Friday, June 01, 2012

Book Polygamy

If you follow me on Goodreads, you know that I am not a monogamous reader. I'm often in the middle of two, three, or four books at a time {if we're lucky}. Sometimes I pick up a book and read a chapter a month, and sometimes my whole stack gets put to the side as I devour something that catches my attention {ahem, Fifty Shades of Grey}. Every once in awhile I read one book at a time...but not often.

Here's what I'm reading now:





From Goodreads:

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s—1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

This book is long and I feel as thought I've been reading it forever. I'm generally enjoying it even though it started out slow. Look for a review when I'm done {hopefully this weekend or early next week}.





From Goodreads:


The marvelous land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes, that Dorothy.

Amid all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now, Rain will take up her broom in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the extraordinary bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises — the hallmarks of the brilliant and unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

This one I know I've been reading forever {since February!}. Finally, FINALLY I'm getting into it.

And:





From Goodreads:

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses for the school play Lysistrata-the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war-a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least, over the women. One by one throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light.

As she did to such acclaim with the New York Times bestseller The Ten-Year Nap, Wolitzer tackles an issue that has deep ramifications for women's lives, in a way that makes it funny, riveting, and totally fresh-allowing us to see our own lives through her insightful lens.
I'm only a few pages into this one, so I can't comment much on it, but I've heard some great things and it seems as though this one is right up my alley.

What are you reading these days?



8 comments:

  1. I didn't realize Wicked was the start to a series! I feel like I've been living under a rock.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like your choices! i have recently put wicked into my basket

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1Q84 sounds a little crazy! I can't wait to read your review

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting - these all look really good! I've read Wicked and the rest of the series is on my to-read list. Now I've got another one to add to that list! ;) I'm a polygamist reader as well, so when I finish the half dozen books I'm currently reading, maybe I can start on some of these!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also am not monogamous in my reading - my friends think it odd that I can juggle several books at once. I think it's normal.

    So I too am reading (actually listening to) 1Q84 and it is taking forever. It is 38 cds long and is about 48 hours in length. Since I only listen in my car and my commute is short it is taking forever. However, the end is in sight. Today I am on disk 34 of 38. Yay. I have been intrigued enough to stick with it but I think the author could have used a good editor.

    Also reading Girls in White Dresses and The Art of Fielding. After reading your post I think I'll add The Uncoupling to my list.

    I gave up on the Wicked series after Son of A Witch - maybe someday I'll start again.

    Love your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can't read more than one book at a time, or I guess it's better described as I won't let myself read more than one book at a time. In general I make myself stick with each book till the bitter end, which can mean if I'm in the middle of a book I'm not a big fan of, I just won't read as much.

    But onto the books. I've been wanting to read 1Q84. I've never actually read the Wicked books. I did read his Snow White book, and tried to read his Cinderella book, but couldn't get into it. I still think I'd like Wicked though, but knowing I wasn't a fan of the last of his books I read I'm not dying to get into it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't know how you do it! I can't read more than one at a time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I couldn't really get into the 2nd in the Wicked series - Son of a Witch - but I need to try. Have you read any of Maguire's other books?

    ReplyDelete