For the first time ever, no literature quote to start it off. Instead, a brag: Every Labor Day, Mike writes a massive game of trivia and teams split up to win bragging rights for the next year. Claire and I ended up on a team with Greg's parents and Rachel's parents, against the other ten-ish people our age. One of the questions was a fifteen-part "Name the author of this famous novel" deal, and yours truly single-handedly got 14 of the 15 (damn you, "Red Badge of Courage"/Stephen Crane!). NERD ALERT.
I also totally forgot to post these for both July and August because I've been doing shamefully little reading with my jam-packed calendar. Here's to picking it up a bit this fall!
Loved:
The Adults, Alison Espach: Very twisted, dark tale about a young, upper-middle-class suburban girl's first brushes with depression, suicide, divorce, and sex. I loved it for the beautiful prose, and for the masterful depiction of how events of adolescence can shape a person's choices and actions even decades later.
The List, Tara Ison: An ambitious rising-star surgeon and her deadbeat but visionary filmmaker boyfriend are trying to break up, but can't get over each other, so they make a "breakup list" with the understanding that, once the list is over, so are they. The problem? As the list progresses, the items on it get a little bit darker and more dangerous, and they start to unravel in the process of completing it. I could not put this down.
Enjoyed:
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany: Oh goodness, such mixed feelings and so many thoughts. I'm a fiend for Harry Potter (like so many others of my generation) and really enjoyed getting to dive back into his world, but I think reading Cursed Child in script form kind of took away from the magic that would be seeing it live. I'm definitely planning on catching it next time I'm in London for work, so we'll see if my thoughts change after that!
Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose: Based on a famous photo of a cross-dressing couple in a pre-Occupation Parisian nightclub, "Lovers" tells the tale of a (fictional) gender-dysmorphic racecar driver, Lou Villars, who ended up a Nazi sympathizer and spy in Vichy France. The story is deeply rooted in the true-life tale of Violette Morris, a real Nazi collaborator in Paris in the 1930s. Told from many perspectives, it took me a bit to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed it (especially heavily leveraging Google to see what was rooted in fact and what was embellished!).
Tolerated:
None this month - isn't it nice when that happens?
Re-reads:
Duh, you can't have imagined I wouldn't re-read all the Harry Potters before starting Cursed Child. NEEEEEERD.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
The Royal We, Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks