As a fervent lover of Portland who will be moving, "House and Home" by Kathleen McCleary was right up my alley. She writes about the love of a house, a particular place where you lived the days of your life, with great emotion and understanding. The plot was so well-done that I couldn't guess the ending and usually the winner in the love triangle is quite obvious.
I also finally saw the Cold Mountain movie, which was brutal! I hate violence. I couldn't even watch the scene with the baby in danger. But the movie was really good and true to the book. I think it lacked some of the humor of the novel, it felt pretty heavy.
I read "Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading" by Maureen Corrigan from "Fresh Air." Appropriate, right? She tells the story of her life baed on the books she's read. I liked her insights about female endurance tales - positing "Jane Eyre" as the female counterpoint to the challenges of "Into Thin Air." I did not relate to her discussion of Catholic young adult literature and its values. But I did enjoy the talk about "Gaudy Night." I read that book a while ago and she provoked me to pick it up again.
I'm kind of a sucker for books about books. Anne Fadiman's "Ex Libris" is a favorite. I trust the recommendations of authors about books very highly. Reading about reading is a great pleasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment