I decided to take a break from nonfiction and of the fiction I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was the best. I like epistolary novels and this was one I couldn’t put down. I highly recommend it. What a story.
I read Daniel Mason's North Woods to humor a friend who wanted to discuss it. Going in, I didn't know anything about the it. After the first chapter, I was wishing I hadn't agreed to it, but by the third, I was engrossed. Totally different book and my favorite for October.
I read The Great Gatsby last month for I believe only the second time which was largely delightful. Currently re-reading A Moveable Feast and enjoying it even more now I'm in France!
I’m flying to London next month and visiting the new John le Carré exhibit so I’ve been binging spy novels. His most autobiographical novel, A Perfect Spy, was amazing
A close tie for me between “Wolf at the Table” by Adam Rapp and “To Smithereens” by Rosalyn Drexler. “Wolf” tracks a family through generations and its encounters with mental illness. “Smithereens” follows a woman through 1970s wrestling. Both are quite good.
I actually took a cue from the short-lived idea for the book club for this page & read "American Scary" by Jeremy Dauber. And wrote a review of it for a local alternative weekly. I enjoyed it well enough, but not whole-heartedly. Like Stephen King's "Danse Macabre" & David J. Skal's "The Monster Show," recency bias takes hold concerning stuff discussed towards the end of the book. Those sections assume a familiarity with material under discussion, so stuff is kinda glossed over. & The book's focus on American horror unfortunately precluded a discussion of horror in video games, the majority of the stories for which are developed in Japan.
I read 'Salem's Lot for this first time this October and it's now probably my favorite King I've read. There were a couple late night reading sessions that I had to just stop because the dread was too strong.
If you liked Silence of the Lambs, you must read Red Dragon by Harris. I was such a fan of the relationship of Francis that I was very upset when he became violent. Good character development.
Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth won the best book for me in October. It was all the beter after recently reading All The Wild That Remains by David Gessner, which embraced the love of place and featured some of the same characters as Kingsnorth's thought provoking book. I did not read ATM quickly, although it is engaging enough to be easily read quickly, but there is too much to mull on to allow for anything but a slow and reflective read. This is a book I will probably read again, not because I agree with everything he asserts but because I don't, and yet, there is much truth in it.
Also, The Witches is hard not to love! It's Ronald Dahl at his best (sorry, James and the Giant Peach fans).
I enjoyed BLACKOUT by Connie Willis, a funny time travel story about future historians going back to observe World War II, and ROSE/HOUSE by Arkady Martine, an ominous mystery/thriller about an AI-powered house.
I haven't read that one yet, but it's in my TBR! Her books are a lot of fun. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG is great also (and then I had to read Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN IN A BOAT, which inspired it).
It took me forever to get into The Doomsday Book but I ultimately loved it. I did not have the same challenge with Blackout ( and All Clear). I think that Blackout/All Clear is Connie Willis at her finest.
Thank you so much for your lists. For me, Josephine Tey's A Daughter of Time, God and Churchill (Jonathan Sandys and Wallace Henley), The Lost Tomb (Douglas Preston), The Gathering Storm by Churchill. I'm now in the middle of Their Finest Hour and plan to read the whole 6 books in this series.
I'm in an Orthodox writing group (St. Basil's) and recently in a group discussion we were talking about what we are currently reading. Someone asked why I'm reading Churchill (and as you know, we are talking about a tremendous investment of time to do so) and I told them that as an author, I want to continue to travel down the neural pathways that the nobility of his writing (both content and style) creates. He was like all men flawed but I don't think it's saying too much to say he saved Western Civilization -- "Christian civilization" as he often termed it -- and I am most grateful to him.
Yes, absolutely! His writing has such energy and moral force to it — it's a pretty incredible reading experience. He won the Nobel for Literature, after all! Doesn't mean everything, but it definitely means something.
I’m reading “The Orthodox Church” which I picked up at the Greek Festival at St. Basil’s, in Stockton. It’s leading me down a number of rabbit holes to explore.
Endings by Maria Reva (Booker International longlist). So incredible, wry and self-aware. I don't normally love super experimental lit fic or meta fiction but this had me hooked. And Heart the Lover by Lily King, which definitely left me weeping on the sofa while my husband and son did Lego.
The 8 year old is still working through the Amulet series, but also finished the 5th Witches of Brooklyn which he loved. Our October read-aloud was Harriet the Spy, a childhood favorite of mine (and my mom's). In academia, we joke about Reviewer 2 always being brutal. T is definitely channeling that energy in his little reading journal. Last entry for something was "This book was rubbish, hardly any plot!" He read an amazing Choose Your Own adventure-style book about the 7 Wonders of the World over the summer, but all the others we've tried have been rejected as lacking in plot.
One for your Pulitzer goal: Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David J. Garrow (1987 Pulitzer for Biography). It’s a detailed account of the history of MLK Jr and SCLC from the Birmingham bus boycott to MLK Jr’s assassination. This is a great book alongside Jonathan Eig’s recent biography on King. The latter gives significant credit to Garrow in his acknowledgments. Another good accompanying book is Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff’s The Race Beat. All three are Pulitzers.
I decided to take a break from nonfiction and of the fiction I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was the best. I like epistolary novels and this was one I couldn’t put down. I highly recommend it. What a story.
I bought this one recently and am hoping to get to it before the end of the year. Everyone who has read it seems to love it!
I haven't heard of it, but I'll certainly look it up!
I read Daniel Mason's North Woods to humor a friend who wanted to discuss it. Going in, I didn't know anything about the it. After the first chapter, I was wishing I hadn't agreed to it, but by the third, I was engrossed. Totally different book and my favorite for October.
Interesting, I've heard *really* mixed reviews of North Woods. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I read The Great Gatsby last month for I believe only the second time which was largely delightful. Currently re-reading A Moveable Feast and enjoying it even more now I'm in France!
Fitz and Hemingway! Two of the all-time greats. Just recently read Moveable Feast for the first time myself — loved it.
The chapter where the two of them are hanging out in Lyon and Fitz is convinced he’s dying! Incredible times.
I’m flying to London next month and visiting the new John le Carré exhibit so I’ve been binging spy novels. His most autobiographical novel, A Perfect Spy, was amazing
Oh awesome, I've read a handful Le Carre novels and have really enjoyed all of them.
A close tie for me between “Wolf at the Table” by Adam Rapp and “To Smithereens” by Rosalyn Drexler. “Wolf” tracks a family through generations and its encounters with mental illness. “Smithereens” follows a woman through 1970s wrestling. Both are quite good.
Interesting, never heard of either of them! I'll look 'em up.
Adam Rapp is brother to Anthony Rapp (Dazed and Confused, Rent). Adam also wrote the book for the musical “The Outsiders.”
Is "Smithereens" fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction. First published in the 70s and recently reprinted
Ah. A la Robert Meyer's superhero satire "Superfolks" about twenty years ago now.
I actually took a cue from the short-lived idea for the book club for this page & read "American Scary" by Jeremy Dauber. And wrote a review of it for a local alternative weekly. I enjoyed it well enough, but not whole-heartedly. Like Stephen King's "Danse Macabre" & David J. Skal's "The Monster Show," recency bias takes hold concerning stuff discussed towards the end of the book. Those sections assume a familiarity with material under discussion, so stuff is kinda glossed over. & The book's focus on American horror unfortunately precluded a discussion of horror in video games, the majority of the stories for which are developed in Japan.
Interesting, glad to hear your review of that one!
I read 'Salem's Lot for this first time this October and it's now probably my favorite King I've read. There were a couple late night reading sessions that I had to just stop because the dread was too strong.
So so good! Easily one of my King favorites as well.
If you liked Silence of the Lambs, you must read Red Dragon by Harris. I was such a fan of the relationship of Francis that I was very upset when he became violent. Good character development.
I read Matterhorn, which you recommended. It was an amazing read. Easily a top 5 read ever.
Bravo! So glad you liked it as much as I did!
Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth won the best book for me in October. It was all the beter after recently reading All The Wild That Remains by David Gessner, which embraced the love of place and featured some of the same characters as Kingsnorth's thought provoking book. I did not read ATM quickly, although it is engaging enough to be easily read quickly, but there is too much to mull on to allow for anything but a slow and reflective read. This is a book I will probably read again, not because I agree with everything he asserts but because I don't, and yet, there is much truth in it.
Also, The Witches is hard not to love! It's Ronald Dahl at his best (sorry, James and the Giant Peach fans).
I enjoyed BLACKOUT by Connie Willis, a funny time travel story about future historians going back to observe World War II, and ROSE/HOUSE by Arkady Martine, an ominous mystery/thriller about an AI-powered house.
I've read one Connie Willis novel and really enjoyed it (Crosstalk); I certainly want to read more.
I haven't read that one yet, but it's in my TBR! Her books are a lot of fun. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG is great also (and then I had to read Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN IN A BOAT, which inspired it).
It took me forever to get into The Doomsday Book but I ultimately loved it. I did not have the same challenge with Blackout ( and All Clear). I think that Blackout/All Clear is Connie Willis at her finest.
I'm looking forward to ALL CLEAR!
Recursion by Blake Crouch
That was a great one!
So good.
Thank you so much for your lists. For me, Josephine Tey's A Daughter of Time, God and Churchill (Jonathan Sandys and Wallace Henley), The Lost Tomb (Douglas Preston), The Gathering Storm by Churchill. I'm now in the middle of Their Finest Hour and plan to read the whole 6 books in this series.
What a coincidence, I'm halfway through Gathering Storm myself! I also plan on reading the whole series. His writing is so stirring.
I'm in an Orthodox writing group (St. Basil's) and recently in a group discussion we were talking about what we are currently reading. Someone asked why I'm reading Churchill (and as you know, we are talking about a tremendous investment of time to do so) and I told them that as an author, I want to continue to travel down the neural pathways that the nobility of his writing (both content and style) creates. He was like all men flawed but I don't think it's saying too much to say he saved Western Civilization -- "Christian civilization" as he often termed it -- and I am most grateful to him.
Yes, absolutely! His writing has such energy and moral force to it — it's a pretty incredible reading experience. He won the Nobel for Literature, after all! Doesn't mean everything, but it definitely means something.
I’m reading “The Orthodox Church” which I picked up at the Greek Festival at St. Basil’s, in Stockton. It’s leading me down a number of rabbit holes to explore.
Endings by Maria Reva (Booker International longlist). So incredible, wry and self-aware. I don't normally love super experimental lit fic or meta fiction but this had me hooked. And Heart the Lover by Lily King, which definitely left me weeping on the sofa while my husband and son did Lego.
The 8 year old is still working through the Amulet series, but also finished the 5th Witches of Brooklyn which he loved. Our October read-aloud was Harriet the Spy, a childhood favorite of mine (and my mom's). In academia, we joke about Reviewer 2 always being brutal. T is definitely channeling that energy in his little reading journal. Last entry for something was "This book was rubbish, hardly any plot!" He read an amazing Choose Your Own adventure-style book about the 7 Wonders of the World over the summer, but all the others we've tried have been rejected as lacking in plot.
John Dos Passos' war novel Three Soldiers
One for your Pulitzer goal: Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David J. Garrow (1987 Pulitzer for Biography). It’s a detailed account of the history of MLK Jr and SCLC from the Birmingham bus boycott to MLK Jr’s assassination. This is a great book alongside Jonathan Eig’s recent biography on King. The latter gives significant credit to Garrow in his acknowledgments. Another good accompanying book is Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff’s The Race Beat. All three are Pulitzers.