Just Finished:
Song Yet Sung by James McBride
I listened to this on audiobook, and I'm glad I did because of the atmospheric accompanying music. I've read McBride's two best-known books, The Color of Water and The Good Lord Bird, both of which I loved, especially the latter. I didn't like Song Yet Sung quite as much, mostly because it is just extremely hard to live up to The Good Lord Bird, but I do think it's an important read for a portrait of the psychology of slavery from surprisingly diverse viewpoints. Not only are the two primary main characters, Liz and Amber, African American slaves, but there's also some viewpoints from white slaveowners and slavecatchers, and the book has a surprising amount of sympathy for them. Another interesting point for me, and others, is that the book takes place on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a mere "80 miles from freedom." Characters imagine they can see Philadelphia on a good day. It's a very particular environment, and like McBride does for Kansas and Harper's Ferry in The Good Lord Bird, he gives a strong sense of how the marshy terrain affects all of the characters.
Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet and Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out by Harry Kemelman
I've continued reading and enjoying the Rabbi Small series. I love how I get a snapshot of history in each of these books. In Thursday, published in 1978, for example, we learn that the women of the synagogue have finally gotten the right to vote and sit on the board of directors. Whereas, in the first books written in the early 1970s, men only on the board is accepted without even being mentioned. Reading these books is watching social progress unfold in the background!
Currently Reading:
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
I'm currently listening to Landline, which is the way I've read all my Rainbow Rowell books. I like the concept of a phone that reaches the past, I like the protagonist Georgie as a character, and Rowell is an incredibly vivid writer. She's especially good at conveying physical actions, specifically in a romantic context but also just in general, and it's a pleasure to listen to since it's a skill that a lot of writers (including myself) don't excel at. However, I'm not enjoying this one as much just because I don't find the male love interest, Neil, that likable, nor the other potential (but I hope not) love interest, Georgie's best friend Seth. Georgie and Neil's marriage, and Neil's character, feel very realistic, but I'm over his whole super defensive, noncommunicative shtick, even if Georgie obviously loves him. Part of what made Fangirl so excellent was how much I liked Levi as well as Cath. Oh well. Just hoping for a Fangirl sequel soon!
I listened to this on audiobook, and I'm glad I did because of the atmospheric accompanying music. I've read McBride's two best-known books, The Color of Water and The Good Lord Bird, both of which I loved, especially the latter. I didn't like Song Yet Sung quite as much, mostly because it is just extremely hard to live up to The Good Lord Bird, but I do think it's an important read for a portrait of the psychology of slavery from surprisingly diverse viewpoints. Not only are the two primary main characters, Liz and Amber, African American slaves, but there's also some viewpoints from white slaveowners and slavecatchers, and the book has a surprising amount of sympathy for them. Another interesting point for me, and others, is that the book takes place on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a mere "80 miles from freedom." Characters imagine they can see Philadelphia on a good day. It's a very particular environment, and like McBride does for Kansas and Harper's Ferry in The Good Lord Bird, he gives a strong sense of how the marshy terrain affects all of the characters.
I've continued reading and enjoying the Rabbi Small series. I love how I get a snapshot of history in each of these books. In Thursday, published in 1978, for example, we learn that the women of the synagogue have finally gotten the right to vote and sit on the board of directors. Whereas, in the first books written in the early 1970s, men only on the board is accepted without even being mentioned. Reading these books is watching social progress unfold in the background!
Currently Reading:
I'm currently listening to Landline, which is the way I've read all my Rainbow Rowell books. I like the concept of a phone that reaches the past, I like the protagonist Georgie as a character, and Rowell is an incredibly vivid writer. She's especially good at conveying physical actions, specifically in a romantic context but also just in general, and it's a pleasure to listen to since it's a skill that a lot of writers (including myself) don't excel at. However, I'm not enjoying this one as much just because I don't find the male love interest, Neil, that likable, nor the other potential (but I hope not) love interest, Georgie's best friend Seth. Georgie and Neil's marriage, and Neil's character, feel very realistic, but I'm over his whole super defensive, noncommunicative shtick, even if Georgie obviously loves him. Part of what made Fangirl so excellent was how much I liked Levi as well as Cath. Oh well. Just hoping for a Fangirl sequel soon!
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