Okay, so I wasn't planning on posting today--taking days off is a good thing, but I have so many little links and bits and bobs to share, why wait? So, just a little random miscellanea . . .
I (on impulse . . .) oops started reading Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air, a memoir he wrote about being diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 36 just as he was beginning his life as a father and a neurosurgeon. It is the sort of book yo have to be careful where you read, as it is so crushing, yet also strangely there is something inspiring in it as well. I guess sometimes it take thinking about death and dying to remember how to live a good life.
You can listen to an interview with Paul's wife on NPR here.
I AM going to read Elena Ferrante's quartet of books/the Neapolitan novels this year. Really. I am. The books are huge, quite a success and they are being adapted to TV in Italy. Maybe I will have finished them by the time we get to see the series in the US.
You know I like a good book list and am very much a mood reader and that includes particular places and times, so I could not resist printing out this list of Brooklyn-set novels. I have only ever been to the airport in NYC, but someday I will get there (that's a whole different list). Until then I can always visit through the pages of a book.
Remember Simon's 1924 Club? I did read along and finish my choice, Edna Ferber's So Big. Sadly it was much, much, much later than everyone else. Do I dare join in on the 1938 club? The timing is much better as it does not kick off until April and I can easily (surely?) choose a book that also fits in with my other reading plans. So, guess what I'll be doing this weekend? Looking for interesting reads published in 1938! Seeing as my 1938 slot for the ongoing (and going and going . . . will I ever fill in every slot?) Century of Books project is empty, it will make for a good incentive to add a new book to the list.
I'm not sure if I will ever read Nabokov's Lolita (never say never, right?), but maybe an edition with illustrations will nudge me along?
Doesn't this sound interesting--Unzipped, a new feminist romance publisher that focuses on diversity? I like the sound of a genre-blending, gender-bending publisher. I am not really much of a reader of straightforward romance stories (though I like stories that have an element of romance to them), but this sounds most intriguing.
I have a busy weekend to look forward to and I have a feeling I will not get my 'regularly' scheduled short story Sunday post ready on Sunday, so you likely won't see it until Monday. I do hope to read a short story or two this weekend and a few other books as well in between chores and a few more pleasant activities.
Happy weekend reading everyone and Happy Valentine's Day if you celebrate (I don't but maybe I will treat myself to some chocolate, or better yet, a new book!).