Hello, friends. It's been a beautiful week here with comfortably warm temperatures and low humidity - perfect for morning walks on the beach, afternoon reading on the shaded lanai, and catching the sunset after dinner. And that's pretty much what I did last week!
Recent reading//
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
“If you don’t have love, you don’t properly exist. If you don’t properly exist, you don’t have love.”
This a stunning novel - expansive and immersive. From grand overarching themes of culture, identity, and belonging, to more minute details of food, clothing, plants, and animals, plus numerous references to art and literature - there is just SO much here. And in addition to all that, there's a really good story, too! Desai is undoubtedly a brilliant woman and I can see why this book took her ten years to write. Every sentence is painstakingly perfect.
Did I catch all of it? Absolutely not. With 670 pages, I'm sure plenty went over my head. But I was fascinated by what I did absorb. I could have (should have?) spent twice as much time on this book - googling all those minute details, consulting maps more often, and looking up historical background information. This is a book which begs to be reread... though I'm not sure I'll have the stamina anytime soon.
This was a read/listen combination for me and the audio edition narrated by Sneha Mathan enhanced my reading experience.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher
After all the effort required to read Sonia and Sunny, it was a pleasure to settle into Rosamunde Pilcher's cozy world of 1970s London and Scotland. However, with only 257 pages, I wasn't there nearly long enough. The plot felt rushed and the characters were not fully developed. Still, I enjoyed every page and wish there had been more of them.
⭐⭐⭐💫
Current reading//
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Volume 8 by Beth Brower
Volume 9 has yet to be released and I don't want my time with Emma to come to an end! I'm slowing down to make this last...
The Irish Goodbye: Micro Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly
I found this audiobook, narrated by the author, on hoopla. 17%.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The year-long slow read continues. 35%
We have two weeks left of our Florida season, so I'm hoping for one more peaceful week of beach walks, reading, and sunsets before the packing begins!
How was your week? What have you been reading?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Be sure to check back, I always respond. Due to a recent increase in spam, all comments are moderated.