Sunday 19 August 2012

Short post on a perfect Sunday morning...

My post today will be short for a couple of reasons.  It is a perfect day and I would like to get outside and enjoy the pleasant weather, but also I have not read anything new since my last post, so I don't really have much to write about.

I finished reading The town that drowned by Riel Nason, and it did not disappoint.  If you recall, this book tells the story of an east coast town that is slated for flooding in the 1960s, told from the point of view of a young teen.  I believe that in a previous post I compared it to To kill a mockingbird, in that it has similarities in a number of different areas.  I'm not sure that these similarities continue to the end of the novel, as I didn't feel that comparison as I finished it, but I must have felt strongly about it during the reading of the first half, because the thought occurred to me regularly.  Anyways, it was a great read in my opinion, and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes quirky characters and small town settings  (strangely enough, those are not characteristics I would normally say I liked in a book, so it must have been the writing that I enjoyed in this novel).  I must find out if this author has written any more books.

I also finished listening to Mennonite in a little black dress by Rhoda Janzen.  I continued to enjoy listening to this audiobook, but can absolutely understand why some would be put off by some of the author's comments about the Mennonite culture.  I was not offended, but I certainly questioned her choice of imagery and wording in some parts of the book.  I won't go into any detail about this book here since I feel I discussed it at length in the last post, after my book club meeting.   I can just sum up by saying that I enjoyed it, but that I would recommend it with caution.  I also think it is a book better enjoyed by listening to it than by reading it.

Now I'm in a dilemma since I have to choose another book to read.  It's too early to start reading The help as our meeting is not until September 8th, and I don't like to finish reading a book club selection so far in advance.  It's also way too early to start reading The thirteenth tale as we meet for that one on September 27th.  I've been thinking about Ian McEwan lately, and looking at his books on my bookshelf.  I think the one I remember least is Black dogs, about which I remember nothing, so I think I'll read that again.  As for audiobooks, I've resumed Ruth Rendell's The Vault, but I think she is an author better read than listened to.  I feel I'm missing many of the details and I can't flip back in the book to check as I could if I were reading it.  If I had already read it, then listening to it would be OK, but as a first-time experience, I think I'll move on to something else and get the actual physical book for this one.  Not sure what I have downloaded on my MP3 player, but I'm sure I'll find something that will hold my interest.

That's all for now!  (I'm so glad that this blog is not like a school assignment, where there is a required word count!!)  Enjoy your day!

Bye for now!
Julie

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