It's too hot where I live (and maybe where you live, too) for reading in the garden, but it is a nice idea. Maybe closer to fall, which I am looking forward to greatly! My porch chair has sat empty all summer.
I guess we are officially into the dog days of summer. And maybe time to catch up a bit on what I have been reading, or trying to read. As is my current trend, my reading is all over the place with more than a few misses but a number of hits as well and plenty of books in progress. My reading continues to be motivated mostly by my mood, which seems to change daily. But I have not given up on the very few reading plans and projects on which I set forth a month or so ago.
First a mention of a book kindly sent to me from Europa Editions that I thoroughly enjoyed and found pretty captivating last month, Valerie Perrin's Three. Last year I read and loved her novel Fresh Water for Flowers, and had I shared a 'best of' list (I don't think I ever got around to it) it would have made it high on the list. I was thrilled to see another book translated and being published this year (and I hope another will be coming next year?). I have been wary of big, chunky books of late. Not through their fault, but if there is such a thing as a 'long hauler' 'my reading is still off kilter' mode of being--I am still there. I was assured, however, that this was a perfect summer read that I would find engrossing and indeed I found that to be the case.
The novel follows the friendship of three young people as they navigate growing up in a small French town. Nina, Adrien and Etienne are inseparable growing up. They are as close as siblings and nothing can come between them until one summer tragedy strikes in ways that will mark them all for life. There is a bit of a mystery to the story and twists that you don't expect, that are more about growing up and becoming an adult and recognizing the person inside rather than unraveling the puzzle always hovering in the background. It was a story that I became completely involved in. The characters are not perfect, but they felt so real and I became invested in their lives in a way I have not in a long time in my reading.
Yes, friends, I started this post in the heat of summer and am now revisiting it in the coolness of a fall morning. Maybe it was the draining humidity of the summer or dealing with family issues, or just a lack of energy, but I am sorry I have been so absent for so long. (I seem to say that quite often here, don't I). And I expect I am talking aloud to an empty room (all on me, sadly). I have been absent so long that I only discovered that Typepad is no longer (since 2020?) accepting new subscribers and next month will be migrating data, which somehow does not seem to bode well. I need to get my (not really empty) room in order and decided what to do, whether to move on or move elsewhere. Are blogs a thing of the past now? Maybe everyone has left me for TikTok?
I will do some cleaning up while I decide. I have a little time left on my subscription. I have read a number of good books, set aside quite a few that were not working for me. Summer has turned to fall and I am happy with cooler mornings and sunny afternoons. My (see post below) summer reading plans started okay, but I did not manage as well as I had hoped, which is okay. It is always nice to have a stack of books that appeal and choose some to see if they click or not. I have made a pile of autumn books that I will share, too. I am sorry this sat so long in draft mode. I wonder where my online bookish friends are hanging out these days?