Readings

It seems like so, so long ago, already, that I was at the beach in North Carolina. Reading, among other things.

I have a blog post in the works that is going terribly. Mainly because I'm trying to say fourteen different things at once, which means I'll probably just post something crappy and untrue(ish) or honest and end up in trouble. Stay tuned.

Anyway, I'm ridiculously behind on my bookish musings. Let's start with North Carolina.

I read four books at the beach. First, I read Ruined, which was a brilliant memoir, written by the former pastor at our wee church. My full review is here. This is a tremendously important book and I hope many, many people read it.

I also read As Close to Us as Breathing, which follows a Jewish family of sisters and their stories that unfold on a stretch of beach in Connecticut. I thought it was fantastic and smart; I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.

Next, I read The Girls of August, which was . . .  crappy. The characters lacked depth, the plot was iffy, and . . . . I'm sorry, but it read like a bunch of postmenopausal women got together--their humor, their clothing, their way of talk, all of it. When I realized these women were supposed to be in their early 40s, I damn near tossed the book into the sand. And of course, someone is getting cheated on by her shitty husband and of course someone has cancer. Cue the Lifetime Movie folk. Definitely not recommended.

Fortunately, the reading day was saved by Maggie O'Farrell's This Must Be the Place, which was quirky and ambitious and lots of fun. In short, a movie star disappears to a remote part of Ireland. There's your hook. It's a clever, touching novel. Very much recommended.

Once back in reality, I mean, Maryland, I read The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, which centers on a dysfunctional family that is banking on a the funds from what they call The Nest, which they all need for various self-inflicted woes. I enjoyed the book, and it was very ambitious, but it didn't capture me like I wanted. Still, it's good. Recommended. I think.

I also read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and I'm probably one of the last people to have gotten around to it, seeing as how it was published in 1997. A retelling of the story from Genesis of Dinah and her mothers, plus Jacob, this is Jewish lore brilliantly reimagined. Diamant doesn't miss a beat in tone or the voice of Dinah. The day-to-day nitty-gritty of the earliest times is fascinating. Highly recommended.

Last, I read Prayer by Timothy Keller. It was pretty decent but predictably male-centered and conservative. Sort of, kind of recommended, because it's very intelligently written. I just wish I could scream in the faces of these guys to look more seriously at the good scholarship of women on such topics. Le sigh.

I'm just now starting A Good School by Richard Yates, which is promising. More to tell later.

Charlotte, Lorelei, and I are reading Ramona and Her Father, attempting to finish it before it's due back at the library (we may have reached the maximum renewals on this one). I love seeing Lorelei getting into Ramona. And from a practical perspective, merging their story time is vastly easier. But sometimes, Lorelei wants a picture book instead. And so we oblige.

Finally, I'm reading A Woman Without a Country by Eavan Boland, which is a lovely book of poetry that takes you to the edge of what you thought you knew. Pretty trippy. Recommended, obviously.

I think that catches me up on the bookish front. I'm looking forward to some autumnal reading. Some cozy books, some spooky books. Atmospheric. Oh, I never tire of reading . . . . I'm such a nerd.