Finds from a while back from Marketown Book Swap.
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Finds from a while back from Marketown Book Swap.
#TopReads2025 for August goes to “Alfa Romeo 1300 and Other Miracles” by Fabio Bartolomei. This was just such a fun, quirky read that I loved so much! I don‘t usually like translated books but this made me a believer that they can be good!
pickI haven‘t LOL‘d while reading a book in a while. I‘m sure my neighbors loved the peace & quiet in their backyard and then my random “Pffft! BWAHAHAHA!!” 🤷🏼♀️ #OhWell The minute these characters were described, I immediately thought of who I would cast in the movie 😆 Enjoy! And go read this book for a good time and some good laughs!!
Claudio: Stephen Merchant
Fausto: Dave Bautista
Diego: Ron Livingston
Abu: Don Cheadle
Sergio: Kristofer Hivju
My work week is done and in the books 🏃🏼♀️ Now to grab my book, wine, and snackies and “un-wine” 🤪 Tag yourself if you‘d like, and let‘s raise a toast to #FridayHappyReadingHour
pickReading Natalia Ginzburg, and this novel in particular, was an excellent use of the July 4th holiday. The war is over and Elsa's Italian village is returning to life after fascism. I particularly enjoyed the lines about how no one likes Purillo, who sided with the fascists, even as he continued to live among them. And I sympathized with the repeated refrain, "Why has everything been ruined?"
#StaycationinTime
Thank you @forestandcrow Tyler for my fantastic box. I cannot wait to try to goodies. Love the tote and bookmark and my new favorite ice tea glass. Thrilled with your book choices and an NYRB edition to add to my collection is next level.
Thank you for hosting @Chrissyreadit and @DinoMom Love this swap 💙
so-soI admit that I confused this family with the Borgia family. They were very similar, in fact, so I don't feel too foolish. They started as bankers in Florence. It seemed to me that every other generation was patrons to the arts, while the other generations were lazy and/or violent. The family was often fighting the papacy except when they had a son or nephew as a pope. I'm glad I read it. I learned more about Italy's history before unification.
so-soI enjoyed Naspini‘s book Nives, so when I saw this while in London I grabbed it. The story in this is a difficult one - a young man finds out his father is responsible for the murder of several young woman and of keeping a girl locked in a storage container for 14 years. The story bounces from points of view but some reactions and behaviours in the aftermath of this just do not strike the right note, particularly the ending. #europacollective
pickThis is my first Iris Origo and it won‘t be my last. It is the author‘s diary of the entrance of Italy during World War II, and her unique perspective as a well-connected British woman living with her Italian husband in the countryside of Italy. Its commentary on the realities of living under fascism, effects of propaganda and the manner in which people continued to live their lives is as relevant today as it was 85 years ago.
