I showed restraint in packing for my quick trip to New Mexico. I took only two small knitting projects (of which I knit not a stitch, wtf?) and one novel. On the flight out I read literary criticism about the Wife of Bath to prepare for my presentation, and on Thursday and Friday, my reading time was dedicated to my dissertation. Finally, Friday night, after the festivities, I was able to hunker into the novel I’d borrowed from the library: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. Over breakfast on Saturday, Mona mentioned that she’d read it and couldn’t decide how she felt about it, and I see what she means. The writing is solid, certainly. The story has some truly compelling moments, and there is a lot of heartache and joy. I enjoyed Edwards’ explorations of the dangers of secrets, and I believed in her characters. Still, though, I came away from reading the book a little less than satisfied. Perhaps it’s the ending that seems to veer into bow tying. I simply did not feel the same pull to get to the end that a book like, say, Fire in the Blood engendered in me. Nevertheless, I would recommend the novel. I think it would make a good beach book. Life changing? Not for me. Entertaining and interesting? You bet. By the way, I like some of the interview and FAQ material on Edwards’ website. It’s worth a look around if your considering reading the novel.
My perennial question: what are you reading that’s good? I won’t be mired in lit. crit. for much longer!
I’m slowly working my way through Atonement, and finished Jodi Picoult’s 19 Minutes recently. As the mother of a *future* teenager/high school student I found a lot to chew on in that one….
I’m working on World Without End, the “sequel” to Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. Both are wonderful!
I’m reading nonfiction – The Black Swan, which discusses the impact of highly improbable events, and ways to think about the improbable. Fascinating so far – and well-written, unlike some books of this ilk.
I also read 19 Minutes lately…as a teacher at a high school, it was interesting to read a story about what is behind a catastrophic school tragedy like Columbine. It was pretty good, I passed it off to my DH and he is enjoying it as well.
I am currently re-reading every Jane Austen book I can dig out of my shelves. This is something I do periodically…every five years or so.
I felt the same as you did about The Memory Keeper’s Daughter when I read it last year.
I’ve been curious about Memory Keepers Daughter – when I worked at the bookstore, we couldn’t keep it in. I’m still trying to decide it I want to read it.
But an excellent novel I recently read is The Monsters Of Templeton – just a really interesting story, especially for me, being a history and a lit geek. 🙂
I just read Belong to Me by Marisa De Los Santos. A sequel to Love Walked In. I love her writing style and she is a great story-teller. This was a compelling, quick and fun read.
Maybe Jamie read the book? I haven’t gotten to that one yet. 🙂
I’m reading All Souls’ Rising by Madison Smartt Bell, which is a brilliant, gripping read. It’s the first part of a trilogy, and I went out and bought the other two when I was about halfway done with this one. Hard to put down, and the writing is fantastic.
I’ve just finished Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips which was a lovely romp of silliness. It doesn’t take long, that’s for sure, but it is utterly amusing.
Before that was another quick, humorous read, The Common Reader by Alan Bennett. It’s even shorter, but underneath it’s light satirical tone it has more to say though nothing that’ll weigh you down in depression for days.
Now I’m tackling The Black Book by Oran Pahmuk (sp?) and Dead Souls by Gogol. I think I need another silly read instead!
I liked the Memory Keeper’s Daugher. It wasn’t life changing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Did you know it’s being made into a Lifetime TV movie? For some reason, that makes me like the book a little less.
I spend a ton of time in the car, so much of my “reading” is in the form of audio books. I recently listened to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn which I read for the first time over a decade ago and it’s still awesome.