanff after 84, Charing Cross Road (which I re-read almost yearly).
84 Charing Cross Road is my favorite film! Have to read the book, but haven't been able to find it as an ebook (I live on a boat, so not adding more tree books).
It’s an old book so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s not an ebook; some older books, no matter how popular, are hard to find.
That said, it’s a super slim volume and it occasionally turns up in thrift stores, and might be worth grabbing if you see it. You can give it to a friend when you’re done. :)
The Joy Luck Club! Somehow I never read it when it came out. It’s been on my shelf since 1990. Not the traditional plot driven story arc but the life tales of four women in China during the war with Japan and their relationships with their daughters after emigration to the U S are so funny and compelling and painfully sad. I could not put it down.
I read Notes From An Apocalypse by Mark O’Connell and reread Bunker:What It Takes To Survive The Apocalypse by Bradley Garrett. Both books deal with the same themes of dread of the unknown and how people plan to survive. O’Connell’s book is more introspective but he does visit various places. He travels to New Zealand to see where Peter Thiel is supposed to be building a bunker, attends a meeting of the Mars Society (Elon Musk among others), goes to Chernobyl. Bradley Garrett’s book involves visiting a variety of places where people are prepping for whatever event they are anxious about. Everything from homestead preppers to multi million dollar bunkers. Great reading. Thanks Jeremy for doing this discussion every month. Thanks to everyone who posts. I have read so many books from your recommendations and my TBR list keeps growing.
James by Percival Everett, pretty easy choice this month! I enjoyed it so much that it inspired me to get around to Percival Everett's Erasure as well. I really enjoyed the movie adaptation American Fiction, so that was more or less a sure thing for me. It would be in the top five for June too. Have you read any other Everett works? Any recommendations from what to read next of his?
James was my pick for June, too. Reading it back-to-back with Huck Finn might not have been the best idea due to plot differences, but the story was equally captivating and discomfiting.
"Brilliant", by Roddy Doyle. A delicate and funny tale of a group of children that are fighting the black dog (of depression) that has been affecting their family members. I want to give it to children in my life when they are a bit older. Lovely.
I also read The Extinction of Experience last month. I found it well-written, well argued, and I think it comports with my intuitions around technology use fundamentally changing how we live our lives. I also think it will be the last book I read about that subject for awhile...not because it's bad to reflect on it, but because I'm getting a little burnt out of the "yeah, we know this is bad, and there's not much we can do about it except make our own personal lives a little more analog here & there" genre.
I agree with you about the subject matter as a whole - we're reaching an oversaturation point where consuming more info won't make a difference and we'll have to collectively (as well as individually) decide to make changes.
I think Rosen's on to something, that one important step forward is to re-ground ourselves in the reality of our bodies and environments. That's a component of what I take to be the real change of perspective we all need, the one that will deliver actual relief to us: receiving God's grace through serving others and loving our neighbors. (To that end, I hope you'll read Dave Zahl's "The Big Relief" now that it's out!)
He's the Director of Mockingbird Ministries and the EIC of their website, mbird.com. One of my favorite destinations on the internet (and not just because they've published me online & in print before!)
Definitely Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. This is part of my Dickens project. I was primarily familiar with the story through films, but was surprised to find an additional subplot and several new characters. A very readable book. In second place was Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Primarily it’s about an older woman who works as a cleaner at an aquarium and her relationship with a Pacific Giant Octopus. That description barely scratches the surface of what happens in the book!
Read The Magus by John Fowles, after spotting it being read by a character in a comic series I particularly enjoyed (that sadly never got finished being published) called They're Not Like Us. It was good, with plenty of layers, but an ultimately unlikeable protagonist that was hard to root for, even as he was dissected (figuratively) by the masquerade he was forced to participate in.
Have two more stories left in John Langan's The Wide, Carnivorous Sky I'll probably finish tonight. Really loving that so far. His novel The Fisherman is a favorite of mine.
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë was by far the best book I read in June. I have reread many of the Brontë novels (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Villette) in the last year and been disappointed by the rereads. They weren't nearly as good as I thought the first time, BUT Agnes Grey was even better. It is a powerful and beautiful coming of age story of someone humble and good trying to find her voice and way in world where women without money have few options.
Me, A Place of Greater Safety. So empathetic and compulsively readable despite its weight. And hot of the presses vein, Bring Down the House. Edinburgh fringe, journalism, me too.
Nearly 8 year old: The Dark Times, Tim Probell's third in the Lightfall series.
My girls (now 16 and 20) used to devour magazines from the library! I should check some out and maybe they’ll get off their phones! (insert quote from The Anxious Generation, which I also loved!) I’m on a rom-com kick and Emily Henry makes me laugh out loud!
I re-read a short favorite: Letter from New York by Helene Hanff. A collection of monthly 5-minute talks she gave for the BBC’s Women’s Hour program in the 80’s. This is my second favorite Hanff after 84, Charing Cross Road (which I re-read almost yearly).
Never heard of it! Thanks for the rec. :)
84 Charing Cross Road is my favorite film! Have to read the book, but haven't been able to find it as an ebook (I live on a boat, so not adding more tree books).
It’s an old book so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s not an ebook; some older books, no matter how popular, are hard to find.
That said, it’s a super slim volume and it occasionally turns up in thrift stores, and might be worth grabbing if you see it. You can give it to a friend when you’re done. :)
I've been looking for years. I'm sure everyone else keeps an eye out for it. I did find it in French! I don't read French.
The Joy Luck Club! Somehow I never read it when it came out. It’s been on my shelf since 1990. Not the traditional plot driven story arc but the life tales of four women in China during the war with Japan and their relationships with their daughters after emigration to the U S are so funny and compelling and painfully sad. I could not put it down.
So very good! A lifetime favorite of mine.
I've not read it — I'll have to give it a shot sometime.
I read Notes From An Apocalypse by Mark O’Connell and reread Bunker:What It Takes To Survive The Apocalypse by Bradley Garrett. Both books deal with the same themes of dread of the unknown and how people plan to survive. O’Connell’s book is more introspective but he does visit various places. He travels to New Zealand to see where Peter Thiel is supposed to be building a bunker, attends a meeting of the Mars Society (Elon Musk among others), goes to Chernobyl. Bradley Garrett’s book involves visiting a variety of places where people are prepping for whatever event they are anxious about. Everything from homestead preppers to multi million dollar bunkers. Great reading. Thanks Jeremy for doing this discussion every month. Thanks to everyone who posts. I have read so many books from your recommendations and my TBR list keeps growing.
I've read and really enjoyed both of those books! Great picks, Shirleen, and thanks for the kind words!
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. I reread it every ten years or thereabouts. So good.
High on my list!
James by Percival Everett, pretty easy choice this month! I enjoyed it so much that it inspired me to get around to Percival Everett's Erasure as well. I really enjoyed the movie adaptation American Fiction, so that was more or less a sure thing for me. It would be in the top five for June too. Have you read any other Everett works? Any recommendations from what to read next of his?
I've only read James, but Erasure is on my shelf waiting for me. I've heard The Trees is also very good, as well as Telephone.
James was my pick for June, too. Reading it back-to-back with Huck Finn might not have been the best idea due to plot differences, but the story was equally captivating and discomfiting.
“The Husbands” by Holly Gramazio - such a unique concept and a book that, weeks later, I still think about and recommend!
I've heard of it but haven't read it — glad to hear you enjoyed it.
On my list!
"Brilliant", by Roddy Doyle. A delicate and funny tale of a group of children that are fighting the black dog (of depression) that has been affecting their family members. I want to give it to children in my life when they are a bit older. Lovely.
I've never read Doyle, but I've seen him recommended quite a bit around the bookish web. I'll have to check it out.
Without a doubt the novel Barabbas: https://amzn.to/4knsno7. It’s simultaneously brilliant, simple, and devastating.
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
I also read The Extinction of Experience last month. I found it well-written, well argued, and I think it comports with my intuitions around technology use fundamentally changing how we live our lives. I also think it will be the last book I read about that subject for awhile...not because it's bad to reflect on it, but because I'm getting a little burnt out of the "yeah, we know this is bad, and there's not much we can do about it except make our own personal lives a little more analog here & there" genre.
I agree with you about the subject matter as a whole - we're reaching an oversaturation point where consuming more info won't make a difference and we'll have to collectively (as well as individually) decide to make changes.
I think Rosen's on to something, that one important step forward is to re-ground ourselves in the reality of our bodies and environments. That's a component of what I take to be the real change of perspective we all need, the one that will deliver actual relief to us: receiving God's grace through serving others and loving our neighbors. (To that end, I hope you'll read Dave Zahl's "The Big Relief" now that it's out!)
I haven't heard of Zahl, but I'll check him out ASAP.
He's the Director of Mockingbird Ministries and the EIC of their website, mbird.com. One of my favorite destinations on the internet (and not just because they've published me online & in print before!)
Definitely Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. This is part of my Dickens project. I was primarily familiar with the story through films, but was surprised to find an additional subplot and several new characters. A very readable book. In second place was Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Primarily it’s about an older woman who works as a cleaner at an aquarium and her relationship with a Pacific Giant Octopus. That description barely scratches the surface of what happens in the book!
Oliver Twist is a great book! And Van Pelt's novel was definitely an enjoyable read for our book club a few years back.
Fun reading month, but my favorite was The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron.
Oh nice, that one is on my shelf and might be next for me.
Read The Magus by John Fowles, after spotting it being read by a character in a comic series I particularly enjoyed (that sadly never got finished being published) called They're Not Like Us. It was good, with plenty of layers, but an ultimately unlikeable protagonist that was hard to root for, even as he was dissected (figuratively) by the masquerade he was forced to participate in.
Have two more stories left in John Langan's The Wide, Carnivorous Sky I'll probably finish tonight. Really loving that so far. His novel The Fisherman is a favorite of mine.
I've not read any John Fowles - I'll check him out!
Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë was by far the best book I read in June. I have reread many of the Brontë novels (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Villette) in the last year and been disappointed by the rereads. They weren't nearly as good as I thought the first time, BUT Agnes Grey was even better. It is a powerful and beautiful coming of age story of someone humble and good trying to find her voice and way in world where women without money have few options.
Interesting, that's really good to know! I always enjoy Bronte re-reads, but have never read that one!
Me, A Place of Greater Safety. So empathetic and compulsively readable despite its weight. And hot of the presses vein, Bring Down the House. Edinburgh fringe, journalism, me too.
Nearly 8 year old: The Dark Times, Tim Probell's third in the Lightfall series.
I haven't read enough Mantel, but I'll get to her at some point. And thanks for the kiddo rec, I'll check it out with my own kids. :)
My girls (now 16 and 20) used to devour magazines from the library! I should check some out and maybe they’ll get off their phones! (insert quote from The Anxious Generation, which I also loved!) I’m on a rom-com kick and Emily Henry makes me laugh out loud!
Emily Henry is great! I've read a couple of hers.
Took your suggestion and pulled “Ladder to the Sky” off the shelf. Slow start but I really liked it.
Oh nice, yeah that one has stuck with me! Definitely a bit of a slow burn.