March Books : In Which I Go Nuts At The Library

I found myself gleefully putting on hold a ton of books on the library's website one night late in February, and this month is the result of that nuttiness. 

Audio:

1.  Middlemarch, George Elliot - Several months ago I listened to 3/4 of the book, but oddly never finished.  Started from the beginning, listened to the whole thing.  Whew.  Glad that's over with.  I enjoyed it, but admit there were parts I had trouble focusing on.  At one point I even looked up the Spark notes online to make sure I hadn't missed anything.  It wasn't an ideal listen.
2.  Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy - I loved every minute of it!  Tolstoy's characters are phenomenal, and his storytelling abilities are superb. 
3. The Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks - I have grown to appreciate the historical fiction approach that Brooks takes.  I enjoyed it more than Caleb's Crossing, but less than People of the Book. It was a nice departure from the classics, even if the story in question (the plague in a small English village) was quite naturally depressing.  Brooks has a tendency to project some modern sensibilities on her female protagonists, and so at times I question the narrative when I probably should just let it wash over me. 

Print:

1. The Redbreast, Jo Nesbo, 2.  Nemesis, Jo Nesbo, 3.  Devil's Star, Jo Nesbo - The first three of the Harry Hole novels, now available in the US.  Still lots of fun.  Still not for the faint-hearted. 
4. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo - This is absolutely my must-read recommendation for the month.  Boo's book is the story of a period of time in a Mumbai slum - carefully researched and then rendered into a book that read like an extremely engrossing novel.  I knew of the abject poverty and corruption in the slums...but I also didn't know, and really had no idea.  Honestly, please read this book.  It was eye opening and heartbreakingly beautiful. 
5. The Sex Lives of Cannibals, H. Maarten Troost - Completely agree that Troost comes across as a younger Bill Bryson.  Enjoyed it, but was done about 3/4 of the way through.  I think his sense of humor just got old...and very predictable.  The cool thing is that I looked up Tarawa (the small south Pacific island Troost and his girlfriend moved to for a time) on Google Earth, which made the story even more real and cleared up some geography questions.

Comments

Leciawp said…
Thanks, as always, for your list!

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