Category Archives: Literary Fiction

June 29, 2019 · 12:36 pm

Where The Crawdads Sing

How do I describe this masterful writing? It’s a debut novel about a lonely, nature-loving girl. It’s a best seller. I usually avoid reading those titles although I check the list weekly. This book surpasses them all. Oh, I almost forgot, several respected friends recommended this title to me. Was there too much hype about this book? I waited and decided to finally read it when it was gifted to me.

Where the Crawdads Sing reminds me of the language in Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. With each of these books, I couldn’t read in my usual fast pace. I had to read and re-read passages to fully immerse myself in the images these brilliant writers create.

Delia Owens caught me about 100 pages in with her purposeful repetition and alliteration. “And when a swell surged beneath them, his thighs brushed against hers and her breathing stopped.” Can’t you feel the waves and the sexual tension? She captured my attention and held it until the last page.

From that quoted sentence on, I didn’t want to put the book down, but I did stop reading to savor each scene, relive each emotion she wove around Kya, her main character. I could sense every detail of nature as well as the human emotion in this girl so unlike me. Somehow the author made her relatable.

The truths Owens revealed on each page are universal. We all feel alone and unwanted sometimes. Most of us readers have lives different from this isolated child who grew to womanhood almost totally self-reliant.

I wanted to adopt Kya, to reach her and teach her about companionship she intuited intimately, but which she only witnessed in deer and insects and the creatures around her beloved marsh. This book is not about nature alone: it is about how nature explains human life if we are only as observant as Kya was.

This slow-moving lyrical plot and complex character development sneaked up on me like a swarm of flying insects I want to ignore. But I could not abandon this book; it drew me in until the last word on the final page. The memory of it will live after I pass it on to a family member who wants to read it next.

How can we be lonely when we have authors like Delia Owens who draw us into the world where the crawdads sing? What a gift to me and to all who read this book.

Happy Summer Reading!

3 Comments

Filed under Adult Literature, Best Sellers, First Novels, Literary Fiction, Mystery

Tagged as Anthony Doerr, Delia Owens

April 7, 2016 · 3:13 pm

CATEGORIES OF BOOKS

Most genres of fiction interest me from mysteries to historical fiction. There are many categories to relish as I have found from Book Page, a magazine provided by the Friends of the Library in my vacation spot. Where to begin to find the next book to read? I am changing my blog to include books I want to read but have not read yet.

Which are your top choices from this list?

New titles on my TBR list include one from each of these categories:

Literary Fiction: The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith. This one includes three narrative threads, intriguing for a reader and a writer.
Family Saga: Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlan. She is a favorite author since I read her Black and Blue, a realistic view of domestic violence.
Coming-of-Age: Excellent Lombards by Jane Hamilton. Begins in the 1960’s.
Memoir: Dimestore: A Writer’s Life by Lee Smith. About her life in Appalachia.
Middle Grade Fiction: A Bandit’s Tale by Deborah Hopkinson. A historical tale beginning in 1887 NYC with an Italian Oliver Twist-like character.
Picture Book: The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield. Starts in a forest and progresses to Broadway!
Historical Mystery: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye. For adults and especially lovers of Jane Eyre (and no vampires!)
Mystery: Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron . An Agatha nominee for best debut cosy mystery. I confess I read this one first as I am going to the Malice Domestic conference later this month.
Audio Memoir: On My Own by Diane Rehm, read by the author.
Historical Fiction: The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. If you loved Major Pettigrew’s Land Stand, you have been waiting five years for her next novel. I think we will be pleased from the several reviews I have read so far.

Trisha Ping’s review in book Page of #10: “Full of trenchant observations on human nature and featuring a lovable cast of characters, The Summer Before the War is a second novel that satisfies.” Isn’t this premise the reason we read? I know it rings true for me!

Let me know what you recommend currently in comments.

I hope you are having fun with your own 2016 Reading Challenge!

HAPPY READING IN 2016!!

CONNECTIONS IN LITERATURE

If you love To Kill a Mockingbird as I do, you have read all the news about Harper Lee’s writing, her friendships, and her death. But have you read the latest novel Tru and Nelle by G. Neri? You will recognize the characters immediately, but are they Scout and Dill or Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee? Their adventures, as imagined by Greg Neri, who usually writes urban fiction, will amaze and delight you. Did you know both writers, Truman and Harper were neighbors in Monroeville, AL; that they both loved to read Sherlock Holmes stories (in book form); and that both assisted each other in their adult writing. Be prepared for surprises and clues to the plot, characters and setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, I forgot to mention that this book is written for middle grade readers of ages nine to twelve, but you adults will get the allusions and gain knowledge you didn’t know you wanted to realize about these favorite authors. Writers will “find the fun” in learning the “backstory!”

Happy Reading in all Genres for 2016!

MY GIFT FOR 2016

What is my gift? I share it with you and myself. I read; I remember; and I pass the memories on. Books, food, musical plays: the magic is all around us. Let’s find the optimism in the New Year of 2016 together.

My writer friend, Erika Robuck, offered her 10 favorite titles in historical fiction. Her list on her blog Muse https://erikarobuck.wordpress.com/, a great readers’ and writers’ blog, was brilliant. Recommendations from writers you respect help to whet your appetite for a To Be Read List. The library will be my next stop to find these gems she and others have selected for our reading pleasure.

I hope you readers who follow this blog will share your favorites that you loved in 2015 and more titles you plan to read in 2016! The list will be eclectic, I know, just the type of reading we enjoy. My Good Reads challenge was fun and my goal was realized and even as a personal contest, it will be a competition I savor each year. 52 + adult books was manageable for me this past year reading all genres; I added to this list with many great children’s literature titles. 75 may be a pleasurable challenge for 2016.

New reading review blogs inspire me each month. Readers who recommend the many genres we love provide entertaining reading and great new titles to read and share. Follow my new friends who suggest books and share your thoughts about the books you read. Erica at www.whatdowedoallday.com and my Book Lover’s friend Sarah at https://ivejustfinishedreading.wordpress.com enlighten me each time I open my emails.

I found writing a novel exasperating, so I will continue to write this blog and gift my book suggestions to you. Out of the 57 Adult titles I read last year in my reading challenge, I choose these 6 exemplary, unforgettable novels:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (WWII HF)
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult (Literary Fiction)
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Mystery)
The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland (HF)
The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck (HF)
Tomorrow’s Vengeance by Marcia Talley (Cosy mystery)

Happy Reading in 2016!

3 Comments

Filed under Adult Literature, Book Clubs, Children's Literature, gifts, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery

Tagged as Anthony Doerr, Erika Robuck, Marcia Talley, Susan Vreeland

April 13, 2015 · 1:15 am

An Affinity for Books (Teens and ‘Tweens)

You could say I have an affinity for books. Once I read a great title, I want to recommend it and find another Read A-Like for myself and others. What is a Read A-Like you ask? Librarians and book review sources alert you to books by saying “If you liked this book…you will love this one!”

The biggest question I have received from parents is “What do you recommend after Harry Potter: that series is the only ones my child will read!”

Fantasy readers of all ages will enjoy Diane Duane’s creative series So You Want to Be a Wizard? Similar to HP books are the main characters Nita Callahan and Christopher (Kit) Rodriquez who do not realize they are wizards until they find a book with that same title. Duane introduces many topics appealing to readers who love this genre including bullying, voracious readers, love of animals, annoying siblings, and she includes mystery and suspense with a dash of humor, as Nita and Kit learn how to deal with their “special” gift. There are nine books in the series with one more planned for release this year.

The latest young adult (YA) book I completed (No, I didn’t write one yet) reading this year is by prolific Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I was amazed that he wrote for young people after I remembered his imaginative adult fiction The Shadow of the Wind and its sequels. The Midnight Palace reminds me of The Thief Lord, another favorite by Cornelia Funke, because the main characters are orphans who band together in an orphanage in Calcutta to swear allegiance forever. They are challenged by a murderer who appears to them suddenly when they turn 16 and are ready to graduate from the orphanage. The suspense is phenomenal, and I mean that literally! Funke uses the setting of Venice, so you can compare these two novels with settings far apart. Ask yourself the question in each novel: Who is the antagonist or the bad guy?

In my next post, I will review some adult Read A-Likes for you.

Please send me ideas and comments about this and my other posts!

Happy Reading in 2015! Don’t forget the Goodreads reading challenge!

2 Comments

Filed under Children's Literature, Fantasy, First Novels, Literary Fiction, untraditional mysteries

Tagged as children's books, Cornelia Funke, Diane Duane, Harry Potter, Read A-Likes

January 16, 2015 · 1:20 pm

REVIEW SOURCES: YOUR HELP FOR YOUR NEXT BEST READ

Up until this post, all the titles I have recommended are books I have read. Let’s explore, with anticipation, reviews of new titles we want to read in 2015! Newspapers and magazines print the “best of” lists to remind readers which books are not to be missed.

My favorite review sources include The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the New York Times Book Review. Independent booksellers provide their own “Indie Bound” suggestions. My local library offers a free periodical called BookPage. (Look below for the online URLs.)

The book on the top of many “Best of 2014” lists is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This title is on my Amazon.com wish list and my Goodreads “to-read” shelf. Since it is a second novel for Doerr, I am intrigued to check out his first, About Grace: A Novel, which one personal reviewer compared to the writing of the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. (So many books, so little time.) See the Amazon.com reviews of Murakami’s Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, (2010) or IQ84 from 2011. The NYT Book Review called Murakami “a rare artist and “a magician.” What a comparison for both authors, Doerr and Murakami, two literary authors to read and watch for further masterpieces!

Some friends ask me how I enjoy my 3 Kindles. “Don’t I long for the feel of a physical book and pages to turn and look back upon?” they query. I know what they are saying, still I use my Kindle devices as a virtual library: I can keep my favorites to review and peruse any time. I can also sample books I have seen reviewed or recommended, books I may want to purchase, and I often use my Kindle to search for titles and their reviews by editors and readers on Amazon or Goodreads.

I’m most impressed when the reviews have bylines. One of my favorite reviewers is Tom Nolan who recommends mysteries in the WS Journal every Friday. I also enjoyed reading the author Carolyn See’s mystery reviews in the Washington Post. She is the mother of the prolific Lisa See, although she has now retired. For children’s book reviews, I read Meghan Cox Gurdon’s “Children’s Books” column in WS Journal. Gurdon’s insights are valuable to all who enjoy various genres and many grade levels of children’s book titles. Librarians find Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly, written for professionals interesting sources to check for recommendations each week or month, although they are not always available to the general public. We can all purchase the New York Times Book Review which is available from bookstores and libraries separate from the large daily newspaper.

They chose “10 Best Books of 2014” published December 14, 2014 (our mother’s birthday). Five fiction and five non-fiction titles were chosen. The books reviewers gave us are a cross-section of genres including the highly-rated Doerr’s who writes “brisk chapters and sumptuous language” in All the Light We Cannot See, a metaphorical tale; a historical fiction Euphoria by Lily King about Margaret Mead; and Redeployment, a debut story collection by a former Marine, Phil Klay. The non-fiction list is similarly varied with a biography of Penelope Fitzgerald, a writer who published her first book at 58 (Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermione Lee); a graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast; and an environmental examination The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. The “Best of” list concludes with a political treatise described as “profound” and “gripping” with “clashing personalities” called Thirteen Days in September: Carter, Begin and Sadat at Camp David by Lawrence Wright. (I did not write about all from the Times’ list.)

“Oh, my goodness, oh, my goodness!” to parrot Mollie, my favorite character in Annie. I need to stop writing and start reading with so many great titles to consider! I am salivating over the language and creative ideas put forth by the reviewers and the authors of these new books of last year.

Three novels I still have on my own “to-read shelf” include highly recommended books published in 2013: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahri. Mysteries and historical fiction, which are still my favorite genres, which are waiting for me to open are Truth Be Told by Hank Philippi Ryan, the entire “Rei Shimura” series by Sujata Massey I want to read in order (while I await her newest Indian epic), and the newest historical fiction title by Erika Robuck, The House of Hawthorne.

Share the best books and reviews you read this past year so we will all have Happy Reading in 2015!

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-books-best-sellers.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/features/books/bookreviews/index.html

http://www.indiebound.org/indie-next-list

http://bookpage.com/

PS: Don’t forget to savor the advertisements in these magazines and supplements as well as the Best Seller Lists. They will all provide ideas for choosing your next best read.