Mission

Bibliophiliac is the space where one passionate, voracious reader reflects on books and the reading life. You will find reviews, analysis, links, and reflections on poetry and prose both in and out of the mainstream.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka

Monday, June 16, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme was created by Sheila at Book Journey, as as she says, "it tends to add to your reading list." To participate, all you have to do is visit Book Journey and add your link to the list.

Last week was a time of glutting myself on books and sleep. My school year is over, and I got to spend a weekend in Charleston with my mother and sister--we took in some of the last events of the Spoleto Festival. Even though I have been in South Carolina for nearly two decades, this was my first Spoleto experience--and I loved it. I also loved having lunch in all the fun Charleston restaurants (although being a vegetarian in the South isn't easy....Southerners love their bacon).

Then I came back home and rediscovered REM sleep. Really, it's scary how much more I sleep and dream during the summer. It makes me realize how sleep deprived I am during the school year.

And of course I've been gorging on books. Yummy! Here's what I've been reading, and what I'm about to read:

Time and Again by Jack Finney. This is a reissue of the time travel cult classic. I absolutely loved this book. My review will be up soon.
A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman. My review for Fishman's novel is below. Good read.
Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books by Wendy Lesser. I gobbled this one up in a day. While I don't entirely share Lesser's taste in books, I recognize her as a fellow bibliophile. I thought I would be writing down book titles throughout this book, but it is more of a meditation on what makes reading pleasurable, and about the reading experience itself. Lesser is a huge Henry James lover, and while I read and loved some of his books in college, now I'm not so sure. But Lesser has me pretty much convinced that I at least have to tackle The Golden Bowl.
Hard Times by Charles Dickens. This is one of the shortest Dickens novels I've read, but it definitely isn't my favorite. What I found interesting was the use of some of the same metaphors and ideas that are found in my favorite Dickens novel, Our Mutual Friend. I was very happy to be able to cross one title off of my Classics Club list.
What is Found, What is Lost by Anne Leigh Parrish. I had very much liked Parrish's short story collection (Our Love Could Light the World), so I was thrilled when Parrish offered me a review copy of her novel. I still plan to review this novel, so I won't say much except that I really loved this novel about three generations of women. The characters are very ordinary women, on the surface, but extraordinary when you understand their histories and their interior lives.

So that was the week--impressive how much reading I can do without the stress of work!

Now for today and this week:

Wendy Lesser raves about the Swedish mystery in Why I Read. In particular, she talks about Henning Mankell, adding that poet Louise Gluck has read all of Mankell's books several times each. That was enough to make me go to my own bookshelf, where I have had The White Lioness for a couple of years. I've just started it, but I'm intrigued because it is partly set in South Africa, shortly after Nelson Mandela was released from prison and apartheid was ended.
Andi's rave about The Name of the Wind at Estella's Revenge sent me right out the door to the bookstore. Oh, the freedom to be able to do that. And there was a copy, sitting there, faced out, just waiting for me. So, when I finish The White Lioness, I will be escaping into some epic fantasy.

So--It's Monday....what are you reading?

18 comments:

Kathy Martin said...

While I tend to read more urban fantasy than epic fantasy, I have been meaning to read something by Rothfuss. I like the variety of books you read. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

Grad said...

I read Time and Again earlier this year and also loved it. Did you know Finney wrote Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Yep...True. It was the best audio book I've ever listened to...just made for audio! I have The Name of the Wind on hold at the library. I'm #2 so hopefully I'll get it soon.

Grad said...

Oh...and I'm reading All The Light We Cannot See by Doerr. I'll be posting about it soon.

bibliophiliac said...

@Kathy Martin--I'm rediscovering fantasy after sticking to literary fiction for so long. Escapism is great!

bibliophiliac said...

@Grad--Finney was an interesting guy... Reading Time and Again made me think about picking up Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I hadn't thought about the audio, but I might try that.

Unknown said...

I am waiting for Name of the Wind to come in from the library so hopefully I will be starting that one later in the week. I will be interested in hearing what you think about it!

JoAnn said...

I'm glad you mentioned Anne Leigh Parrish...Our Love Could Light the World is close to the top of my TBR pile and it sounds like a collection I will enjoy. Her novel sounds wonderful, too.

We just spent a day in Charleston last month. SO many great restaurants and sights.

Holly Mueller said...

It IS impressive how much you've read! I love catching up on sleep and reading, too, now that the school year is over. Yay summer! :-)

Kay said...

That's an impressive week of reading! I want to check out the Why I Read. It's also good to get some perspective on adult titles. I've been reading so much kitlit and ya that I've lost touch of wht else is out there.

bibliophiliac said...

@Kathy Brady-I can't wait for Name of the Wind. I hope it lives up to the raves.... I hope I will get totally lost in it.

bibliophiliac said...

@JoAnn- I hope you will like Our Love Could Light the World. I thought it was excellent.

bibliophiliac said...

@Holly Mueller--I am going to write an ode to sleep. Seriously.

bibliophiliac said...

@Kay-And I am trying to work more YA into my reading life. So far I have really enjoyed every John Green book I have read. There is so much more out there1

Lindsey said...

The White Lioness does sound fascinating and this is the first time I've heard of it!

I hope you continue to find a lot of wonderful free time to read this summer! :)

bibliophiliac said...

@Lindsey-I'm a little more than halfway through The White Lioness and I like it very much.

Unknown said...

I hope that you will love The Name of the Wind because I absolutely loved it, it is one of of favourites.

Have a great week.

Natalie @ Natalie Hearts Books

Unknown said...

I hope that you will love The Name of the Wind because I absolutely loved it, it is one of of favourites.

Have a great week.

Natalie @ Natalie Hearts Books

bibliophiliac said...

@Natalie Hearts Books-wow, another stellar recommendation for The Name of the Wind--can't wait to read it!