At the same time I am looking at my in progress reading piles and thinking about the books on my shelves as yet not read, I am giving into new book temptations. I can't help it, as I have gift cards to use and spending a few hours in the bookstore is always a pleasant way to spend a cold, wintry April afternoon! Usually I buy something in the cafe and sit with a few new books to peruse and choose one (or maybe two), but this weekend I have a little splurge as you can see. Buried in Print and I were chatting about Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, which is now in theaters. I had looked at it in the past but after our conversation it appealed even more especially when I found out it was filled with pop culture references from the 80s, which is when I grew up.
Then I saw the preview for the coming film RBG about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which I am very excited to see. She seems like such an amazing woman and why have I not read about her before now? I am glad so wonderful a woman has become such an icon as she is a great role model. So I opted for Linda Hirshman's Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World. There are a couple other books I was contemplating buying but I hope to get them from the library.
Martin Cruz Smith's Tatiana is an Arkady Renko mystery set in (I think) contemporary Russia. I read one of the Renko mysteries a very long time ago, and while I try and read mystery series in order, I might just jump right in on this one mid-stream. This was an impulse buy on the way to pay, but it was a bargain discounted book so not too much guilt was involved in adding it to the pile.
And the last book was the best deal as it was already discounted especially deeply as it is the first B&N Book Club read, Meg Wolitzer's The Female Persuasion, which I have heard good things about. If I can read it in time I am hoping to get to my local store's book discussion, too.
Ah yes, there is a continuous influx of library books in my house. Current hightlights include:
The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti -- "A modern Italian masterpiece, The Eight Mountains is a lyrical coming-of-age story about the power of male friendships and the enduring bond between fathers and sons. “There are no more universal themes than those of the landscape, friendship, and becoming adults, and Cognetti’s writing becomes classical (and elegant) to best tell this story…a true novel by a great writer." (Rolling Stone Italia)
How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden -- "Sarah Glidden is a progressive Jewish American twentysomething who is both vocal about and critical of Israeli politics in the Holy Land. When a debate with her mother prods her to sign up for a Birthright Israel tour, Glidden expects to find objective facts to support her strong opinions. During her two weeks in Israel, Glidden takes advantage of the opportunity to ask the people she meets about the fraught and complex issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but their answers only lead her to question her own take on the conflict."
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida -- "Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within."
The Italian Party by Christina Lynch -- "Half glamorous fun, half an examination of America's role in the world, and filled with sun-dappled pasta lunches, prosecco, charming spies and horse racing, The Italian Party is a smart pleasure."
Tangerine by Christine Mangan -- "Tangerine is a sharp dagger of a book—a debut so tightly wound, so replete with exotic imagery and charm, so full of precise details and extraordinary craftsmanship, it will leave you absolutely breathless."
You see why my reading piles are always so big?