I am a reader and book evangelist. For many years I have kept a reading journal with little descriptions of the books I read and dates I read them. Kind of a trail of book bread crumbs that chart my interests over a given course of time. This blog gives me a way to continue my journal and share my reading interests with others. My latest adventures in creating, dining, and traveling can be found at my website LindasOtherLife.com
Monday, April 30, 2012
Serena by Ron Rash
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Friday, April 13, 2012
Main Street Books in Davidson, NC
Davidson is one charming North Carolina town. We drove up from Charlotte to check out a few places - Birdsnest Music, Toast for Lunch and Main Street Books. The bookstore is small and rather haphazardly arranged. I did not see a very large fiction section but rather books about gardening, cookbooks and children's books.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Carry the One by Carol Anshaw
This book garnered lots of early praise as one where a tragic opening scene is followed by a thought-provoking study of how different individuals cope with tragedy. Carmen marries Matt in the opening chapter, and when a car full of drunk - and drugged - wedding guests kill a young girl walking on the street on their way home from the wedding, all of these characters lives become knit in a variety of ways. The story begins in 1983 and follows the characters up through - you guessed it - 9/11. I would call the events believable, the characters a bit shallow, and the prose clear and fresh.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A Very Cool Used Bookstore - Book Buyers in Charlotte, NC
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Park Road Bookstore - Charlotte, NC
We found this independent bookstore on a visit to visit my #1 son last year during spring break. He took us for breakfast at The Flying Biscuit (highly recommended) and mentioned there was a pretty cool bookstore in the same strip center. This year we returned because I love bookstores that feature lots of employee recommendations displayed with the books. These people talk books. As I was browsing, I overheard a conversation between the bookseller and a customer - obviously a frequent customer - about the paperback cover of Ron Rash's Serena. It was a compelling enough conversation to make me find the book on the shelf and eventually buy it on the way out. Nice store!
Monday, April 09, 2012
Taylor Books - Charleston, West Virginia
Friday, April 06, 2012
Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie by Beth Howard
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Arcadia by Laura Groff
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I had received an Advance Readers copy and kept it on the shelf, and decided to kick-start spring break week with a fun book about a Utopian commune in New York State, circa 1970. I found the protagonist, Bit, who is little bitty small child at the beginning of the novel, charming enough. But when the sham of idealism takes over Arcadia, and the novel moves forward many years, I lost interest. Not enough hippie in me - not enough drug use? For whatever reason, I was happy to leave this perfect place.