Reading Up

We haven't talked books lately, Bubbleland.  Let's have a chat, ay!  First of all, if you haven't read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, go get it yesterday.  If you haven't heard about it, how's living in that cave treating you?

Kidding!  Sorta.  Ok, I've read some really good books recently.  Started others.  And am really excited about the next book club book.

Let's start with Jonathan Tropper's debut book.  This is either the third or fourth book by him that I've read and I really enjoy his readable modern style.  Plan B did not disappoint.

Plan B by Jonathan Tropper

Ten years ago, they went into the world full of dreams for the future. But now Ben’s getting a divorce, Lindsey’s unemployed, Alison and Chuck are stuck in ruts, and Jack is getting more publicity for his cocaine addiction than his Hollywood success. Suddenly, turning thirty seems to be both more meaningful and less than they’d imagined it to be. 

Up next, Laura Lippman.  I LOVE HER SO MUCH.  I've lost count of how many I've read.  (I just got another one in the mail.  How do I keep ordering large print?)  It's like reading a Law & Order episode.  Only better.  This one kept me guessing until the very end.

The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman

Years ago, they were all the best of friends. But as time passed and circumstances changed, they grew apart, became adults with families of their own, and began to forget about the past – and the terrible lie they all shared.

Our most recent book club read was really engaging. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a really interesting history of how the term psychopath evolved.  And the people diagnosed with it along the way.  The folks featured are real so I spent many a late night reading up  on them on Wikipedia.  Fascinating peek into the minds of psychopaths...  That is, if they ARE psychopaths?  Duh-duh-duhhhh.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy, who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional. The Psychopath Test is the New York Times bestselling exploration of their world and the madness industry.

Next up is a book I've been reading on and off since Christmas.  I love the glamor and opulence of the richie riches around the turn of the century.  And the main players we all know, the Vanderbilts.  The DePonts.  The Morgans.  And - of course! - the Astors.  There is a whole section on the art of calling cards that was fascinating.  (Bet there were some psychopaths in there!)  Man, these folks had some drama too.  I'll definitely pick this one back up.  It's just a biiiig read.

A Season of Splendor: The Court of Mrs. Astor in Gilded Age New York by Greg King

Take a dazzling journey through the Gilded Age, the period from roughly the 1870s to 1914, when bluebloods from older, established families met the nouveau riche headlong – railway barons, steel magnates, and Wall Street speculators – and forged an uneasy and glittering new society in New York City. The best of the best were Caroline Astor's 400 families, and she shaped and ruled this high society with steel.

Next up is another big read.  Hauling this thing around worked my biceps.  I put it down to read a book club book and figured it was probably questionable if I'd pick it up again.  But then I loaned it to my friend, Ikkin, and she ran through that sucker like a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints.  I got re-interested and decided I have to dive back in.  I mean, check out its crazy plot.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away . But an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession – to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke. There, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten . . .

Last but not least, the next book club book is by the author of HARRY POTTER!  Oh, how I love those books.  Such fun.  I just got this one so I've barely cracked the cover.  But I think it should be a goodie.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. 

So there we go!  Lots of good stuff.  

I recently packed up 3 containers of books and took them up to the attic.  (We got rid of the chairs in the front rooms so you can actually see the window shelves.  My book pack ratting was out for all to see.)  As I went through my books to see if I was ready to get rid of some - I wasn't - I held each book like a little friend.  It made me feel bad for folks that don't read.  They have no idea what they're missing.