Sunday Caught My Interest

Happy Sunday. It is starting to spit rain here, a good day to stay inside unless you are a dog going for a walk with your person. I spent my weekend reading a manuscript authored by a friend of my husband who wanted so critique. It was fun to see a work in the beginning and it was a stretch for me because the genre was so different from what I usually read  (it is a vampire mystery). Himself has been working on my office desk and re-purposing some old bookshelves for my craft area. It also means musical b0okshelves around so eldest is cleaning out his shelves. Once this is all done, hopefully I can tackle the bedroom shelves with its stacks of too be read books.

Here is what caught my interest this week.

My mom and I frequently talk about how our friends are so important to us – women who laugh with us and support us when times are tough. Alyce of At Home with Books highlights a book about four women who were childhood friends, The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar. I read Umrigar’s The Weight of Heaven some time ago and really enjoyed both the writing and the story. Unrigar is very good at examining how a character gains growing insight while undergoing a difficult time. In her newest novel, she explores the relationship and lives of four Indian women, one of whom is dying to cancer and she wants to see her three friends before she dies.

Sometimes I am in the mood for a quick, easy, fun read and The Boston Bibliophile reviews one that sounds like it fits the bill. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: a Novel in Pictures is based on Frankie’s scrapbooks- a 1920’s girl who goes from Vassar to Paris to New York. Not quite a graphic novel, this seems like a good read to while away a couple of rainy hours.

Gin Phillips’ first novel, The Well and the Mine was a good read for a debut novel. It had a interesting storyline and made for a good book group discussion. Devourer of Books reviews Phillips’ second novel, Come in and Cover Me. Jen did have a difficult time connecting with the main character but felt the book was interesting and that Phillips is “a strong writer”. Ren is an archeologist who has discovered the work of a potter and artist. What people don’t realize is that she was led to the site by the ghost of her brother who died when she was twelve. This doesn’t seem like a ghost story – instead it is a tale of loss and how that loss can damage a person.

Every once in a while I come across a book that is hard to find but sounds totally worth it. This week it is Lynn Coady’s book of short stories Play the Monster Blind reviewed by Gavin at Page 247. Set in a small town in Canada the stories are also linked by characters and shared history as well as the location.  I can get this book through inter library loan and it is available from some used book sellers. What sold me on the collection were these words from Gavin:

Reading these stories felt like walking barefoot over gravel, sharp and painful, wanting to hurry and get into cool grass.  Coady is an insightful writer, exploring the dynamics of family and community in a small town.

Anyone who has lived in a small town, particularly as an adolescent, knows the feeling Coady expresses in her stories.  Gossip, back-biting, bullying, the need to fit in and the need to escape…I know, this sound depressing, but Lynn Coady’s abilities bring a sharp humor to these stories and make even the most unlikable character understandable.

Finally, Diane of Bibliophile of the Sea reminds me why everyone should read Steinbeck’s East of Eden at least once in their life. It remains one of my all time favorite books discussing choice, family, inheritance, evil, and redemption.

Happy Reading.

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