Wild follow-up

I sent this in an email but thought I'd post it here as well, re: Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It's an article that appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on 10-24-14, featuring an interview with the author. She states, "I had decided to be present and awake in my own life." and "I think it wasn't a heroic hike. I think I was in a heroic battle to get back to myself." She concludes, "The greatest gift to me in writing 'Wild' has been that -- being a voice that contributes to a conversation [about grieving] that I think we need to have."
http://www.twincities.com/Lifestyle/ci_26786224/Wild-author-Cheryl-Strayed:-Minnesota-is-absolutely-sacred-ground-to-me

PS: The book has been adapted into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and will be in theaters Dec. 5.

The Witch of Belladonna Bay

This is a book that I picked off an NPR list of summer romance + magic stories. Well. It’s set in the south. The prodigal aunt Wyn, who has been living the Yankee life for 7 years, comes home to take care of and team up with her niece Byrd to solve a murder and exonerate Byrd's father (Wyn’s brother). Both aunt and niece have the “shine” – magical power that allows them to read minds, see and talk with ghosts, and do some healing.

I saved it for October, being about witches and all. But, truthfully, it is more of a light and fluffy beach read. The magic and the solving of the mystery was a bit haphazard as far as I was concerned.

The Witch of Belladonna Bay: A Novel by Suzanne Palmieri

Werewolfs, Vampires, Fae, and Shapeshifters

If you like urban fantasy fiction with a twist of romance, mystery, and non-stop action, the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs is for you. I just finished reading all 8 books in the series while recovering from sinus surgery. Mercy is a shape-shifting VW mechanic with a talent for getting into trouble with all the wrong supernatural characters. Helped me forget all about my pesky sinuses!

I do recommend you read the series in order since each book builds on the last story. The first book is Moon Called.

Savage Beauty

I just finished reading Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St.Vincent Millay. I guess I didn’t realize it was 600 pages when I started. It certainly felt like it by the time I was done. I couldn’t say it was boring, but it was long.

Vincent, as she is called, is a fascinating character. How she practiced her art and made a living as a poet in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s is pretty amazing. And, she is unconventional, to be sure.

The book was chosen by USA Today as one of the top ten books of the year (2002?). It is thorough and events are often presented through letters of those involved. Ah, for the age of correspondence! And, her poetry is sprinkled throughout. I have to say that because of the poetry, I wish I had read the book in hardcover (vs. Kindle) – the lines did not break as they should have, which detracted a bit from the flow of the verses.

Do I recommend it? Um, yes.

 

Reading update

I've been listening to a lot of books on my MP3 during gardening season. I just finished the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz. What a racket. He lifts some lines directly from the previous books into the later ones stretching what could have been one book into many. I guess he's not the only one that does it. By mistake, I read #5 before #4 but didn't even notice until I started 4.
That said, I listened to them all and enjoyed them as simple entertainment. He reads like a screen play... all action and dialog. Some humor and strong female characters. And lots of blood and guts.
I'm now listening to Dave Eggers The Circle. Didn't get great reviews especially from tech savvy folks. As one who worries about too much screen time in my life and too many demands by strangers for personal information, I found it interesting and a bit scary.
I read Flight Behavior by Kingsolver, which of course was good. Focuses on human relationships with nature and with each other. It also brings science and religion within shouting distance which is always fascinating.
Just finished Memoir of the Sunday Brunch by Julia Pandl about a restaurant in Milwaukee. Some interesting insights between moments of overwrought self-deprecating wit. It reads more like a series of memoir exercises tied together into a book. It was an Advanced Reading Copy so many there was more editing to be done.
Trying to get back into Freedom by Franzen which I've started numerous times. The section I'm in now is narrated as an autobiography by one of the characters. A nice contrast to the third person point of view in the beginning.
I have American Boy - Larry Watson - as my go-to-sleep novel which means I read 1/2 page at a time before nodding off so it's slow going.