I was actually hoping to get into the TBR piles this weekend — if I can resist the omnipresent bibliolust (such much for my observations on want vs. need). Anyway, it may depend on how quickly a couple books I have on hold show up at the local library. Here’s what’s currently on my radar:
American Pastoral, Philip Roth — I know. It was published 10 years ago but it’s shown up on so many recommended lists lately — and been recommended by friends — that I started to feel I’m missing something important. Therefore, I await a library copy, hopefully yet this week.
Everything Matters!, Ron Currie, Jr. — While it may also be fertile grounds for disappointment, I have to take a leap on a novel about someone who knows exactly when the world will end — especially when it’s compared favorably to Vonnegut.
The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littell — This French novel about a Nazi SS officer has not only generated controversy due to its subject but is evidently a book you love or hate. Publisher’s Weekly called it an “overlong exercise in piling-on” but it’s won the highest literary awards in both France and Greece. It’s on the list because I may just have to decide for myself.
The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders, Didier Lefèvre and Emmanuel Guibert — I’ve seen and heard plenty of favorable reviews of this combination of photography with the graphic novel format that when I saw the local library had it I put it on my hold list.
The Secret Speech, Tom Rob Smith — While I can’t say I was knocked over by Smith’s first novel, it was good enough that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to put my name on the hold list for this.
Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath, Michael and Elizabeth Norman — When I did some quick background checking on this when it was offered for review, I decided it was worth a read, especially since a gentleman who lived down the street from me when I was in elementary school was among those captured on Bataan.
No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
Atwood H. Townsend in Good Reading
