I am two-thirds of the way through Jonathan Evison's This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance. Harriet is on an Alaskan cruise at age 78, but the story repeatedly shifts--Harriet at 28, 56, 78, 75, 36, and so on--so you can piece together the clues and try to understand this woman guzzling wine and drunkenly refusing to relinquish a crab leg on her first night out on the cruise. Marriage. Friendship. Womanhood. Plenty to discuss here. Haven't finished yet, but I think book clubs would enjoy it.
What's next for my book book? I'm waiting until Thanksgiving to start my Christmas reads. In the meantime, I just picked up these two library holds today.
Audiobook
I finished listening to Matthew Dicks' Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, expertly narrated by Matthew Brown, minutes before starting this post. I thought the premise sounded strange, a story told from the perspective of an imaginary friend. After purchasing it during an audible.com sale, I definitely didn't rush to read it. But after enjoying Dicks' The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs, I knew I trusted and liked his writing. This book blew me away. Budo the imaginary friend is a gifted storyteller and has a unique perspective on the world. Budo's pure and sacrificing love for his "imaginer" Max was beautiful, inspiring even. The passages where Budo talks about the differences he has noticed between good teachers and the teachers who are "playing school" was so good (even if I did listen to it and fear that I was the "playing school" kind of teacher), and Max's teacher Mrs. Gosk is my favorite character in a book full of great ones. Oh, to be or have been a Mrs. Gosk. A good teacher is everything. As is a good friend, even if no one else can see him. This book also includes some elements of mystery and suspense. Great read, good tears.
What's next on audio? I still haven't spent my two audible.com monthly credits so probably a new release.
Ebook
I finally finished The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny, the fifth installment of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. I rarely race through these books. I am reading a bit here or there on my iphone when I can. There is always a point in the middle of the story when I start to get a little weary of the mystery itself. Yet, I always love the snippets of poetry and the rich texture of literature, art, and history woven throughout. Penny has done such a lovely job setting the scene in Three Pines and slowly revealing the characters who live there, as well as the personalities and backstories of Gamache and his team members. It's everything surrounding the mysteries that really keeps me reading this series. Is Beauvoir's marriage on the rocks? What's the deal with Peter Morrow? I'll start the next one in a few weeks so I can find out.
What's next for my ebook? Katherine Reay's The Bronte Plot
What are you reading (in any format)? Do share!
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