Since then, I've read...
INCENDIARY by Chris Cleave
THE ABSENT TRAVELER by Randall DeVallance
BLOODROOT by Amy Greene
BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER by Amy Chua
(a few of which I'll write about in other posts)
I've really been wanting a good novel, and haven't found The Right Book for Right Now. Nothing has been looking just right.
I've started several non-fiction books, none of which are exactly the right read either. I haven't been able to settle into any of them. RUINED BY READING by Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Mary Pipher's WRITING TO CHANGE THE WORLD, and Ann Vanderhoof's THE SPICE NECKLACE are all vying for space on my nightstand. I may finish THE SPICE NECKLACE, as it is about the Caribbean (where we went last year. Our chilly February weather is making me long to be in the islands).
I work in a bookstore, so you'd think I could find a book to read! However, contrary to what some people think, there isn't a lot of time for browsing while we're working. Especially being at the cash registers (where I am a lot), there isn't much opportunity to get away to go see what's in the store. People bring up their purchases, but quite often they aren't buying things that are interesting to me. Several people bought the new Donald Rumsfeld book today. And lots of people bought Valentine books for kids.
One woman yeseterday, though, was different. Among a few other things, she was purchasing two books of short stories.
"What have you read lately that's good?", she asked me (one of my favorite questions to ask or be asked).
"I read ROOM recently, and I really liked that," I said. "I also really liked THE SHADOW CATCHER, which I missed when it came out in 2007 and won lots of awards. How about you? What have you read?"
"I haven't been reading much," she said. "I'm trying to get back into it. That's why I'm buying the short stories. Sometimes it's a good way to get back into reading."
"Oh yeah. They are short enough that you can do one or two at a sitting with not much commitment."
"Also, you can find authors who might have written books that look interesting," she said.
"Good point," I said.
Short stories don't seem to be the right thing for me right now, either. Last night I picked up an advance reader copy of ALTAR OF BONES, a new book coming out in March by Philip Carter. Several places on the advance reader copy and in the press releases about it it says that "Philip Carter is a pseudonym for an internationally renowned author." Touted as a cross between Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum (is Dan Brown the 'internationally renowned author'???), this book is supposed to be quite a wild ride. I'll see how it goes!
And if anyone knows who Philip Carter is...do tell!
You can send email to: 2of3RsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks for checking out the blog!
Oh, you read Incindiary? If I could spell it without spell check, I'd ask you to remind me to ask you what you thought of it.
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