I have several of these: there's a stack by "my spot" in the living room and a stack by my bed. There's also another stack on the living room shelf, all just waiting for me to have time to crack the covers. I'm old school and still prefer paper over digital books, but I do read some on my Kindle app just because it is convenient when I'm on the go. But really, I thrive on the feel of the paper and the smell of the ink.
I've been on Spring Break this week and my reading has had a decided geographic focus. A couple of weeks ago I read A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines which was quite moving and perhaps life changing. To follow up on that I then read A Gathering of Old Men, also by Ernest Gaines, and for the life of me I can't figure out why I've never read his work before. I highly recommend both of these books. To round out my Gaines-a-thon, I have The Tragedy of Brady Sims sitting at the top of my stack to be read next.
Gaines has a way and creating character and atmosphere that transports you to the time and place while creating empathy and new understanding in a way you never knew was lacking. His works should be included in any study of Southern writers.
Also in my reading this week I am, like a million other people, reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. I'm not finished with it yet, but I am indeed having trouble putting it down. The writing and the stylistic choices are simply beautiful and I can easily see why this book is captivating readers everywhere right now. Like Ernest Gaines, Jones has a gift of creating character. I want so badly to place blame in this novel but because of her deft use of perspective, I just can't do it.
Jumping into non-fiction, I'm also currently reading Teche: A History of Louisiana's Most Famous Bayou by Shane Bernard. This book came out in November 2016, but should be required reading for any student of Louisiana history. Bernard goes deep into the history of the region in the first part of the book while the second half of the book is travelogue about his own journey up the Teche in a canoe. There are lots of maps and photographs throughout the book which are an asset and help the reader see exactly what is being described. It's a fascinating book.
I'm really interested in finding some good, objective books about the Louisiana wetlands and the vanishing coastline. I haven't done a lot of research into that and I'm curious but I want to read something by someone without an agenda. Everything I'm turning up is either by big oil and they're trying to deflect blame or by environmentalists who want to blame global warming or big oil.... I just want something true and objective. If you have some recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
My break is coming to an end tomorrow and it will be back to work and I'll slowly work my way through the rest of the two books I'm currently reading. The luxurious afternoons of sitting in the swing under the magnolia tree and reading the afternoon away are coming to an end for now.
Tell me what you're reading: I need to build my stacks back up!
3 comments:
If you haven't read What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross, I highly recommend it. It is a true story of the April, 2011 tornadic outbreak that wreaked havoc across three Southern states. It is gripping, terrifying, heart-breaking. You will cry. Really cry. It will make you look up at the storm clouds and see them in an entirely different way. I hope you read it.
Just ordered it! Thank you!
I'm half way through the "Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson," he was the same as a kid as an adult, an AH.
Next on my to read list is, "Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations." I've heard the author, Ronen Bergman, and the subject the facinating.
Oh, if you want a real interesting read, "The Leader's Bookshelf." A review of 50 books on leadership (e.g Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, The Killer Angles, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Eisenhower: Crusade in Europe.) A summary of the book by a 3 or 4 star (general or admiral), a critical quote, and the basic lessor to be learned.
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