I've been away far longer than was ever intended but unfortunately life does get in the way at times. I thought it was appropriate to begin again on the same note I left on - with my latest loot from the library. Most of my reading in the past few months has been 'comfort food' which for me is usually crime and thrillers so I'm looking forward to getting back into something more varied.
Catching up with the many posts from my favourite bloggers in my reader has been great - it was very tempting just to mark as read - and while I regret what I've missed I'm also inspired by what's new. Like Shiny New Books - awesome! Off to the library I went yesterday with the hope I might find some SNB on the shelves and I think I did rather well. Four out of the five below are from the SNB fiction lists.
The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry -' a heartbreaking portrait of one man's life - of his demons and his lost love.' I don't expect to be disappointed with this one.
The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah - 'Stuck in a traffic jam, Nicki Clements sees a face she hoped never to see again.' A favourite author who writes excellent psychological thrillers - very surprised to find this one on the shelf.
You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz - 'Grace Sachs, a happily married therapist with a young son, thinks she knows everything about women, men and marriage'....another psychological thriller by an author who is new to me - looking forward to reading this one.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North 'No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before.' Of the five books here this is the one that intrigues me the most.
The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurdardottir - 'An unmanned luxury yacht crashes into the harbour in Reykjavik. What happened to the crew, and to the young family who were on board when it left Lisbon.' The sixth in this series featuring Icelandic lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir. Tried and true reading.(I hope)
That the emphasis is still on crime and thrillers is because I still need easy, relaxing reading........plus I began a Classic which I thought would take a while to read but has turned out to be such compelling reading I can't put it down - more about that another time.
It's so nice to see you again! I haven't read any of the books in your library loot, but can't imagine anything by Sebastian Barry being a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteThanks, JoAnn - it's good to be back. I'm sure the SB will be worth reading.
DeleteI was so happy to see a post from you, welcome back! I am very intrigued by your description of the Icelandic series.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa - lovely to be here again. I enjoy this crime series because of the Icelandic background - good way of learning about a country.
DeleteGreat haul! Enjoy all your books!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda - looking forward to some good reading.
DeleteIt's good to see you posting again! I read The Temporary Gentleman a few months ago and while it's not one of my favourite Sebastian Barry books, it was still very moving and beautifully written. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Helen. 'Very moving and beautifully written' sounds good to me.
DeleteIt's lovely to see you again. I've only read that Sophie Hannah and I thought it was a return to form after a disappointing last book. Not quite her best, but so much better. I'll be interested to read your thoughts when you're ready.
ReplyDeleteHello Jane - lovely to be back. I'm reading the SH now and have to agree - a big improvement on the last one.
DeleteI've never heard of any of these books but they do sound interesting! I especially like the cover of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
ReplyDeleteI think that is the one that will be a little different and I look forward to reading the most.
DeleteOoh -- curious about your compelling classic! Can't wait to hear about that one. The First Fifteen Lives... sounds similar in premise to Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It would be interesting to see another treatment of that idea.
ReplyDeletei thought of Life After Life, too. Will be interesting to compare the two but will definitely have to wait as 'the classic' has first priority - so good! :-)
Delete