Last week went much better than I dared hope it would be. I managed to catch some parts of the Presidential Inauguration and the evening program, and just the realization that the administration is really, truly, definitively changing has just sunk in, I think. I haven't spent more than about 5 minutes each day on the news (didn't feel the need to) and I hope to keep it that way for as long as possible. Life Yep, another busy work week. I know I hoped for a lighter work week, but who am I kidding. Work has been a different kind of busy each week this whole month and it will be nothing different this coming week. I just hope to figure out how to get my lunch hour freed up and use it to recharge. Not much happened in life this week - kids are loving being back at school, and I am loving my uninterrupted time, something that was only a luxury for much of last year. Reading Even if life was busy this week, I did read quite a bit. I'm slowly reading So You Want To Talk About Ra
Did you hear about the movie adaptation of Lisa See's book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan? I read this book last year and loved it so much, so I'm really excited about it. Here's the trailer if you're interested in it. It looks good, doesn't it? I'm confused by the modernity that I see in it. Maybe that's reflective of the present, in which the protagonist, Lily is narrating the story, but this story is set in the 19th century and even when Lily is 80 years old, it can't have been the late 20th century, right? Unless China advanced pretty early.
Did you see the Orange Prize long list? There are few titles there that I'm really excited about.
- Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
- Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch
- Room by Emma Donoghue
- The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi
- Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
- A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
- The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna
- The London Train by Tessa Hadley
- Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
- The Seas by Samantha Hunt
- The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna
- Great House by Nicole Krauss
- The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
- The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
- The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
- Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile
- Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
- The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin
- The Swimmer by Roma Tearne
- Annabel by Kathleen Winter
I know some of you read books on the long and short lists in anticipation of the awards, so I'd like to hear if you are considering it? I can probably live vicariously through you.
Comments
I have read a few from the Orange Prize longlist and added the rest to my TBR.
I think I only have heard of Room by Emma Donoghue. I keep seeing it at the bookstore.
I haven't read Lisa See yet. I hope to read the book and/or watch the movie.