Book Chat!

I’ve been completely MIA lately… We are wrapping up the school year and life here in Seattle as we head in a couple weeks to a new home in Chicago. So, I’ve been chasing down details and wrangling minutia. But I’ve also read some really good books during this time and thought I’d share a bit of that today.

I devoured John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. Who hasn’t? And while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I will say that the main characters have very tight, existential dialog – far from that of my sixteen-year-old son. But I figured they had enough against them, they had a right to graduate-level witty repartee. Now I must decide if I’ll see the movie… The book was fantastic and left me in a lingering, sad moment; the movie may either leave me slightly unfulfilled and annoyed or in a sloppy mess of sobby tears.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 also caught my attention. That, by the way, is the temperature at which paper burns. Somehow I missed this in school and I’m thrilled I did for I don’t think I would have appreciated it appropriately. It blew me away. The writing – sparse, descriptive, tight – and the story was so reflective of social and technological trends we see today.  Ifyou’ve read it, I’d love to hear your opinions.

Right now I’m reading Into the Woods by Tana French. I’ll admit I’m only 1/4 in – so I will reserve complete judgment, and I suspect the story will turn dark. I can say this now however – She can write! I find myself re-reading sentences to absorb her use of language, color, texture, etc. The writing really is captivating.

I’ve also had the privilege to read a few ARCs for novels releasing soon. Don’t miss Kristy Cambron’s The Butterfly and the Violin, which releases in July. It is the lyrical story of a violinist in Auschwitz told in parallel with a contemporary story searching for her painting. Completely lovely. And Storm Siren by Mary Weber will release in August. A fantastic YA other-worldly saga with a strong, lightening-wielding heroine who also has a beautiful and vulnerable heart. The twists, turns and suspense in this one will keep you riveted until the final line.

So… Please let me know what you think if you’ve read any of these books. I’d love to hear more as I’ve only offered a taste here… And please let me know what’s out there you recommend. In all the chaos, reading is a lovely and needed distraction.