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Although I like fall (I prefer snuggly warm clothing and blankets), the fact that I will soon endure really cold weather puts a damper on it...well more than a damper I guess. And this year we have a pool to close down, which hasn't been used more than twice in the past month...because it has been Fall weather here in Ohio since early August (or at least, definitely not swimming weather). So, I am a little disgruntled that Fall has decided to take up more than its fair share of the allotted season.
Yet, I am enjoying the abundant apple cider and the prospect of heading over to Whitehouse Farms, a nearby farm market that is open year round, but makes me think of Fall. It's the only season I ever head over there. And Fall and I can get along since there are some good books coming out and others I have set aside to read!
1. One Summer: America, 1927 - by Bill Bryson. I've read quite a few nonfiction and fiction books set in the 1920s in the past months. Plus, teaching the Great Gatsby, I end up reviewing historical aspects of the decade with students. This book captures a tumultuous summer of firsts and records in everything from flight to murder. So, when I saw a first edition signed copy was up for pre-order on B&N's website, I called my local store. My Barnes and Noble didn't know if they would be getting signed copies, but their site was selling them, so they reserved one to come to their store for me! Release date is October 1st.
2. We Are Water - by Wally Lamb. I also have a signed, first edition of this book coming to me October 22nd! My local B&N is so helpful! I honestly don't know what the book is about...it's Wally Lamb and it's signed. End of story.
3. Life After Life - Kate Atkinson. I've read so much praise on this book that I have to read it. The premise is intriguing...Ursula Todd dies at birth, but is reborn (I presume to someone else). At every death she is reborn, until she "gets it right." That's all I know and all I want to know. I am captured by the idea, but any detail will ruin the actual reading.
4. Watership Down - Richard Adams. This has been on my shelf for years! And it has been on my 2013 Reading List since January. A friend recently read it for the first time and really liked it, so I'm renewing my intent to read it! I know there are animals and I'm thinking something parallel - akin to an Animal Farm of sorts. (Once again, I don't want to know too much before I read!)
5. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien. I've come across quotes from this book that really caught my attention, particularly the use of the title, "They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." Also, it's kind of like a set of short stories that are connected, which I like better than just sets of short stories.
6. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards. This one too has been on the 2013 list all year long. I'm determined to get to it!
7. The Book of Secrets - Elizabeth Joy Arnold. This one was big among the blogs a few months ago and I read raving reviews on Goodreads. I placed it on my paperbackswap wish list and have been waiting patiently ever since. Well, I received a copy in the mail recently and can't wait to dig in. The story seems to be a mystery and it entails the storylines of other beloved classics as clues to figure out the character's actions. Books about books = awesome.
8. Orange is the New Black - Piper Kerman. This one shouldn't need much explanation. A woman spends a year in a women's prison and lives to tell about it. I want to watch the Netflix series so, of course, I have to read this first! Unfortunately, I glanced a Goodreads friend's update that it's a drag for at least the first 50 pages.
9. The Light Between the Oceans - M.L. Stedman. I was proud of my find with this one...on the reduced table at B&N for $4.98, in hardcover! A couple who has suffered multiple miscarriages finds an infant washed on their lighthouse shore, along with a dead body. What to do? Keep the baby, of course. And without reading too much more of the summary, I already know this is going to come back to bite them.
10. The Paris Wife - Paula McLain. Hmmm...after reading so much about the Fitzgeralds, I'm not too keen on what I've seen of Hemingway. But, this one received good reviews and I'm all about American Lit, since I live and breath it in a classroom for nine months. It always helps me teach when I can plan using background knowledge of the authors or historical period.
What about you? Any good reads on the chilly horizon?
What about you? Any good reads on the chilly horizon?
Yes! That Bill Bryson book sounds amazing, thanks for reminding me about it!
ReplyDeleteHe also has one titled "Home" and it's the history of all the things we use daily in our home life. Might be boring if anyone else wrote it, but he's good with this kind of stuff.
DeleteIt's actually "At Home" with a long subtitle...
DeleteI loved the Memory Keeper's Daughter. I read it several years ago, and I still remember one very specific scene that made me literally have to catch my breath. I wish I was reading it again for the very first time! Great book club book, too. Enjoy! And thanks for sharing your list!
ReplyDeleteOh thanks for your excitement! Makes me even more determined to read it - pushed it up on the list!
DeleteThe Things They Carried is really good. I read it back in high school years ago.
ReplyDeleteThey teach it at my school, which is what made me put it on my TBR list for this year. I didn't know it was a series of short stories until recently.
DeleteI am in awe of your list and how much you actually read. Wally Lamb's Water and The Light Between two Oceans are two I am definitely going to TRY to get to.
ReplyDeleteAm in the process of reading Averil's, Alice Close Your Eyes.It's one sexy book. Like Fifty Shades...but beautifully written with intelligence and wit. Actually there are only two similarities - sex and how successful it will be.
Then we are even - I'm in awe of how much you write and your essays and columns that are published! Have you read other Wally Lamb books?
DeleteOoohhh, you've got some good stuff! I'm looking forward to the Wally Lamb. I'm also interested in Amy Tan's new one and Dirty Love from Andre Dubus.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you think of Orange. I haven't read it or seen it either but everyone is talking about it!
Oh yea, I did see the new Amy Tan in a bookstore email a couple weeks ago. There are definitely some good ones coming out!
DeleteI really like Bryson and look forward to his take on the 20s. If you enjoy audio he's great in that medium as well--especially when he narrates his own books. The Things They Carried is a powerful book--one that continues to stick with me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy these and I hope you have a mild fall. Until today we were still in the high 90s so I'm looking forward to some cooler weather!
If I take any trips I'll look him up in audio. Driving is typically the only time I can focus on audio...it's actually the only time I ever listen to music too! I would love an Indian summer right now...our Summer was too mild for me to be welcoming Fall already! Although, 90 is a little crazy for September.
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