Here are the books I’ve added to my “to-read” list this week and I think you should too! And don’t forget to recommend some books of your own in the comment section, or if there’s a book you’d like me to suggest next week, let me know via the twitter @xstitchurheart.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: Both the 2009 Man Booker Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award winner this book has some serious weight behind the title. But I don’t care about all that. I just really like Henry the VIII fiction. This story is told through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, which (supposedly) gives this book a whole new spin on the reign of Henry VIII. The novel focuses less on the romance aspect and more on the vicious, hardcore aspects of Henry’s rule. While I enjoy Tudor romances, I’m getting a little sick of Henry VIII novels (and tv shows and movies) that are just about whose having sex with who. I want my story with a little more…well…story. So this one looks like a keeper. It’s also the first book in the series, followed by “Bringing Up The Bodies” which was voted NPR”s best book of 2012. I haven’t read that one yet either, but maybe I’ll have a Tudor day this summer and read them both.
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe I’ve had this one on my list for a while and just bought a copy for my kindle. Maybe it’s just the creativity of the title…but I really, really want to read this book and if I don’t love it I’m going to be disappointed for no reason other than I think this would be a fun book to recommend to people. The book is a memoir about the time the author spent at his mother’s side while she is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, time they spend (obviously) reading. As they read mother and son begun discussing some of life’s heavier topics and grow closer together. I’m not sure what it is about this book I want to love, I think it’s that I hope when I die/am dying, I want to use that tragedy to inspire people to read books.
The Dinner by Herman Koch: This is a book that was recommended to me by Amazon’s auto recommendations. Normally I give these emails little thought, but something about this book drew me to it and I bought a copy for my kindle the same day. (And if I really like it I might start paying more attention to those Amazon emails before I delete them). The book is about to couples meeting for dinner at an upscale restaurant. Both couples have 15 year old sons. The sons are friends. The friends have committed an act so terrible there is a police investigation. That is what the parents have come to dinner to discuss, and yet, over their various courses neither couple brings up the elephant in the room. The novel takes place during this dinner and begs the question, how far would you go to protect your child.