Weekly Reading Update
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Beverley McLachlin released her most recent work of fiction, Proof, back in September. The book is currently a bestseller in Canada where the author also was also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was the first woman to hold the post and was the longest serving chief justice in Canadian history.
Her latest follows Juilly Truitt, a criminal justice lawyer, who has always put her work first. Now she is also a new mother. The daughter of a pop star has gone missing, and the ex-wife has been charged with kidnapping. This is happening while there is a custody battle taking place that also has a public following with the high-profile celebrity. McLachlin has written two previous novels and one memoir.
Cristina Garcia is the author of novels and plays. She worked as a journalist, as well as an editor of Cuban and Latin American literature. Her focus as a novelist has been on Cuba as a place as well as part of the imaginations of Cubans, and Cuban Americans.
I started reading her novels years ago. Currently, I am almost done Here in Berlin about an unnamed visitor to Berlin takes snapshots of the city and speaks to strangers, drawing out their stories as an outside listener and observer. Published in 2017, the volume reveals the marks of WWII and the Nazi regime that still remain almost 100 years later with changes in society. Many of the conversations are difficult to have. The individual voices captured in the short chapters or snapshots are haunting and disturbing. The book is around 200 pages, but so much is said in the sparse writing, while other things are not said.
I also read King of Cuba published in 2013. I will soon be caught up with Garcia’s novels. She has also written children’s books. I have only two left to go, The Lady Matador’s Hotel from 2010 and the most recent novel, Vanishing Maps, published in 2023.
Other books I have started reading include Big Mall: Shopping for Meaning by Kate Black which is a scholarly look at the mall as a place that grew and developed over the decades in Canada, United States, as well as in the Middle East and Asia. The author draws from historical records and newspaper archives to tell the story of one particular mall that has significance for her growing up in Alberta, Canada.
At the start of the year, I made video about all the mass market paperbacks I would read in 2024. Now that it is November, I can say I have not read any. I will make one more attempt, with Hunting Party by Elizabeth Moon, which is sci-fi space adventure with Captain Heris Serrano finding herself having to steer a luxury yacht. After all her adventures, this latest stint might not be the most exciting, but her old enemies somehow find her.
Other books I would like to get this week include the love-triangle novel Polar Vortex by Shani Mootoo, and the epic fantasy novel The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
Weekly Reading Blog
Thursday, October 31, 2024
The Blood Orchid is the latest book from Kylie Lee Baker. It is the second in a series with The Scarlet Alchemist as the first.
I am still catching up on my reading. I am still reading the debut book The Keeper of Night in ebook format that was released back in 2021. The story follows a Half-Grim Reaper and Half-Shinigami as she travels back to find her roots in 19th century Japan. It is something that I started to read a while back and returned to it for Halloween.
The new duology is set in Tang Dynasty China. Zilan has a dream to become the Royal Alchemist to provide the wealthy and powerful with gems they can eat to stay young forever. It has elements of historical fantasy that draws YA readers into a good old ball of yarn. It is the story of a young girl wanting to make it in royal court and whether she will succeed in the imperial exams to get there.
As for other reading for the week, I read the text of Poetics by Aristotle without reading the introduction or notes in the Penguin Classics edition.
After studying, reading books of fiction, poetry and watching many theatrical performances, I finally got around to reading this classical text of literary criticism attributed to the Ancient Greek philosopher.
Aside from the references to peers of the time period as well as to women and slaves, the ideas of the volume seem familiar. Aristotle was specifically talking about poetry and theatre. While I have read The Iliad, I still have The Odyssey to read, as well as a few volumes of Classical Greek plays. I will finally have to get around to reading more of them to have a better understanding of what specifically the text is referring to.
I will also continue reading Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict. It is the book club pick for the month of November. While the meeting won’t take place for a few weeks, I still would like to get to the end fairly soon. I have read to the 50 page mark and there are around 275 pages to the book. The story follows a young woman who journeys across the ocean to take up a post in the Carnegie’s household during the American industrial revolution era.