There's something delicious and vaguely decadent about reading in the warmer months, as if we're actually letting time spin away. This month's reads:
The family book lately is "Forever Young," a book of Bob Dylan's lyrics of said song laid out with Paul Rogers' illustrations. There isn't a massive amount of text, but there's plenty to discuss. We've talked about how Dylan uses his words and explored the pictures endlessly. They turned out to be a little history-tour opportunity. I know, I know. Catch an excerpt of it in the little video version on Amazon to see what I mean.
The midlife crisis pick was "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon. It was an interesting experience, reading it with older eyes and a very different perspective. Since I've just finished it and trying to settle on it, look for a longer note later and sadly this was the best I could do.
"Travels with Charley" is on deck. See a theme here? Seems funny to think I've never read it, but I haven't. Know I do have some preconceptions about it thanks to spoilers and it's extensive reach.
That's June in a short bookstack. What are you reading? What would you recommend?
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Comments: 16
Me.
My editor just sent my novel Punk Minneapolis back to me for a final go over. Then it doesn't come out until next summer. I wonder if I'll read it again, then.
ha ha
I am re reading the Bible. I recommend it when in doubt on what to read. Good picks up there. Have a nice day.
Currently, I am reading Julia Schrenkler.
Mr. Swanson, you serious? I'll follow your lead then. I'm reading me, too! I just published a chapbook of poetry, Unfurled Poetry. Lots of it is on my poetry blog. This morning, though, I'm working on a huge submission and am busy nitpicking most of those poems, changing a word or two on each page. =sigh=
I'm also reading Where's The Map?, a book in workbook format geared toward helping kids fresh out of high school find their way in life.
And I'm reading a little page-turner I picked up at Half-Price Books. The Daily Spark, warm-up activities for writing. But I can't say too much about that because I'll be using it for my weekly column with Writing Essentials here on Gather. My gig with that group starts tomorrow!
I am due for a trip to the library, but this is what I've recently read:
The Water Shaper, by ?--Very good.
The Wings of a Falcon--Cynthia Voigt--excellent
Jack: Secret Histories--F. Paul Wilson--good
Eon Dragoneye Reborn--Alison Goodman--this book was so good! I can't wait for the sequel.
These are all YA novels, a genre I read often.
Two books. Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, and The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. Both books will transform your life.
RayLanfear (google me)
I'm trying to read 1491. It's interesting, but not as compelling as I'd hoped. I will no doubt start another book soon to read when I can't stay awake for that one.
I just finished reading Dream in Color and
Hunting Ground.
Right Now I am reading a Gentle Rain.
I like to swithch the genre of books that I read from one time to the next. You will just never know what I will be reading.
After I am finished reading this I will reread "If life were easy, It wouldn't be so hard".
for review purposes, I've been reading a batch of books about playing Irish fiddle, which were okay but not as interesting as I'd hoped, and a book about playing the bodhran that I didn't care for. also some books on history and landscape
I'm reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It will be released on June 16 - yikes! I'd better hurry with my review!
Right now I'm reading P is for Peril by Sue Grafton. I live in a community where we have a clubhouse library and it seems everyone likes the same kind of reading so I can always find something I enjoy!
Some REALLY good suggestions here, and I should note surprise there aren't more "candy" books, those cheap reads of summer.
Peter and Susan have an interesting point... shouldn't we all read our own work? Sometimes reading it aloud helps us discover weaknesses or strengths.
I am currently reading "Until Proven Innocent" about the 2006 Duke Rape Case. I'm not really suggesting it because it is rather redundant, but it delves into a behind-the scene look at this atrocious case.
After seeing his books all over the place for years, I finally decided to try a book by Lee Child, ONE SHOT. It's good, certainly better than I thought it would be, or I'd have read it sooner.
I just finished two excellent books. One is DOWN RIVER by John Hart. It was so good I immediately went out to buy his latest, LAST CHILD, which I expect to be just as good.
The other book I just read is THE SECRET SPEECH by Tom Rob Smith. It's the sequel to another excellent book that I read last year, CHILD 44.
I've been catching up with Vicki MacKenzie's writings on Tibetan Buddhism: REBORN IN THE WEST; CAVE IN THE SNOW; and WHY BUDDHISM?
Of course my all time favorite, though, is Jame's Marshall's COMPLETE GEORGE AND MARTHA, which is to be found in the juvie picture book sections of libraries, thank you very much. And a great companion to those wonderful watercolor-and-ink hippos is the real-life saga of OWEN AND MZEE. Owen is the baby hippo rescued from the tsunami who became best friends with Mzee, a friendless 150-yr-old tortoise.
Hey everyone! Hope the summer reading is going well and you're feeling very enriched and enjoying yourselves. I'm sure you've moved on by now to new books--talk about those here, at July 2009: What are you reading? I'm Julia's intern this summer, and I'm going to be leading the next couple of these discussions. So thanks in advance for all your input!