Monday, August 17, 2020

Books I'm Excited to Read


I tend to focus on what I've read rather than what I'm jazzed about reading. So, breaking that mold, here's a sampling of the books I'm most excited about reading this fall (or spring if you are down under).


The Mirror and the Light, by Hilary Mantel - the third in the marvelous trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's hatchet man who has the tables turned on him. I loved reading both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies as well as watching Wolf Hall. Mantel is incredibly good at making this 500-year old story relevant and gripping.


Vesper Flights, by Helen Macdonald - I loved H is for Hawk and am eager to read Macdonald's essays on birds, nature, etc.


Code Name Helene, by Ariel Lawhon - just read a review of this last week and was enthralled. French resistance during WWII, based on memoir, just up my alley!


The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennet - heard really good things about this book, and should be a good tie-in to Nella Lawson's Passing, which I recently read.


Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - probably my October scary read. Listened to an interview with the author on NPR and cannot get this book out of my head. The cover alone is absolutely delicious.


5 comments:

  1. Mexican Gothic and The Vanishing Half are both on my waiting list at the library! So those will be read this fall. I also loved H Is for Hawk and can't wait to get into her next book. I've been meaning to read Hilary Mantel's series! I saw the PBS miniseries and loved it. I just need to pick a time and get them all read. Happy reading!

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  2. I let my mother have my library copy of The Mirror and the Light, and even she couldn't finish before it was due (I will read it later when I have some uninterrupted time). I have her the new book by Princess Margaret's lady in waiting in case she needed some light relief to balance the Mantel but she said it was not interesting at all.

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  3. Hi Jane, The Mirror of Light is a book I should read. Hillary Mantel has gotten such good reviews for this remarkable series of novels about Thomas Cromwell. I have been fascinated by the Tudors since I was a teenager and watched the PBS drama about the six wives of Henry VIII. I think what makes Martel's book so fascinating in addition to her great talent is that she decided to focus on a relatively more minor character in the Tudor saga, Thomas Cromwell, and really did her research to bring him to life.

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  4. Waiting for my turn on library holds list for Vanishing Half and Mexican Gothic. I need to try Helen MacDonald as well, the H for Hawk was loved by many.

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  5. I too want to read these books ... and I'm mostly drawn to Vesper Flights. I could use a bit of nature right now ... and this book looks perfect. Enjoy your reads!

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