#ToBwaiting These are a few titles being talked about for possible inclusion for next March‘s Tournament of Books. We should see the Long List in a couple of weeks.
I do hope Poor Deer is selected- I am enjoying the audiobook. Wild Houses was offered as an Audible freebie (or discount - can‘t recall) so I have it up for a listen soon.
pickA deceptively sophisticated book about unrequited love, self-sacrifice, and the seemingly impossible task of trying to be true to oneself while doing right by others and becoming part of a community. The protagonist is a smut writer dealing with the impending death of a beloved aunt on the one hand and birth of an unwanted child on the other. Full of fantastic dialogue and insightful observations that feel wholly organic, never forced or tacked-on
Starting today The Drowned by John Banville a DI Quirke forensic pathologist & DI Stafford book, which were originally published under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. Love his books no matter which name he publishes under.
so-soIt might be a “it‘s not you it‘s me” thing but I didn‘t really like this one. Based on the premise, I thought I was getting a western with doomed lovers set in the Montana winter 1891. What I got technically followed the description but I never really felt like I was reading any of those things. Lovely lyrical writing but surface level with no sense of place. I never truly felt like I understood the characters & they could have been anywhere. ⬇️
pickThe New York Review of Books usually hits it out of the park with their reprints and this novel by late author John McGahern is no exception. Set in Ireland during the 70's, a struggling writer publishes erotica to make ends meet while caring for his ailing aunt. Enter a one sided affair with an older woman and our protagonist drowns himself in drink as he reflects on his life in this literary book of love, loss, and longing.
https://youtu.be/UwbYj6BKLxI?si=rWnMia1wQo-DxIzR
Introduction
A couple milestones
Mystery guest
Week in review
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Archibald Colquhoun (Translator)
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
The Misses Mallett by E.H. Young
Off Keck Road by Mona Simpson
Spinster Kang by Zoë S. Roy
The Art Lover by Carole Maso
