It’s been two weeks since my last Monday update, so we’ve got a lot to cover. Vacation seems to be just the ticket for my reading these days! My July vacation ushered in a month-long hot streak and this one busted a mini-slump…and I’ve been riding high ever since. I think vacations equal great reading for me because I tend to reserve them for books that have gotten rave reviews, but that I haven’t gotten to yet. And, I usually don’t read many ARCs on vacation.
AND – we ended up getting last minute tickets to the U.S. Open Men’s Final yesterday between Federer and Djokovic. I’m a huge tennis fan and it’s been about 5 years since I went to the Open…what a way to end the weekend!!
I finished reading…
The Animals by Christian Kiefer (March 16, 2015)
This debut literary thriller manages to be suspenseful and a bit majestic at the same time. Review to come.
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My Southern Journey by Rick Bragg (September 15, 2015)
The author of one of my favorite memoirs, All Over But the Shoutin’, is back with an essay collection about Southern life and culture. Dare I say that Bragg’s writing about the South comes within shouting distance of Pat Conroy’s?! Review to come.
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Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott (August 4, 2015)
Shannon at River City Reading touted the gorgeous writing in this novel and she was dead on. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite passages in an upcoming Quotable Books post.
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I’m currently reading…
Not on Fire, But Burning by Greg Hrbek (September 22, 2015)
I probably wouldn’t have picked up this genre-bending, post-apocolyptic novel solely based on the synopsis, but Kerry at Entomology of a Bookworm loved it and her stock has been high with me ever since she recommended The Star Side of Bird Hill. I literally just started it, so I don’t have much to say about it yet.
Next up are…
A Place We Knew Well by Susan Carol McCarthy (September 28, 2015)
I’ve always been kind of obsessed with the Cold War, so this story of a family’s unraveling during the Cuban Missile Crisis appealed to me. Plus, Kathy at Kathy Reads Fiction had good things to say about it.
Did You Ever Have A Family? by Bill Clegg (September 8, 2015)
I got a copy of this debut novel about a family tragedy at BEA, but decided to wait until I could get the Kindle version to read it. Since then, every single review I’ve read has been glowing, almost making me nervous it isn’t going to live up to the hype! Fingers crossed…
You have been busy, haven’t you? And how fun to get tickets to tennis final. I’ll be interested in hearing what you think about your upcoming books. Both are on my radar. Have a good week!
It was such a nice surprise! They sort of fell in our laps at the last minute and I couldn’t have been happier!
Yes, I’m definitely curious to see what you think of DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY; I’ve been wondering whether I would enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to be – ha! I love the description of A PLACE WE KNEW WELL; it sounds like one that I might enjoy, and I love that time period, as well. I can’t believe you were able to go to the Open – whaaaat?!? That is SO exciting!! I hope you had a blast!
I’m a little nervous of DYEHAF!! The kind of nervous I get when I worry I’m not going to like something as much as everyone else. Ha! And the tickets sort of fell in our laps at the last minute…I was SO psyched!
Thanks for the introduction to some great books Sarah. How wonderful that you got to go to the US Open!
So many books in so little time…You are on a roll. I heard from NetGalley about A Place We Knew Well, but I decided to let it go. I keep seeing Did You Ever Have a Family? everywhere these days; I look forward to your reviews.
So exciting about the US Open, better the men than the women. I heard on the news that since Serena lost the ticket prices for Women’s final were plummeting.
Yes – that’s true! I read somewhere that women’s final tickets were going for $700-$1500 and plummeted to $45 after Serena lost in the semis. The men’s match was great…very competitive and lots of high pressure situations…best type of match!
That’s great you got tickets for the US Open. Many years ago I was so high up in the old Shea Stadium that I could turn around and watch tennis (with binoculars) almost as clearly as I could see the Mets!
I’ve been meaning to read Rick Bragg for years and am on the library hold list for Infinite Home. I’m #1 on the list for Did You Ever Have A Family… also a little nervous about all the rave reviews. We’ll see.
Ha! I feel like I’ve sat in the nosebleeds of the Open stadium and looked over to see baseball! It’s crazy how they can pull off both those events at the same time!
Oooh – you have some great book coming up! Definitely give Bragg a shot! I suggest starting with All Over But the Shoutin’, his memoir. Have a great week!
I didn’t end up with Did You Ever Have a Family at BEA, but recently purchased it. I’ll be attending the Boston book festival next month, and Bill Clegg is speaking. I have no idea if I’ll have time to read it before then, but here’s hoping. How fantastic that you got to go the US Open. I’m not a huge tennis fan, but any professional sporting event is exciting to me.
How fun! That will be great to hear him! I stood in line for his autograph at BEA and he seemed nice 🙂 I’m like you with big sports events, if the opportunity to go comes my way, I go whether or not I’m a fan of that particular sport. I just kind of love the whole sports atmosphere in general.
Great choices. Both of those books are on my TBR pile. I hope you like them!
Britt @ Spare Time Book blog
My Monday Post: http://sparetimebookblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/its-monday-what-are-you-reading.html
I really want to come raid your bookshelf right now. haha The Animals, Infinite Home, Not on Fire but Burning, Did You Ever Have a Family…shall I go on? These are all on my wish list. I really hope you enjoy A Place We Knew Well. The prologue and last chapter…not so much, but everything in between is really good. Enjoy your week of reading!
Haha!! You’re welcome to my bookshelf anytime! Good to know about the Prologue…I will push on through that! Have a great week!
I LOVE the cover of The Animals.
Did You Ever Have a Family is very good, I’m about 50% through.
So glad to see Infinite Home is working for you – I’m so in love with that book! And I totally want to read Not on Fire, But Burning, too!
Oh my, tickets to the US Open tennis finals? I just about fell out of my chair, very nice!! Did you have to sit through a rain delay during that match? I was sad Fed didn’t win but what can you do. I was addicted to the whole tournament on TV sigh. I’m curious to hear about the novel A Place We Knew Well.
Oh my, winners all around for this vacation. I hope to get to Clegg this weekend!
Me too! I started A Place We Knew Well and not sure how far I’m going to make it at this point. I’m going to keep going a bit longer, but Clegg may be gracing my e-reader sooner than I thought! Have a great weekend!