Maybe it is a good thing that winter has finally decided to properly arrive less than two weeks before the official start of spring? (I'm not at all convinced actually, just trying to put a happy spin on the Four chances of snow in the coming week . . .). Maybe that will mean I have even more opportunities to hide away with a book? My reading pile is massive so I need all the quiet reading time I can get.
That said I do have a ticket to go see this Broadway show. And I was hoping to go see this award winning foreign film this weekend, too. Otherwise it will be as much bookishness as I can possibly squeeze in this weekend (which is never as much as I fantasize about--I wonder why that is).
Now to all the book news I came across this week--there was lots of it! (As usual).
Of course you already know about the Baileys Longlist, but here is the TLS's take on it (with very brief little descriptions of the books and much better than I could ever try and sum up).
More competition between good reads? Tournament of Books kicks off this week, too. Eighteen books are going to be battling it out this month in a little bookish March madness. And hey, I am actually reading one of the competitors! I have a further one more on my TBR pile and one of the titles is also up for the Baileys Prize. It is always interesting to see what overlap of books there are from prize to prize, isn't it?
And then the finalists for the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award have been announced.
I really need to read Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet (am I the last reader on earth who has yet to read even one of those books?). I am not surprised to hear that the stories are being adapted for TV (I wonder how soon the US will want to make their own version--since we seem to avoid foreign language movies and TV shows here . . . sadly, I think). You can check out all things Elena here (including a link for parts 1 and 2 of a stage adaptation!).
I'm not much of a romance reader per se (though occasionally I am in the mood for something with a dash of romance along the lines of Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels), but I like the sound of this bookstore. I bet I could find something to my taste at the Ripped Bodice Bookstore.
I love this--not just travel the world, but here is a list of books to explore: Travel the Universe (!) with 11 Short Story Collections by Women. Duly noted, thank you!
So, I am a daily bus rider (as a matter of fact I do not even own a car--what a thought, right?). What do I have to do to get my city to make a bus stop like this one?? Sheesh, I'm lucky if the stops here have one solo bench, let alone any sort of shelter. I mean this is downright luxurious!
A couple of very timely links--in this crazy new world order of ours: the need for empathy for others through stories (indeed!) and cultural diversity in mystery novels.
I hope you're reading something good this weekend. I know I will be lost in a few good stories!