Hello friends, and Happy Sunday from Florida! It's been pretty quiet on the island this week. Many of our friends and fellow residents travel north for the summer months, and the summer vacation crowd has yet to arrive. We went out to brunch yesterday (to beat the Mother's Day rush) and were seated right away!
We enjoyed several beautiful evenings at the beach last week. Low tides, a nice breeze, good shelling, and not too buggy - just perfect! I'm hoping for more of the same this week.
Recent Reading//
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
This book has been on my shelf for years, but finally moved to the immediate TBR pile ahead of our summer trip to Santa Fe. I love Cather's writing and her gorgeous prose is on full display here, especially in descriptions of the southwest landscape. Her pen is practically a paintbrush! This is a slow, meandering, episodic novel. Light on an actual plot, it still manages to convey the life stories of two French priests in the southwest desert... and the ending moved me to tears. It's not my favorite Cather novel, but it may be the most beautiful.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Celadon Books, 2021
This novel was a page-turner! It begins with Jacob Finch Bonner, a once promising young novelist, now in the midst of a writing slump and teaching at an obscure MFA program. There he encounters the most arrogant student ever... who happens to have an amazing plot idea. Several years later (and still struggling professionally) Jake realizes that that novel has never been published, learns that the student is dead, and decides to use that plot idea to write the book himself.
There are some interesting questions raised here. Who owns an idea? Who gets to tell a story? What about cultural appropriation? I did not read the 2023 novel Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, but understand it addresses similar issues.
I've read four books by this author now and while The Latecomer remains my favorite, this was solid 4-star read... though not quite 4.5 stars. (Do I really need quarter stars now??) I'm excited to read the sequel, entitled The Sequel, coming this fall.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
CURRENT READING//
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
I'm experimenting with a longterm nonfiction read. Instead of reaching for my computer first thing in the morning, I spend about 30 minutes with this book and my coffee - found reading time, if you will. After a week, it's starting to feel like a habit. I've only read 90 pages so far and have over 800 to go. It's going to take a while, but Goodwin is both an excellent writer and wonderful storyteller!
I'm hoping to start another book later today, too. I have three library ebooks to sample... hopefully one will stand out.
The week ahead//
We'll be packing, cleaning, and loading the car ahead of our drive north at the end of the week. Most of the hurricane repairs are done, except for a few small things to finish up when we get back. I probably won't be around much for the rest of the month, but will try and check in around Memorial Day.
How was your week? What are you reading?
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
