Tag: Books

Embrace another fall…

Kimberli Simon1 Comment

 

fallreads
Fall 2017 New Reads

Even though fall doesn’t ‘officially’ begin until September 21st Labor Day always marks the beginning of autumn for me.  I am ready to put summer behind and embrace the fall – for me the season of football, oversized sweaters, hearty meals eaten fireside, and lots of reading.  Here are a few of the books I am looking forward to reading before the arrival of winter…

  1.   Future Home of The Living God – Louise Erdrich (available November 14th)
  2.   Manhattan Beach – Jennifer Egan (available October 3rd)
  3.   The Address: A Novel – Fiona Davis
  4.   The Golden House – Salman Rushdie
  5.   A Boy in Winter – Rachel Seiffert
  6.   Here We Are Now – Jasmine Warga (available November 7th)
  7.   See What I Have Done – Sara Schmidt
  8.   The Indigo Girl – Natasha Boyd (available October 3rd)
  9.   Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng (available September 12th)

How about you?  have you read any good books this summer? Are you looking forward to reading anything special this fall?  I’d love to know…

*Embrace Another Fall – Robert Plant

Twelve eyes of evil…

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12lives

Do you ever have high hopes before starting a book but after beginning realize you’re already familiar with the plot, even if the cosmetic details like name, location, and time differ?  I often find this is the case, especially since I tend toward books with themes of love and family in their many iterations. I count myself fortunate to have recently read a number of books with plots that are markedly different and excellently written (including Moonglow and The Book of American Martyrs).  Now I can add another unique read to that list – The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti.

‘Twelve Lives’ central theme of family and love is told in alternating chapters voiced by Samuel (a very successful career criminal) and his teenage daughter Loo (a bit of a criminal herself).  Watches, whales, and wounds all feature into the plot, along with Samuel’s brother-from-another-mother Jove and Loo’s boy/friend Marshall Hicks, and each propels the story forward until it culminates in Samuel’s 12th, and Loo’s 1st, life tale.

Have you read this book? I liked the story so much I am going to read Ms. Tinti’s The Good Thief next.  If it is half as good as ‘Twelve Lives’ I will have yet another book to add to my 2017 favorites list!  Keep reading….

*Twelve Eyes of Evil – The Broken Family Band

There’s a great old bookstore…

Kimberli Simon8 Comments
books6
Classic(s)

Did you know that the last Saturday in April is Independent Bookstore Day?

Amazon may be able to deliver any book to your doorstep in two days or less but can it provide you with the opportunity to meet & greet your favorite author? Does Amazon host reading clubs where you can discuss and debate topical books with strangers turned friends?  Can you spend hours on a rainy day browsing the aisles of Amazon, fresh coffee in hand, reading snippets from whatever books catch your attention?  No, no and no. Can you do all of those things at your independent bookstore? Yes, yes and yes.

Find an indie bookstore near you and stop in to raise your favorite book in a toast to reading and to the amazing independent bookstores that make that possible! If you live in Nashville, Miami, Philadelphia or Denver check out my favorite independent bookstores, including Parnassus Books, her bookshop, Books & Books, Wooden Shoe Books, Joseph Fox Bookshop, and Tattered Cover Bookstore.   If you live somewhere else I’d love to know what independent bookstores you recommend.  Happy Independent Bookstore Day…and Happy Reading!

*Daylight Dreamer – Shel Silverstein

Martyrs and madmen….

Kimberli Simon1 Comment
martyrs
Nothing is as it seems

I’m, back!  After a week spent in South Florida (more on that in the days to come) followed by a week of work, sick pets, and tax prep I’m back to posting.

For the last two weeks I have been held in thrall by Joyce Carol Oates ‘A Book of American Martyrs’. Luther Dunphy (a poor, uneducated husband, father, carpenter and devout evangelical Christian) and Gus Voorhees (a middle class, highly educated husband, father, ob/gyn, and non-believer) represent both sides of the abortion debate still ranging in America today.  It is a testament to Ms. Oates exceptional writing skills that her readers come to understand, and even emphasize with, how each man’s belief system leads to their resigned acceptance of becoming a martyr.

While the first third of the book focuses on Gus and Luther, the remaining story centers around their daughters; Naomi Voorhees, and Dawn ‘D.D’ Dunphy.   Each girl’s journey from impressionable child to adult is dramatically impacted by their father’s actions and family reactions to the book’s pivotal murder scene.  It is here that Ms. Oates eloquently and seamlessly weaves the many ways that an individual can kill or be killed into the storyline.

One thing that struck me about ‘A Book of American Martyrs’ is you never know which side of the abortion debate, if any, the author supports or wants you, the reader, to adopt. In our politically charged times I applaud Ms. Oates for taking an objective stance on a polarizing topic to produce a powerful, profoundly moving, thought-provoking book perfectly suited to today’s political times.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Let me know if you have read or plan to read ‘A Book of American Martyrs’.  I am curious to hear your perspective on one my ‘top 10’ books of 2017.

*Martyrs and Madman – Roger Daltry

That’s nine shots…

Kimberli Simon4 Comments

 

BOOKS
March 9

I am reading the last of my holiday books (here) and am about to place the order for my next nine.  I will be packing ‘Big Little Lies‘ and ‘The Mothers‘ in my beach bag and am looking forward to reading each as I soak up the sunshine at the Venetian Pool and Cape Florida State Park in a few weeks.  How about you?  What are you reading?  Do you have any ‘beach read’ recommendations I can add to my next ‘9’ list?  I’d love to know…

 

In the middle of Chapter 3…

Kimberli Simon2 Comments
9xmasbooks
Gifts that keep on giving

One of my favorite gifts to receive is a book, or more specifically, books. My Santa Momma gave me 9 books that have been on my ‘2B…or not 2B Reads‘ Pinterest board for awhile now.   I am almost finished with my current read and then I’ve got a big decision to make – what gift do I begin first? Decisions, decisions…just the sort of dilemma I love to resolve.

 

Fire, I bring you to burn…

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cityonfire
Big city, big stories

I just finished my last ‘summer stack’ book (see the other books here) and it turns out I saved the best for last.  Have  you had a chance to read ‘City on Fire‘ by Garth Risk Hallberg? I can’t recommend it enough.  It’s a big, juicy book that jumps from the 50’s to the 90’s with much of the action happening in the 70’s when parts of New York really were burning.  The plot deftly weaves 15+ characters story arcs between each other, with some of the stories told via a book within a book (think fanzine, diary entries, and a manuscript).  This is  Mr. Hallberg’s first novel and he has set the bar high for future writings. If his next book is as good as his first I will be in for another highly enjoyable read.  How about you?  Have you read any good books lately?  I’d love to know what’s on your ‘must read’ list…

The hand of fate…

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fateandfuries
The Ballad of Lotto and Mathilde

I ordered Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff as part of a recent reading stash purchase (mentioned here) but delayed beginning it until now.  I wish I HAD started the book sooner because it quickly became one of my favorite reads of the summer.  I stayed up way too late over the past week, following this slyly nuanced tale of a ‘perfect’ marriage that gives truth to the old adage that there are always three sides to any story; his, hers, and the truth.  If you are looking to get lost in a tale of passionate love, heart-rending loss, sacrifices made, revenges exacted, lies made truth and truths not told than this is the story for you.  Have you read Fates and Furies?  I’d love to know what  you thought of the story and what is on your ‘must read’ list for fall…

 

Some Girls

Kimberli Simon1 Comment

thegirls

How serendipitous that I finished reading Emma Cline’s ‘The Girls’ on the same day that California Governor Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown rejected parole for one of the original ‘girls’, Leslie Van Houten.

The novel is loosely based on Charlie Manson’s most fervid female followers and explores the lifelong guilt and self-imposed imprisonment of Evie, the main character who by chance meets ‘the girls’ one lazy summer afternoon and by luck avoids their fate one apocalyptic night.

Back in the late seventies I spent a lot of time at the Mars Hotel, hanging with ‘The Guys’. Jaz ruled over our core group of turned on/tuned in/dropped out wanderers and an ever changing cast of hangers-on and passers-through. Equal parts shyster, narcissist and carnival con man, Jaz could get just about anyone to do almost anything he asked. I’ve met a LOT of people in my life and to date none of them had that combination of magnetism and false messiah, which is one reason reading ‘The Girls’ resonated so deeply with me.

Have you read ‘The Girls’? I’d love to hear what you thought of the book…