Skip to main content

Featured Post

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

The Sunday Salon: Summer!


The Sunday 
Salon.com

I know, I know, summer (and a scorching too) has been going on for a good one month for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, I'm not sure how those in Southwest US are faring right now with their 110+ temperatures. I hope you guys have been keeping safe. It's been 80-95 F on this side of the country as well - so not too bad but not exactly my cup of tea.

But to me summer is mostly July and August. That's when I spend four days very tired after working 10 hours a day and then get three days off. This week has an added bonus - only 3 days of work with Thursday off for Independence Day. Our darling friends from Raleigh are going to be with us during this long weekend and we are excited. It's also my birthday on Wednesday (I like to pretend that the fireworks are in my honor) so all in all, it could be a really good week.

Summer also makes me think about reading plans. It's that other time of the year when there are all kinds of reading lists and challenges floating around. When everyone displays stacks of books that they hope to tackle this summer, it's hard to not stare at my shelves and decide what to read. Not that I am making any progress with what I am reading currently.

One thing I know for sure is that summer to me is definitely not a time for long reads. I need to read something that I can finish in a weekend. Most literary fiction take me forever to get through (because there is so much profundity and thoughtful stuff usually) so I need to try not to get tempted by them when I see any on a blog or a shelf. That probably means this is the perfect time for me to read some genre fiction, mostly crime fiction and dystopia. I've already got The Strain from the library and the husband is reading it right now.

For now, I am reading Transatlantic by Colum McCann. I don't know what to make of it yet - it's supposed to be straddling three different historic moments and I'm only in the first one right now. But it certainly feels well-written though a bit disjointed. I'm reading it mostly on my phone - which I like much better than reading on my iPad.

Do you have any plans for the summer?

Comments

Sam_TinyLibrary said…
I'm the opposite, summer is when I tend to tackle big, chunky books, having time off work makes them seem much more achievable!
I just had a friend tell me similar things about finishing Transatlantic, which is a shame, since I was looking forward to it so much. I have heard amazing things about The Strain, though - it's been on my list forever!
Lisa Sheppard said…
I'm with you - I need quick reads that don't require much thinking in the summer. I think part of that's because there are so many other things to do in the summer?
rhapsodyinbooks said…
I tried to read McCann's previous book and couldn't get into it. I think he's too unorthodox for me. And like you, in summer I like the quick stuff!
Ti Reed said…
I have been known to pick up chunksters in the summer, mainly because I "feel" as if I have a bit more time to read. I have been a reading fool but the reviews have been taking awhile to get written. I just wrote two of the seven I need to write so that's a start!

I really loved McCann's other book but Transatlantic just did not call my name. I want to read your review before I take it on.

However, I got an ARC of Marisha Pessl's new book Night Film. Oh my freakin' God! It's so damn good. It's nearly 600 pages and I am only 100 pages in but wow. Really good so far.