A librarian friend suggested book lovers join the adult library summer reading program. One only had to read four books in two months after which, one would be entered for a drawing for an ereader and some lesser prizes. I knew I would be reading at least 4 books and this gave me a new focus for my reading. The only stipulation being that the books must be in the library catalog. I took it on and what fun. I decided to try to read as many books as possible in the time allotted--and, yes, I was influenced by the promise of prizes. The program ends officially this Sunday, July 31st but I have read my last entry so I am going to recap my reading.
I ended up reading twelve books. I will group them by subject matter rather than the order in which I read them.
By far the best book of the lot was the newest David McCullough book The Greater Journey (Simon & Schuster; May 20ll). It is about the importance of Paris as a focal point for American artists and writers between 1830 to 1900. A fairly big book but absorbing throughout. It made me want to head directly to an art museum to view the artists in the original. The Louvre would be my first choice of course.
On the same line, I read And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris (Knopf; October 2010) by Alan Riding. This may be the first complete book I read on my iphone. Instead of buying one of the ereaders, I simply downloaded all of the apps onto my iphone, including Overdrive, the one for the library, where one can download books for free. On the other apps, I search for bargain books. More on this later. This book raised the interesting question of what was collaboration and what was simply getting on with the Parisian way of life. I am fascinated by the period between 1900-1945 so expect to see may books about the WWs I and II and in-between.
A book in a class by itself (of my reading) is the satire Gods Behaving Badly (Vintage Books USA; May 2008). Also read as an ebook, this sometimes hilarious send-up of the Greek gods living in reduced circumstances in a crumbling London mansion, is not for the prudish (or possibly the devoutly religious). The gods have lost much of their power since few believe in them any longer and have been forced to take menial jobs to make ends meet. It also includes a rather sweet love story between two mortals. Fast, fun reading but it also helped me remember which god was which. I've never been able to keep them all straight.
The one title of my reading that, personally, I did not like but is getting much publicity is Sister: A Novel (Crown, June 2011). It is a hybrid novel/mystery told in the first person. Cystic Fibrosis plays a big part in the story and the plot. That is all I will say because I had personal issues with the book that would not affect anyone else so I prefer you make up your own mind.
On to, shall we say, less heavy reading. One thing you will learn is that I really love historical fiction, particularly anything British. In my own defense, I will say that I have learned quite a bit of history from my years of reading this sort of thing which has helped me answer many a Jeopardy question. Despite the title, which I think is pretty hokey, The Queen's Lover (HarperCollins; 2010) by Vanora Bennett is a good read for those of us who like royal history. This combines British/French history and is about the founding of the Tudor Dynasty. I read Bennett's debut novel about Sir Thomas More and the painting of his family portrait by Hans Holbein called Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Harper; 2008), which I think I liked slightly better than this later novel. She has a novel between these two entitled Figures in Silk (Harper; 2010) about Fifteenth Century Yorkist England, which I am sure I will read as an ebook.
Enough for now. The next post will deal with the remainder of my summer reading, my favorite subject: mysteries.
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