More Books

The library keeps getting more books on my "to read" list and the short days make reading all the more pleasant.  Not all my picks are as promising as their reviews might suggest however.

I was disappointed with Charles Frazier's Nightwoods.  Although the writing is often lyrical, I felt the characters bordered on caricature and the plot was predictable.  My general impression:  Ehhh.  Cold Mountain can stay on my shelf but I'm glad I didn't buy this one.

Critics raved about Before I Go to Sleep by new author S. J. Watson. Most praised the story's originality--the main character has a type of amnesia where she can remember what happens during the day but then forgets everything when she goes to sleep.  As I started reading, I found instances where I would wonder how she could remember certain things but not others. 

Spoiler alert:  one review gave a teeny tiny little clue about what is really happening and I instantly became suspicious.  I rarely ever do this, but I skipped ahead to the ending and found out my suspicions were correct!  Done!  I'm glad I didn't buy this one.

I saved the best for last!  One of the 2011 National Book Award finalists, The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht, was a book I really got into.  Although I'm not usually a fan of magical realism (as by Garcia Marquez or Allende), I loved the way the author incorporated those elements into a very modern story.  Something about this book resonated with me, almost in a cultural way.  The story is set in the Balkans, an area of southeastern Europe, and perhaps there are some similarities with my northeastern European heritage.  In any case, this is a book I want to reread to be sure I didn't miss anything!