The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
I loved this book. It completely caught me by surprise how much I loved it. At first, you're not sure of where it's going to take you, but if you stick with it, it will catch you by your book-loving heart strings and strum them until you find yourself crying over the last few pages of the book next to a pool in Miami. I'll just say - if you love books, read this one!
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by Cesar Aira
This was a gift from our family book exchange (from my sister Sharon), which Ken got, but I whisked away. I was intrigued as soon as I started its pages. It's a short (86 pages) fiction story about the artist, Johann Moritz Rugendas. The pacing and mood setting is what is most fascinating about this little book. For the first half of the book, you are carried along the journey of painting landscapes right along with the painter, slowly wandering through beautiful plains and country. And then, after the "episode" happens, you are hurtled through the rest of the pages, in the frantic gestures of battle scenes and blurred dreams. It's a wonderful little read, vivid and striking.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
I saw this book on many must-read lists and this caught my eye because: 1) the high-praise that came with it, and 2) it was written by a female Asian-American. The writing is skillful and the author has a wonderful ability for story-telling. The book begins with an incident of a woman finding that someone has set little fires everywhere in her home and then the story flashes back a year so we can find out who did it and why. I think it's pretty obvious early who the culprit is, so the book was less a mystery solving journey and more a careful look at the development of each of the characters that Ng introduces to us. To me, it's a book about suburbia and about what it means to be a mother. It's an enjoyable read because of Ng's ability to tell a story, with nuances that echo true.
Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson
My friend recommended this book and I had carried it around with me for weeks before I was finally able to crack it open (on a long drive to a vineyard!) I did a lot of underlining in this book, and scribbled notes in its margins - it's that kind of a book. I was inspired again to the task of writing down words and I might carry it around with me a while longer to peer back into when I need encouraging word.
I loved this book. It completely caught me by surprise how much I loved it. At first, you're not sure of where it's going to take you, but if you stick with it, it will catch you by your book-loving heart strings and strum them until you find yourself crying over the last few pages of the book next to a pool in Miami. I'll just say - if you love books, read this one!
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by Cesar Aira
This was a gift from our family book exchange (from my sister Sharon), which Ken got, but I whisked away. I was intrigued as soon as I started its pages. It's a short (86 pages) fiction story about the artist, Johann Moritz Rugendas. The pacing and mood setting is what is most fascinating about this little book. For the first half of the book, you are carried along the journey of painting landscapes right along with the painter, slowly wandering through beautiful plains and country. And then, after the "episode" happens, you are hurtled through the rest of the pages, in the frantic gestures of battle scenes and blurred dreams. It's a wonderful little read, vivid and striking.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
I saw this book on many must-read lists and this caught my eye because: 1) the high-praise that came with it, and 2) it was written by a female Asian-American. The writing is skillful and the author has a wonderful ability for story-telling. The book begins with an incident of a woman finding that someone has set little fires everywhere in her home and then the story flashes back a year so we can find out who did it and why. I think it's pretty obvious early who the culprit is, so the book was less a mystery solving journey and more a careful look at the development of each of the characters that Ng introduces to us. To me, it's a book about suburbia and about what it means to be a mother. It's an enjoyable read because of Ng's ability to tell a story, with nuances that echo true.
Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson
My friend recommended this book and I had carried it around with me for weeks before I was finally able to crack it open (on a long drive to a vineyard!) I did a lot of underlining in this book, and scribbled notes in its margins - it's that kind of a book. I was inspired again to the task of writing down words and I might carry it around with me a while longer to peer back into when I need encouraging word.
Nice! I recently read Little Fires Everywhere, and then went to her first novel and read Everything I Never Told You. I was blown away by it - I commend it to you if you haven't already read it.
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