It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are Your Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Be sure to check out her post today to see her selections and the list of links to all the other participating bloggers.
Little Bee by Chris Cleave was terrific and very moving to me. Unfortunately, that was not the widely held opinion by the group that discussed it on Saturday at the library. I thought the voices of the point of view characters were amazingly well done, especially for a male writing female characters. Others thought that the only believable character was the 4-year old boy. For me, the political point of view was spot-on and unarguable, but this group had people who were willing to argue it. Do you ever have the experience that book discussions effect the experience of the book? I’ve had it happen in both directions — sometimes I’ve liked a book more than I thought after a book discussion, sometimes less. In this case, I don’t really like the book less, but I have lost my enthusiasm for writing a review of it.
I finished and did write a review of my reading various versions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Studying the text before seeing the play really addeded to my enjoyment of the performance on Friday night. Not only was it helpful to know the story, it was helpful to have read the words and made some attempt to understand them. There are funny moments in Macbeth, but only those of us who were understanding the words, not just the gist of things, were laughing.
I finally finished and wrote Book Review: The Way to Eat by David Katz and Maura Gonzalez.
I’m reading the DK Eyewitness Travel guide to Chicago in anticipation of a future trip. I really enjoy the background material and all the pictures in the DK books.
I reported last week that The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook was next on the list and I did start it, but ended up putting it back on the stack in favor of a book I found while looking at versions of Macbeth: Lady Macbeth’s Daughter by Lisa Klein. It’s a YA title imagining the story of Macbeth from the view of a deformed daughter (and, therefore, worthless on two counts) who was secretly given, as an infant, to the witches although Macbeth had ordered her killed. I’m enjoying it now that I am familiar with Shakespeare’s play.
Next up: The Edible Rainbow Garden by Rosalind Greasy in honor of National Nutrition Month‘s theme of Eat Right With Color. I’ll either get back to The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook or I might read one more Macbeth-themed book while I’m still in the mood.
What are you reading?
