Currently reading

Five books make up my current reading list; rotating these around make an interesting week. In no particular order, I am enjoying:

 

This year's Newbery winner. I had this on my kindle, but had only read a few pages. Then I heard Katherine Applegate talk about the book at the National Book Festival. It is a great book for kids, told from the viewpoint of Ivan, the gorilla. It also speaks to the plight of circus/entertainment animals and how they should be treated. (I recently read  We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by  Karen Joy Fowler, a totally different story, but some similar issues with animals that are used in research, particularly chimpanzees.)

 

Zealot got a lot of press when Aslan was interviewed on Fox News and the newswoman was totally rude to him about his credentials and ability to write a book about Jesus. He explains in the beginning that this is an attempt to write about the historical Jesus, not the biblical Jesus. His explanation of Jewish and Palestinian history has been very interesting so far. I am looking forward to see what he has to say about Jesus, the man. 

My mystery fix for the week. Laurie King's books about Sherlock Holmes' much younger wife are great distracting fiction. Mary Russell is undercover with a film crew in Lisbon and Morocco, where they are making a silent film (1920s) about the Pirates of Penzance being taken over by real pirates. Not the best book in this series, but certainly worth reading to keep up with the character. 

After reading A Woman's Education, I am excited to read her book about growing up in Australia and how she ended up getting a PhD at Harvard. What a good writer. I once heard someone say that she wished she could eat the songs that Sting sings. That's how I feel about Conway's writing. They are food for the brain, the soul and would be delicious if we could eat them!

And last but not least: 

Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Danny Danziger

A series of short essays about dozens of MMA employees. I love the enthusiasm they all display from the director to curators to the plumber who takes care of the 70+ toilets located all over the museum. A fun way to lean a little about art and to hear how people ended up doing a job that they love!

 

 

Mystery, anyone?

I have always loved mystery/detective books, probably starting with the Nancy Drew series. I remember bringing stacks of them home from the library with my sister. We would devour them! What a great introduction to the genre. Here are three of my favorite mystery writers today:
Laurie King:
She has some stand alone books, but her main line is a series of books about Mary Russell, a young woman who marries Sherlock Holmes when he is a relatively old man. The books are well-researched and well written in the voice of a woman from the early 20th century who is not easily cowed, even by the great Sherlock! Here is a link to Mary Russell's blog where she talks about her life and her "literary agent" Laurie King: http://maryrussellholmes.com/

Elizabeth George:
An American woman writing detective mysteries about New Scotland Yard? That's our Elizabeth! She carries off the genre of English detective work as if she were a native. Many of you may know these works as Detective Lynley series on PBS, where they do a very good job of conveying the writing that she has done in this genre. In this series, George develops her characters intensely and makes sure that the readers know the relevant background; we see them grow over the years and if you have not read any of these, start at the very beginning! Here is a link to her homepage: http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/

For the last one, I had to almost toss a coin, as there are many that I love, but I finally settled on Julia Spencer Fleming who writes about a female Episcopal priest who serves in a small town in upstate New York and helps the chief of police solve crimes. Clare is not a perfect woman, in spite of being a priest and the series has delved into many current dilemmas, including racial relations and immigration. Here is the link to her home page as well: http://www.juliaspencerfleming.com/

All three of these talented ladies have new books coming out soon, ensuring that I will not run out of reading material anytime in the near future!!