I finished Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and I did like it, for the most part, but felt like I was slogging through after awhile. My enjoyment level was on the low end and my come-on-get-on-with-it level was sort of high. Too high for it to fall into my unputdownable category. I think the title was all wrong. It didn’t feel so much like a stand, more like a non-committal shoulder shrug.
Now I’ve begun WYGB and I am fully hoping and expecting that like Jonathan Franzan, I too tear through the chapters with heedless pleasure. We’ll see!
After reading Loretta’s post HERE. I thought Still Cove by Gladys Taber sounded perfect and I found a used copy cheap on Amazon.
I also have An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, Big Brother by Lionel Shriver, And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini on my short list.
If you just finished something that made you gasp with delight do let me know, but in the comments, not an email. Emails slip through the wide slats in my mind too easily. I like to have them all corralled in my BOOKS section.
Recently read (rather listened to the author, among others, read in their own melodious middle-eastern accents) And the Mountains Echoed. Was thoroughly engrossed. Loved it.
I hope you like this. I thought it was hilarious and absolutely loved it. And yes, tore through with heedless pleasure.
Let The Great World Spin, by Colm McCann….one of my favorites!
Boy’s Life, by Robert R. McCammon….the only book i’ve read twice.
Pettigrew was deeper than I thought it would be and mostly enjoyed it. Like you, thought it dragged a bit in some places. Couldn’t put down WYGB, but then again, I live in Seattle and loved the local references. Books to consider for the future:
Afterwards, Rosamond Pilcher (?), and two translated mysteries by the same author, Keeper of Lost Causes (read first) and The Absent One, by Jussi Adler-Olsen. And, of course, you have discovered Harry Hole? the Jo Nesbo translated series?
The other half is currently about half way through And the Mountains Echoed . He says it is depressing but well written. He has not read the author’s previous releases so he had no knowledge or experience with Hosseini.
When I see Pettigrew, I always think it’s the book version of the funny movie “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”. I rec that for a summer flick, a Netflix flick.
Books…I am continuing with Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti series. I want to go to Venice during and after each book….Right Now. I’ve also started the Inspector Banks mysteries (Gallows View) by Peter Robinson. These are set in Yorkshire, England so if anyone has a soft spot in the heart for that place, these will suit.
Oops! Typo in post. 😉
WYGB is wonderful! I loved it! I loved how it was told through different formats such as emails, notes, etc. and told from the POV of multiple characters. I have read it more than once. 🙂 Her website is really fun. Anytime I need a good laugh or a dose of happiness I love to visit her website! I
I’m reading the 800+ page, Kenn Follett Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants. I’m slogging through it. I’ve tried to read this authors other books: Pillars of the Earth and the sequel…couldn’t finish either. Looks like this one goes back unfinished too.
I’m about a third of the way through WILD by Cheryl Strayed…recommended by my hiking friend in AK. Cheryl hikes the Pacific Crest Trail ALONE! Starts in the Mojave desert town of Mojave and continues to the tip of WA. I’m familiar with the areas she’s hiking so it’s interesting for me to follow along in familiar places. I’m not far enough along to have a comment. So far it’s very readable and keeping my interest.
I listened to the audio version of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. One of the most unusual story lines I’ve ever read and was unputdownable! Highly recommend it.
In the meantime, I’m living like a mushroom in my house cave with the A/C going full blast. Can’t do heat/sun, so this is my mode of living until Oct. It’s 108F and 50% humidity in this baking desert of the Intermountain West.
I think I sent it in an email…..so I’ll post it here…..”The Last Camillia” by Sarah Jio……VERY GOOD!!!
Just finished ‘Golden Boy’ by Abigail Tarttelin. Awesome book. Best one on my finished list of 2013. I’m telling everyone I know about it. Author is only 25!
If sharp and witty writing about rural Ireland interests you, you’d love Molly Keane’s Good Behaviour. You might remember my review back in March?
Anything by Kate Grenville will take you to Australia: The Idea of Perfection, Lilian’s Story, The Lieutenant. Mind you, the text will have you reaching for water. Her descriptions of the heat in the Aussie bush are brilliantly done.
Happy reading, Mary Ann!
I’m gonna take another stab at suggesting “The Maytrees” by Annie Dillard. (I already suggested it once on another posting.) I just can’t shake the feeling that you would like it. Sorry to be Lady Redundant Woman!
I loved Pettigrew – thought about the characters even when I wasn’t reading the book (which for me is a sign of a good book).
Just finished Come Home by Lisa Scottoline – very good.
Just started Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour bookstore by Robin Sloan. Also checked out Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I have Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen on reserve.
I couldn’t read Pettigrew, either. I tried, and I read the end, just to see, and I sent it back to the library, (mostly) unread.
I read every book my library has by Gladys Taber, 30 years ago. I haven’t been back since; I probably should visit her again.
One more that I recommended to your sister in Kansas earlier this summer – The Gods of Gotham. It’s a wonderful book to listen to which is how I first experienced it and is so enthralling I read it on paper immediately afterwards.
I live in the Seattle area and read WYGB last week. A hilarious Seattle satire but I did choke up at the end. I also like Waxwings by Jonathan Raben that is set in Seattle at the end of the 1990s that is deeper than WYGB. Now I need to go paint some more paper for SEWN.
Hi! I really enjoyed The Mountains Echoed.
Another recommendation is The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp-Sendker. I read that in two days.
I also really liked Girl in Translation. I can’t remember who the author was for that one.
Enjoy!
I really enjoyed Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Right now I’m reading and zipping happily through The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith, i.e. J.K. Rowling — it’s extremely readable, and I hope there are more to come. Before that I fell in love with Kate Atkinson’s detective, Jackson Brodie, in Case Histories and three more books that followed it. Atksinon is an amazing writer, of ‘serious’ fiction as well as these thriller/mysteries. In between I’m reading the Mahabharata from cover to cover, but I can’t recommend it unless you have a couple of years to spare… 🙂
I’m thoroughly enjoying Cinnamon and Gunpowder.
I just finished Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Michigan Farm I hated putting that one down.
Dan Brown’s new book “Inferno” was pretty good–it was hard to put down!
Old Filth by English writer, Jane Gardam, 1st of a trilogy. OMG Fabulous! Sublime writing!
Read the novel that takes place in NYC, Let The Great World Spin, by Colm McCann, over a year ago & still think about it. He has a new one out, now. Still remember the novel, LaLacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, too. The Ruins of California by Martha Sherill was great, too.
For fast (2 days tops) non-stop reads, both books (non-fiction, I think) by Leif Eric Larson – In The Garden of The Beasts and his first, The White City or something like that (about Chicago’s Columbian exposition & a serial killer in Chicago at the time). Really good. Reads like fiction. Compelling.
I know you won’t read this next one but it’s a book I will never forget – Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. Non- fiction. Journalistic perfectionism. The author wrote about several families, over several years, in the Bronx when it was scary. She tracks the culture of poverty. This book should be mandatory reading for every high school/college in the country. A modern Shakespearian tragedy that I couldn’t put down.
OK, two travel books about you know where – Naples Declared, A Walk Around The Bay by Benjamin Taylor and Seeking Sicily by John Keahey. (Don’t forget to read Venice, Pure City by Peter Ackroyd.)
If you read any of these books & decide you like them I’ll send more titles but I’m not holding my breath…xoxo, s
I just read Thinner by Stephen King – an oldy but a goodie, although I have found his endings slightly anticlimactic.
My sister loaned me “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski; I’ll let you know what I think when I’m done with that one.
cheers!
ooh – another Taber groupie. Hope you like it- and someday you and your sis will come visit me and we’ll go to the cove and sketch.
the bernadette book is really enjoyable and indeed a quick read 🙂 i also liked The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I heard Housseni’s new book is really really sad. I am reading The Four Ms. Bradwells right now and it’s too soon to tell if it’s good or not 🙂
Just finished The Leopard Tree, which I got for free on Kindle through Pixel of Ink. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading And The Mountains Echoed, since I loved all the other books by Khaled Hosseini.