February 10, 2012

My Latest Book Haul

Yesterday I went to my favorite local bookstore, Books Inc., to pick up a book order. Because, obviously, I don't have enough books. I'll be reading a couple of these right away, but the others will join the many unread books on my shelves, and it's anyone's guess whether I'll read them next month or not for years.

GATHERING OF WATERS by Bernice L. McFadden - I learned about this new release from the blog White Readers Meet Black Authors. I was drawn in by a video of McFadden reading the first chapter, which introduces the narrator of the story as the town of Money, Mississippi. I'm interested in novels that involve real historical events, and this book centers on the murder of Emmett Till, which I only know a little about.

CHILDREN OF THE WATERS by Carleen Brice - Brice is the proprietor of the White Readers Meet Black Authors blog, and since I've enjoyed several of her recommendations, it occurred to me that I should check out one of her own books. CHILDREN OF THE WATERS is about families and secrets, two of my favorite literary subjects.

It's a pleasing coincidence that these first two books have similiar titles and covers.

February book haul

THE MIRAGE by Matt Ruff - One of the books on this month's reading list, and I can't wait to start it. The book was released this week, and it's been getting quite a bit of media coverage. Ruff is an author who should really be more widely read, and I hope with this novel he'll become better known.

HALF LIFE by Shelley Jackson - Another from February's book lineup. Jackson is one of the honored guests for FOGcon, and all of her works sound intriguing to me.

DEAF SENTENCE by David Lodge - I'd placed an order for the other books, but as long as I was in the store, of course I had to browse the shelves, and I found this on sale. I previously read and enjoyed Lodge's THINKS.... This more recent novel features linguistics (my college major) and deafness (an area of interest), so I couldn't resist.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ The Intern offers several reasons why it's best to avoid writing dreams into stories: "Dream sequences are easy to write and dastardly difficult to cut. They sometimes contain the most beautiful writing in the entire manuscript--or it can feel that way to the writer, who poured every gorgeous image that wouldn't fit in other parts of the novel into the dream sequence."

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