Hello there! I hope you’ve all had a great week. Mine was another busy one and I didn’t get as much reading in as I had hoped. I am stalled with Frog Music, but I will pick it up again soon – it will probably be my lunch break book next week at work.
My book club met on Tuesday evening to talk about The Chosen and we had a good discussion about the two Jewish boys at the center of the novel, Reuven and Danny, and the different expectations their fathers set for their lives. I enjoyed the novel, but I have to admit that I did miss the lack of a strong female presence in the lives of these two boys. I suppose I read so many domestic, female-centered novels that reading a male focused book felt alien to me. Our March selection is The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.
I have several books to write about, but I find myself not knowing what to say about them when I sit down at the computer. I think I let too much time pass between reading a book and writing down my thoughts about it – do you do that ? Or do you write about them soon after finishing?
March is going to be the month that I finally finish several books that I’ve had on the go for a while. The Homemaker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter… and I believe there are several others that I’m forgetting. I’ve got to break this terrible habit of abandoning books that I like for no other reason than that I am capricious.
Have a lovely Sunday!
A Certain Fondness 
Oh, The Chosen! I love The Chosen so much, in spite of the very marked lack of female characters. For as quiet as book as it is, I find it strangely enthralling — I am always taking it off my shelves intending to find a quote or read one part of it, and then I end up sitting on the floor reading the whole thing.
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Have you read The Promise? Is it worth reading/as good as The Chosen?
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I never have — weirdly, I’ve never read a single thing else by this author. My sister says that My Name Is Asher Lev is superb, though.
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I hope you love The Painted Veil as much as I did… it was a favorite several years ago!
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I hope I do too! I’ve read Up at the Villa by Maugham and loved his writing style so I think The Painted Veil will be something I enjoy.
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Please do read The Homemaker – it really is extraordinary. And I loved The Painted Veil too.
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I’ve read about 2/3 of The Homemaker and really like it – not sure why I haven’t managed to finish it!
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Lately I’m also struggling with finding the right amount of time to let pass between finishing a book and writing about it. I like to allow a little time to mull things over, but all too often a little time turns into several weeks, and then I start to forget all of the things I wanted to say.
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That’s exactly what happens to me – and I even end up forgetting character’s names and other details of the story! My new resolution is to write about a book within 3 days of finishing it.
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I try to write about a book within a couple of days of finishing it. If I wait longer, I usually end up not writing about it at all.
I bought a copy of The Painted Veil last year, after seeing posts about it. I’ve only read one of his books, at least as far as I remember (Of Human Bondage).
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I think that I need to start writing down my thoughts (or at least making notes) soon after I finish a book – my brain isn’t what it used to be! 🙂
I hope The Painted Veil makes for a good discussion.
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I was so impressed by The Home-Maker: I do hope you enjoy it. (And I see from your pic that you can keep house-plants considerably aliver than I can!)
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I am enjoying The Homemaker – it is refreshing – now I need to finish it!
I’m pretty good with houseplants! I have one that I’ve kept alive for three years now. You really have to baby them. 🙂
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I try to write my thoughts up on a book as soon as possible because otherwise like you I go blank on ideas!
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Sometimes I can’t remember anything about the book only days after I’ve finished – sad!
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One of my resolutions for 2014 was to write about each book as soon as possible after finishing it and so far it’s been working for me.
I loved The Painted Veil when I read it last year. I must read more of Maugham’s books soon!
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That is a great resolution, Helen – I am going to adopt it myself.
I’m so glad to hear that you loved The Painted Veil. I think it is going to be enjoyable for me too.
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