Comments on: Recommended books: summer 2015

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 15:18:00 +0000

In reply to Stephanie Shareck Werner. Thanks for a great beach read, Stephanie. I think I'll suspend my usual "no mysteries" rule and have a look at this one. Sounds really interesting.

By: Stephanie Shareck Werner

Stephanie Shareck Werner — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 14:20:00 +0000

I have just finished devouring my first fiction book in eons: A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George. It’s the first in a series of mysteries featuring British elite Inspector Lynley and his partner from the other side of the tracks, Barbara Havers. George is an American but the setting, characters and vernacular are British. In AGD, I visited London, York, Richmond and, I believe, Norfolk or Suffolk. I had to flip back a couple times to make sure I was still in the British Isles and not Virginia. She has a stunning vocabulary for a mystery writer. I read it on my kindle so was able to look up the definitions of all the words I couldn’t use in sentences. Solecism, antipodal, termagant, spurious, etiolating, the list goes on. I still can’t use them in sentences–flash cards, anyone? George is a beautiful writer and paints vivid pictures of characters that, despite cavernous differences, have to coexist. The insight inherent to good detectives makes that possible, and they learn about themselves along the way. Everything a good book should be.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 13:32:00 +0000

In reply to Sireesha Avvari. Thanks for the spreadsheet, Sireesha!

By: Sireesha Avvari

Sireesha Avvari — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 04:03:00 +0000

Hi all, here is my reading log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RMATdYuTrAr4AszAeT4dhzkWUZFG6FNDpIaGVqumQQs/edit?usp=sharing

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 15:57:00 +0000

In reply to Sireesha Avvari. Thanks for sharing your list, Sireesha. I've read most of those books except for Americanah and Malice. Will check them out!

By: Sireesha Avvari

Sireesha Avvari — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 06:10:00 +0000

I too typically read 52 books a year. I admit that the taste and choice of books varies widely among readers. I read 37 books so far this year, a few of them re-reads. My favorites include Alan Bennett’s comedy The Uncommon Reader, Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Malice by Keigo Higashino (a murder mystery), Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E.Thomas. The last two are memoirs.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 13:41:00 +0000

In reply to Felicity Pearson. Haven't tried the MaddAddam trilogy yet and haven't been certain about t. May try dipping my toes in it this summer. In terms of the pomodoro technique, just DO it! My best advice is to use a noisy timer. That's made all the difference for me.

By: Felicity Pearson

Felicity Pearson — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 03:02:00 +0000

I’ve just finished Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy and overall enjoyed it, though I realize I’m a little disappointed in the actual storytelling. That’s an odd feeling, as she’s one of my idols. Quibbles aside, I love how these books have me thinking about how we humans are managing our place on the planet. Non-fiction – rereading Staffen Noteberg’s Pomodoro Technique Illustrated to glean more tips on integrating this technique into my daily practice.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 01:47:00 +0000

In reply to Russ Skinner. Thanks so much for your delicious list of suggestions, Russ. I'll be putting a bunch of them on my Kindle for my holiday in August. And thanks for your comment about the New Yorker. That's my favourite magazine!

By: Russ Skinner

Russ Skinner — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 15:50:00 +0000

Thanks for the list, Daphne. I have enjoyed reading Atul Gawande in the New York, and have added Being Mortal (high up) on my to-read list.

Recent non-fiction books I recommend (no formatting since I’m using a tablet):

“David and Goliath:. Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants,” by Malcolm Gladwell – fascinating explication of the Biblical story, and then many more snippets of those adumbrated in the subtitle

“Shopping for Votes:. How Politicians Choose Us and We Choose Them,” by Susan Delacourt – engrossing study of the evolution of politicians marketing. While it focuses on Canadian federal politics, a familiarity with our politics is not necessary.

While it’s a little late to recommend a book designed to be read one entry per day, Joshua DuBois’ “The President’s Devotional: The Daily Readings That Inspired President Obama” is an excellent daily companion. And if you started now, you could read two a day. Until you caught up.

And to address one of Daphne’s lacunae, I would recommend three Harlan Coben mysteries: The Stranger; The Woods; Six Years.

And I’ll close with a non-book suggestion: have The New Yorker or The Atlantic close to hand (or on a device), read those items you’ve (surely) saved to Pocket and Instapaper.

Now, back to my Kindle