Catching Up: What I've Read, What I'm Reading, What I'm Gonna Read

Here's what I've finished lately: The Passenger by Lisa Lutz What an incredible ride of a book. I’d tell you about the main character but which identity should I share with you? Our main character takes on and drops off identities like most of us change apartments. Every change is in reaction to her pursuit by unknown people. People die. People appear from nowhere and shoot to kill. People flee. More mysteries. What a ride! The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux St. Therese of Lisieux is one of the most beloved Catholic saints. So what is her story? And why are so many devoted to her? St. Therese was born to parents who deeply loved the church. Their children were raised in that atmosphere, so it is no surprise that several became nuns, including Therese. Therese wrote down the story of her life in this little book. In it, the reader gets a feel for the astonishing character that was Therese. She seemed to live her faith every minute of the day. Simply. Devoutly. She was completely devoted to God. Beautiful and inspiring story. This Moment is Full of Wonders by Thich Nhat Hanh Thich Nhat Hanh takes simple meditative thoughts and uses calligraphy to express them in this beautiful gift book. Every stroke is both purposeless and purposeful. The thoughts are there to read and reread in all their complex simplicity. Lovely. Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books edited by Leah Price What books do writers have in their libraries and why do they keep the books they have on their shelves? That is the subject of this little book. My Name is Lucy Barton This is what happens when you love a book an author has written: None of her subsequent books measure up. I adored Olive Kitteridge. I liked Burgess Boys. I tolerated this latest book. I'll just go ahead and say it: This book read like a first draft. I had glimmers of happy reading this book. But it needed work and somebody decided it was finished. Big mistake. If you want to know more, here's a little plot summary: Lucy Barton grew up poor, without good relationships with her parents. She gets an opportunity to connect with her mother when Lucy ends up in the hospital. Nice idea for a plot, I thought, but the book needed more work to really touch me. Perhaps I need to start a new category of books: Books that Need Revision. The Cure by Jo Marchant Most books about the mind-body connection seem to be wildly leaning one way or the other: it's nonsense or it's gospel. Cure by Jo Marchant is different. Marchant cautiously approaches each claim in a deeply scientific way, remaining both open and skeptical to results. I loved this read and I highly recommend it. It's a readable book, with both stories and science, to investigate all the many ways mind and body are connected. If you have interest in this topic, without permanently aligning yourself to one end of the spectrum or the other, I think you will find this book to be fascinating. What am I reading now? What arrived this week? What are you reading this week??

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.