Summer, Still

Odd to be back in the US, in a quiet and sunny place. I have been doing lots of reading and been attempting to write, or finish writing, stories I began over the past 2 weeks. Have revised a bit, as well, in hopes of having more time to create than to mull over old work, though mulling is fun after enough time passes and it seems an old story was written by someone other than myself.

Recent Reads/Now Reading:

The Writer and the World, VS Naipaul. Fascinating; especially the chapter on Borges and Peron.

Selected Stories, by Alice Munro. Material and the Ottawa Valley are new favorites.

Almost No Memory, Lydia Davis. In short shorts and longer pieces, Davis explores human relationships as though they were unknown territories.

The 27th City, by Jonathan Franzen. I was surprised by the first few pages of this novel, which features and Indian chick detective.

No One Belongs Here More Than You, by Miranda July. This one I already finished, but it was surprisingly good. Some people don't care for the recurring themes and view the quirkiness of characters as a crutch, but I really enjoyed this book.

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood. The story of a real life murderess, this novel's best parts were the 3rd person sections from the POV of her analyst. Enjoyable though the ending is all about wrapping up.

Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Hilarious account of a group of men that "discover" a female utopia.