My #BookSpin read for September is Samuel Richardson's “Pamela“, a book I've eyed with both interest and dread. Pamela is a milestone in the development of the English novel, but it's a work of “conduct literature,“ a genre I associate with stuffy moralizing, running over 700 pages.
And so for the #DoubleSpin the BookSpin Fates have assigned a much shorter stuffless read as my reward for finishing Pamela.
Thanks for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks !
pickFor my Topics bookclub we are reading “Cryptids” in September, and this was available on audio from my library. I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
Noah is 12 and trans and in deep grief over loss of his best friend Lewis. Lewis loved the legend of Mothman, so Noah starts writing to the Cryptids and leaving the letter notebook outdoors overnight. Someone seems to be reading the letters, but who?
Noah navigates school, new friends, bullies.
Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence, to Giorgio Vasari
Livorno, 20 March 1557
So, if I understand correctly, Florence, the city that God entrusted to my care, is now infested not only with conspiracies of murderous nuns but with seditious plebs too? Enough. I must put an end to all this. Find me this Marco Moro, arrest him and throw him in a damp cell.
I regret getting rid of those lions that were stinking up the palace.
“It is. We‘re simulating the interval, to see if everyone can get changed in time. If Woof is under the weather, you‘re excused from the committee meeting tomorrow night. I‘ll take minutes and send them through. Yes, you know the hoaxer. We all do. I don‘t understand why they did such a thing, but I should let them explain themselves first - after the play.”
My local book club have decided the theme this time is for us each pick and submit two of our favourite books, and then read as many of the ones we haven‘t read as we want to. Next time we meet up (24 September) we have to let the club know what we thought of them. Hope that makes sense! ‘Meet Me at the Museum‘ is the second on my list. It‘s a library book.
Do love a map (even one that looks like it needs a chapter of context to be understood....)
pickUnexpectedly fun and enjoyable epistolary novel! I admit the title put me off, but then it was recommended by people whose opinions I trust and I‘m so glad I gave it a chance.
pickA tender, epistolary middle‑grade novel told through letters between 12‑year‑olds Meena, an Indian immigrant in NYC, and River, a Kentucky coal‑miner‘s son. Their correspondence captures the beauty of unlikely friendship, courage, and shared humanity across cultural and geographic divides. Touching, enlightening, and full of hope.
Fabulous book + fabulous dog. I think I snagged THE SCANDALOUS LETTERS OF V AND J during one of those Stuff Your Ereader events, and I‘m super happy with Past Me‘s choices. This gender bending epistolary historical fantasy is all kinds of moreish. I know what I‘m doing with the rest of my evening.
