Sunday Salon: My First Three Books of the New Year

Becoming,

I recently started reading this, my second book of the year, and am enjoying it tremendously, especially since I am familiar with the place in which Michele Obama grew up - the south side of Chicago, including Hyde Park where I lived for over 10 years.

The memoir is not just of a woman who became the First Lady of the United States, but is also the story of a middle class Black family in Chicago and children who grew up to succeed. It is also a romance, between Michelle and Barack Obama, before their lives became entrenched in the political. I can't wait to get to that part.

My first book of the year, completed, was

Killing Commendatore

Murakami's book is another of his fantasies. It drew me in, in the same way a pit in the back of the narrator's house drew him in and led him on to voyages reminiscent of  Dante's Underworld and the crossing of the river Styx.

The above two books, memoir and fantasy/magical realism, couldn't be more different, but I like them both and find them a great way to start off my reading in 2019.

My third book of the year, which I've already begun, is

In Dog We Trust

This is turning out to be a more traditional kind of romance. It's about dogs and their owner, a young woman thrust into the limelight of becoming caretaker and co-trustee of  three famous and valuable show dogs. Her job comes with a seaside mansion that only she has access to. Along the way, she seems likely to meet the man of her dreams. This is delightful light reading. My review.

What are your first books this year?

The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,
It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date.