Comment: Recent Reads

I'm running out the door today, so I'll save my book reviews for a day when I have time to do them justice. But as a sneak preview, here are my three most recent reads, all of which I enjoyed in their wildly different ways.

THE KILLING JAR by Nicola Monaghan
(Scribner, due out April 2007)

KLEZMER BOOK 1: TALES OF THE WILD EAST by Joann Sfar
(First Second Books)

THE DISSIDENT by Nell Freudenberger
(Ecco)

In the meantime. I'd love to hear from you.

What are you reading, or what have you read recently?
What do you think of it?
Where did you hear about it?
Who would you reccommend it to?

I'm always looking for new reading suggestions, and stories of how books find their readers. Looking forward to hearing yours!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Auster's "The Brooklyn Follies". So far, a great read. I would recommend it to anyone coming down from a bad book experience, in particular a bad Auster book experience.
12:41 PM
lady t said…
Right now,I'm reading a few good books-Meaning of Night by Michael Cox(also did a great interview with him for my blog),Female Chauvanist Pigs by Ariel Levy and A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison.

Female Chauvanist Pigs,I heard about thru the Stephen Colbert Report-it's a great look at the raunch culture that many women and young girls are embracing today and what that says about modern feminism. A real eye-opener there!

Meaning of Night begins with a rather intriguing first sentence-"After killing the red haired man,I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." It follows our antihero,Edward,as he pursues the man he sees as his worst enemy,Phoebus Daunt(such a great name!),down a very destructive path.

Fistful of Charms is the latest Rachel Morgan novel,about a witch who works as a supernatural bounty hunter. Unlike LKH,the Rachel Morgan series is more of a plot and character driven narrative without too much emphasis on getting all sexy(there is some romance in it).
3:53 PM
Anonymous said…
I picked up a great book that was "Bookmarked" at Target called "Been There, Done That" by Carol Snow. Laugh out loud funny, with a touching story underneath it all.
1:49 PM
Anonymous said…
Right now, I'm reading "The Protector's War" by S. M. Stirling. It's the second in a trilogy of post-apocalypse books he's written, and they're quite good.

I'd recommend these to anyone. Stirling is a proficient writer, and his characters are well-fleshed out and a pleasure to get to know.

My Dad gave them to me--he's a voracious reader and has excellent taste!

Just finished "Drop City" by T.C. Boyle. Loved it! I could not put it down.
2:54 PM
Book Nerd said…
Char -- I haven't read Stirling, but I'll have to look him up. I'm always on the lookout for good fantasy.

Anonymous -- I admit I've never bought a book at Target, though there's one right near my house. Good to know they've got some winners!

Lady T -- I'm glad you were into Meaning Of Night - I thought it would be exactly my kind of thing, but I read about 50 pages and lost interest. That first sentence is arresting, though. Maybe I'll give it another shot on your recommendation.

Matt -- glad you're liking Brooklyn Follies, especially after being disappointed by Scriptorium. I love that one too - I literally read it in one day. And it's set right in my neighborhood, which is fun (the streets are real, but all the businesses are imaginary.)

Thanks for your thoughts!
9:24 AM
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