Skip to main content

Ringing In 2024 With Some Good Books

Happy New Year! I hope your 2024 is filled with joy and peace. 

If spending less screen time is on your list of resolutions for 2024, getting into a good book or two is a great way to bypass your phone, computer and TV (Kindle doesn’t count in my, er, book). Here’s a rundown of what I’ve read recently; let me know what you’re reading!

Fiction 

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, James McBride — A remarkably powerful story about redemption and the power of love that takes place in the Chicken Hill section of Pottstown, Pa. in the 1920s. Yes, I’ll admit it — these eyes got a little misty at the end. The best novel I’ve read in a very long time.

The Good Lord Bird, James McBride — A fictional account of abolitionist
John Brown and his attempted takeover of the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry. A time-well-spent read by one of our finest writers, but it didn’t engage me quite like Heaven and Earth did. 


The Bee Sting, Paul Murray —An amazing — but long — chronicle of an Irish family’s journey, and the secrets that impact characters’ fates. Some readers hate the ending, but I thought it was just right. An extraordinary book from this Irish author.



Trust, Hernan Diaz — Outstanding, clever piece (or four) of fiction about a highly successful investor and how perspective shapes truth. 




City on Fire, Don Winslow — Fun novel about the struggles between Irish and Italian organized crime families in Connecticut. Winslow has a great ear for dialogue. 
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
— I unearthed my battered, worn paperbound copy from college, the pages falling out while I fumbled to keep them in order as I read. So worth the effort! Many of the stories are really just vignettes, but such well-crafted ones. 

Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert — Back when I was an English major in college, Madame Bovary was considered by some to be the perfect novel. I wouldn’t go that far. But if you can get past the flowery prose and Victorian aesthetic, the plot really pulls you along, and there are some comedic scenes that lambast politicians and the pompous that feels pretty 21st century-esque. 


The Spy who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carre — Expertly written spy novel by the master of the genre. Enough twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing to the very end. 




The Constant Gardener, John Le Carre — It takes place in 2000 Kenya and is probably my least favorite Le Carre novel. Too much description, too long, too preachy toward the end — too much of a commentary about geoeconomic ethics rather than the taut Cold War-era spy thrillers he was such a master of. 



Absolution, Alice McDermott — A chronicle of a woman’s realization of how little control over her life she has as the wife in early 1960s Saigon. I didn’t love it. 

Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut — The inventive, trippy anti-war novel, which I first read in high school, didn’t age well. So it goes.



Nonfiction 

The Wager, David Grann — A can’t-put-it-down historical narrative of the 18th century shipwreck, mutiny, survival, and near-miraculous return to England of the crew of the HMS Wager. Like an Erik Larson narrative, it’s written to make you feel like you are there. 



The Nazi Conspiracy, Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch — World War II, spies, and conspiracies — the trifecta for me for nonfiction. Engagingly written account of a (probable) plot to assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in Tehran. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jack and Erin's Wedding!

This past weekend Jack married Erin Breslin in Santa Barbara. Erin is smart, sassy, strong, funny, and beautiful. She and Jack are nearly inseparable, and when they are together, they talk and laugh nonstop like two school kids. As Donna noted in her beautiful, heartfelt remarks at the rehearsal dinner, it's hard to know what they have left to talk about after carrying on this continual conversation for more than three years. It is obvious to anyone who sees them that they are head over heels in love. Donna and I had met Erin's parents last December in Philadelphia. We immediately became friends and found that we shared a lot of common values -- particularly the importance of family. It was great to see them again in Santa Barbara and to meet their son Gerard and many of their siblings and in-laws. It also was great to meet some of Jack's fellow YouTubers. There's a culture of camaraderie in the industry, and many of them were eager to help Jack when he was g...

Tuscany -- Molto Bene!

Each day should begin with a hug, a kiss, a caress, and a coffee. So said the front of our breakfast menu in Florence during our recent trip to Tuscany. This sage advice seems to work well for the Italians and we strongly endorse it. We found the people to be warm and friendly, with a sense of humor and a carefree willingness to modify and adapt. Perhaps drinking copious amounts of wine contributes to those traits, or perhaps our drinking copious amounts of wine made us perceive these characteristics in the Italians we encountered. Either way, we got along famously in this beautiful, romantic country and we’re already dreaming of going back. Highlights: The concentration of incredible ancient architecture and Renaissance art in cities such as Florence, Siena, and San Gimignano. Spectacular untouched landscapes of rolling hills, centuries-old villas surrounded by vineyards, olive trees, and statuesque cypress and cork oak trees. Medieval (and earlier) villages that remain lar...

Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4-Mile Swim

I swam the Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4-Mile Swim last Sunday for the fourth time.  It was the first time I had participated since 2011.  Back then I wasn’t in the best of shape and the conditions were very tough.  The air temperature was 95 and the water temperature above 80.  It was a grueling, unpleasant grind.  I remember telling Donna to never let me do it again. This time it was a completely different experience.  I really enjoyed the swim.  The air and water temperatures were just about perfect (80 degrees and 72 degrees), although seas were pretty rough—especially during the second half of the swim.  I had a better attitude going in, I was physically and mentally prepared, I had a music player—a gift from my kids—to keep my head clear and I was excited for about a week before.  Maybe I needed something to be excited about.   I was excited on the early-morning drive from Columbia, past Annapolis and acr...