A few good recent reads

October 28th, 2009

Mamas,

It’s getting to be that time of year again, at least here in Madison, Wisconsin, where we’ve got snow days to keep us hunkered down. For me, that means putting the kids to bed early (or trying to), and snugging up to the fire with a glass of porto and a good read (maybe some chocolates, too…).

Here are a few reads I’ve really enjoyed this past year—some of them quick, some of them deeply engaging, some with an adventurous bent, some just plain fun. I’d probably be doing you a greater service by giving you a synopsis of each, but who has the time?! So, I’ll spare you my own summary/review. Suffice it to say, I think they’re worth your spare time (when and if you have any, that is!).

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (just finished it last night… read it obsessively over the weekend … just fab) by Tiffany Baker

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Time Traveler’s Wife (still haven’t seen the movie…don’t plan to) by Audrey Niffenegger

Julie + Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously (still haven’t seen the movie…want to) by Julie Powell

 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (OK… who hasn‘t read this. Will need to get my hands on “Displaced,” her ex-husband’s book to be.)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahled Hosseini

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (one of my all-time fave authors, and her Interpreter of Maladies a fave read)

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistri

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

CURRENTLY ON THE NIGHTSTAND:  What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, One Hundred Love Sonnets by Pablo Neruda, Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris … and White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and Snowflower and the Secret Fan, both good, but it’s taking me a year to get through them…literally.

NEXT UP: Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting by Michael Perry (a fab Wisconsin I’ve been infatuated with since I read his Population 485…check out his web site); The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski; and some books by Wendell Berry

I’d love to hear what reads you’d recommend … because when I finish the “next up” handful, I’ll need some ideas. Please submit as a comment below, and I’ll compile and share with momappealers.

—Mama Kate

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