MONDAY MEMES: MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MAY 23

MONDAY READING MEMES

Welcome to our Monday Memes.  Some of you may be at BEA in NY, and for those (like Sheila and others) who are, we count on you to tell us about your experiences.

Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by Mari Reads.

What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week’s books were all purchased by me, but I am delighted with them nonetheless.

1.  Disturbing the Peace, by Richard Yates

To all appearances, John Wilder has all the trappings of success, circa 1960: a promising career in advertising, a loving family, a beautiful apartment, even a country home. John’s evenings are spent with associates at quiet Manhattan lounges and his weekends with friends at glittering cocktail parties. But something deep within this seemingly perfect life has long since gone wrong. Something has disturbed John’s fragile peace, and he can no longer find solace in fleeting affairs or alcohol. The anger, the drinking, and the recklessness are building to a crescendo—and they’re about to take down John’s career and his family. What happens next will send John on a long, strange journey—at once tragic and inevitable.

2.  The Pumpkin Eater, by Penelope Mortimer

“A strange, fresh, gripping book. One of the the many achievements of The Pumpkin Eater is that it somehow manages to find universal truths in what was hardly an archetypal situation: Mortimer peels several layers of skin off the subjects of motherhood, marriage, and monogamy, so that what we’re asked to look at is frequently red-raw and painful without being remotely self-dramatizing. In fact, there’s a dreaminess to some of the prose that is particularly impressive, considering the tumult that the book describes.” —Nick Hornby, The Believer

3.  The Beach Trees, by Karen White

From the time she was twelve, Julie Holt knew what a random tragedy can do to a family. At that tender age, her little sister disappeared-never to be found. It was a loss that slowly eroded the family bonds she once relied on. As an adult with a prestigious job in the arts, Julie meets a struggling artist who reminds her so much of her sister, she can’t help feeling protective. It is a friendship that begins a long and painful process of healing for Julie, leading her to a house on the Gulf Coast, ravaged by hurricane Katrina, and to stories of family that take her deep into the past.

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

This week has been one that was split between my writing and my reading.  I am participating in the ROW 80 Challenge, and we’re in Round Two.

Most of my effort has been directed toward completing the NaNoWriMo novel, and I did finish the first draft, with some editing and rewriting along the way.  Now I’m working on another WIP that I began in a previous challenge.

But I still completed some enjoyable books.  Here’s what I finished and reviewed – Click the titles for reviews:

1.  Love You More, by Lisa Gardner

2.  The Long Journey Home, by Margaret Robison (memoir)

3.  Out of Balance, by Angela Lam Turpin

So…What’s Up Next?

1.  Once Upon a Time There Was You, by Elizabeth Berg

2.  Save Me (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline

3.  Exposure (e-book), by Therese Fowler

4.  Drinking:  A Love Story, by Caroline Knapp (memoir)

So that’s it for me…what about the rest of you?  Even if you’re participating in Armchair BEA (or the real one!), I’m sure you’ll find time to read.  So I hope you’ll stop by and share….