What I've Been Reading: May 2015

I have to say that even with all of the around-the-house chores that come with springtime, I still managed to read quite a bit this month! In fact, I've been carving out as much time to read as I can, because there have been some good ones lately. So I've been getting up a little earlier and reading while I have my morning cup of coffee. I stay up a little later, "Just to finish this chapter! Okay, maybe one more chapter..." I read on my lunch hour, while I'm waiting for dinner to cook, while I'm in waiting rooms. And I really have to say, I'm not watching much television these days, although I can recommend Netflix's Daredevil series and AMC's Halt and Catch Fire (season 2 starts this Sunday!). All of this to say, really, that there is no secret to finding time to read. It absolutely can be done.

The Liar, by Nora Roberts. Devastated to learn that her unfaithful husband had actually married her using an alias, Shelby returns with her young daughter to her Tennessee hometown and pursues a new relationship before her husband's past poses dangerous threats. I really enjoyed this one, moreso than quite a bit of Roberts's recent work. She excels at creating characters who are delightfully quirky and vibrant, which makes their stories a pleasure to read. If you're looking for an easy beach read with just a little thrill included, I'd recommend picking up this one.

One Night in Winter, by Simon Sebag Montefiore. I had this recommended to me several times recently, and initially I was a little put off--1940s Russia is not my usual historical period of choice, and until I got familiar with the cast of characters and their names, the first couple of chapters were a little confusing. And then? I was captivated. The novel, inspired by historical events, follows the stories of two forbidden, deadly love affairs set in the corridors of one of Moscow's most elite schools, during the end of Stalin's regime. Recommended for fans of historical fiction, particularly works by Hilary Mantel or Sebastian Faulks.

Revival, by Stephen King. I am a long-time fan of King's work, and this is no different for me. Half a century ago, preacher Charles Jacobs arrives in a small New England town with his young family, changing both church and town. When tragedy strikes, Jacobs loses his faith in a most public fashion, ending with his banishment by the shocked congregation. All of this we see through the eyes of the youngest Morton child, Jamie. As the years pass, Jamie grows up and moves away, encountering addiction and desperation. In his darkest hour, he encounters Jacobs again. Jacobs helps Jamie, but his aid comes with a price, part of which is that when Jacobs calls for Jamie, Jamie is helpless to resist. Their bond plagues Jamie for decades to come, culminating in what could be the ultimate sacrifice. This is vintage King, compulsively readable, thoughtful, nostalgic, and heavy on the dark foreboding. I deeply enjoyed it, and anticipate re-reading it in the years to come. Also, while I didn't listen to the audiobook version of this, I did see that the audiobook is read by the amazingly talented David Morse, and I think he's a brilliant narrator.

Church of Marvels, by Leslie Parry. Set during the turn-of-the-last-century New York City, this debut novel follows the lives of four outsiders as they converge in the wake of the Coney Island fire of 1895. Sylvan, once an orphan himself, finds an abandoned newborn while working as a night soiler. He puts his livelihood in jeopardy in order to find her family. Belle and Odile Church are twins, raised amid the applause at The Church of Marvels, a sideshow on Coney Island run by their mother. In the wake of the tragic fire, however, the Church is gone, their mother is gone, and Belle has disappeared, leaving Odile alone and desperate. And Alphie, a young woman who has overcome a traumatic childhood and found true love, awakens to find herself trapped across the river in Blackwell's Lunatic Asylum. Their secrets and the connections among them become clearer as the story races forward, and I found it absolutely spellbinding. Recommended for fans of Alice Hoffman, in particular.

I Regret Nothing, by Jen Lancaster. Lancaster has made a career out of looking on the snarky side of life in her memoirs, but in recent years, there has been a little less rapier wit and a little more quiet wisdom in her work. I have to say, I am enjoying her evolution as a writer--you may remember my review of 2013's The Tao of Martha, which I also loved. Both of these latest offerings have particularly veered into heartwarming territory. In I Regret Nothing, Lancaster takes stock of her life and decides to make a bucket list, including everything from learning Italian, traveling abroad by herself, and removing the tattoo she got during her sorority days...at one hundred times the cost of putting it on. In an effort to turn a mid-life crisis into a mid-life opportunity, Lancaster recounts her adventures with her trademark hilarity, and more than a few lessons for the rest of us. Witty, wise, and delightful. This would make a great summer read to take with you to the pool, beach or on vacation.

Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland, by Amanda Berry & Gina DeJesus. I've had several co-workers recommend this to me, and I was a little wary--this is not my usual reading material. But while what these girls endured as victims of the Cleveland Kidnapper during their years of captivity is harrowing and heartbreaking, the message they send is clear: We survived. We are free. We love life. The book is ultimately very inspiring, and I'd absolutely recommend this to fans of true-crime nonfiction.

A Short History of Women, by Kate Walbert. Another recommendation from friends, and one which has been a reader favorite since its publication in 2009. From the First World War to the early days of the new millennium, this novel follows the intricate relationships among mothers and daughters across five generations. The first in this line is a suffragist and Cambridge graduate, Dorothy Townsend, who starved for her cause, a fact that informs and echoes in the lives of her descendants, the narratives of which overlap. Poignant and resonant. I'd recommend this in particular to readers who enjoyed Kate Atkinson's Life After Life.

Love is Red, by Sophie Jaff. I mentioned this novel, first in a trilogy, in my Meg's Picks for May fiction, and I have to tell you, it's even better than I'd imagined. Over the course of a summer, New York City is held captive by a killer of young women, a murderer known in the media as the "Sickle Man." The reader knows just what drives him, though, and he is a monster far removed from ordinary men, working steadily, methodically, toward his ultimate prey. Katherine Emerson, oblivious to the fact that her fate is inextricably tangled with that of the killer, is living a simple life as a temp only to find herself torn between two different men. Both appeal to her in different ways, but how well does she really know either of them? For readers who enjoy fiction by authors like Diana Gabaldon and Deborah Harkness, I really recommend you pick this up. Now.


I'm back next week to start filling you in on the many (many!!) great new books scheduled for publication in July. In the meantime, happy reading!

Ten on Tuesday: Making the most of your summer reading time

Have you ever found yourself coming to the first week in September and wondering "Where the heck did my summer go?!  I didn't get to do half of what I wanted!"  You're definitely not alone.  And if you are going into this summer vowing that it will be different this time, with grand plans of how much you want to do (and how many books you'd like to have read by summer's end), I've got some hints that just might help you out.

1) Stop over-planning.  This is the big one.  If you're finding that you have some errand or appointment scheduled every single day during the week, you're forgetting one important one: YOU.  Everyone deserves downtime, even if that's just a half-hour in the evenings, better still if you can get a whole lazy summer afternoon.  This is the perfect time to find a quiet, comfy place to cool off, unwind, and read.

2) Skip the television.  Summer TV is awful, full of repeats.  If you're not a baseball fan, there's not much else going on.  (I give you a pass on the Olympics, though.)  And if you only turn on the set out of habit or for background noise, be aware of that and turn it off.  Make better use of that time.  Better yet, if you have kids, it sets a great example for them to get their summer reading done, too.

3) Bring your book along.  It's difficult to read if your book is home on the kitchen table, and you're at the beach or pool, right? 

4) Have a wish-list.  If you don't have a list of books you'd like to read, start making one.  This isn't homework, but as friends mention books they loved, or you see that your favorite author has a new book coming out (I post lists of up-and-coming bestsellers a month before their release date to make it easier for you!), add it to the list.  When you're ready for your next book or bored with what you're reading currently (hey, it happens), that list will come in very handy!  Which leads to...

5) If you're bored with what you're reading, find something else to read.  I promise, neither the book police nor your high school English teacher will come to yell at you and force you to finish what you're reading.  Life's too short to force yourself to read something you're not enjoying.  Please note, the same goes for your kids--there will be something out there that they want to read.  Even if you don't necessarily think graphic novels, video game magazines, or horror novels are what they "should" be reading, if they're happy reading them, let the kids read!!

6) Actually, don't worry about what people think about what you're reading, either.  If you're enjoying Fifty Shades of Grey, go for it.  Read what you want to read, not what you think will impress someone else.  That said...

7) Challenge yourself a little from time to time.  If your reading wish-list has things like The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird on it, your summer vacation might just be the time to dive right in. 

8) Traveling?  Try an audiobook to kill time on the plane or in the car.  Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels are great choices to get the whole family listening. 

9) Set realistic (but specific) goals.  If you're hoping to read a lot this summer, that's great!  But don't set yourself up for something crazy like 50 books read by September 1.  That might be difficult even if you're a speed-reader.  Instead, try for something like a book every week or two over the course of the summer, which if you use some of the other tips on this list should be pretty easy to achieve.

10) Finally, enjoy yourself.  Summer reading should be about relaxation, entertainment, and enjoyment. 


See you Thursday for my June Reading Challenge wrap-up.  In the meantime, happy reading!

Early Spring Fever

If you haven't been outside in the last few weeks, you've been missing out on one of the warmest Marches on record.  And not just warm.  The afternoons, in particular, have been gorgeous.  Sunny, cloudless, just breezy enough to keep things comfortable. 

It has been giving everyone I come into contact with a wild case of spring fever.  From early gardening to kids playing outside to some brave souls even going to the beach to walk, people are taking advantage of this early warm streak.  Personally?  I like to go out on the deck in the evenings after work and enjoy the light as long as it'll stick around, book in hand.  So, if you're feeling the need for some spring reads, here are my picks.

If you like family sagas, try The Bird Sisters, by Rebecca Rasmussen.  Elderly sisters Twiss and Milly live alone in the house in which they grew up, tending injured birds and losing themselves in memories.  For Milly, in particular, the memories turn to dreaming of what might have been, before an accident change the course of the sisters' lives.  Poignant and brimming the love and sacrifice that comes with sisterhood, this novel is full of surprises. 

If you're more in the mood for a suspense novel, I have an unusual one for you.  The Book of Lost Fragrances, by M.J. Rose.  When the heiress to a faltering French perfume company with a long history inherits the company, she is plunged back into a world she left behind nearly fifteen years ago.  Her brother, also an inheritor, hints that he has an earth-shattering discovery that will fix the company's financial woes, and then disappears.  It's up to Jac L'Etoile, reluctant heiress and unlikely sleuth, to uncover both what has happened to her brother, and what secret he was keeping.  Full of history and intrigue, this is a beautifully detailed and haunting work of suspense.  Note, if you enjoy Rose's writing, I highly recommend her other work, too!

So, what are you reading these days?

Finding more time

One of the laments I hear most often as a librarian is that people can't find the time to read.  And as a librarian, avid reader and lover of books, I can't think of anything sadder than a life without time to read.  Admittedly, I'm a fairly speedy reader, as you have seen from my lists of what I manage to read in the average month.  However, I'm not beyond taking a little help when and where I can to get my fix, and one of the ways I find more time to read is listening to audiobooks in the car.

Ok, I know, some people consider this cheating and tell me it doesn't count as "really reading."  And in a manner of speaking, they're right.  I'm not sitting with a physical book open in front of me, visually taking in text.  Then again, when I was little, my mom read to me all the time before I learned to read, and many of those stories still hold a special place in my heart even these many years later.  Sometimes, it's not about the format, but rather the impact of a story that makes all the difference.  To me, as long as I'm absorbing the story, I don't necessarily care how I'm getting it.

Now, think about how much time you spend in the car.  Personally, I have an hour round trip commute to work every day (longer if the traffic is bad), and I find it to be the perfect way to make the time pass quickly.  I would say I average two full-length (10+ disc/350 page) books a month this way.  That's twenty-four books a year, just during the drive between home and the library!

For those who say that they have tried audiobooks and don't like them, I would say, did you try a single book and decide you don't like any books?  Audiobooks aren't just about the content, of course--you also have the added element of the reader and how they read the story.  It's possible you've just tried one where you weren't happy with the reader's voice--it happens to me, too!  Actually, some of my favorite audiobooks have been ones read by their very distinct-voiced authors, like Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver and Bag of Bones by Stephen King--their loyalty to the accents of their characters adds great depth to the story.

If you find that you're too distracted by audiobooks while you drive, consider using them in other ways.  Do you knit or craft in the evenings in front of a tv you ignore?  Try listening to an audiobook while your hands are busy.  Do you go out for a walk during the day?  An audiobook can be a great companion.  They also make great distractions while doing mundane tasks like folding laundry, ironing, wrapping holiday presents, cleaning, etc.  You can also find downloadable audiobooks through our website using Overdrive (for Trumbull residents--other patrons should contact their individual libraries about availability) and IConn (for CT residents with a valid library card), perfect for your mp3 player or computer.

If you're new to audiobooks, or are inspired to give them another try, here are a few I recommend highly:

The Help, by Katheryn Stockett.  Read in parts by four different narrators, this is so moving and engrossing, I've recommended it to everyone I know, and lots of people I don't!

The Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale.  Dale, who has won a number of awards for his narrations as well as his work on stage, is absolutely phenomenal in his voicing of Rowling's myriad of characters in this series.  These are particularly great for longer rides with kids--give them a try on your next vacation!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson.  If you started the book and had trouble with all of the Swedish names and locations, the audio versions may be of great help to you.  Getting the pronunciations helped me keep places and characters straight, even as the plot twisted and turned!

Happy listening!