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The Sunday Salon: Variety is the spice....


The Sunday Salon.com I'm jumping ahead a bit here, it's still Saturday night, but almost midnight! And I'll be moving the clocks ahead an hour before I head off to bed, so it is pretend-Sunday. And I probably won't have much time to write here tomorrow. I was excited to write my first Salon journal.

I just finished a remarkable kid's book (which I rarely, if ever, read) - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.


Hugo is an orphan who lives and works within the walls and tunnels of a Paris train station. He keeps all the clocks oiled, wound and working. He has a knack for mechanics and an interest in magic. And he has a fantastic secret - a mechanical man that, when fixed properly, will write an important message for Hugo. Or so he believes.

What a delightful, beautiful book! This is a finely illustrated kid's book that any adult would find wonderful. I consider it a graphic novel, though it probably doesn't fit a strict definition of one. The writing is good, the illustrations are fabulous and the story kept me interested from the beginning. Great afternoon read. (4.5/5) Book website.

I'm also still reading War and Peace (see post below) and, to keep myself from getting too bogged down with that heavy tome, I started reading Geraldine Brooks' novel about the plague in 17th century England - Year of Wonders. I was drawn in by her writing from the first paragraph. I haven't read any of her books yet, though I've reached for March a couple of times. I chose this one because I'm so interested in medical history and love a good historical fiction. When I write my first novel, I imagine it will be about this subject!

I finished Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat yesterday. Haven't been able to comment on it yet. Powerful book. I was happy to see she won the Nat'l Book Critics Circle award for Brother, I'm Dying.

Today, before reading, we spent some hours getting our reading nook set up with new shelves. Very satisfying.

7 comments:

Literary Feline said...

I really like Edwidge Danticat's writing. I have read a couple of her books now, including Breath, Eyes, Memory. I am looking forward to reading those books I haven't had a chance to read by her at some point.

Geraldine Brooks is an author I keep meaning to read but haven't yet gotten around to. I've heard such great things about Year of Wonders.

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the Salon. I have 'Year of Wonder' on my shelves at the moment as well. I 'discovered' Brooks through 'March', which I loved and have just read 'People of the Book' which is excellent. You can find my review in my blog archives. I think you'll really enjoy her work.

Laura said...

Welcome T!
I just picked up Year of Wonders at a book sale last week. If you get to it before I do, I'll be interested to hear what you think!

Sarah at SmallWorld said...

I thought Year of Wonders was absolutely amazing! So far it's my #1 pick for this year...(I know I have a long way to go, but wow! I loved that book!)
SmallWorld

Jill said...

You made the right decision with Blogspot vs. LiveJournal (in my opinion). I have been thinking about moving my blog but too lazy right now.

I look forward to your future blog posts!

All the best,
Jill

tanabata said...

I picked up 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' last year after some blog friends loved it and then lately I've been reading more glowing reviews. I really need to try and fit it in sometime soon.
I also have 'Year of Wonders' in my stacks but haven't read it yet. Too many books!
BTW, thanks for stopping by. I hope you had a nice Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Hi Teri! Welcome to the Sunday Salon.

And lucky you, with retirement in your sights! Despite my birthday yesterday, I'm still a good many years away.

I have "March" sitting in my TBR pile -I hear it's marvelous. I've always been chipping away at the new translation of War and Peace - it is so (physically) heavy, it's hard to read sometimes.