Sunday, September 30, 2018

I’m out of punny titles this month. September. Readings. Done.

This month was a good month. Between traveling and vacation and pool time, I managed to get 10 books read at 3,997 pages. Which is an average of 133 pages a day. With no further ado, here’s what I read!

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King (653 pages). I haven’t read a lot of King’s novels (although I have seen his home in Maine. At midnight. With a full moon. Creepy). This one was super fun!  Ben, a writer, decides to return to his childhood hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot. But he’s not the only “new” face in this small town. Two mysterious men have just moved in, Straker and Barlow. And as Ben makes friends (and lovers), he also realizes that something strange is happening in the town. And it’s up to him to figure it out and help save the town. I figured out what was going on before the novel revealed it. But that didn’t change the shock and awe of the revelation. King said this is his favorite of his novels. And I can see why. I really liked it a lot. I finished in 7 days. 

Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant (500 pages). I watched The Borgias on Netflix recently. And remembered that I had this novel sitting on my shelf. So decided to give it a read. I’m actually glad I’d watched the series first, as I felt like I had a better grasp on the cast of characters. This novel covered from Rodrigo Borgia’s accent to Pope Alexander VI to Lucrezia Borgia’s third and final marriage. It was really good. Especially for someone who loves a historical fiction!  I finished in 3 days (hooray for travel and vacation!)

Even Silence Has an End by Ingrid Betancourt (528 pages). Ingrid Betancourt was a presidential candidate in Colombia in 2002 when she was kidnapped by the FARC and held hostage for over 6 years. What she and the other hostages went through is horrifying. That humans do that to other humans. And the corruption, both of that country and of humanity when at its most base level, is just shocking and heartbreaking. The fact that she was able to come through on the other side with a continued faith in God and in humanity is most admirable. I finished in 3 days. 

The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay (307 pages). Nicholas Kolt skyrocketed to success as an author with his very first novel. A novel based partially on his own life and the discovery that there were family secrets he knew nothing about. Now, after years of fame, he is stuck without a single idea for his next, much anticipated novel. His life has become something he doesn’t even recognize anymore.  But a weekend at an exclusive Tuscan island resort changes everything. Even though the novel only spans a weekend, it covers so much of what got Nicholas to this point. I enjoyed it. Fine, I couldn’t put it down. I finished in 1 day.

Varina by Charles Frazier (353 pages). Loved the story, hated the book. Varina Davis was the only First Lady of the Confederacy. This was her story, in historical fiction form. Her story was fascinating. But I hated the writing style of the book.  The premise was that a former slave of the Davises has come to talk to V (as the author refers to her) in her old age. Mainly to discuss their attempted escape after the war ended and to spark his memories of life with the Davis family. The book jumps around from “current” day to the days surrounding their escape to older memories. It’s just not a smooth book to read. I found Varina to be a captivating figure- a woman who didn’t want the role that life thrust upon her, but who handled it with grace. I finished in 2 days. 

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (55 pages). As an English major, I am embarrassed that I’d never read this before. Poor Gregor Samsa. One morning, he simply woke up as a large beetle. He could understand everything his parents and sister said to him, but couldn’t communicate with them. Slowly, he was alienated by his family and left to live in his former bedroom, alone and depressed. It was actually a sad little story. I finished in 1 day (actually less than an hour). 

Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham (371 pages). This is the story of Mary Surratt, a woman hanged as an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth and the first woman hanged by the federal government. Oddly enough, the story of Mary’s hanging is briefly recounted to Varina Davis in that book. Lots of confederate history this month I guess. I had literally never heard of Mary Surratt prior to this book. I had, of course, heard of Booth. But not her. She ran a boardinghouse in DC. Her son was friends with Booth, which meant that he visited her home quite frequently. The book was told from Mary’s perspective and from that of one of her boarders, Nora Fitzpatrick.   I really liked it a lot. And, in typical me fashion, I ended up researching Mary, her son,  Nora, Booth, and other people involved.  I finished in 5 days. 

The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook (190 pages). I couldn’t very well read the mashup without having first read the original. But once that was done, on to a fun mashup!  Although I would have titled the story The Metameowphosis. I think it sounds better. But anyway, in this version, Gregor wakes up as a cute man sized kitten. There was also an entire storyline involving another man turned cat named Josef K. On further research, he’s a character in another Kafka novel, The Trial. And in this book, he holds a trial where Gregor is found guilty. Not sure of what though. It was creative. And equally as sad, just in a cute and cuddly way. I finished in 2 days. 

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fanny Flagg (320 pages). If you are a southern woman and have never read a Fanny Flagg novel, I’m not sure you can consider yourself a southern woman!  This one was the story of the hilarious and mischievous Daisy Fay Harper. It spans 7 years of Daisy Fay’s life and all of her adventures (and misadventures). It was cute and it was fun. I finished in 3 days. 

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan (377 pages).  This novel was great. The true story of Mary Frances Gerety, the ad woman responsible for the famous “A Diamond Is Forever” slogan that is still being used over 70 years after she created it, and several other fictional stories of love. With all its complications and beauty. The first takes place in 1972, the second in 1987, the third in 2003, and the last in 2012. Each story was unique and enjoyable. Yet all the stories were connected in a most wonderful way. I finished in 2 days. 

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (343 pages). The story of the Clutter murders in Kansas in 1959. All 4 members of the Clutter family were killed in their home. With very few clues as to why. Truman Capote was so intrigued by the crime that he and Harper Lee went to Kansas so he could interview people. Turns out, the crime was committed by two outsiders who had been given the very false information that Mr. Clutter had a safe and lots of money (he actually hated to deal in cash and never had any on hand). Capote apparently took a few liberties with the truth, but all in all, stayed close to what truly happened. I finished in 5 days. 


This month’s favorite was ....actually, I didn’t have one. I loved Hanging Mary, Daisy Fay and The Engagements equally!

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