Tuesday, September 22, 2020

It's a Going Country Book Club!

 

Okay, not really. Unless any of you are currently reading the same book I am reading. But it's possible! And it's more possible than it normally would be, because I am currently in the middle of three books.

This is very unusual for me. I don't like reading more than one book at a time; it makes me feel too scattered. However, I was given a book by a friend who was interested to hear my reaction to it. That book is The Winner Stands Alone, by Paulo Coelho. He also wrote The Alchemist, which I have not read.

I'm about a quarter of the way through, and so far, my reaction is that I don't love it. It's readable, but the first part of the book definitely reads to me as the author standing on his soapbox (thinly veiled as a fiction novel) and lecturing the reader about the Evils of the Modern World. However, I feel compelled to finish it so I can discuss it with her, and so I plow ahead.

Because I don't really love that book, I am not really too motivated to pick it up consistently. Which is why I'm also reading another book at home. That one is the sixth Anne of Green Gables book, Anne of Ingleside. I think the last time I read the entire series I was about eleven years old, so I don't really remember them. They are relaxing to read. Occasionally boring, but definitely soothing. And that is much appreciated at this particular crazy point in history.

And lastly, I borrowed a book from the library at school to read on my lunch break: A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. I remember this one being very popular several years back, and so far I'm enjoying it well enough to continue. I'm just getting to the Big Event of the book for the narrator--or rather, the first Big Event--so it's so far been all lead-up, but I'm more of a captive audience at work, so I'll read things I wouldn't necessarily choose to read at home. 

Also, I tend to have more of a solid, uninterrupted block of time to read at work, so I can read things that require a bit more concentration. Forty-five minutes to read with no interruptions at home doesn't happen very often. 

So tell me! What are you reading these days? Any recommendations?


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read mostly fiction, & then, only books that have a happy ending.
Actually, something I never do...I have three books going at the same time as well.
A fiction book (light mystery) from the town library, the new Cait Flanders book, "Adventures in Opting Out," & a Christian recommendation from "the minimal mom," "Get Your Life Back," from John Eldredge.
Linda

Kay said...

I usually have several books going at one time.

1. The Day Approaching: An Israeli's Message of Warning and Hope for the Last Days
by Amir Tsarfati

2.The Art of Eating: 50th Anniversary Edition
M. F. K. Fisher

I need some light reading right now during Harvest, so I just bought,The Tall Stranger
D. E. Stevenson.

I also have about a dozen audio books for when I"m cooking. Just finished "Winter Solstice" by Rosmunde Pilcher. (I love all her books.)

Lisa said...

I’m rereading my Nero Wolfe books at bedtime, and a biography of William Randolph Hearst at others. I also keep a book in the car in case I have to wait at an appointment or something.

Anonymous said...

Loved "A Prayer for Owen Meany" - may have to read it again. I don't usually like biographies or history, but I am fascinated by "A Woman of No Importance - the Untold Story of the American Spy who Helped Win World War II" by Sonia Purnell. Her story blows my mind again and again.

Anonymous said...

At present I'm reading Pride and Prejudice, which I read in high school for fun and remember not liking as well as Persuasion, which I do like a lot and just finished.

I think next I will read Jane of Lantern Hill; the non-Anne LMM books are a lot more interesting to me than Anne, though in a pinch, Anne will also do. :)

Karen.

Gemma's person said...

SWEET HOME ALASKA ... Carol Estby Dagg

Cubby might like it.

Sherry said...

I love to read, just don't have a lot of uninterrupted time to read. Anyone remember John Jake's Kent Family Chronicles? I started those probably 30 years ago (it's about an 8 or 10 book series), got half way through them but never finished. Sometime I would love to be able to read them again, this time reading every book. I love historical fiction, especially famly sagas.

Anonymous said...

I just finished the entire Game of Thrones series by George Martin at the insistence of a friend -- not my usual fare by any stretch (fantasy, complete with dragons and magic and violence, is not my bag), but I will admit they are masterfully written and, while the battles and feast descriptions get awesomely tiresome, the character development is top notch. Now I'm halfway through "Educated" by Tara Westover. I am not loving it, which is disappointing given the number of people who have given it rave reviews (Frugal Girl was the most recent fan that I can think of). To this point, it's fairly depressing, kind of like watching a car wreck in slow motion, but maybe it improves (I hope). Next up is "Book of the Little Axe" by Lauren Francis-Sharma, which has received rave reviews, and hopefully soon I'll be reading the newest Craig Johnson mystery, "Next to Last Stand" -- but it's brand new, so I expect to be waiting a while to get it.
--Karen.'s sister

Unknown said...

One of my new years goals was 2 books a month after not being much of a reader for a bit. One book that I reallly loved was A Spool of Blue thread by Anne Tyler. Fiction but not fluffy. A book where you still think of the characters and wonder how they ended up.....