Brr.. it’s cold today. We had a high of 29 but by Saturday we’re supposed to get to 70. Crazy right? So my dilemma of what to do about going to my book group or not as I hadn’t read the book was solved by our weather. The freezing temps and rain meant icy roads so a lot of businesses were closed. Our book group decided to postpone our meeting until next month. Hopefully I’ll be more inclined to read the book in a couple of weeks.
Anyway, I thought I’d give you a rundown of my current reads. I’ve finished a couple of books so I’m now down to three books and all are so far, really good.
First up is The Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins. I’ve loved several of his poetry collections and right off the bat one of the first poems in this one is “Only Child” which hit me at my core. I’ve already re-read that one poem several times and no doubt will write it out and put it in my poetry journal.
When I’m not reading poems, I turn to My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. You’ve probably already know that this is a story of two girls growing up in Naples, Italy. This is the first in a quartet of historical novels and each character seems so alive. The books will span 60 years of the lives of the girls and those of other community members so I’m really excited to know more about Italy during this time frame.
My Kindle and nighttime read is Unpunished by Lisa Black. This is the second book the the Gardiner & Renner series. I really liked the first book and so far this is living up as a sequel. Plus, I was lucky to snag the latest book in the series via NetGalley. Maggie Gardiner is a forensic investigator and teams up with Jack Renner a police detective to solve crimes. Problem is that Jack Renner hides a big secret himself. Well, Maggie found out what the big secret was in the first book but still so far she is the only one who knows so what does she do with that knowledge? Good stuff.
Let me know if you’ve read any of these or what you’ve been reading lately. I’m in the mood to add another book to the mix so I’ll keep you posted!
OK, may I just say that as I am typing this, the temp outside is like 13 or something. That’s just way too cold. Brrr!! Since the Austin libraries closed, that took care of the book group I was supposed to attend yesterday too. The leader may see if she can reschedule, but not sure about that. I’ve been interested in reading MY BRILLIANT FRIEND for a while. I’ll watch for your thoughts on it. Not sure if it will work well for me, but maybe…
What an interesting winter this has been! Snow on Tuesday and 11 degrees this morning here in the Shreveport/Bossier area. I’ve heard good things about My Brilliant Friend.
I can’t believe how cold it is for you guys in Texas!! I really, really do not miss that kind of weather in Nebraska. I’ll put up with a lot of rain if I never have to see snow or ice or temps in the teens (or sub-zeros!) again.
I hope to read My Brilliant Friend one of these days.
It has been snowing all day here today. We can share. lol
The weather here had been rainy the past few weeks and it was nice to have some cold weather but now it’s back to normalcy (meaning hot and humid weather, hmph).
I’ve been really wanting to try Black’s series but haven’t as of yet. I will be looking forward to your thoughts on this one when you finish. It looks like you have lots of great books that you are working on! Enjoy!
Be safe out there on the roads! Icy roads are the worst. I will have to check out The Rain in Portugal. I found the poem you mention. My daughter being an only child, I tend to have an interest in the topic. I read a follow up interview with the author as well. My daughter is always saying she wished she had a sibling.
My Brilliant Friend sounds good as well.