I stand in awe at the colors of October.
Who could imagine such glory and bounty?
Even the quietness of a still lake is glorious to me…
as we transition from Summer into Autumn.
I have picked up and laid down many books this month. I can’t even remember what happened in An Event In Autumn by Henning Mankell well enough to describe it to you. Sadly, I can remember Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride enough to tell you I abandoned it halfway through. It is for Book Club on Wednesday, a club which now seems to consistently pick bestsellers; they never please me. Even in reading, I seem to be off the beaten path.
Instead I have been entranced by Robert McCammon’s Speaks the Nightbird. What a book! It is perfect for R.I.P. XIX, but I would enjoy it any time, not just for an eerie autumnal read. The atmosphere, the writing, are magnificent, and the story has me lost for hours in an evening.
Before I go, I will add a reminder for Norway in November, should you wish to join. Simply choose a work which has been translated from Norwegian to English, and leave a link in the review site here (which I will soon put up). There are books which also coincide with Nonfiction November, as well as
Novellas in November. I would be happy to recommend some if you would like, just let me know in your comment.
We have returned from our 5-week road trip and I can't begin to tell you how beautiful the fall colors were in Wyoming and Oregon. (Idaho, not so much.) Absolutely stunning! As much as I love summer weather (we barely made it into the 70s this year), fall colors make my heart sing.
ReplyDeleteI read Swan Song by McCammon many, many years ago, but have not read Speaks the Nightbird. I also have his Boy's Life on my keeper shelf, with good intentions of reading it a second time. For now, I'm on a bit of a Stephen King kick. Read and loved Billy Summers last month and am now reading Holly. I love his storytelling!
Hope you are well, my friend. I've been posting photo essays from our Canada trip of 2023 (always behind!), but hope to get to this recent trip before the end of the year.
Oh, Les, the colors of this season make my heart sing, too! I have never been to Wyoming or Oregon, but I can imagine the beauty there.
DeleteI loved Boys’ Life, too, and decided to pick up Speaks the Nightbird for R.I.P. XIX, although I’m participating very loosely. (It isn’t the same, nothing is the same, as in the early days when we were all furiously blogging, and challenging, and reading…I miss Carl hosting it). I also bought the second in the Matthew Corbett series, the hero of Nightbird, called The Queen of Bedlam. McCammon’s writing is SO good, his storytelling much like King’s with the way it can draw you in. I would love to reread Boys’ Life again someday; a “keeper shelf” sounds perfect, on which I would also place A Gentleman in Moscow, for one…
I have deleted my Instagram account, after reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, as I discovered Instagram was running me not the other way around. I was far too caught up in what everyone else was doing, reading, thinking, and not finding my own thoughts in the process. (By the way, how about that daughter of yours?! Wow!!! What an account!) I will stop by your blog, of course, to catch up with you there.
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ReplyDeleteI like October colors too. But today we have our first snowfall so it is a bit of a change. White mixed with late autumn foliage as I stare out the window. I have not read McCammon but his books look like good historical fiction. I will check out his backlist, thx. I'm still planning on a Norwegian read but it will likely be the later stages of November now. Hope all is well where you are.
ReplyDeleteDon’t feel any pressure, Susan. However you’re able to join in works for me, and if it isn’t at all, I surely understand! Thanks for considering it.
DeleteI finished Scenes From a Childhood the other day and no have to decide which Fosse to read next - thanks for giving the push to finally read his work :-)
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you read Scenes From A Childhood, Brona. It gave short, but piercing, vignettes. I could relate to many of them myself. As for another Fosse, I don’t think you could do better than the first of Septology, which is actually three volumes, and too much to read in one month (in my opinion). We don’t want to rush Fosse. So, maybe you could choose the first one, The Other Name, which is what Tom of Wuthering Expectations and I will be reading.
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