Amy (Belatedly) Reads the Week (of August 3rd, 2008)

I am on the verge of graduation, Gentle Reader, so this week has been occupied with cleaning house for the impending Family Visit. Also, too, getting back into the non-teaching groove of things, only to find that destroyed a few mere weeks from now, when I return to the teaching trenches.

But I have been reading, Friends. I have finally (!) finished Tana French's delightful, engaging, heartbreaking, stunning novel, The Likeness, a sequel to her Edgar winning first novel, In the Woods. Constant readers may remember that This Humble Author finished French's first novel while on vacation earlier in July, and eagerly anticipated the release of her follow-up. The Likeness is stunning, Friends, truly. There are few other words. I will endeavor, after graduation, to write a more complicated review, but until then, let me say that French is a gifted and wonderful writer, both of prose style and of plot. If forced to compare her to Other Writers--an activity I find draining and complicated, but occasionally fun, I would liken her novels to a cross between Raymond Chandler and Flannery O'Connor: the same sense of pacing, of will, of drive, with a superb backdrop of place, atmosphere, and idea. Add in a slight dash of Stephen King and Jane Austen claustrophobia of social scene, just for good measure, and you have Ms. French.

I strongly urge you, Gentle Reader, to pick up her books forthwith.

Amy Reads on Vacation

It is true, Gentle Reader. I read. A lot.

Mr. Reads, Pup Reads, and I left on Sunday and came back on Tuesday. In that space of time, I read three, yes, Three Books, and Mr. Reads read One and a Half (granted, one was Duma Key, which is Ginormous, so there we are).

The first two were numbers three and four in Will Thomas's Barker and Llewelyn series, which is marvelous. And this praise, from a Victorianist! Upon first discovering these novels, I was afraid they would be too close to Holmes and Watson for my liking, as these are two detectives in late-nineteenth-century London (I do dislike the notion that imitation is the best form of flattery). But Lo, Friends, indeed that was not the case. This series is smart, savvy, and loads of fun. Bonus Treat, it gets darker and darker as it progresses. The fifth book The Black Hand has just (!) been released, and I look forward to reading it very soon.

The third book was Tana French's In the Woods, a book amazon.com, in its Great Wisdom, has recommended to me For Some Time, and I finally (!) read it. I began it Monday after lunch, and other than a break for dinner, did not put it down until 1:30 a.m. Her sequel, The Likeness, is due out very shortly, and I eagerly await it, as well.

All in all, a lovely vacation, a delightful getaway that was so utterly Pup Friendly that we have already made reservations to return this winter. Expect a review of the new Wonder Woman this weekend. Alas, our comics were not ready at My Local today (thanks to the Holiday!) and we return tomorrow to get This Week's Offerings.