What I'm Reading
Ask me what I'm reading and the answer will include at least three titles. I keep what I call a book book (the ink and paper kind) close at hand. This is usually a novel, but occasionally I try some nonfiction. I always have an audio book going too. Listening to murder mysteries keeps me from getting bored on the rowing machine or while sweeping up the never-ending dog hair (thanks, Alfie). Last but not least there's the book I'm reading to my husband Curt. Yes, that's right. I read aloud to him. Once an English teacher, always an English teacher. The true inspiration for this comes from my favorite author of books for kids, Kate DiCamillo. She advocates for this practice, not just for kids who haven't yet learned to read, but for everyone. The magic of a shared story connects us to one another in a unique way.
My Reading List
Current "book book"
Where the Past Begins
I found this treasure—a first edition copy of author Amy Tan's memoir—in a Little Free Library that I pass on my walks through the neighborhood. Tan's childhood was not a happy one, but reading about her life and where she finds inspiration is, well, inspiring! I especially loved Chapter Two: Music as Muse where Tan allows the reader into her thoughts as she creates a story in her mind while listening to Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 3. It reminded me of listening to Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf in elementary school, and the way each character's particular motif and instrument allowed me to "see" the story unfold in my imagination.
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan's first novel, was my introduction to her work. I was deeply moved by the story and proceeded to read The Kitchen God's Wife, The Bonesetter's Daughter, and Saving Fish from Drowning. Her children's book The Moon Lady is magical and haunting.
Current audio book
The Late Lord Thorpe
I just finished listening to this mystery on Audible. It is the 11th DC Smith Investigation book in the series by Peter Grainger. He is a prolific author. Since his debut in 2012, he has also written five novels in the King's Lake Investigation series, three Willows and Lane books, and three standalone novels. That's almost two books a year!
Lord Thorpe is dead, found in a swimming pool after a party, and the cause is ruled a "death by misadventure." A very British way of saying it was an accident. Lord Thorpe's sister isn't buying it. She hires David Smith, a retired police officer now working for a private detective agency, and he is up to the task as usual.
Nothing like solving a murder along with the Detective Constable while I scrub the kitchen sink and sharpen my knives. Bwahaha! I confess that when it comes to recorded books, mysteries are my favorite. I get swept along in the plot twists and surprise suspects, and before I know it I've cleaned the whole house! In general I don't try to multitask, but folding laundry and listening to a skilled performer read an exciting story aloud to me are two activities that are made for each other.
Current read-aloud
Hello Beautiful
Propped up on pillows with a down comforter for warmth during the cold month of January in Minnesota, I've been ending my day reading this lovely book to my husband Curt. Ann Napolitano has pulled both of us in with her storytelling and true-to-life characters. Hello Beautiful has been called an homage to Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, one of the books I name when talking about books that inspired me to be a writer. The closeness of the four Padavano sisters, their loves and passions, and the hard times they face have much in common with the March sisters.
Written in a "close" or "deep" third person point of view, Napolitano alternates chapters between Julia, William, and Sylvie most of the way through the story which takes place in Chicago covering events from 1960 to 2008. A fourth POV character chimes in about two-thirds of the way into the novel.
This is the first novel I've read by Napolitano and it won't be the last. Families in all their forms are endlessly interesting to me. Having grown up with seven people around the dinner table every night, I love books that shine a light on the conflicts, the humor, the chaos, and the connection found at home.