Books

With my new job comes a new daily commute to/from DC on the VRE train. One hour and ten minutes in each direction which approximates to three novels a week. This month the best things I’ve read include:

The Laments

The Year of Magical Thinking

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Laments told the story of a family continuously replanting themselves; always searching for something to satisfy. Along the way we come to know the characters in depth. Rich in plot and character development, I really enjoyed the text.

Year of Magical Thinking is a non-fiction account of writer Joan Didion’s grief experience after her husband (also a writer) unexpectedly died. I learned a lot about sadness and longing from her piece.

Guernsey is a fictionalized WW2 tale centering on one of the Channel islands. It speaks to the impact of war and terror on a community and on strangers. I found it to be a moving story and learned a bit more about the war in the process.

Girl is the sequel to the much acclaimed “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”. It’s a most excellent crime suspense novel and I couldn’t put it down. Even better than the first book in the series, I’d say. I’m thirsty for the next installment in the series: “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”.

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