Funny John Steinbeck (who knew?)

I recently finished two books by John Steinbeck, Cannery Row and the sequel, Sweet Thursday. What totally delightful books! I haven't read any Steinbeck since high school and all I remember was that while I enjoyed his writing, they were a little depressing. I was surprised to learn that Steinbeck also had some light, comedic writing that influenced another writer that I really enjoy. The characters in both of these books are quirky and charming and the books are filled with a sweetness and kindness that I didn't expect. Definitely recommended for an uplifting interlude.

"Wise Children"

Hi, everyone. At the last meeting I mentioned a book that I had just read and loved. The book is Wise Children by Angela Carter. She is a British author who, based on some quick research, is enough of a phenomenon to have other books written about her influence on English literature. Anyway, this book was given to me by a British woman I met on vacation over the holidays. It's about two sisters in their 70s looking back over their lives. They are "theater people" from a family of Shakespearean actors. The book references about every Shakespeare play written (I'm determined to read it again and try to figure out all the references) and is a wonderful comedic book. By the end of the book you realize that she has actually written a modern farce in Shakespearean style. It is a thoroughly entertaining and well-written book. I just bought another of her books (the only one I could find at a bookstore in Charlotte) and will post a review once I've read it.

I also just finished Christopher Moore's latest book Fool that tells the story of King Lear through the character of the Fool (what is it about Shakespeare and me lately?). Remember Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead? Where that play spoofed Hamlet through two minor characters, this one takes on Lear. If you're familiar with Moore, you'll know that this is over-the-top comedy as are all of his prior novels. This one is entertaining, but not quite up to some of his earlier works. For anyone wants a laugh-out-loud author who writes about subjects all over the board (vampires, ecology, death, aliens, nuns, etc.), Moore is a wonderful find. But be forewarned, nothing is sacred and the language and subject matter can be potentially offensive. If you are a Monty Python fan you'd probably enjoy Moore, even though he is even more outrageous. But for pure escape reading, he's one of my favorite authors.

Am I in Kansas yet?

Am I an official Chick-Lits blogger? I thought I had contributed in February - must be blogging in outer space! Anne McC

GoodReads newsletterr

A few months ago Ellen (I think it was Ellen) sent us an email about a few good reading websites. I signed up for the newsletter at www.goodreads.com and am enjoying it. I've already picked out several books from there that I plan to read. I think you might enjoy it.

Some summer reading

I was so into the blog setup yesterday that I forgot to post about what I've been reading. I've mentioned to a few of you about a thriller writer that a friend recommended to me. It's Brian Haig and I've really enjoyed his books over the past 6 months or so. He's written 5 or 6 books and I think I've now read all of them. The main character is an Army lawyer and he takes interesting cases of international intrigue. His first book was Secret Sanction and I've also read The President's Assassin, The Kingmaker, Man in the Middle and one other that I can't remember the name of (and it was actually my favorite). Anyway, if you like spy/murder/intrigue novels, you might want to try him. Also, an interesting backstory is that he's Alexander Haig's son. This is definitely not Chick-Lit so if you have a reading man in your life, he may like these too.

I've also read The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris. This is the followup to the book Chocolat. I didn't read Chocolat, but loved the movie, so I thought I'd try this book. I enjoyed it and there were some interesting themes around trying to live true to your own spirit and how difficult that can be sometimes. Another interesting theme was looking at some of the sacrifices we make for children that can backfire on us. If you enjoyed the movie, you'd probably like this book. My only big complaint was that the character that Johnny Depp played in the movie, Roux, had red hair in the book and it was very distracting since I wanted to keep the Johnny Depp fantasy in mind as I read the book!

I'm now reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov. My husband has tried for years to talk me into reading Asimov's classic sci-fi trilogy and I'm glad that I finally got around to it. Foundation is less science fiction (in my mind) than it is a psychological study on mankind and the idea of fatalism. If any of you have read this I'd be interested in your thoughts. I know we don't typically do sci-fi book in book club, but this one delves into some weighty issues that would make for a great discussion.

Finally, when I need a break from deep thinking in deep space I'm also reading David Sedaris' new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Typical Sedaris.

I hope you are all having a good summer! Happy reading!

Another new blogger!

Thanks, Debbie, for doing this - it's sort of exciting for us non-techies! I'll take this opportunity to report that I finally read Ghost at the Table which I missed back in the winter and am really sorry I wasn't able to be at the discussion - lots of food for thought about the book and interrelationships in our own lives. Look forward to what others have to say about books and reading as we go along with this Blog.

I AM A BLOGGER

Success---I am officially on line to our ChisLits Blog. Yeah!!!