What I’ve read and what I’m reading

/in , /by

A few blog posts back, I told y’all I was joining a book club put on by my local independent bookstore, Boswell Book Company. They run a handful of clubs, each focusing on a different genre. Tonight was their last one for my group, which focused on general book club fiction and held at a local pub/restaurant, as the bookseller who led it is moving away. A few of the participants are carrying on.

So how my experience? I really enjoyed it, actually. It encouraged me to read books I might not have otherwise and see how others view and rate books, the organizer typically asking people around the table to informally rate the book 1-5 stars. I’ve discovered a rate books higher than most, as I tend to rate it on whether it delivered on its promise, whereas most others tended to rate it on whether they enjoyed it.

What have I read lately?

THE GOLEM OF BROOKLYN by Adam Mansbach, which I enjoyed. It was funny, very New York, and brought up some serious questions about anti-Semitism and white supremacy.

THE HACIENDA by Isabel Cañas, which wasn’t as scary as I’d hoped, but I loved the setting of post-colonial Mexico. Her ability to “put us there” was top notch.

ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, which was hysterical. I’m looking forward to its sequel, APPRENTICE TO THE VILLAIN.

The above three were part of the book club. Here are some personal reads:

THE RUNNER by Kristin Oakley, which I beta-read and is part of THE DEVIL PARTICLE series. Fascinating concept to this series, and well executed.

DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS by Julie Schumacher, book 1 of the trilogy of the same name, and which I’d read before. This book won a bunch of awards for humorous writing, and they were all well deserved. I’m looking forward to meeting Ms. Schumacher at the upcoming Washington Island Literary Festival in September.

I’m currently reading  STILL TRUE by Maggie Ginsberg, who’ll also be speaking at that festival and is a force within Wisconsin authorship. Her writing is lyrical and rich.

In between all those books, I’ve also been writing, submitting my work, and enjoying the start of summer.

Hope you’re enjoying it too! 🙂