In the High Peaks
















Thursday, April 22, 2010

Books are Popping Up All Over

What a shock I had today when I went online to my library account. Four 2010 books on hold for me! Way too many. Why do they flood in all at once? I've got Eaarth by Bill McKibben waiting in my hometown library and Solar by Ian McEwan at Crandall Library in Glens Falls. I called Barbara, Susan's assistant, and let go of the new Elizabeth George novel. It maxes out at 550 pages plus, and there's no way I can get to it, considering it's in demand and the book in my hand is a dense 560 pages. I hated to see it slip through my fingers, but I'm relieved it will go to someone with time to read it. I'll catch up with it later.

I'll be doing a thorough blog entry on my current book, Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada in a few days. It's a triumph of post-war German literature (published in 1947 in Germany, 2009 in the UK and US). I feel privileged to be reading it. More to come.

Early this morning I finished a book that did not measure up to my expectations. The Three Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Schine, though it received an excellent review in the New York Times (How did this piece of mediocrity do it?), was plodding at best. Stereotyped characterizations, humor that often fell flat, a few light moments that didn't satiate my hunger the way Schine's The New Yorkers did. And Schine made her Westport, Connecticut, setting so dull!

No comments:

Post a Comment