Summer is prime
reading time in my life. An old rhyme
from my elementary school days – with a minor alteration – went something like
this, “No more papers, no more books, no more student’s dirty looks.” Following is a list of titles on my TBR pile.
The Little French Bistro by Nina George. George was a recent discovery of mine, and
this is the second of her novels translated into English. I thoroughly enjoyed The Little Paris Bookshop,
and I am sure this one will please.
While we are on the subject of French Literature, Lydia Davis has
produced a new translation of one of the greatest novels of the 19th
century, Madame Bovary. And, before we leave Europe, consider Skylight
by Jose Saramago. He always delights
with his peculiar characters and wonderful situations. If you haven’t read him yet, Stone
Raft, in which the Iberian Peninsula breaks away from France and floats
into the Atlantic is another worthwhile read along with All the Names.
For some fun reads,
Carl Hiaasen has a recent novel, Razor Girl, the story of a reporter/detective in Miami dodging his editor and
the police. The tremendously funny Tina
Fey has Bossy Pants on my
TBR.
Colm Tóibín is among
the masters of literary fiction today.
His latest novel is Nora Webster, the story of a woman widowed
in her 40s with four children. Richard
Ford has a new novel, Let Me Be Frank with You.
His novels are always interesting and well-written. For an interesting collection of letters, Living
on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch, 1934-1995, has been squealing for my
attention in what I am sure will be a fascinating look at one of the best
writers of the 20th century.
On the more serious
side is Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening.
This has been around for quite a few years, and I have read it a couple
of times, but this is one relaxing read even on a second or third read. Laurence M. Krauss, the noted physicist and
author of A Universe from Nothing: Why
There Is Something Rather Than Nothing is a great read for the amateur scientists in us.
When I spent a year
at a boarding school back in 1962-63, I was severely limited in the range of
available reading material. So I thought
I would time-travel back, and reconnect with G.K. Chesterton in The
Flying Inn. My next foray into the work of the
outstanding writer, Kent Haruf, is Benediction. Underestimated, un-hyped,
all of his books are wonderful reads. Plainsong
and Our
Souls at Night are also fantastic.
I have a Lily King novel I hope to get to this summer: Father
of the Rain. And a novel by Lisa King, Death
in a Wine Dark Sea from the
excellent independent publisher, Permanent Press.
I also want to get
to the recent Nobel Prize winning author, Patrick Modiano and, what some call
his masterpiece, The Occupation Trilogy. Another important Nobel winner is J.M.
Coetzee. I have read a number of his
works, and they are all thought provoking, interesting, and they will not let
you quit until the last page. Two of his
works are on my radar: The Childhood of Jesus and The
Schooldays of Jesus.
--Chiron, 5/27/17
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