What I'm Reading

Woman reading magazine by light of kerosene lamp, Port Douglas, Queensland, April 1957


The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
I heard the author of this memoir interviewed a while back and was intrigued by the title. I have forgotten most of what they said in the interview, but I remember thinking the author sounded interesting. When I came across the book one day at the Goodwill, I bought it. If someone had only given me a plot summary--fatherless boy grows up surrounded by motley crew of barflys-- I'd never have bought this book, but the writer has such a lovely style it makes for very interesting reading.

Joie De Vivre by Robert Arbor
I always considered myself an Anglophile but recently I have slowly been becoming a Francophile, too. If I had to re-locate outside the U.S., it would be a toss up between England and France. I like this book because it talks about all the little habits of daily French life and is written by a Frenchman living in the US. It is food focused, but I find all the little details fascinating.

The Cook and The Gardener by Amanda Hesser
An interesting book about an American chef who works in a chateau and spends a year trying to win the friendship of the elderly, reserved gardener who tends the chateau gardens. It alternates between wooing the old gardener and recipes and directions for how to use the bounty from the garden.

Saints Behaving Badly by Thomas J. Craughwell
Another fellow I heard being interviewed on the radio not long ago. He was talking about how all the saints were actually terrible sinners before they straightened themselves out and went saintly. And we're not talking wee sins here. This is big stuff--murder, cannabalism, prostitution, etc. This little book jumped out of the library shelf at me or else I probably wouldn't have snagged it.

I've been listening to books on tape as I drive to work and one I really loved and that I really hated when it was over was The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg. It's an odd thing and hard to describe, but it's a mystery and the main character is a world famous clown. It's his personality and the way his brain works that makes it so interesting, not necessarily the actual story. I liked the reader and that is critical because right now I'm listening to The Brief History of the Dead and I really don't care for the voice of the reader. It's a real downer of a story and I don't see how it can end well, but I'm committed and have 4 more discs to go.

I also listened to The Portrait by Ian Pears and although I thought it was predicatable, it was still interesting to listen to. The narrator has a Scottish accent.
I tried to read Water for Elephants because everyone told me how much they loved that book and I just had to read it.
I got halfway through and just couldn't make it. It wasn't very interesting to me. I did however love the cover of the book.

I was happy that Alexander McCall Smith wrote another of his African mystery novels.I've read all his others in this series and they are such easy, pleasant reads that I can read them in bed when I am very tired and not have to worry about going back for something I missed or having bad dreams. Or having to get up in the middle of the night and start reading again to see what happens. Sometimes that's just the kind of book I'm in the mood for. So Miracle at Speedy Motors was a pleasant change after I finished reading The Dancer Upstairs by Nicholas Shakespeare. I'd seen the movie version of that book some years ago and when I came across the novel in Goodwill I bought it for 99 cents. I enjoyed it, but it was sad, violent, and cynical.