I'm still reading Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. I'm thoroughly intrigued and I've been studying all the annotations, because they've been so interesting. The history and life stories are complex, which makes the reading even more of a pleasure. Though I read it for part of each day, I'm now only just over 200 pages, in this approximately 450 dense pages of a book. Not a single dull page, for anyone wanting to attempt it.
I just finished The Body in the Casket and enjoyed it. I'm now wanting to read the debut novel in the Faith Fairchild Mystery series, The Body in the Wardrobe, mostly because it won two awards--one was an Agatha for debut mysteries, and the other I can't recall at the moment.
I'm not sure what I will read for fun while I wait for the stand-alone, new Peter May mystery, Runaway, which is about Jack's difficult years as an older teen in Glasgow, Scotland. I've read two out of the three of his Lewis Island Trilogy books, all except for the third, Chess Man. I've gone madly superlative about Peter May before. The Lewis Island books are so dripping with setting and atmosphere, that they both ensnared and enchanted me. I can say that because I've read these books, I have absolutely no need to visit Lewis Island to find out what they're like.
I'd also like to mention that the New York Times Book Review is sponsoring a Book Club open to everyone, whether you're a subscriber or not, in conjunction with the PBS News Hour. The first book, for the month of January, is the 2017 National Book Award Winner, Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessamyn West. I'm sorry to say I didn't find out about all of this until this past Wednesday, BUT, evidently the author will (supposedly) be on the PBS News Hour on Wednesday, January 31st to discuss the book and respond to readers' questions and thoughts. The book for February will be announced during this broadcast. Dinner is nearing the final preparations, so I can say that there is a Facebook page for this. I wish it were not Facebook, but there we are.
Library Loot: November 27 to December 3
8 hours ago
I have a group of crime writers whose books I find absolutely superb, due mainly I think to the writing. Peter May is one of those. Like you I've read two of his Lewis books and have the third to read at some stage. I've also read a couple of his Enzo McCleod series set in France and those are also really good. My husband read the first of his Chinese series and declared that excellent. I think he's just an all-round fantastic author.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you about Peter May. For me, it's all the ways he goes deep to portray a character--it's characterization at its finest. And the setting and landscape and weather become actual characters, in a way. Then it's the way that his extraordinary grasp of his characters' interior worlds actually drive his ingenious plots. Oh, May is a master of crime for sure!
DeleteThanks for mentioning the book club. I'd not heard of it either, but am looking forward to the February book announcement!
ReplyDeleteI really need to post more info, at least so people can find its Facebook page. I seem to recall that you read Sing, Unburied, Sing--is that right?
DeleteJudith - No, I haven't, but it's on my list. I did find the group on Facebook. We'll see what they choose next...
DeleteI'm very interested to see what will be chosen. Nonfiction maybe?
DeleteThe third in that Peter May series is on my list too. I wonder if any of us, who so enjoyed the first two, have actually gone on to finish!?
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who raced through all three books. But I also know several, like me, who are putting it off because I don't want the series to be over.
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