Well that week went fast! It was a decent one, my kid and I have taken up daily yoga (Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube is fantastic) which has provided a nice daily calm space for us both, as well as some movement and play. I haven’t read as much this week, but I did finish a couple of books, so I’m happy with that!
Read last week:
. The Night Watchman took me a while to get through, but that’s just because it’s a long book with a lot happening in it. It was my first Louise Erdrich book, and I’m really glad I finally got to try her. This book was brilliant – the characters were beautifully drawn, their lives were rendered with tenderness and detail, and the political and social issues at the center of the book are well integrated. It’s a good balance of literary writing and structure with a story that will definitely make you want to keep reading.
I am so torn on Joan Didion. Every time I read one of her books the overwhelming feeling I’m left with is confusion. There were some lines in this book that had me laughing out loud or pausing to listen again. And yet some of the essays I could barely remember pretty much as soon as I finished them (I actually went back and listened to a few again because I genuinely could not remember what they had been about). But while I was listening to them every part of them fell into place and the point she was making was clear and well conveyed. Another confusing part was that my favourite piece in the collection was about Ernest Hemingway, and I have no interest in the man. So I’m glad I got to this one – and it’s short – but yeah. Kinda not sure what I think.
Currently reading:
I am enjoying all three of these books. I’ve been meaning to read There There since it came out and finally got into it on audiobook, and it is even better than I expected. Uncomfortable Conversations is based on the YouTube series of the same name, and I’m really enjoying the conversational tone and interesting perspectives. It reminds me of How to Be an Antiracist, only a little more casual. I’m reading Diary of a Somebody because my Dad is reading it and convinced me that I should pull out my copy and give it a go. I think his exact words were, “good quarantine reading.” And he’s right.
Up next:
I’m not sure which one (or more) of these I’ll get to in the next week, but these are all options I have to choose from! I am surprisingly quite intrigued by Hamnet, though I dislike historical fiction, don’t really want to read about a plague and haven’t had much to do with Shakespeare in years. Everyone is raving about it though, and my Mum just finished it and is completely in love with it! I’m also interested to try The Prophets – a story about two gay men and their lives in the time of slavery – not something I’ve ever heard of before, and I’m really interested to give it a try. I’ve also heard really good things about it.
So that’s my week in books! What about you guys? What did you finish this week? Any books you’re excited to be reading or to pick up soon? Have you read any of these, and if so what did you think?
A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
Hey, I just finished The Night Watchman last week, too! I listened to it on audio, and I highly recommend all of Erdrich’s novels on audio because she reads them herself and is a perfect narrator for them.
There, There is also on my TBR list. And I’m with you – I wasn’t interested in Hamnet, but all the rave reviews are convincing me! I also just read about The Prophets and added it to my TBR list, too. It’s so awesome you are reading the same book as your dad. I lost my dad 5 years ago, and one of the things I miss most is talking books with him!!
Enjoy your books this week – nice to “meet” you! Seems we have very similar reading tastes 🙂
Sue
Book By Book
Oh man, I was in such a rush that I forgot to mention that I listened to it as well! I completely agree, the narration was fantastic. I tend to listen to audiobooks an higher speeds as well, so it’s a faster way for me to get through a book, I find! I haven’t read any of her other books yet, but I will definitely look for them on audio when I’m ready to give them a try based on your recommendation!
There There is so good that part of me is putting of listening to it because I already know, less than a quarter of the way through, that I’m going to be gutted when it’s over.
My mom is the one who most recently (and insistently) recommended Hamnet to me, so if I read that soon then I can chat to her about it – she loves it. I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. I can’t imagine not having mine, and I’m very lucky that both of my parents are readers and we all have overlapping tastes, so I get to talk to both of my parents about books. It is a huge source of joy and comfort to me, particularly since I haven’t been able to see my mom at all for over a year, and only saw my dad once, outside, at a distance, for about two hours last summer. I am grateful for both of them every single day.
Thank you so much for stopping by, for sharing your recommendations and thoughts, and for giving me a new reader to chat with who has similar reading tastes! I’m going to head over to your blog as soon as I get a minute, so you’ll see me popping up there at some point! It’s very nice to “meet” you as well!
Em