I loved The Buddha in the Attic enough to select if for my book club. It was not a favorite. So just a warning that this is a very unconventionally written book that isn’t for everyone. But if you love poetic language, give it a try.
I’m currently plowing through The Twelve, the sequel to The Passage (and a third yet to come), and trying to ride with the idea that, just as with the first book, I won’t necessarily understand everything I’m reading until a later point. Anyone else working on Justin Cronin’s opus? I have to admit there’s something a little overwhelming about watching a zombie apocalypse on TV (The Walking Dead) while reading about a vampire apocalypse. I’m told the economic “apocalypse” is the reason why this genre has so much recent appeal, though I’m not sure I understand the logic.
Just finished Ghana Must Go - interesting writing, interesting topic - really well written. For those who live in Boston area, you will recognize many of the landmarks!
Just finished the Art Forger by BA Shapiro. Fictional story based on some factual knowledge. Very interesting to read about the techniques used to make an art reproduction surrounded by a moving story line.
I am not usually a mystery fan, but was coaxed by a review into reading “A Beautiful Mystery” by Louise Penny. I do admit to being a bit of a sucker for a mystery set in an abbey as this one is (started way back with “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco), which is part of what convinced me to try it. Anyway, I really, really liked “A Beautiful Mystery”. It is actually the seventh in a series by this author (8th due out this fall). I am going to go back and start with the first one. Hoping they are all as good as this one! The author has won a ton of awards, so that is a good sign that they will be.
Regarding “The Art Forger”, if you are interested in art forgery in real life, you might try a book called “Provenance: How A Con Man & Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art”. I read it last year after my dad recommended it, and it made me to vow to NEVER buy an art work as an investment. It also really makes you think about why an original is (or even should be) so much more valuable than an excellent copy.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles is one of the best books I’ve read in years! I am enjoying it so much that I actually dread coming to the end. I have about 40 pages left. This is a short description taken from a review I read.
It’s one of those books where the prose is so beautiful that you wish you could quote it to someone sitting across the room. Love it! It’s the author’s debut so I hope that he is hard at work on the next one.
