As I reported last week, reading books by women in translation was something I wanted to do this summer, and I did it! Four of those were in August, plus one by a man in translation (I had been confused), and three mysteries. I do seem to gravitate to those in the summer.
What I read this month
- Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba – Women in Translation
- A House without Mirrors by Marten Sanden
- The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
- The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
- Murder by the Book, edited by Martin Edwards
- The Ingenious Language by Andrea Marcolongo – Women in Translation
- Barbara Isn’t Dying by Alina Bronsky – Women in Translation
- A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery – Women in Translation
How one book leads to another
Last month, I had a moment of Book Serendipity when I closed Magpie Murders and picked up Storybook Ending – which starts out with a character putting a note into a copy of Magpie Murders she’s dropping off at her favorite bookstore, hoping a particular bookseller will find it.
At the end of the book, one character recommends The Stranger Diaries to another, and I thought I might as well follow up with that. I actually tried a couple of books by Elly Griffiths, and enjoyed them both, so was glad to have been introduced to a new author by chance.
Have you experienced such chains of happenstance in your reading?
Currently reading
After loving Kitchen Table Wisdom some years ago, I don’t know why I waited to long to read Rachel Naomi Remen’s follow-up, My Grandfather’s Blessings, but I’m glad to be reading it now. Full of pithy wisdom drawn from real life and deep feeling, I could read such “little stories” forever. They model the kind of person I would like to be, and I don’t think I can praise a book more highly than that.
Sacred Reading
Speaking of books as food for life, this month also saw my experiment in exploring reading as a sacred practice, as I offered free online meetings each day for a week. It was a wonderful experience, and I am continuing with less-frequent offerings, as well as a podcast for those who can’t attend in person – see the Sacred Reading page for details. It would be lovely to have more friends join us!
On the blog
- On the Matterhorn Trail, in which I visited one of Switzerland’s major tourist attractions
- Women in Translation and Ten Books of Summer, a review of summer reading
What’s on your shelf this month?
Linked at The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Oooh, happenstance reading, I’d forgotten about a couple of those incidents I had in the last month or two while working my way through Middlemarch! First is when Mary Garth announces that Fred Vincy “says he will not take Orders” (that is, enter the clergy, as well being told what to do) it’s the same pun that Austen uses when discussing Mansfield Park and Edmund getting an ecclesiastical living. Also, Eliot’s mention of the German author who wrote Messias (the basic text that Handel used for his oratorio Messiah) was an unexpected name that Muriel Spark used for the Count in Not to Disturb.
But that’s by the by, congrats on your reading achievements for the last month, especially with #WITMonth!
Thanks for sharing those stories, I always find the unexpected resonances so fun and fascinating!
I am always happiest reading when one book leads to another, when one book recommendation spontaneously arises from a book recommended by another, when I’m on a natural reading roll.
I greatly enjoyed your sacred reading practice this summer, and I look forward to participating in the future. Thank you, Lory.
It was great, wasn’t it? Hope to see you again soon!
Hi Lory…. I so enjoy reading this newsletter. I admire how you have made reading, or shall I say, Reading, such a big part of your life (it seems so at least, according to your lists of completed books). Somehow, in my adult life, I relegated reading to the margins of my time… As a recent retiree, I am reveling in Reading once again, as a legitimate way to spend large swaths of my day. I’m reading mostly fiction; love a good mystery/ thriller, and am enjoying ‘older’ fiction (Barbara Pym, Penelope Lively). I’m sure you’ve read the My Brilliant Friend series by Elena Ferrante. If not, please do. Anyhow, just thought I’d drop you a line in the comments. Love to your Boys xo
Haha, yes, Reading has always been a big part of my life! If only I could do it full time, I’d be happy. Glad you have more time for it now. I did read My Brilliant Friend, somehow never moved on to the others, but I really should. Please visit again, it’s nice to hear from you.
chains of happenstance in your reading?
I set up a whole challenge based on that. It’s called Bookbound:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/01/20/bookbound-2024/
You are welcome if you want to join us
I love that you read a book that was recommended by someone in a book you were reading – and especially that you ended up enjoying it! Not sure I’ve ever done that before.
That book was so full of love for books and bookstores. It was pretty irresistible.
What caught my eye in this post is A House Without Mirrors. That is one of the books that has been on my TBR the longest (about 10 years, according to date added on Goodreads)! Given the 2.5 rating, I don’t think I’ll be rushing to pick it up any time soon, haha.
Interesting that that one caught your eye too. I would say, it’s worth a try – you might like it better than I did. It had good points but in the end it didn’t gel for me. A short, quick read, though!