Let’s Read!
I’m sorry to have been lax in posting this past week , but we’ve had a bout with a virus that is pretty wicked. It seemed to go through our local school system in January and February. I kept expecting my husband to come home with it. Principals usually get introduced to viruses early in the season, but he managed to hold it off until just after spring break. He was down for a weekend, but didn’t miss any work. About a week later, my father-in-law started sneezing. Two days after the first sniffle, he was running a temp of 101 degrees. That’s bad for anybody, but especially if you’re 90. After a week of rest and meds, he’s doing great, but now it’s my turn. I’ve kept up with the caregiving and laundry and my writing but not the Blog.
So now that I’m feeling almost human again, let’s talk about books. Our Pickford Reading Group is meeting this week to discuss THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold. I’ve read the book before, but I delighted all over again in the poetry of the words and the very true-to-life voice of the 14-year-old protagonist Susie. It’s one of those books that you just can’t stop thinking about. Next month we’re reading HAVE A LITTLE FAITH by Mitch Albom. I’ve not read this one, so am looking forward to the joy of something “brand new” – at least to me!
My reading stack also includes THE CONFESSOR by Daniel Silva. I really enjoy Silva’s books. He writes elegant thrillers, and his characters are very real to life. I’m also reading ELVIS IS DEAD AND I DON’T FEEL SO GOOD MYSELF by Lewis Grizzard. Somehow I missed this one when it was published back in the 1980’s. Last week, one of our Blue Grass group friends lent me a copy. This book is hilarious, and laughter is great medicine!
Okay, I want to know what you’re reading – for joy, to your kids, in your reading group, for English class… Love it, hate it – let us know!
Blessings! Sue
Hi Sue,
Right now I’m reading THE LITTLE STRANGER by Sarah Waters.
It’s a pretty good mystery/ghost story. I’m about 3/4 of the way through and I don’t really know the answers yet. Every chapter is a bit of a surprise.
I’ve got THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield up next, and THE SPELLMAN FILES by Lisa Lutz waiting in the wings.
Is anyone writing any pre-historic fiction anymore? I’ve read everything in that genre that I can find out there. I’m having withdrawals!
Do you miss the pre-historic fiction? Do you think you’ll ever write another?
Thanks,
Dobie
Those are all “new” books to me. Thanks for letting us know about them, Dobie!
The unfortunate reason that very few people are writing prehistorics anymore is that the market is very poor. I do miss writing about that period of time, but unless I have a publisher beg me for another manuscript set in prehistoric times (and by the way I have a couple of first drafts written), I have to bend with the marketplace.
I’ve noticed that reading trends are often dictated by what is happening in our world politically and economically. We are currently in an economic downturn and the romance market seems particularly strong, just as it was in the 1930s.
I have noticed one trend that has continued for more than 70 years worth of bestsellers, and that is that readers are interested in novels that take them to new places and cultures. We surely have seen this in books like Pearl S. Buck’s THE GOOD EARTH and GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell, also recent books like THE KITE RUNNER and WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.
I wish I were a publisher. I would KILL (or at least beg) for a new Sue Harrison prehistoric!
From your keyboard to my publisher’s ears!