What's I've Been Reading

Hi ladies!
I know I might end up telling you about these books at our meeting tomorrow night, but I thought I'd go ahead and post about them anyway.

I've been reading a few things since finishing this month's book. The first book I started after Madeline was The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I've never read any Carson McCullers before, and this was on a list Andy's high school cousin has for required summer reading. So far, it's interesting, but I set aside when the next book came in at the library. Have any of you ever read it? It's reminding me, setting and style-wise, of To Kill a Mockingbird so far, but I'm not as pulled into the text as I was with Mockingbird. It follows several characters in a small Southern town, including a mute man and a teenage tomboy. I haven't gotten too deeply into the plot yet.

The next book I read is called A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. I found the title on the book website Julie posted. I couldn't even remember what it was about when I picked it up for the holds at the library, but it drew me into the text immediately. I have to say, it is by far the most sexually-charged plot I've ever read, but I thought it was done in a literary sense and wasn't too Danielle Steele-ish. :) It does get a bit over the top in parts, though. I thought the setting, plot, and characters were all intriguing, and it was a quick read. The basic plot is a wealthy man in northern Wisconsin at the turn of the century is waiting to pick up his bride, someone he has connected with through placing an ad in a newspaper. You quickly realize, and he does too, that she's not who she presented herself to be. I figured out what was going before it was revealed, but I still was very interested by the character development. Some of the character descriptions kind of reminded me of Moulin Rouge a bit. Shannon, you might find some parallels to the gothic nature of Wuthering Heights in this book.

The one I'm breezing through now is called The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I also ran across it on the bookmovement.com website. It is basically like reading a long magazine article, but it is interesting. It's the true story about a group of women who all go in together to buy a $37, 000 necklace (they get it for $15, 000) and how they set up a club, and ultimately strong friendships, to share the necklace. I find it hard to believe how life-changing this necklace is for the people in this book, but it's like all the situations in life where it only takes an insignificant item or event to motivate or cause much larger things. The writing is very basic and not at all remarkable, but the premise is a bit thought-provoking.

All right, that's all. I just felt like reviewing some of the things I've been reading. It keeps me accountable to paying attention to my books and to cultivating and articulating opinions about them. I am really enjoying browsing some of the websites I posted in the sidebar in order to find new titles at the library (or bookstore). I really encourage you to check them out. And please post about books you've read that you'd recommend, recently or a long time ago!