What I'm Reading This Week - Oct.16, 2011- Beasts, Brides & Lottery Winners
Quote de jour
“Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay.”
~Christopher Hitchens
What I'm Reading This Week resulted in mixed bag from beasts, brides to lottery winners. They made my spirit soar, enlightened and plain baffled me.
Christopher Hitchens, arguably one of the greatest essayists of wit and intellectual brilliance has a massive new tome of his essays titled, Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. He is battling esophageal cancer and I have only one word for him: awe. I'd take this book to the proverbial desert island.
For the latest on Hitch,http://www.dailyhitchens.com/
I admit to being a sucker for selecting current NY Times best sellers. Sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn't. We have one of each today.
In The Garden of The Beasts by Erik Larsen startles because of its truth. Just when you think there can't be a new angle about Nazi Germany, there is. In 1933, a plainspoken Midwesterner takes a job no American wants: Ambassador in Berlin. He brings his wife, son and adult sexpot daughter who beguiles everyone from the head of the Gestapo to Hitler. Jews are beaten and disappearing daily. A wealthy Jew agrees to rent the Ambassador his mansion and moves to the attic servant's quarters thinking it might save him. That's as far as I've gotten in this intriguing nonfiction that reads like fiction. I can't wait to return to it. You can visit the author's site/blog at http://eriklarsonbooks.com/the-books/in-the-garden-of-beasts/
Now for the the book that baffled. Published by the respectable house Knopf, debut novelist Jennifer Close has received much praise for her novel Girls In White Dresses, about three Sex in the City 20 somethings looking for love and not much else. The wry, stilted writing in the first third of the book normally would make me throw it across the room but something made me continue. By the the mid point, I got used to the choppy pacing and hallelujah, the final third raced home a winner. That said, would I have paid for it? No. Does the young writer show promise? Absolutely.
Finding good books to read is sometimes like a lottery. You want to win the jackpot but rarely do. A publicist sent me You Never Know intriguing debut novel by Lilian Duval about an ordinary family that wins the Mega Millions lottery and it's a winner. I don't know anyone who hasn't fantasied about winning big. This book explores, luck, chance and what we ultimately value. This sensitive and well written story has heart and soul. And yes, unlike the previous review, I would pay for it. It builds slowly and I would have liked the main character's win to arrive sooner, but Ms. Duval is a major cat lover, so I'll forgive her for that choice. Check out her a great trailer for the book at her site at http://www.lilianduval.com/
If you love cats, ghosts or folklore, I have special book review at my cat blog Cat Wisdom101.com today.
“Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay.”
~Christopher Hitchens
What I'm Reading This Week resulted in mixed bag from beasts, brides to lottery winners. They made my spirit soar, enlightened and plain baffled me.
Christopher Hitchens, arguably one of the greatest essayists of wit and intellectual brilliance has a massive new tome of his essays titled, Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. He is battling esophageal cancer and I have only one word for him: awe. I'd take this book to the proverbial desert island.
For the latest on Hitch,http://www.dailyhitchens.com/
I admit to being a sucker for selecting current NY Times best sellers. Sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn't. We have one of each today.
In The Garden of The Beasts by Erik Larsen startles because of its truth. Just when you think there can't be a new angle about Nazi Germany, there is. In 1933, a plainspoken Midwesterner takes a job no American wants: Ambassador in Berlin. He brings his wife, son and adult sexpot daughter who beguiles everyone from the head of the Gestapo to Hitler. Jews are beaten and disappearing daily. A wealthy Jew agrees to rent the Ambassador his mansion and moves to the attic servant's quarters thinking it might save him. That's as far as I've gotten in this intriguing nonfiction that reads like fiction. I can't wait to return to it. You can visit the author's site/blog at http://eriklarsonbooks.com/the-books/in-the-garden-of-beasts/
Now for the the book that baffled. Published by the respectable house Knopf, debut novelist Jennifer Close has received much praise for her novel Girls In White Dresses, about three Sex in the City 20 somethings looking for love and not much else. The wry, stilted writing in the first third of the book normally would make me throw it across the room but something made me continue. By the the mid point, I got used to the choppy pacing and hallelujah, the final third raced home a winner. That said, would I have paid for it? No. Does the young writer show promise? Absolutely.
Finding good books to read is sometimes like a lottery. You want to win the jackpot but rarely do. A publicist sent me You Never Know intriguing debut novel by Lilian Duval about an ordinary family that wins the Mega Millions lottery and it's a winner. I don't know anyone who hasn't fantasied about winning big. This book explores, luck, chance and what we ultimately value. This sensitive and well written story has heart and soul. And yes, unlike the previous review, I would pay for it. It builds slowly and I would have liked the main character's win to arrive sooner, but Ms. Duval is a major cat lover, so I'll forgive her for that choice. Check out her a great trailer for the book at her site at http://www.lilianduval.com/
If you love cats, ghosts or folklore, I have special book review at my cat blog Cat Wisdom101.com today.
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 10/16/2011 12:00 AM 
Categories: Baby Boomers, New York, What I'm Reading This Week
Tags: lilian duval-writer book review-you never know-novel-mega millions lottery-winner-book jennifer close-writer girls in white dresses-review erik larsen-in the garden of the beasts-review christopher hitchens-essays-review
Categories: Baby Boomers, New York, What I'm Reading This Week
Tags: lilian duval-writer book review-you never know-novel-mega millions lottery-winner-book jennifer close-writer girls in white dresses-review erik larsen-in the garden of the beasts-review christopher hitchens-essays-review
That's a wild mix or crap shoot. I like finding new writers who aren't mega famous yet.
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