I’ve spent most of my weekend trying to get ahead in Suite Française. I really like this book but it’s not at all what I expected. I think I expected a lot of battle scenes and I’m so glad that hasn’t been the case, but I’ll tell you more when I finish it. I can’t wait until book group on Tuesday to hear what the other members thought about the book.
In other book news I did select my three choices for Maggie’s Southern Reading Challenge. This one runs from June 1 through August 30. I was a bit surprised when I started going through my stacks and I realized I didn’t have that many authors/books to choose from for this challenge. Anyway, want to hear what my choices are? Here they are:
- Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons. From the editors: The good people of Bend of the River, North Carolina, politely refer to the beautiful Maggie Barnes as “the woman with all the problems.” But young Hattie sees her mother as a captivating manic-depressive worth caring for. This is the tender and irresistibly funny story of a child’s despairing love for her ill mother and the undying loyalty of a husband and extended family who go to great lengths to deal with a heartless woman’s volatile mood swings.
- Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson. From Library Journal: Forget steel magnolias-meet titanium blossoms in Jackson’s debut novel, a potent mix of humor, murder, and a dysfunctional Southern family.
- The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres. From Publisher’s Weekly: In 1920s smalltown Louisiana, a woman who got her hair bobbed at a barbershop, bathed “indecently” and spent her free time carousing with her best friend’s married Yankee brother would hardly be considered the portrait of a proper lady. But protagonist Belle Cantrell isn’t after virtue, she’s after independence.
I think I’m in for some good times don’t you think?
There is also another challenge I just heard about, New Notions Challenge, which sounds very tempting too. The challenge is to pick five books that you believe will challenge your thinking about any topic. This one starts May 1 and goes on through September.
Now I need to ask my husband for some help so I can put my challenge buttons on my blog. I really need to remember how to do that. Oh and wish me luck everyone, I start reading Don Quixote this week!
Good Luck on Don Quixote! I’ll be on the sideline cheering you guys on – while I try to finish Proust before the end of this year. 🙂
The New Notions Challenge looks fun – but a little intimidating though. What if I end up having to read a book I hate? Good luck if you’re going to sign up. You’re a braver person than me!
Meanwhile, I’m all geared up for the Non-Fiction Five Challenge that starts 1st May. Oh, the reading!
Yippee! Thanks for joining and your selections look tasty. I’ve never heard of Despres! I better get to reading, huh? 🙂
How do you keep up w. all these challanges? Those books look good. And, that new notions challenge looks interesting.
I like the idea of the new notions challenge, but I’m staying away from new reading commitments — just too much going on. Enjoy DQ!
Despres is a new name for me, too, but the premise sounds interesting! Like Dorothy, I’m not making any more commitments right now; I’ll be checking the various challenges for interesting titles, though. Maybe there could be a challenge to read one book from each of 5 different challenges…
I read Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Despres and it was really very entertaining and funny, nice southern chicklit. Interested to see what you think of Bad Behavior….
Good luck with all those challenges!
I’d like to hear what your bookclub thinks of Suite Francaise, as well as yourself. It seems I was the only one who knew the background of the book and Nemirovsky’s story. In any case, I enjoyed the most of anyone in my club.
I “stole” code from your blog to put my Past Bestsellers ones.
I need to add the Southern one also.
Thanks for reminding me.
Let me know about Suite. Is it overhyped?
I’m probably going to do the new notions challenge. Now the hard part id limiting the books to five! Hope the DQ reading goes well!
Dark Orpheus – Thanks for the cheerleading. I know I need it 🙂 Still not sure about New Notions challenge. I may wait and see how my other challenges are panning out before I join yet another one.
Maggie – I think she’s from Louisiana.
Nancy – Oh, I don’t do very well on the challenges – at all. But it’s still fun to sign up and try them out 🙂
Dorothy W. – You are a smart cookie. I need to resist more new challenges. Ha.ha.
Jenclair – Now, that’s a cool idea!
Christine – I remember you mentioned reading her book. I hope this one is fun. It’ll be a good summer book then!
Tara – I’ll report back definitely.
Isabel – No problem girl. Glad it helped!
Stefanie – I can’t wait to see what books you choose for the challenge. I’m sure you’ll come up with some fascinating stuff 🙂
I knew someone will bring up Don Quixote–Danielle has started reading it, now you’re about embark on it. I guess I’ll have no excuse. I’ll put that in for summer. 🙂
eek! another challenge? I think I’m going to have to sign myself up for this one too, the concept is just too tempting. Good luck with Don Quixote, I’m looking forward to your review, maybe you’ll sway me towards adding it to some sort of list.
Cheers 🙂
I have gods in Alabama on my list for the Southern challenge, too. Need to get my Thursday Thirteen up this week with my potential list. I know I won’t read all 13, but it’s fun to have a big selection. 🙂
I hope you love Gods in Alabama as much as I did! And there’s an interview with Joshilyn Jackson in this month’s Estella to whet your appetite!
Matt – Woo-hoo, you should join us 🙂
Naridu – I know, they seem to sprout all the time all over the place don’t they! Thank you for the good luck vibes.. I’ll need those 🙂
Les in NE – yay, maybe we’ll both end up reading the same book!
Andi – I’ll be checking out Estella’s ASAP!
Great choices–I love Kaye Gibbons, though it has been a while since I have read anything by her! Glad to hear you like Suite Francaise–I hope to read it sometime this year. It doesn’t look like a fast read, though, so I have been putting it off.