- Books that hit closest to home: The first 2 books in Jane Smiley’s trilogy-in-progress, Some Luck and Early Warning, are set in a small fictional town in central Iowa where I live. She nailed life on a small Iowa family farm in the 1920s-1950s.
- Most disappointing read: Cronkite, the biography of the legendary newsman, Walter Cronkite, by Douglas Brinkley. I wasn’t ready to learn that the man my parents worshiped liked his booze and told dirty jokes. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
- Most thought-provoking read: Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. Ursula, the main character of the story is born, grows, and dies. After each death, she is born again–always on a cold and snowy night in 1910–and a different life path is presented. Including meeting Hitler and the opportunity to change the course of history. Absolutely fascinating.
What have you been reading lately? Leave a comment.
I recently found another author I like: Catherine Ryan Hyde. She writes about people interacting with social service systems and she does it well. I have read several of the Kate Atkinson novels. I read the one you feature. It was a challenging, thought provoking idea about all the paths a life can take.
I followed that with a John Sanford Chaser: Gathering Prey–a wild ride that I did not need to think about. His series is set near my office in St. Paul!
Why is it not surprising that you would like an author who writes about people and social services? I’ll have to give Hyde a try. However, I can never get into John Sanford Chaser. Don’t know why.