It's Monday! (9/21/15)

It's Monday! is sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey.

 

Last week was a bad week for reading. We had a roofer out on Monday to give us an estimate for a new roof--no reading that night. The next night, my mother stopped by with a friend of my father's from his Navy days--no reading Tuesday. Wednesday was spent watching the Republican debates, which bled over into Thursday night--no reading then either. Plus, no reading at work on Thursday due to special activities. I was really feeling it by the time the weekend rolled around. Do you ever feel the lack of reading acutely like that? I never realized that reading isn't just something my mind looks forward to, but it's something my body needs (for relaxing, etc.).

 

(The story has a happy ending in that my husband had to work Saturday, so I had a day to read to my heart's content. I missed him, of course, but it was nice to refuel.)

 

This weekend I finished Joyce Carol Oates's The Lost Landscape. It was a good memoir, but I wouldn't call it masterful, which is the exact word I expected it to be. I've never read any of Oates's writing before, and while I enjoyed this book, I did feel bored in places. The book is comprised of biographical essays (most of which were previously published), and it feel like Oates was reluctant to use the word "I." A fine collection, but not stellar.

 

 

This week I plan to finish both 180 More (poetry) and Ben Carson's Gifted Hands. Carson's book has encouraged me to by the juvenile version for my grandson. I think it's a great book for young boys (and girls) to read.

 

 

I'll also be finishing Tony Danza's I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had on CD. I have really enjoyed this book, and I'll be sad for it to end.

 

 

And I'll likely begin and finish Maxine Kumin's The Pawnbroker's Daughter. Kumin is a poet, and this is her memoir. It's quite short, so it should be a nice counterbalance to Oates's book.