What, you’re still at the office?
Don’t you know it’s Labor Day weekend, the official last weekend of summer? You should be packing a suitcase to head out of town, preferably to someplace sunny and hot.
While you’re at it, toss in a book.
If you’re looking for a good read to bid “Adieu” to summer, here are a few suggestions from titles I’ve finished since spring, including a couple I read on vacation in Maui last month, where I took this picture of myself lounging on the beach (all the better to get me through the long drizzle of Oregon winter):
1. Swamplandia! – Wanted to love it since it was a 2011 Pulitzer fiction nominee, but ended up only really liking it. Quirky characters, beautiful prose, great Florida swamplands setting, disappointing finish.
2. Mind’s Eye – Hakan Nesser Scandinavian murder mystery ala “Dragon Tatoo” series. Liked it but guessed the ending.
3. Let the Right One In – Also Scandinavian (seemed appropriate to read local when I was in Sweden earlier this summer). Vampire/bully/YA/horror. Gruesome in places, with some unbelievable plot twists. Am curious how they turned this into a movie. Anyone seen it?
4. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Short and sweet tale of two teenage boys sent for to live in a peasant village during the Cultural Revolution in the early 1970s and the tailor’s daughter they befriend.
5. The Art of Fielding – Herman Melville and Div. III college baseball make for a lovely combo in this standout first novel. Loved it!
6. The Elegance of the Hedgehog – French, existential, unexpected final plot twist. Hated it!
7. Bird by Bird – I’m now not the only writer on earth to to have read this. As amazing as I expected. Annie Lamott is my hero.
8. The Tiger’s Wife – Set in an unnamed Balkan country after the wars there – being part Croatian I was intrigued. Part war story, part ghost story. As with Swamplandia!, started out promising but led to a less-than-satisfying conclusion. Well worth it, though, especially for the lovely tales recounted in flashbacks from the grandfather’s youth.
Read any books this summer that you’d recommend?
I’m now convinced that I must read “Bird by Bird.” I’ve glanced through it in the bookstore and not really thought it seemed that great, but between your review and another recent accolade, I think it’s one I should try.
I read Karen Russell’s earlier book of short stories, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves,” and felt similarly, although the stories got better as they went along, and I really liked the title story.
Books I’ve really enjoyed recently are “Started Early, Took My Dog” by Kate Atkinson (British mystery that started off pretty pedestrian, but grew on me) and “The Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles (story of a young single woman in Depression-era New York City — loved the atmosphere).
I waited until I found a used copy – worth every penny of the $5 I spent.
Ah, I loved The Elegance of the Hedgehog. And I’m not French, I’m Scottish (but admittedly there’s an Auld Alliance there).
I’ve seen the film Let the Right One In and yes it’s watchable but very long. My bum went numb in the cinema seat. I would say it’s ok but my partner loved it. He’s more into vampire films than me though. It’s had a terrific write up over here, especially in independent cinemas.
Must read Bird by Bird. Anne Tyler is my hero. Saw her in Oxford a few months ago and she was just as lovely and intriguing as I’d hoped.
Have a lovely Labor Day!
Jill x
Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for all the interior dialogue in “Elegance” – I wanted more story and less thinking – I guess I really was in summer reading mode when I picked it up.
Bird by Bird is by Anne Lamott, a California writer of quirky essays, nonfiction books on politics, religion and parenthood and novels like Rosie and Crooked Little Heart. Anne Tyler is equally admired by audiences worldwide, and probably more well known.
Michelle
I was just thinking of Anne Lamott’s chapter in Bird by Bird, “S_____ First Drafts”. I don’t know why. Maybe because I just got through writing one.
I love to hear someone say they wanted to love a book and ended up hating it. I can never trust reviewers anymore. Its like the stockmarkets, buy, sell, buy sell and there’s more back alley dealing in the book selling market now so I’m so glad to hear you review. Do it more please.
Done! I’ll plan to a good reads round up at least once a quarter. I usually read the most over summer, so it’ll be incentive to pick up a book more often during other times of year instead of doing something else.
I also love Lamott’s advice on SFDs, which is how I’ve seen other people refer to them (and now I know what they’re talking about). And it’s so true – sometimes you’ve just gotta get something on the page for better or worse. Half the time, when you log on the next morning it’s not as dire as you thought it was.
On the subject of the buying and selling of book reviews, did you see this New York Times story: The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy?
Michelle