Thursday, April 4, 2013

Recently read.


Let's talk about books! I'm woefully behind in my reading—I've only read a couple of books so far this year (well, not counting one reread—The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman, which I can tell you about if you'd like)—which I tend to try and excuse because my job inherently requires tons of reading, even though the reading I'm doing from 9-5 is far different than, you know, reading novels in bed at night with my cats.

Anyway, here are three books I have recently read and enjoyed—ones I'd recommend to anyone looking for something new to pick up:

This is How You Lose Her, by Junot Diaz. I can't get enough of Junot Diaz's writing—"electrifying" is a good word to describe it—and if you haven't read the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy. This is How You Lose Her is a collection of short stories about love—romantic love, of course, but also familial love and self-love. It's really moving, and since I read before bed, I often found myself laying in the dark thinking about it well into the night.

This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper. I loved this book, and I recommend it to anyone who will listen. It's both heartbreaking—about a man going through a divorce and having to sit shiva after his father's death at the same time—and hilarious (as you can imagine, shenanigans ensue). Tropper's prose is easy-to-read and straightforward, and I never wanted to put this book down (in fact, I often woke up in the morning with it splayed open next to me). I can't say enough good things about it. Read it.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, by Ayana Mathis. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this book after the sad first chapter (seriously—I was crying five pages in), but I'm glad I kept going. The book, told through the point of view of Hattie and the family members who orbit around her, examines the question of  loss, identity, survival, where we belong and how we come to get there, and the writing is beautiful and empathic. That said, if you couldn't tell, this is not a happy book—but I can't imagine not having read it.

Next up for me is Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth, and I still really want to read Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Meghan Daum's Life Would Be Perfect if I Lived in That House. Here's to more books!

What have you guys been reading lately?

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13 comments:

  1. I always love getting book recommendations, so I'm adding these to the list, especially the second one. I'm finishing Barbara Kingsolver's latest now, which is good as always. :-)

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    1. Ahh! I hope you love it, Mary. And good to know about Barbara Kingsolver's latest, too...

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  2. Great recommendations, Megan! Thanks :-) Always up for more books and authors to check out! Currently reading Garrison Keillor's Pontoon.
    Kenley

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    1. Ooh, how are you liking that, Kenley?

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    2. It's good. It's my first time reading one of his books, though I'm quite familiar with his radio programs.

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  3. I'm on book 11 for the year, though my pace is certainly slowing down now that the weather is improving. I've liked all the books so far, and right now I am finishing up a 2 book series (Learning To Swim and A Cold And Lonely Place by Sara J Henry.) I've noted down your recommendations and am excited to read one when I've finished up this series. : )

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  4. I recently started reading Eat To Live to encourage myself to stick to eating a plant based diet. That might not be your jam, but I've found that with spring and new seasons, it can be nice to read something health-focused.

    Thanks for your recommendations!

    www.leanerbythelake.com

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    1. Ooh, cool--thanks for this rec, E.! I'll definitely add it to the list. And you will appreciate this: I am actually--funny as this will sounds--excited to order and read Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook, which I think you know since I tweeted about it to you so enthusiastically yesterday. I read the prologue (well, some of it) via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature and it looks great--so do the recipes from it that are up on goop.com.

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    2. I gotsta check those previews out! Thanks for the tip!!

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  5. thanks for the recommendations.. will check them out

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  6. Hi Megan! I'm a new reader and am loving your blog! I especially loved seeing your book recs! This is Where I Leave You is one of my favorite books of all time! I recently finished Jonathan Tropper's newest book, One Last Thing Before I Go, which was also good. Have you read The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman? I HIGHLY recommend that one. I also just finished Arcadia by Lauren Groff, which was brilliant and beautiful. So glad I found your blog!

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    1. Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for this sweet comment and for visiting my blog. :) I love that you're a Jonathan Tropper fan, too--yay!

      I HAVE read The Imperfectionists and it is one of my faves--LOVED it. And I'll definitely have to check out Arcadia. Thanks for the rec--and for stopping by! xo

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