Sunday Salon: Library Finds and a Review

Library Books 

The Poet's House by Jean Thompson, July 12, 2022; Algonquin

Genre: poetry, contemporary fiction, literary fiction, adult fiction

Setting: Northern California 

I dabble in poetry on occasion, usually early in the morning or late at night. I have books and tablets with my scribbles, not many poems longer than a handwritten page.  So, I was interested in the title of this book, and I was not disappointed in reading it.

A young woman in her early twenties, Carla has a reading disability, as she describes it, but doesn't give us a medical term for it. She works as a landscaper but is pushed by her mother to find something more stable.

She does yard work for a well known poet, Viridian, an elderly woman who takes to Carla and encourages her to attend her dinners and mingle with her poet and publisher friends. She reads her poems to Carla, who slowly begins to understand the words and the concepts, and finds herself drawn to the power of words, their meaning and power to enlighten.

The book is about Carla coming out of her shy shell, but is mostly about the artists and writers she comes in contact with. Their eccentricities in dress, manners, ways of communicating, and their love of gatherings with unusual, to her, food and drink and of course, poetry, pulls her slowly in.

She helps them, especially the charismatic Viridian, as much as they help her.  I enjoyed the book, found it refreshing and hopeful, but full of the vivacity and the trauma of life as well.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson, March 7, 2023; Pamela Dorman Books

The book description grabbed me: 

"Shot through with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters, Pineapple Street is an addictive, escapist novel that sparkles with wit." 

The Mistress of Bhatia House  by Sujata Massey, July 11, 2023: Soho Press

Genre: mystery, historical fiction, India

The first books in the series that I've read, I've found very interesting historically and culturally. 

In this latest book, Bombay’s only female solicitor, Perveen Mistry, grapples with class divisions, sexism, and complex family dynamics as she seeks justice for a mistreated young woman in the fourth installment of the award–winning series. (publisher)

Zero Days by Ruth Ware, June 20, 2023; Scout Press

Genre: mystery, thriller, suspense

The library now has copies of this book, as British author, Ruth Ware, is a popular mystery writer. I hope the book is as good as it's reputed to be. 

About: Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her. She is suddenly on the run....(publisher)

Library magazines:

The poems and the short stories and an occasional essay in the New Yorker magazine are still my go to reading. Borrowed three June editions from  the library. But the chilling short story in the most recent edition, August 21, really got to me. 

(The New Yorker)

Fiction

“The End Is Only a Beginning” 

"The End Is Only a Beginning" by T. Coraghessan Boyle is about the very early days of the pandemic, when the virus appeared early in France. Riley goes off to Paris on business, without his wife, Caroline, who had to stay with her dying mother. 

Riley remains faithful to his wife but is reckless in what he does, where he goes, who he associates with. But on returning home, he gives the virus to his younger, healthier wife Caroline, while he remains asymptomatic. 

What's on your reading schedule this week and/or the rest of the month?injuly202

3Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday.