It is sweltering here. The temps have been high, and this week our heat index is nearing 110. It's the perfect time to grab a glass of iced tea and settle down with a good book...
or we could sit and chat about a good book.
My taste in literature, as you can see, is eclectic to say the least.
Southern literature is probably closest to my heart... I have deep roots in the south, and many of our southern writers can return me home with the turn of the page. My southern picks this month are Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, and Meanwhile there are Letters, the Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross McDonald.
Although, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter has been on my radar and my to-read list for several years, it wasn't until I was invited to sit in on a new acquaintance's book group I found it necessary to finally read it. I can't believe I took so long to pick it up. With the backdrop of a small Mississippi town, Tom Franklin delivers a raw and haunting story of lives forever changed by indiscretions, secrets, lies of omission, and redemption. This book kept me thinking long after I turned the last page. Another book I enjoyed by Franklin (co-authored with his wife) is The Tilted World.
I am slowly savoring Meanwhile there are Letters. My words cannot do justice to this book, so I will share Ann Patchett's praise, "What could be better than a love built on friendship, and friendship built on letters? To catch a glimpse into the inner lives of these tender, brilliant, bookish souls is a thrill beyond measure." We are often given the chance to view a favorite author through a biographer's words. Sometimes the writer will give us what he or she wants us to know with a memoir. Here we are allowed into Welty's thoughts and private life through personal letters I doubt she had any intention of sharing. If you're not familiar with Eudora Welty, The Optimist's Daughter is one of my favorites.
This post seems to be getting a bit long and wordy so I will share my thoughts the other books another time.
Sit down, have a glass of tea and let me know how you are beating the summer heat.
What's your favorite genre?
What are you reading this week?
******
I can't close without saying, the events, both in our country and around the world, of the past few weeks are weighing heavy on my heart. I cannot begin a day without thinking of and praying for the men, women, families, whose lives have been forever changed. This I know and where I find comfort... light will win over the darkness.
"You must understand this, my beloved;
let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak,
slow to anger"
James 1:19
