Reading

In response to my "What are you reading?" question Valerie gave a thumbs up for The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar and for Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. I started Water for Elephants last year, right when my mother's health began to fail. I had to put it aside for a bit but when I picked it up again I found that it wasn't as sad as I thought - it was actually hopeful. I haven't heard much talk about Gruen's Riding Lessons or Flying Changes but I like that she donates some of the proceeds from her books to related causes.

Cathy put in a plug for James Gleick's Chaos: Making a New Science. By the looks of the summary I'll need to read this one, not listen to it.

Kim suggested The Blood of Flowers, by Anita Amirrezvani. Kim says there is lots of fiber and rug weaving in the story and the narator's accent just adds to the depth of the story. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabron, along with Neil Gaiman's Nevermind and Terry Prachett's Making Money.

Rob suggested John Sanford's Dark of the Moon. I've read all of the Prey books (there's a new one coming out in May) but this one slipped by me. It will be one of my February Audible downloads.

I finished My Sister's Keeper last week. What a fascinating story! I felt like I could see the characters emerge little by little as the story peeled away their facades, the whole time wondering "what would I have done?" I'm almost finished The Senator's Wife, which was described as having a Picoult-like ending. Hmmm...

Waiting in the wings are four more books by Picoult. The Tenth Circle, Vanishing Acts, Second Glance, and The Pact.

Since I'm listening I had my hands free to start The Minimalist Cardigan (artfully posed on a lovely hotel ottoman).